Virginia 500 2021 Archives - Page 2 of 3

Professional Services

RAND BLAZER

PRESIDENT, APEX SYSTEMS LLC, FAIRFAX COUNTY

Blazer has been with Apex Systems since 2007, after nearly 30 years with KPMG US LLC. The former U.S. Army captain has helped Apex, based in Glen Allen, grow into a firm with roughly 2,640 employees across the state.

Apex and its parent company, ASGN Inc., together form one of the nation’s largest IT staffing and services firms. Apex alone generated revenues of $630 million during the first quarter of 2021, accounting for 62% of ASGN’s revenue.

Virginia successfully lured ASGN from California in 2020, when the firm announced it was moving its headquarters to Henrico County and would be creating roughly 700 jobs in the commonwealth.

“The best advice I could give is to commit to being a business adviser to your client,” Blazer says. “Creating business dialogue and knowing what is important to our clients makes us better and able to provide real value to their business.”

In his free time, Blazer volunteers with the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association, promoting the sport for disadvantaged youth in Montgomery County, Maryland. He also has worked with the Greater Washington Partnership, which examines employment trends in the Washington region.

JACOB BLONDIN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, RETAILDATA LLC, RICHMOND

Blondin joined RetailData in 2015 as vice president of strategic initiatives, and in 2020 he was promoted to president and CEO, following the retirement of Christopher Ferguson.

As retailers have transitioned from brick-and-mortar locations to e-commerce operations, RetailData has evolved to provide analysis on digital pricing and promotion strategies.

In a statement last year, Blondin said the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated that transition, and in an era when consumers can comparison shop at the click of a button, the Richmond-based pricing retail intelligence firm helps clients understand the differences in metrics between in-store and online offerings.

Prior to joining RetailData, Blondin spent more than a decade working in leadership roles within a variety of industries, including construction services and bioenergy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at Northeastern University and received an MBA from Arizona State University.

KRISTEN CAVALLO

CEO, THE MARTIN AGENCY, RICHMOND

Richmond’s iconic advertising agency has continued to rack up awards, clients and revenue under the leadership of CEO Cavallo.

She returned to Martin in 2017 as its first female CEO; Cavallo spent 13 years at the agency before leaving to become president of MullenLowe U.S. in 2011. Prior to her hiring, Martin was dealing with bad press as sexual harassment allegations against the agency’s former chief creative officer came to light. Under Cavallo, the agency has ushered in a phase of growth and greater diversity among Martin’s leadership.

Cavallo kicked off 2020 with the announcement that the firm had just landed Old Navy as a client. The rest of the year, of course, would be spent dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as travel restrictions and limits on group gatherings made it all but impossible to continue production of live ads.

The firm shifted strategies and focused more heavily on motion graphics and animation, and Cavallo said last year that most layoffs were offset by hiring in these areas. Later in the year, Martin was named Adweek’s 2020 U.S. Agency of the Year after reporting 30% net growth in new and organic revenue. It was the only U.S. finalist to report double-digit growth.

RUTH ‘PAIGE’ CLAY

SENIOR PARTNER, MID-SOUTH MARKET, MERCER LLC; IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR, VIRGINIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, RICHMOND

Aside from her duties at Mercer, which employs just under 100 people in Virginia among its 25,000 employees worldwide, Clay just completed her tenure as board chair of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and she continues to serve on the board’s executive committee.

A Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University alum who joined the human resources and operations firm a decade ago, Clay manages several of Mercer’s largest clients in industries including manufacturing, health care, higher education, and insurance and financial services. She previously worked in customer relations and human resources at Capital One Financial Corp.

Mercer weathered the pandemic by “proactively bringing solutions to our clients and prospects to help them pivot quickly in their time of need,” Clay says. A dedicated bookworm, she reads an average of three books a week.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Be authentic and make an impact.

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Becoming a grandmother and living on the water

FIRST JOB: Waitress

HOBBY/PASSION: I love to read, snow ski and enjoy the beach. My passion is travel, as I was an Army brat as a kid. I want to go to every country on the planet in my lifetime.

MARK ELLENBOGEN

ATLANTIC ASSURANCE REGIONAL MANAGING PARTNER, BDO USA LLP, McLEAN

Ellenbogen has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting since earning his undergraduate degree in business and his postgraduate diploma in accounting at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

In his current role, Ellenbogen oversees assurance practices in eight offices, reaching from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Philadelphia. He is responsible for developing growth strategies, managing client services, guiding staff development and recruiting. Having been with the firm since 1997, Ellenbogen was previously the managing partner of BDO’s greater Washington, D.C., office, and he has served on BDO’s board since 2019.

BDO USA is one of the nation’s largest accounting firms, bringing in more than $1.8 billion in revenue in 2020, an 11.3% year-over-year increase. It was the eighth consecutive year of growth for the firm, and the assurance business line grew by 6% during the 2020 fiscal year.

Ellenbogen is a member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s board of directors.

TIMOTHY H. GILLIS

WASHINGTON METRO AREA MANAGING PARTNER AND CHESAPEAKE MARKET HUB LEADER, KPMG LLP, McLEAN

With roughly 2,200 employees in Virginia, KPMG brought in $29.22 billion in revenue in the 2020 fiscal year, only a small decrease from the previous year, despite the pandemic. Gillis oversees the global Big Four accounting firm’s Chesapeake market hub, which includes Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

He has spent his career at the heights of corporate America and describes himself as very competitive, but Gillis knows how to disconnect and recharge. He began practicing yoga during the pandemic, and he recently published his second book of poetry.

Gillis serves on the board governing the Washington Nationals’ philanthropic projects and the George Mason University Foundation board, while also performing other volunteer leadership roles.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: He loves to compete. He loves to win. He wants to take the game-deciding shot.

FAVORITE SONG: “Lovely Day,” by Bill Withers

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Ten words: Love God. Love others. With passion. All of your life.

SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN: Eat eggplant, if I can avoid it.

THEODORE ‘TED’ HANSON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, ASGN INC., GLEN ALLEN

Hanson started out in 1998 as a corporate controller at Apex Systems, one of the country’s fastest-growing information technology staffing firms, and Hanson had risen to chief financial officer by the time it was acquired by ASGN in 2012.

Hanson stayed on as CFO after the acquisition, and in 2019, he was appointed ASGN’s CEO.

The company relocated from California to Henrico last year, reporting more than $1 billion in revenues for the first quarter of 2021, a 3.6% increase from the same period the previous year.

In September 2020, ASGN announced the acquisition of Boston-based consulting firm LeapFrog Systems, and in December 2020 the firm acquired Tampa-based Integrated Solutions Management Inc. This summer, ASGN acquired Reston-based Indrasoft and Fairfax-based Enterprise Resource Performance Inc.

Hanson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Tech, and he earned his MBA at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also is on the executive committee of Virginia Tech’s Apex Center for Entrepreneurs.

