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Economic Development 2023: LEONARD SLEDGE
Since 2019, Sledge has guided numerous economic development proposals in Richmond, culminating in the $2.4 billion Diamond District redevelopment project, approved by City Council this year. The site will feature a new baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels Double-A baseball team, an 11-acre green space and mixed-income housing. Sledge was also instrumental in getting […]
Finance | Insurance 2023: JOHN C. STANCHINA
Stanchina became mid-Atlantic CEO for professional services and insurance firm Marsh McLennan Agency in 2011. Named a top workplace by the Richmond Times-Dispatch for the past four years, the agency provides business insurance, employee health insurance and benefits, retirement and private client insurance products. Stanchina was previously also president of the branch. In January, the […]
Education 2023: DAVID DORÉ
A newcomer to Virginia, Doré arrived in April as the Virginia Community College System’s new chancellor. It was quite the jump in scale from Doré’s previous role as president of campuses and executive vice chancellor for student experience and workforce development at Tucson, Arizona-based Pima Community College, which serves about 30,000 students. At VCCS, he […]
Manufacturing 2023: THOMAS E. ‘TEDDY’ GOTTWALD
Gottwald is a third-generation leader of NewMarket, parent company of Afton Chemical and Ethyl. A VMI alumnus, he joined NewMarket in 1984 and worked in its petroleum additives and former plastics businesses before succeeding his father, Bruce, as chairman of the board two decades later. NewMarket traces its roots to Ethyl Gasoline Corp., a company […]
Law 2023: FARHAD AGHDAMI
Aghdami’s practice focuses chiefly on tax planning for wealth transfer, business succession planning and fiduciary litigation. His client list is wide and varied, including individuals and families with high net worth, middle-market business owners, charities and others. Williams Mullen is one of Virginia’s largest firms and employs 360 people in the commonwealth. Aghdami, who joined [[...]
Law 2023: THE HON. S. BERNARD GOODWYN
Born in 1961 in Southampton County, Goodwyn was appointed to the state bench by Gov. Tim Kaine in 2007 to fill the court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy. In 2021, he was elected chief justice for a four-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2022, filling the vacancy created when Chief Justice […]
Education 2023: MICHAEL RAO
In his 14th year at VCU, Rao has had a year of ups and downs. VCU opened its $125 million STEM building in April, and in May it announced an $18 million donation from Washington, D.C.-based real estate analytics company CoStar Group to build an academic building for arts and innovation. However, VCU Health made […]
Agriculture 2023: MATTHEW J. LOHR
Lohr has worked in agriculture and public service for his entire career. As Virginia’s secretary of agriculture and forestry since January 2022, he manages an 810-employee department that oversees Virginia’s largest private sector, which has an annual economic impact of over $105 billion. A three-term state delegate and former commissioner of the Virginia Department of […]
Economic Development 2023: CAREN MERRICK
After 25 years as a Virginia business founder and leader, Merrick was appointed the commonwealth’s secretary of trade and commerce in early 2022, her first role in state government. She helped encourage Amazon Web Services to invest $35 billion to build multiple data center campuses across the state, an initiative announced in January. She also […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: NEIL AMIN
As CEO of one of Virginia’s largest hotel operators, Amin brings a mix of hands-on experience and MBA expertise to the company his Indian immigrant father and uncle started in the 1970s. Amin lived with his family in one of their hotels in Chesterfield County until he was 12, pitching in with maintenance and handling […]
Law 2023: BROOKS M. SMITH
A leader in the energy and environmental law arena, Smith has been employed at the national law firm since 2013, after co-chairing Hunton Andrews Kurth’s global environmental practice. Named managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Richmond office in 2019, he specializes in litigation, enforcement defense, project development and compliance counseling. Smith also serves as water and [&hel[...]
Law 2023: WENDY COLLINS PERDUE
“If you are not having fun,” says Perdue, “you are not doing it right.” A longtime leader in legal education, Perdue joined the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center in 1982, ultimately becoming an associate dean. Since 2011, she has been the University of Richmond‘s law dean and specializes in civil procedure, conflict of laws, […]
