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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 […]
Education 2023: JAVAUNE ADAMS-GASTON
Rising in prominence since Adams-Gaston became its leader in 2019, Norfolk State now ranks regularly in the top 20 historically Black colleges and universities, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. In 2021, Norfolk State received its largest single-donor gift, $40 million from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The […]
Real Estate 2023: STEVE LAWSON
A third-generation builder and developer, Lawson served as president of the 190-person multifamily real estate development, construction and management firm for 17 years, until he was named chairman in 2016. For more than two decades, Lawson has promoted equitable and affordable housing policies through leadership positions with the National Association of Home Builders. He has […]
Transportation 2023: JUDY BARRETT
The second woman president in the Virginia Maritime Association’s 102-year history, Barrett is a prominent face in the area’s banking, maritime and sailing communities. A banking executive with more than 30 years of experience, she has been with TowneBank for over 16 years. Barrett also serves as board president of Norfolk Festevents, and is a […]
Transportation 2023: MICHAEL W. COLEMAN
In addition to leading CV International, his family-owned freight logistics and transportation company, Coleman is a Virginia Port Authority commissioner and chairs the century-old Virginia Maritime Association. He’s also a board member of the Hampton Roads Shipping Association and sits on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s Advisory Committee on International Trade. Coleman was ap[...]
Real Estate 2023: FRANK ‘BUDDY’ GADAMS
Gadams and his firm are known for their commercial and residential projects, but he has also led community-based projects like the restoration of the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. Gadams founded Marathon in 2000. He is also one of the founders of the YPO (formerly Young Presidents’ Organization) Virginia Chapter. A Downtown Norfolk Council member, […]
Law 2023: THOMAS C. INGLIMA
At Willcox & Savage, Inglima’s practice has focused on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and securities transactions, intellectual property, licensing and technology transfers, and general corporate work, including advising corporations on matters of governance. The firm — among Virginia’s 20 largest — has grown in the past year, adding three partners and four associates and [&[...]
Real Estate 2023: CARL L. HARDEE
Lawson’s president and CEO since 2016, Hardee has been with the company for more than half of its 51 years. He oversees a 190-employee real estate development, construction and management company. In June, Lawson held a grand opening for Market Heights, a 164-unit apartment community in Norfolk, and the company is near completion of 80 […]
Transportation 2023: RYAN BANAS
Banas oversees the $3.9 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion, the largest transportation infrastructure project in state history. Aimed at increasing capacity and easing congestion, the project will widen existing four-lane segments along 10 miles of the Interstate 64 corridor in Norfolk and Hampton, and also will add twin underwater tunnels crossing the harbor. Running about a […[...]