JASON A. HARTMAN

CEO, BROWN EDWARDS & CO. LLP, ROANOKE

Although he leads Virginia’s largest independent, non-national accounting firm, one that has doubled in size over the past four years, Hartman nonetheless maintains that Brown Edwards is one of Southwest Virginia’s “best-kept secrets.”

With 315 employees in Virginia, as well as presences in Tennessee and West Virginia, the firm reported $60 million in revenue for the 2020 fiscal year and made good on Hartman’s growth goals. Brown Edwards recently expanded into Richmond with its merger of Gregg & Bailey PC, and in 2020, the firm acquired Covenant Real Estate Services LLC in Salem. In 2022, the business plans to move offices in Roanoke, providing more space and parking. The firm was able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic because, Hartman said in a 2020 interview, its employees had already embraced a “work anywhere, anytime” philosophy.

A graduate of James Madison University and Glenville State College in West Virginia, Hartman serves on the board of Feeding Southwest Virginia. Seeing other professionals succeed at Brown Edwards is what Hartman says makes him passionate about his position.

DAN HUDGENS

CENTRAL VIRGINIA MANAGING PARTNER, DELOITTE, RICHMOND

Hudgens, who joined Deloitte in 2002 after 15 years at Arthur Andersen, noted last year that his company’s 360-degree understanding of businesses’ needs made Deloitte an invaluable resource during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For example, if a company is dealing with a talent issue, we not only bring expertise in human capital but can help the organization understand the possible implications in such areas as technology, tax, reporting and regulatory compliance, strategy, supply chain — really the whole gamut of an organization’s ecosystem,” Hudgens says.

The Big Four accounting firm reported more than $23 billion in domestic revenue for the 2020 fiscal year and has more than 113,000 employees in the U.S.

An avid lover of the outdoors, Hudgens spends his free time running, biking, hiking, skiing and golfing, and he is a huge fan of his alma mater’s football team, the University of Texas Longhorns. He currently serves on the boards of the American Heart Association’s Richmond chapter and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and for several years he served on the board of the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg.

HARVEY L. JOHNSON

PARTNER AND CEO, PBMARES LLP, NEWPORT NEWS

After 18 years with the Newport News-based accounting and consulting firm PBMares, Johnson became the company’s second CEO on Jan. 1.

He took over after a yearlong transition spent working closely with retiring CEO Alan S. Witt, who had led the company since 1979.

Johnson was instrumental in launching the Top 100 accounting firm’s cybersecurity and control risk services practice, and he helped spearhead expansion into North Carolina.

Late last year, the firm expanded into North Carolina with the acquisition of two RSM US LLP offices. PBMares now has 12 offices in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington and Old Dominion University alum began his career with PBMares as a staff accountant in 2003, and he was regularly recognized as a rising star within the Hampton Roads area. Johnson has served in several leadership roles in the Tidewater chapter of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and he is on the TowneBank Peninsula board of directors.

SUSAN J. MOSER

REGIONAL MARKET LEADER, WASHINGTON, D.C., AND VIRGINIA, CHERRY BEKAERT LLP, RICHMOND

With more than 20 years of experience leading Cherry Bekaert’s Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., market, Moser specializes in helping businesses navigate the complex regulatory requirements that come with federal government contracting.

In January, Cherry Bekaert, one of the nation’s 30 largest accounting firms, became one of the first companies accredited to perform certification assessments for a new Department of Defense cybersecurity program, and the firm was also named a “Registered Practitioner Organization” for helping defense contractors with compliance.

With more than 1,100 employees, Cherry Bekaert was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best Tax and Accounting Firms for 2021.

A Virginia Commonwealth University alumna, Moser has served in volunteer leadership roles with the Washington, D.C., chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the National Capital Area chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She also is the treasurer of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board.

SCOTT MOULDEN

MANAGING PARTNER, YHB CPAS & CONSULTANTS, WINCHESTER

Moulden is now in his fifth decade working for the firm where he began his accounting career.

With 185 employees in Virginia, YHB reported $32.8 million in revenue for 2020. The firm was one of 10 Virginia practices listed in Forbes’ 2021 list of top tax accounting firms.

Moulden grew up on a farm. His first job was working in a lumberyard loading trucks, and his beverage of choice is a cold beer. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Virginia Tech, with an emphasis on accounting, and he works with businesses in a variety of industries, primarily manufacturing, franchising, retail and agribusiness.

Open communication with clients was the key to weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, he says: “This season has been tough on everyone. We had to make our decisions based on little information while things constantly changed. … People really showed they trust our leadership, something I do not take lightly.”

DOUGLAS PERTZ

PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE BRINK’S CO., HENRICO COUNTY

Pertz has been at the helm of The Brink’s Co. since 2016.

Like many businesses, the private security firm headquartered in Henrico County took a hit from COVID-19 in 2020. As many of its client businesses were shuttered due to the pandemic, The Brink’s Co.’s stock price fell from $96 per share in January 2020 to $37.99 per share in July 2020.

In June 2021, though, Pertz announced that Brink’s was on the road to recovery from the pandemic, with year-to-date revenue as of April hitting 96% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels. The company also saw its stock price rising back to $83 per share by March.

Despite the pandemic’s impact, 2020 was a good year for Pertz, whose salary increased by 65%, from $8.4 million in 2019 to $13.9 million in 2020.

Pertz, who has a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, has served as CEO for several global companies, including Recall Holdings Limited, IMC Global, Culligan Water Technologies Inc. and Clipper Windpower.

STEPHANIE R. PETERS

PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS, GLEN ALLEN

Peters has been with the Virginia Society of CPAs since the late 1990s. As CEO, she helps lead lobbying efforts on the state and national levels. The nonprofit industry advocacy organization has 29 employees in Virginia and reported $6 million in 2020 revenue.

Peters, who earned her undergraduate degree in history from the University of Virginia and her Master of Public Administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, is a past chair of the Virginia Council on Economic Education.

VSCPA has kept up with technological shifts over the years, so as COVID-19 forced her staff to work remotely, the transition was not as challenging as it could have been, she says.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Stop giving advice or offering your two cents. Listen and ask questions. Allow others to discover the answers as they talk it through.

FIRST JOB: Rented boats and canoes at Pocahontas State Park

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Other than surviving a global pandemic, I’m now the mother of a high school graduate.

HORACIO D. ROZANSKI

PRESIDENT AND CEO, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, McLEAN

Rozanski, who joined the Fortune 500 management and information technology consulting firm in 1991 as an intern in its Buenos Aires office, is one of a small group of top executives who worked their way up from the very bottom of their corporations.

CEO since 2015, Rozanski was awarded the prestigious Horatio Alger Award, recognizing Americans who have succeeded despite adversity, in April 2020.

Under his leadership, Booz Allen’s stock price has risen rapidly, soaring 203% in just the last five years.

Rozanski has earned accolades for prioritizing diversity at the firm. He wrote a memo in response to the George Floyd murder, asking employees to share their own experiences. He received thousands of responses, which helped develop Booz Allen’s new Race and Social Equity Agenda.

