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Transportation 2023: REAR ADM. WESLEY McCALL
McCall became the Navy’s mid-Atlantic commander in May after Rear Adm. Christopher “Scotty” Gray was promoted to lead the Navy Installations Command in Washington, D.C. McCall previously commanded Navy Region Southeast, which includes operations in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and much of the Southeastern United States. He was based in Jacksonville, Florida, at its Naval Air […]
Education 2023: BRIAN O. HEMPHILL
Hemphill arrived at Old Dominion in 2021 with big goals for the 93-year-old public R1 research university, like the April opening of the Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium, a partnership among ODU, Norfolk State University, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Sentara Health. The consortium aims to jumpstart scientific research and address health care disparities in […]
Law 2023: THE HON. MARK STEVEN DAVIS
Davis’ connection to the sea goes back to his specialty in maritime law in private practice, previously representing the company that won salvage rights to the Titanic. Davis joined McGuireWoods in 1989, became partner in 1996 and left in 1998 to join Carr & Porter. From 2003 to 2008, he served as a Portsmouth Circuit […]
Real Estate 2023: ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ KING
King was named chairman of the commercial real estate company’s board in May after his adoptive father, Harvey L. Lindsay Jr., died on April 19 at age 93. Lindsay adopted King and his brother, Billy, after he married their mother, Frances. Their father, naval pilot Robert M. King Jr., died in a training flight accident […]
Economic Development 2023: DOUG SMITH
After serving as Norfolk‘s city manager and Virginia Beach’s deputy city manager, Smith now leads the Hampton Roads Alliance, the regional economic development organization representing 14 municipalities and numerous private-sector investors. For the past four years, Smith and his team have helped establish Hampton Roads as an important center in the offshore wind industry, as [&hellip[...]
Economic Development 2023: NANCY L. GRDEN
In April, Grden oversaw the merger of Reinvent Hampton Roads, which she had led since 2022, with the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable to form the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable. Grden will lead the new organization, which is focused on realigning the region’s economic development initiatives to boost growth. For the past seven years, Reinvent Hampton […]
Transportation 2023: NISSIM YOCHAI
Zim American Integrated Shipping Services, a subsidiary of Israeli cargo shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services, announced in June its plans to move its headquarters from Norfolk to Virginia Beach, an expansion expected to create several hundred jobs over the next five years in Virginia. Yochai, who joined Zim’s parent company in 2011, became the […]
Transportation 2023: AUBREY L. LAYNE JR.
A former state secretary of finance and secretary of transportation under two governors, Layne currently chairs the powerful Virginia Port Authority, which oversees the Port of Virginia, one of the state’s primary economic engines. His five-year term on the board runs through June 2026. And in July, he marked two years at Sentara. Layne oversees […]
Real Estate 2023: LISA CHANDLER
In March, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and Rose & Womble Realty announced their merger. The combined agency has more than 750 agents and represents over 16% of the region’s market share, according to its chairman, J. Van Rose Jr. After an early childhood spent moving around the globe with her Air Force officer father, Chandler landed […]
Law 2023: WILLIAM R. ‘BILL’ VAN BUREN III
Growing up in a family that formerly owned the Daily Press newspaper in Newport News, Van Buren learned to manage a wide variety of challenges. From canyoning in the Swiss Alps to negotiating complex mergers, he’s always enjoyed learning new skills, although Van Buren says he “still gets the shakes” when he looks at the […]
Law 2023: ROBERT ‘BOB’ TATA
As a young naval officer, Tata navigated across the Atlantic and back using only celestial navigation. Today, he navigates the Norfolk office of Hunton Andrews Kurth, an $830 million law firm with 435 employees in Virginia and 1,619 employees worldwide. Tata received his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy (where he set 17 records […]
Finance | Insurance 2023: LAWRENCE ‘LARRY’ BERNERT III
From his first job installing toilets at Portsmouth Naval Hospital to becoming principal and portfolio manager at Wilbanks, Smith & Thomas Asset Management, Bernert says his career has been informed by his ability to listen and consider different perspectives. The University of Virginia Darden School of Business MBA grad is a chartered financial analyst who […]
