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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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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[...]
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: 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, […]
Son’s cancer fight inspires startup
The sight of Neal Piper’s then-3-year-old son, Noah, stuck on the couch all day, tethered to an IV pole with a feeding tube after the boy’s cancer diagnosis in 2019 put his father on a new mission. Piper, who had 15 years of experience in commercializing health care products, including 10 years in sales, marketing […]
Media 2023: KELLY TILL
In 2022, Till became the first woman to lead the Richmond Times-Dispatch in its 172-year history, after leading Southeastern U.S. regional advertising sales for parent company Lee Enterprises, a position she also holds. Before joining Lee, Till was an ad executive for The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press. An alumna of Old Dominion University, she serves […]
Real Estate 2023: JAMIE THOMAS
In January, Thomas was named executive managing director and brokerage market leader for Virginia, a position that gives him oversight for about 60 brokers as well as all brokerage operations, recruitment, retention and business development in Norfolk, Richmond and Charlottesville. A Richmond native, Thomas replaced J. Scott Adams, who jumped to Harbor Group International in […]
Finance | Insurance 2023: JANET N. TOPE
Many executives at Tope’s level have a long list of employers on their résumés. Tope has just one: Wells Fargo. The Florida State University alumna “stumbled into” the bank in 1988 straight out of college with her business degree in hand and has been there ever since. In 2017, she was promoted to director of […]
Transportation 2023: WEBB ESTES
As the great-grandson of the company’s founder, Estes is the fourth generation of his family to lead Estes Express Lines, one of the nation’s largest privately owned freight carriers. Before being named president and COO in January, he was vice president of process improvement. His father, Rob Estes, continues to serve as chairman and CEO. […]
Real Estate 2023: ALLISON WEINSTEIN
Weinstein leads a multifamily real estate development and management company founded by her father, Marcus Weinstein, in 1952. She joined the company in 1994 with her husband, Ivan Jecklin, who serves as co-president. Before that, Weinstein lived in Chicago, where she worked in the recruiting and personnel department for a large Chicago-based law firm. She […]