In May, Booz Allen announced that the Department of Justice had closed out a 2017 criminal investigation into the firm’s accounting and indirect cost charging practices related to its federal contracting. Rozanski said civil investigations by the DOJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission may be ongoing.

With 27,000 global employees, Booz Allen reported $7.9 billion in revenue for 2021.

ERIC SCHEINERMAN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CIBT INC., McLEAN

Scheinerman first joined CIBT in 2019 as its chief financial officer, after serving as Wind River Environmental’s CFO. He’s held senior finance roles at several companies, including Irish auto parts company Aptiv plc.

CIBT provides immigration and visa services to help businesses and individuals navigate regulations all over the globe. The firm reports that it is the primary provider of this service to 75% of Fortune 500 companies.

Scheinerman has experience leading multinational complex organizations, having served in Shanghai as vice president of finance for Aptiv’s $9 billion Electrical/Electronic Architecture Segment, which had operations in 28 countries and more than 120,000 employees.

He has his work cut out for him at CIBT. As borders have been shut down due to the pandemic, CIBT faced major challenges over the past 18 months, and last October, Moody’s Investors Service Inc. downgraded the firm’s corporate family rating. With much of CIBT’s business dependent on international travel, the company began cost-cutting measures in 2020 to offset the decrease in revenue.

CIBT’s corporate headquarters is in McLean, and Scheinerman works out of the firm’s global headquarters in Washington, D.C.

KEVIN SMITHSON

D.C. METRO OFFICE LEADER, PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS LLC, McLEAN

As of July 1, Smithson is the point person for the more than 2,000 PricewaterhouseCoopers employees in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. Last year, Smithson was named as the Big Four firm’s mid-Atlantic managing partner, a position that put him in charge of more than 4,000 employees in six offices across the Eastern Seaboard, but a company restructuring this year did away with the regional management positions. He also has served as PwC’s east region tax leader.

Smithson has more than 25 years of consulting experience, with a focus on corporate tax, serving clients in industries ranging from real estate to pharmaceuticals.

Smithson has written extensively about business strategies for reopening. In April, as vaccine availability was on the upswing, he wrote an opinion piece for The Hill, calling for greater transparency around return-to-work plans and for employers to balance safety with privacy.

He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from American University and when he lived in Boston, he served on boards for the local YMCA and charities focusing on suicide prevention and advancing women business leaders.

CHRIS STUART

VICE PRESIDENT, TOP GUARD SECURITY, NORFOLK

Stuart, vice president and co-founder of Top Guard Security, has helped grow his family’s private security firm into the largest in Hampton Roads.

The former Hampton city councilman oversees an organization that employs more than 1,000 armed and unarmed guards dispatched to clients throughout the commonwealth. His wife, Nicole Stuart, is president of the company that the pair founded in 1996.

2020 was a tumultuous year for Top Guard, largely due to the firm losing a highly publicized $2.5 million annual security contract with the city of Norfolk that it first won in 2004.

Still, Stuart is optimistic. He said he loves “besting competitors that are billion-dollar firms but cannot translate that into the quality of service and attentiveness clients expect.”

HOBBY/PASSION: Chasing five children around; 5 a.m. weightlifting.

WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL: Skinny, insecure and an average student.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: Chris and Nicole Stuart run a good company and are fierce but honest competitors.

JULIE SWEET

CEO AND CHAIR, ACCENTURE, ARLINGTON

Sweet, who joined the Fortune Global 500 professional services corporation in 2010, became its global chief in 2019 after previously serving as CEO of Accenture’s business in North America. As of Sept. 1, she also is chair of the company’s board, stepping into the shoes of former David Rowland, who retired as executive chairman.

A graduate of Claremont McKenna College and Columbia Law School, Sweet was ranked No. 1 on Fortune magazine’s 2020 Most Powerful Women in Business list.

Incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, Accenture brought in $44.3 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2020 and $5.19 billion in profit, up 7% from the previous year. It saw a lot of growth during the height of the pandemic in its cloud, digital and cybersecurity sectors, which account for about 70% of its revenue, Fortune reported.

Sweet is a member of the World Economic Forum’s board and chairs the board for Catalyst, a nonprofit that promotes workplace improvements for women worldwide. Before joining Accenture in 2010, Sweet was a partner at New York-based law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

PAUL THOMPSON

MANAGING PARTNER VIRGINIA MARKET, DIXON HUGHES GOODMAN LLP, RICHMOND

Thompson oversees DHG’s operations in Virginia and West Virginia, managing offices in Chesterfield, Norfolk, Richmond and Charleston, West Virginia.

He has worked closely with companies experiencing rapid growth, and his disciplines include mergers, acquisitions, strategic planning, accounting systems and transaction support services.

Thompson has been with DHG since 2014. Prior to that, he was a partner with McGladrey (now RSM US LLP). Thompson earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Frostburg State University.

With headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, DHG provides assurance, tax and advisory services for clients throughout the United States and internationally. DHG’s original iteration was M. Lu Goodman, founded in Norfolk in 1932. Since then, the firm has grown into the largest accounting firm headquartered in the Southeast, employing more than 2,000 people in 13 states.

TAMIKA TREMAGLIO

GREATER WASHINGTON MANAGING PRINCIPAL, DELOITTE, McLEAN

Tremaglio oversees more than 10,000 audit, tax and consulting professionals for Deloitte throughout the D.C. area.

She also serves on the board of several civic organizations, including the United Way of the National Capital Area, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the National Aquarium.

Tremaglio earned her law degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Baltimore.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Performance is tied to purpose. As a leader, find ways to align your contributions and the work of your teams to the greater good.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: That Tamika seems everywhere at once and tough to keep up with — but my secret is I’m actually in the same place every day. I rely on a staff of highly talented individuals who represent diverse backgrounds and experiences, and I give them the room they need to unleash their talents.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Whichever Washington team is in season, with a special place in my heart for the Washington Mystics.

KEVIN VIROSTEK

MANAGING PARTNER, GREATER WASHINGTON AREA OFFICES, ERNST & YOUNG, McLEAN

Virostek has been with Ernst & Young since 1987, and as the Big Four accounting firm’s Greater Washington managing partner, he coordinates EY’s full array of services for some of the region’s largest companies and startups. The firm has more than 3,500 area employees working in assurance, tax, consulting, and strategy and transaction practices.

Before stepping into his current role, Virostek had been EY’s national director of IPO initiatives, and he worked on EY’s strategic investments as part of its national corporate development group.

In May, at an event for EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year program, Virostek discussed the growing trend of graduate school students forming successful startup groups. “These folks that have come off campus together and are starting this business and are really putting their blood and sweat into it, they are basing it on friendship, and that’s a great foundation for some of these businesses,” he said.

Virostek holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. In September 2020, he was named chairman of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington for a two-year term.

GARY G. WALLACE

MANAGING PARTNER, KEITER, GLEN ALLEN

As Keiter’s managing partner, Wallace is responsible for the Henrico County-based accounting firm’s growth strategies. He serves on the firm’s executive committee and is a leader on its mergers and acquisitions team.

