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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: POUL WEIHRAUCH
Since taking over the reins at the candy and pet food giant in September 2022, Weihrauch has set a goal of doubling its sales by 2033. With $45 billion in sales in 2022, Mars is the largest privately held company in Virginia and the fourth largest in the nation. It has approximately 140,000 employees in […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: WARREN THOMPSON
Thompson’s start as an entrepreneur came as a teen, when he purchased and ran his family’s hog farm in Windsor. He now heads the largest minority-owned food and facilities management corporation in the nation, a company he founded in 1992 with the purchase of 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants. Thompson Hospitality provides dining services for […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: DREW PARKER
Carter Machinery has deep roots in Virginia, tracing back to 1928, when Robert Hill Carter founded Virginia Tractor in Richmond. The company was the state’s first Caterpillar dealership, and it is still going today as an independent Caterpillar dealer, with more than 30 locations and around 2,300 employees in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: TRAVIS HILL
Hill presides over Virginia ABC, a state agency that produced $1.4 billion in 2022 revenue, with $622.8 million going to the state general fund. Before becoming CEO in 2018, Hill served four years as the agency’s chief operating officer and previously was a state deputy secretary of agriculture and forestry. In June, reports emerged that […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: ELIZABETH ‘LIZA’ MYERS BORCHES
Founded in 1924 by Borches’ great-grandfather, Carter Myers Automotive is Virginia’s fifth largest car sales group; it garnered $933 million in revenue during fiscal year 2022 and employs more than 1,000 people in Virginia. Since 2012, when Borches became CEO, CMA has grown to 23 dealerships. In September 2022, the company purchased Lynchburg’s Craft Automotive […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: DENNIS ELLMER
Ellmer launched Priority Auto in 1999 with the acquisition of two dealerships in Chesapeake. By 2023. he grew the business to No. 55 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealer groups in the U.S., based on the 14,447 new vehicles the dealership sold in 2022. In June, auto retail giant Lithia Motors announced […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: JERRY MURRELL
Five Guys founder Murrell’s mother always told him, “If you can give a good haircut, or if you can serve a good drink at a bar, or if you can serve a good hamburger, you can always make money in America.” His mom was right. Husband and wife Jerry and Janie Murrell opened a carryout […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: ARTHUR ‘BO’ FISHER III
Bo Fisher spoke of “the great loss of my father, partner, boss and best friend,” when his father, Art Fisher, died in 2004. Already serving as president of Fisher Auto Parts, the younger Fisher was unanimously elected to succeed his dad as CEO and chairman of the board. He also serves as chairman of Federated […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: JIM KOONS
Koons owns and operates 20 auto franchises in the mid-Atlantic region, under the umbrella of the nation’s 13th largest used-vehicle dealership and Virginia’s biggest, according to Automotive News. Koons’ father, John, opened the first location in 1964 in Falls Church, and Jim Koons bought out his brother’s stake in the business in 1992. With more […]
Winchester shopping center sale could revitalize area
During his time on Winchester City Council, Jeff Buettner recalls, plans to revitalize Ward Plaza shopping center were a frequent topic of conversation at every council retreat, going back as far as 1998. Now, as interim executive director of the Winchester Economic Development Authority, he believes that vision is coming close to fruition. “It is […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: GEOFFREY POHANKA
Pohanka’s family has been selling cars since Frank Pohanka opened a Washington, D.C., dealership in 1919. Today, the family’s business, run by Frank’s grandson Geoffrey, has 18 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Texas, and is the third largest Virginia-based auto dealership. Geoffrey’s children now work in the business, too — marking the dealership’s fourth generat[...]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: LORI RAYA
In 2021, Raya became president of Kroger’s mid-Atlantic division, overseeing more than 100 stores in five states and 18,000 employees. She brings more than three decades in the grocery business to the job, mostly spent at Safeway and Albertsons, including as president of Safeway’s Vons division from 2012 to 2015. In 2018, Albertsons acquired Safeway, […]