Wallace has more than 30 years of accounting experience and joined Keiter in 2010. Previously, he worked as chief financial officer for Richmond-based Riverstone Group LLC and CCA Industries Inc., and he also worked as a tax partner for the Richmond office of KPMG.

Keiter was founded in 1978 and specializes in working with high-net-worth individuals and privately held businesses.

Last year, Wallace led the firm’s COVID-19 response as Keiter’s 160 employees transitioned to remote working.

Wallace also serves on the Central Virginia Community board of directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He earned his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree in accounting from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.

GREG WALLIG

METRO DC-ARLINGTON MANAGING PRINCIPAL, GRANT THORNTON LLP, ARLINGTON

Wallig oversees Grant Thornton’s largest office in the United States, with more than 1,200 employees based out of its Arlington offices.

A global accounting firm that is the sixth largest in the United States, Grant Thornton is regularly recognized for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices. In June, the firm announced a three-year partnership with Major League Soccer team D.C. United to advance the club’s diversity priorities.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Be authentic.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: Greg takes business personally and builds trust into every result.

FIRST JOB: 10 years old and picking strawberries. We were paid by the pound.

HOBBY/PASSION: I compete in one or two Olympic-distance triathlons a year, and once competed in a triathlon in Abu Dhabi while on a layover.

MOST RECENT BOOK READ: My COVID book challenge was “Moby Dick,” by Herman Melville. I ended up loving it!

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Enjoying seeing my kids play soccer and baseball

Nonprofits | Philanthropy

SHERRIE ARMSTRONG

PRESIDENT AND CEO, COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR A GREATER RICHMOND, RICHMOND

Historians will likely focus on two things regarding 2020: COVID-19 and protesters hitting the streets to demand racial justice. Under Armstrong’s leadership, the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond worked to address both the pandemic and social justice.

The philanthropic organization manages more than 1,200 charitable funds. Early in the pandemic, it partnered with other organizations to create the Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund, providing more than
$7 million to Richmond-area nonprofits working on problems such as eliminating evictions.

Last summer, the Community Foundation worked with the region’s Black giving circles SisterFund and Ujima Legacy Fund to launch the Amandla Fund for Social and Racial Justice.

Armstrong has a long history of working to build strong communities. She previously served as an executive at United Way Worldwide and as CEO for the United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: West Virginia Mountaineers

ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: That it learn from its history and become a place known for addressing its racial inequities.

TRACEY D. BROWN

CEO, AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION, ARLINGTON

Early in the COVID-19 crisis, Brown went into action, raising awareness that people of color have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic — and that, even in normal times, this population is at higher risk of developing serious health issues like heart disease and diabetes.

“We have an obligation to dismantle these inequities and eliminate the devastating impact they have on families and communities,” the American Diabetes Association CEO said in June.

Last summer, the ADA launched #HealthEquityNow, a national campaign designed to spur leaders into addressing systemic inequities. In recent months, Brown also joined forces with three other Black female CEOs of health-related nonprofits to advocate for policy changes to end health disparities.

Brown herself is among the 13% of African Americans who live with diabetes. She developed Type 2 diabetes after giving birth to her daughter 17 years ago.

Brown began volunteering for the ADA while working for Sam’s Club as its senior vice president of operations and chief experience officer.

MATTHEW CONNELLY

CEO, GOOD360, ALEXANDRIA

Connelly came to GOOD360 in 2019 after a long career at United Parcel Service, where he last worked as vice president for network operations. His 32 years of supply chain and logistics expertise gets put to good use at the nonprofit, which distributes goods donated by companies to the needy around the world via a network of more than 90,000 nonprofits.

In June 2021, Connelly and his team shipped several containers of goods to survivors of April’s volcanic eruptions on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent. “It is fulfilling for me to be able to leverage my background and skills in logistics to help people in need,” Connelly says.

Connelly also sits on the board of Remedium Life Science of Georgia, a manufacturer of low-grade medicinal cannabis products.

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT ME WORK: Finding a second life for products that would otherwise most likely be thrown out is rewarding

FIRST JOB: Dishwasher at an Italian restaurant

SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN: Use plastic bags

JACK DYER ‘J.D.’ CROUCH II

PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNITED SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, ARLINGTON

Seven years ago, after a long leadership career in the public and private sectors, Crouch was tapped to head the United Service Organizations (USO).

During the pandemic, Crouch helped the USO pivot to continue its mission of providing support programs and entertainment for America’s military service members and their families. In 2020, the organization launched a virtual programming series for service members, featuring more than 100 celebrities. This June, the USO — which celebrated its 80th anniversary in February — returned to its history of in-person performances with a tour including country duo LoCash.

Before joining the USO, Crouch was CEO of federal contractor QinetiQ North America, exiting after the company was sold in 2014.

Crouch served as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under President George H.W. Bush, and he was later deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush. From 2004 to 2005, Crouch was the U.S. ambassador to Romania.

Along with former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Henry Kissinger, Crouch was among 11 members removed from their seats on the Defense Policy Board by the Trump administration in November 2020.

DEBORAH M. DiCROCE

PRESIDENT AND CEO, HAMPTON ROADS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, NORFOLK

Over the last year, the Hampton Roads Community Foundation has been funneling its energy toward projects supporting COVID-19 recovery or battling racial injustice.

Under DiCroce’s leadership, the foundation has awarded more than $1.25 million in COVID-19 response grants. This spring, the organization also partnered with the Eastern Virginia Medical School’s M. Foscue Brock Institute for Community and Global Health to host a virtual forum about the pandemic’s impact on mental health.

In 2019, the foundation’s board adopted a racial equity statement stating that “advancing a more equitable and inclusive community” is key to its mission. In April 2021, DiCroce posted a statement in response to a jury finding former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty in the May 2020 murder of George Floyd. “Let us not forget what we saw, what we heard, and what we felt,” she wrote. And in June, the foundation announced plans to award $1 million in grants to 30 local Black nonprofits.

Before joining the foundation in 2013, DiCroce served for 14 years as president of Tidewater Community College and for nine years as president of Piedmont Virginia Community College.

ANNE LYNAM GODDARD

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CHILDFUND INTERNATIONAL, RICHMOND

After 15 years leading the 83-year-old global child development organization, Goddard plans to retire in May.

Raised by an Irish family that immigrated to the United States when she was a young girl, Goddard joined the Peace Corps in 1979. That took her to Kenya, where she lived in a house made of mud and traveled by motorbike. “I never imagined myself as a CEO,” she said in June. “I just wanted to make a difference in the world.”

Upon returning to the United States, Goddard earned a master’s degree in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She then spent two decades working overseas for humanitarian agencies in developing countries before joining ChildFund.

Last year, ChildFund helped 13.6 million children and family members in 24 countries, improving their access to health care, nutrition and education.

Announcing her retirement, Goddard does not seem headed for a golf course. “I am excited to explore new avenues where I might continue contributing to helping children and communities thrive,” she said.

TED HART

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION OF AMERICA (CAF AMERICA), ALEXANDRIA

In his ninth year as CEO of CAF America, Hart can talk a blue streak about regulatory compliance.

A week after India changed its laws governing foreign donations last September, Hart dedicated 30 minutes to the topic on “Caring and Funding: The CAF America Podcast.”

While it might not be the most rousing subject matter, failing to understand a country’s regulatory framework can have consequences. When India faced a major COVID-19 outbreak this spring, the law change kept some Indian nonprofits from accepting donations from international organizations.

In addition to touting its vetting protocol for global charities, CAF America can assure donors their gifts are tax-deductible, which is not the case when individuals give directly to foreign charities.

In addition to his work leading CAF, Hart has written and co-written several books about fundraising and nonprofits.

FAVORITE SONG: “Shining Light,” by Annie Lennox

FAVORITE BEVERAGE: Scotch whisky from Islay

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: To believe in the power of a well-motivated team

LT. GEN. JAMES B. LASTER (USMC, RET.)

PRESIDENT AND CEO, MARINE TOYS FOR TOTS FOUNDATION, QUANTICO

Since taking leadership of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in January 2020, Laster saw the nonprofit collect and distribute 20.2 million toys to more than 7 million children last year.

This April, Toys for Tots announced plans to partner for the second year with Alexandria-based logistics nonprofit Good360, committing to provide a million toys for Good360 to distribute to children. In 2020, the nonprofits distributed 2 million toys, books and games to families in need due to the pandemic — Toys for Tots’ first major initiative outside the Christmas season.

“We realize the importance of reminding children that there is still joy to be found in simple gifts every day, no matter how difficult things may be right now,” Laster said in a statement.

Laster retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in January 2018, after serving for 38 years. From 2011 to 2012, he served in Afghanistan as the deputy chief of staff for joint operations. In 2012, he became chief of staff of the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Laster earned a master’s degree in national strategy from the National War College. In 1989, he received the Marine Corps’ Leftwich Trophy recognizing outstanding leadership.

KEVIN A. LYNCH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL INDUSTRIES FOR THE BLIND, ALEXANDRIA

Lynch has worked for the National Industries for the Blind (NIB) or its associated agencies for 40 years, acting as the organization’s head since 2008.

Founded in 1938, the organization and its network of associated nonprofits make up the nation’s largest employer of people who are blind.

Under Lynch’s leadership, NIB recently launched NSITE, a resource connecting employers seeking to broaden their talent pool with qualified job seekers who are blind, visually impaired and/or veterans.

The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation donated $95,700 in March to fund an NSITE Cisco Academy training program. The first such program adapted for the learning styles of people who are blind, it will prepare students for jobs in cybersecurity.

Before joining NIB, Lynch worked as executive director of Georgia Industries for the Blind, where he managed three manufacturing plants that employed 165 people who are blind. Prior to that, he was director of manufacturing for the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired of Greater Rochester, New York, where he negotiated contracts with commercial customers including Eastman Kodak Co. and Xerox Corp.

DR. WILLIAM P. MAGEE JR.

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, OPERATION SMILE INC., VIRGINIA BEACH

A plastic and craniofacial surgeon, Magee founded Operation Smile in 1982 with his wife, Kathy, a former nurse and clinical social worker. The international medical charity has provided free surgical and dental care to more than 300,000 people. The nonprofit’s financial supporters include PepsiCo Inc.’s potato chip brand Lay’s, which featured Kathy Magee on select bags as part of a campaign to support Operation Smile.

The organization was born when the couple traveled to the Philippines as medical volunteers to repair children’s cleft lips and palates. About 300 families showed up seeking care for their children, but volunteers could treat only 40. Before leaving, the Magees promised to return.

One of 12 children, Magee earned his medical degree from George Washington University and his dental surgery degree from the University of Maryland. He left his plastic surgery practice in 2016 to dedicate all his energy to Operation Smile.

FAVORITE SONG: “The Eagle and the Hawk,” by John Denver

SISTER DONNA MARKHAM

PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA, ALEXANDRIA

The first woman to lead Catholic Charities USA in its 110-year history, Markham oversees 167 member agencies serving 13 million people each year. It is the largest private network of social service organizations in the United States.

An Adrian Dominican sister, Markham frequently speaks out for the oppressed, advocating for policies to eliminate systemic racism and to protect Americans on the brink of homelessness.

In April 2021, Markham, who is in her sixth year leading Catholic Charities, wrote a letter to a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on border security, facilitation and operations, encouraging lawmakers to enact more humane immigration policies.

“Hearing of the root causes that compel families to make the difficult decision of sending their children to our country in the hope that they may reunite with family members simply to survive should cause all Americans to pause and contemplate such a decision,” she wrote.

A clinical psychologist, Markham led a behavioral health institute in Ohio and served as prioress general of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. Her name was a clue on the TV show “Jeopardy!” in 2017.

ELIZABETH A. McCLANAHAN

CEO, VIRGINIA TECH FOUNDATION, BLACKSBURG

A former Supreme Court of Virginia justice, McClanahan became the Virginia Tech Foundation’s CEO on June 1. The foundation manages the university’s $1.3 billion endowment.

Before taking the job, she served as president and dean of the Appalachian School of Law. There, McClanahan established a partnership among the school, Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business and Ballad Health for a project combining health and legal services at a single point of care.

After earning her bachelor’s degree from William & Mary and her law degree from the University of Dayton School of Law, McClanahan launched her career as an Abingdon attorney. She later served as chief deputy in the state attorney general’s office.

Lawmakers appointed McClanahan to the Virginia Court of Appeals in 2003. In 2011, they tapped her for the Supreme Court of Virginia, where she stayed until 2019.

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Zip-lining at 45 mph at 6,500-foot altitude in Colorado

FAVORITE BEVERAGE: S.Pellegrino sparkling mineral water

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT MY WORK: Providing opportunities for students to learn, grow, innovate, create, invent — to achieve their goals and dreams and improve the human condition

NEERAJ MEHTA

INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNITED WAY WORLDWIDE, ALEXANDRIA

United Way Worldwide tapped Mehta as its interim president and CEO on March 1, following the departure of longtime leader Brian Gallagher.

Mehta has been associated with United Way as a donor, advocate and volunteer for the past 20 years. He was previously chair of the United Way’s USA board of trustees and a member of its Worldwide board of trustees.

Gallagher abruptly resigned in March, amid a third-party law firm’s examination into how United Way leadership had investigated internal claims of sexual harassment and discrimination. The firm found that United Way Worldwide had not engaged in “actionable harassment, discrimination or retaliation” and had observed “appropriate processes and procedures,” though it recommended that the organization review those procedures.

The world’s largest privately funded nonprofit, United Way works to improve education, strengthen individual financial stability and build healthier communities.

Mehta formerly served as Synchrony Financial’s chief commercial officer and executive vice president and CEO, payment solutions. He is also the former president and CEO, commercial distribution finance, for GE Capital.

JENNIFER MORRIS

CEO, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, ARLINGTON

After spending a quarter of a century working to protect the environment, Morris became The Nature Conservancy’s CEO in May 2020.

Due to the pandemic, Morris, who lives in Washington, D.C., met her new colleagues and volunteers mostly over Zoom. COVID-19 lockdowns also meant Morris and her team couldn’t travel to Brazil to coach planters working on a reforestation project developed by The Nature Conservancy in partnership with local government there. Instead, they sent the farmers how-to videos over a social messaging app.

Things have changed quite a bit since Morris launched her career 30 years ago teaching English in a small village in Namibia.

She holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and prior to helming The Nature Conservancy, Morris was president of Arlington-based nonprofit Conservation International, where she worked for more than two decades. In that post, she oversaw programs across 29 countries, impacting more than 1 billon acres of protected land.

TIM ROSE

CEO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA FOUNDATION, CHARLOTTESVILLE

The longtime leader of U.Va.’s foundation, Rose works with his team to provide financial services and solutions to benefit Mr. Jefferson’s University and 23 university-related foundations and organizations. In the role, he also oversees a broad range of real estate services supporting the university, serving as steward for about 5,200 acres of university properties, including the Boar’s Head Resort and its Birdwood Golf Course in Charlottesville, as well as the campus’s fraternity and sorority housing.

In March, the U.Va. board of visitors’ building and grounds committee approved a proposal for a 215-room, $130.5 million hotel and conference center at the corner of Emmet Street and Ivy Road. The hotel’s design team includes architects Deborah Berke Partners of New York and Norfolk-based Hanbury.

Earlier in his career, Rose served as an assistant vice president for administration at U.Va. He also held positions in student affairs for Miami University in Ohio and James Madison University.

After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Miami University, Rose earned his doctorate from U.Va.

LAWRENCE A. ‘LARRY’ SELZER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE CONSERVATION FUND, ARLINGTON

For two decades, Selzer has led the Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit that aims to restore nature while creating economic and recreational opportunities. Founded in 1985, the fund has protected more than 8 million acres across America.

Selzer enjoyed a big win in June, when an Alaska native village corporation agreed to sell 44,000 acres of land as permanent conservation easements to the Conservation Fund for $18.3 million. The easements will cover a portion of what would have been the northern transportation route for the proposed Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska, a wrinkle that may prove to be an obstacle to the controversial mining project.

As a kid growing up in Connecticut, Selzer enjoyed watching Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” TV show. He earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at Wesleyan University, going on to conduct research on marine mammals and seabird populations. Later, Selzer received his MBA from the University of Virginia.

Today, he sits on the boards for the Weyerhaeuser Co., a timberland business, and the American Bird Conservancy.

Staton

TRAVIS STATON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNITED WAY OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, ABINGDON

Since 2005, Staton has led the United Way of Southwest Virginia, which works to create solutions for improving the region’s health, education and financial stability.

During Staton’s tenure, he’s guided the organization through eight different mergers and acquisitions, and he now oversees operations across 17 counties and four cities — nearly 20% of the state. In 2018, Charity Navigator named the United Way of Southwest Virginia one of the 10 best United Way chapters out of more than 1,200 nationwide.

In November 2020, the United Way of Southwest Virginia made headlines for a report it commissioned that found that half of Southwest Virginia households earned less than basic living costs in 2018 — and that was before the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. “Even though the cost of living in the region is lower than in the rest of the state, it is higher than what most residents earn,” Staton said.

In 2018, Gov. Ralph Northam appointed Staton to the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. Staton has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from East Tennessee State University.

STACEY D. STEWART

PRESIDENT AND CEO, MARCH OF DIMES INC., ARLINGTON

In recent months, Stewart has joined forces with three other Black female CEOs of health-related nonprofits to advocate for policy changes to end racial disparities in health.

Whenever Stewart gets the mic at their roundtables, she’s quick to point out that Black women are three to four times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related causes.

“Black women often articulate that they don’t feel respected and heard,” Stewart told Forbes magazine in November 2020. “Often, they present with symptoms, and their symptoms are dismissed.”

Heading the March of Dimes since 2017, Stewart does everything from overseeing the organization’s global medical research agenda and U.S. health policy agenda to directing brand management initiatives for the nonprofit, which works to improve the health of mothers and babies.

Stewart started her career on Wall Street, but she quickly discovered she was more interested in serving the public. She became chief diversity officer and senior vice president for the office of community and charitable giving at Fannie Mae, as well as president and CEO for the Fannie Mae Foundation. She was also the U.S. president of United Way Worldwide.

Media

DOUG DAVIS

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND REGIONAL MANAGER, NEXSTAR MEDIA INC., PORTSMOUTH

Davis is the point person in Virginia for the country’s largest broadcast television group.

Based in Portsmouth, home to WAVY and WVBT’s studios, the New Jersey native came up through the sales and management side of the business, serving in account executive, sales manager and station manager roles in Hampton Roads for more than 15 years before being named president and general manager of Norfolk’s ABC and Fox affiliates in 2005.

Davis became senior vice president and regional manager in January 2017, and now his responsibilities include stations in North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

With 199 stations in 116 markets and $4.5 billion in 2020 revenue, Nexstar’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group, has a big reach. It employs more than 300 people in Virginia at stations in Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke and Bristol. A Duke University alumnus, Davis served as president of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters and was a board member of the Fox Affiliate Board of Governors. He is also a member of the development advisory board for the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.

Kerger

PAULA A. KERGER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, PBS, ARLINGTON

As the head of PBS, the nation’s largest noncommercial broadcasting network, Kerger has the distinction of being its longest-serving top executive, becoming its president and CEO in 2006.

During Kerger’s tenure, PBS, which employs around 550, has seen its audiences grow, moving from the 14th most-watched network in America to No. 7 in the course of a decade, with more than 100 million monthly broadcast viewers. Programming under Kerger’s watch has included the wildly successful period drama “Downton Abbey,” the Ken Burns and Lynn Novick docuseries “The Vietnam War” and the children’s show “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.”

Kerger also launched the PBS Kids 24/7 broadcast and streaming channel in 2017 and oversaw the development of PBS LearningMedia to provide content for teachers in the classroom. She is regularly included in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment Power 100.”

A director of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a member of Meredith Corp.’s board of directors, Kerger was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Educational Broadcasting Corp., the parent company of WNET New York.

DAVID T. LOUGEE

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TEGNA INC., TYSONS

The past year has been eventful for Lougee and Tegna, the Gannett Co. Inc. spinoff company that owns 68 television stations in 54 markets, earning $2.9 billion in 2020. The company was enmeshed in a proxy battle earlier this year with majority stakeholder Standard General LP, which argued that Tegna did not seriously consider purchasing offers last year from Gray Television and Apollo Global Management Inc.

Lougee, the former executive vice president of media relations for Belo Corp., a company purchased by Gannett in 2013, landed in hot water earlier this year when details came to light of a 2014 incident in which Lougee mistook a Black board nominee for a parking valet following an industry event. He apologized to Adonis Hoffman, who withdrew his nomination to Tegna’s board in 2014, but Hoffman wrote in a letter to Lougee that he took issue with the CEO’s failure to apologize or accept responsibility for the incident until it was made public in 2021.

A member of the boards of BMI and the Broadcasters Foundation of America, Lougee is also a past chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters and the NBC Affiliates Board.

TIMOTHY J. O’SHAUGHNESSY

PRESIDENT AND CEO, GRAHAM HOLDINGS CO., ARLINGTON

Formerly known as The Washington Post Co., Graham Holdings Co. was created in 2013 after the newspaper’s sale to Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos for $250 million. Although he does not bear the Graham name, O’Shaughnessy is part of the storied publishing family as son-in-law of Chairman Donald E. Graham.

O’Shaughnessy came to Graham Holdings in 2015 after serving as CEO of LivingSocial, the online marketplace he co-founded in 2007 (now owned by Groupon).

In June, Graham Holdings acquired the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Leaf Group Ltd., a consumer internet company that reaches audiences in lifestyle categories via brands such as Well + Good, Livestrong.com and Saatchi Art. The cash acquisition, valued at $323 million, came after Graham Holdings reported first-quarter revenue of $712.5 million, down 3% from 2020’s first quarter.

The Georgetown University graduate, who also serves as an executive committee member of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Federal City Council, is pursuing greater diversification of the company’s assets, which include Slate.com and the education company Kaplan Inc. New avenues include purchases in the hospitality, automotive and lifestyle sectors.

GORDON P. ROBERTSON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK; PRESIDENT, OPERATION BLESSING, VIRGINIA BEACH

A graduate of the Washington and Lee University School of Law, the Yale-educated Robertson answered an evangelical calling while on a mission to India, and after a decade of practicing law, he moved to the Philippines in 1994.

The son of TV evangelist Pat Robertson, who at age 91 still appears regularly on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s “The 700 Club,” Gordon Robertson spent his early adulthood founding a missionary training center, Operation Blessing Philippines, as well as an Asian outpost of CBN, the Virginia Beach-based religious programming television network his father founded in 1960. In 1999, the younger Robertson returned to the United States, and he became head of the network in 2007.

CBN’s content now includes “700 Club Interactive,” topical faith-based shows and franchises such as “Next Gen Voices” and the animated series “Superbook.” Gordon Robertson also co-hosts “The 700 Club” with his father, and he’s a member of the network’s board of directors.

MIKE REED

CEO, GANNETT CO. INC., McLEAN

It’s been an eventful year so far for McLean-based media company Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper publisher, since it was acquired for $1.1 billion in 2019 by GateHouse Media, the company Reed has headed since 2006.

In June, Gannett’s The Indianapolis Star won a 2021 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. The company also made Forbes magazine’s list of Best Employers for Diversity this year and auctioned off for charity a non-fungible token image of the front page of a Florida Today edition specially made for astronauts on the 1971 Apollo 14 lunar mission led by Cmdr. Alan Shepard.

Financially, Gannett has had ups and downs. In announcing the company’s first-quarter results, Reed reported that new digital-only subscriptions surpassed 1.2 million — a $23.2 million boost in the company’s digital-forward strategy. But print advertising was down 24.9%, and digital advertising and marketing service revenues were off 10.4%. However, in August, Gannett reported its first quarterly profit since its merger with GateHouse, with net income of $15 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Reed has served on the boards of the Newspaper Association of America and The Associated Press, as well as the advisory board at Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication and the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences board of visitors.

JIM VANDEHEI

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, AXIOS MEDIA INC., ARLINGTON

With the news site Politico, VandeHei rewrote the playbook for political journalism in the digital space. Fourteen years later, he’s moved on to an equally groundbreaking sequel.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, VandeHei reported for Roll Call, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post before co-founding digital news site Politico in 2007. Nine years and numerous awards later, he left Politico and, along with news veterans Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, launched Axios, a news site with a famous to-the-point article style. In March, Axios was considering merging with The Athletic, a subscription-based sports media outlet, but by May, the proposed deal fizzled out, The Wall Street Journal reported.

With 262 employees worldwide, including 123 in Virginia, Axios has become a multifaceted content provider, with $60 million in revenue last year.

In 2021, it launched two brand extensions: Axios HQ, an email product to assist companies with internal communications using Axios-style templates and its trademarked style guide, and Axios Local, a slate of daily newsletters. In late 2020, Axios also added North Carolina-based media company Charlotte Agenda to its expanding portfolio, which includes 25 newsletters, an HBO news series and podcasts.

CHARLIE WATKINS

PRESIDENT AND CEO, LANDMARK MEDIA ENTERPRISES AND DOMINION ENTERPRISES, NORFOLK

Watkins, who joined Landmark more than two decades ago, was named president and CEO of both Dominion Enterprises and Landmark Media Enterprises in 2018. He oversees strategy and performance for Dominion, a media and information services firm specializing in newspaper publishing, Internet publishing and software. It was started by the former Landmark Communications Inc., which owned The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press newspapers, among other publications.

Still controlled by the Batten family, Landmark has sold off several properties in recent years. In 2019 global investment management firm AMP Capital purchased Expedient from LME.

In May, Paxton Media Group finalized a deal to purchase Landmark Community Newspapers LLC, a chain of daily and weekly newspapers based in Shelbyville, Kentucky. In April, CoStar Group Inc. announced it had reached an agreement to purchase Homes.com, a division of Dominion Enterprises, for $156 million.

Watkins was president of a Duke Energy subsidiary before joining Landmark in 2000. He founded Expedient, a cloud-computing business owned by LME, and served as its CEO while simultaneously working as Landmark’s vice president of corporate development and new ventures.

Before entering private industry, Watkins served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear-trained officer. He’s a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and William & Mary’s business school.

Government | Politics

HALA AYALA

DELEGATE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES; DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR,PRINCE WILLIAM County

Part of the new guard of Democratic state lawmakers, Ayala won her seat in the House of Delegates in 2017 by defeating a five-term GOP incumbent. This spring, she beat a full field of opponents to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. If elected, Ayala would be the first woman to hold the job and the first woman of color ever elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Before entering electoral politics, Ayala was a cybersecurity specialist with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for 17 years. She also has spoken about being on public assistance twice in her life, including when she was pregnant. “I understand the struggles so many Virginia families face because I’ve lived them,” Ayala says.

After the Democrats regained power over both statehouses in 2019’s elections, Ayala rose to chief deputy whip and helped marshal votes for legalizing marijuana and abolishing the death penalty.

Ayala received an endorsement from Gov. Ralph Northam during the Democratic primary but also met with controversy when she accepted a $100,000 donation from Dominion Energy after promising in previous years to refuse money from the utility. She faces GOP nominee Winsome Sears on the November ballot.

JUSTIN FAIRFAX

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

Fairfax took a bold gamble running for the 2021 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but it didn’t pay off.

The former federal prosecutor and civil litigator was a rising star of the state Democratic Party when he won the lieutenant governorship in 2017, becoming only the second Black candidate to be elected to statewide office in Virginia. At that time, his prospects to run for governor looked good, but in 2019 two women accused him of sexual assault. The married father of two has said he was “falsely accused” of the alleged assaults, which date back to the early 2000s, and resisted calls to resign. No legal charges were brought against him, but his gubernatorial ambitions suffered irreparable damage. Fairfax finished a distant fourth in the crowded June 8 primary and will be out of office in January.

In June, a lawsuit he brought against CBS for what he characterized as a reckless disregard in airing interviews with his accusers was dismissed by a federal appeals court.

Pro-labor measures passed by the Democratic majority this year are “another step in our efforts to build an economy that works for all of us,” House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn says. Filler-Corn photo by Caroline Martin — Filler-Corn

EILEEN FILLER-CORN

SPEAKER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, FAIRFAX

Filler-Corn has come a long way in a short time. In 2010, she won her Fairfax County delegate seat by just 37 votes, but 10 years later, she was sworn in as the 56th speaker of Virginia’s House, the first woman and first Jew to hold the position. “Being the first is a privilege, and it comes with responsibility that I take with great seriousness,” she said at the ceremony.

Throughout her legislative career, Filler-Corn has been an advocate for gun control. Last year, she convened the House for a special summer session focusing partly on racial justice. She also shepherded through the House several gun-control bills, including a measure requiring universal background checks.

In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, a threshold that the amendment had to reach to become part of the U.S. Constitution, although the matter of whether the vote came too late is under court consideration.

Filler-Corn resigned from her position as government relations director at Albers & Co. before becoming speaker in 2020 and previously worked for Govs. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

The 2020 session led by the new Democratic majority was “the worst ... for business in the history of the commonwealth,” says Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, the house minority leader. — Gilbert

C. TODD GILBERT

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, SHENANDOAH

In an interview with Virginia Business this year, Gilbert said that one of his aims is to protect Virginia’s business climate and to oppose Democrats’ repeal of the state’s “almost sacred right-to-work law.” An attorney and former majority leader before party control flipped in 2020, Gilbert has served in the House since 2006.

The Republican has a reputation for sometimes combative rhetoric and made headlines in 2019 when he confronted Democratic Del. Kathy Tran on the House floor over her proposal to repeal some restrictions on abortions. The bill was subsequently tabled.

Gilbert is a rock-steady supporter of conservative values. The Family Foundation named him “Legislator of the Year” in 2013, and he received the same honor from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Virginia State Police Association.

He has an ‘A’ rating from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his pro-business voting record and an ‘A-Plus’ career rating from the National Rifle Association.

The University of Virginia and Southern Methodist University alum is in private law practice in the Shenandoah Valley. Previously, he was lead prosecutor in the Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

KEVIN HALL

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA LOTTERY, RICHMOND

As executive director of the Virginia Lottery since 2018, Hall has overseen three record years of sales and profits, partly with the introduction of online ticket sales in 2020. In fiscal year 2021, the lottery brought in a record $3.26 billion in revenue, a 52% increase over the previous year, and contributed $765 million to public schools.

“Online players have shattered all of our expectations and allowed the Virginia Lottery to set the standard as the nation’s most successful online lottery launch,” Hall said.

A former news director and anchor at radio station WRVA in Richmond, Hall was a spokesman and adviser to U.S. Sen. Mark Warner from 2009 to 2017 and served as press secretary to Govs. Warner and Tim Kaine.

In the last couple years, the lottery has been given regulatory responsibility over newly legal commercial casinos and sports betting enterprises in Virginia, expanding Hall’s authority. In the first five months of this year, Virginia bettors made more than $1 billion in online sports wagers. And casinos are under development in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth, with Richmond voters considering a fifth casino in a November referendum.

CHARNIELE L. HERRING

HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, ALEXANDRIA

In 2009, Herring (no relation to Attorney General Mark Herring) became the first Black woman elected to represent a Northern Virginia district in the House of Delegates. She now holds the second most powerful seat in the statehouse, which has been under Democratic leadership since 2020. In addition to serving as house majority leader, Herring chairs the Courts of Justice Committee, after advocating for criminal justice reforms during her tenure on the state Crime Commission.

Born into a U.S. Army family, Herring was a ballet student and also found herself in a homeless shelter for six months after her mother was laid off from her job. She then earned an economics degree from George Mason University and a law degree from Catholic University. Before entering electoral politics, Herring started her own law firm and is now general counsel to Admin & Logistics Inc., a government contractor.

Among her legislative accomplishments are the state’s newly enacted voting rights laws, including automatic voter registration for anyone who gets a Virginia driver’s license, repeal of the state’s voter ID law and making Election Day a state holiday. In an interview with The New York Times, Herring said, “This is what my ancestors fought hard for.”

MARK HERRING

ATTORNEY GENERAL, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

If reelected in November, Herring would be the first Virginia attorney general to serve a third term. In June, he defeated up-and-comer Del. Jerrauld C. “Jay” Jones in the Democratic primary, despite Gov. Ralph Northam’s endorsement of Jones.

A University of Virginia and University of Richmond School of Law alum, Herring started his political career as a Loudoun County supervisor and served as a state senator from 2006 to 2014. He also was the Lovettsville town attorney. Herring has been a consistent proponent of Democratic values during his time as attorney general, refusing in 2014 to defend the Virginia Marriage Amendment, which outlawed same-sex marriage.

Herring also has defended the federal Affordable Care Act in the U.S. Supreme Court, joined 25 other state attorneys general in calling for a federal law to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and has pushed for the removal of the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, a matter that has been in civil court since 2020.

In 2019, he was entangled in Northam’s blackface photo controversy after Herring apologized for wearing blackface to a party as a U.Va. undergraduate.

JANET D. HOWELL

CHAIR, SENATE FINANCE AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, RESTON

First elected in 1991, Howell is Virginia’s longest-serving female legislator. She also was the first woman to be seated on the Senate’s finance and courts committees.

A former legislative assistant in the state Senate, Howell chaired the State Board of Social Services before her election to the Senate seat representing parts of Fairfax and Arlington counties.

In 2020, as the Democratic party took power in the General Assembly, Howell passed several personally significant bills, including allowing no-excuse in-person absentee voting, reforming early childhood programs, requiring licensure of student loan services and reorganizing the state’s economic development agencies. During the McDonnell administration, Howell gained some notoriety when, in protest of a law to require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, she attached an amendment requiring men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test if they wanted to get erectile dysfunction medication. In 2020, the Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House repealed the mandatory ultrasound.

This year, Howell has thrown her support behind increasing funding for underfunded historically Black colleges and universities. “Righting this historic wrong [is] not only possible but essential,” she says.

TIM KAINE

SENATOR, UNITED STATES SENATE, RICHMOND

Virginia’s junior senator started out as a Harvard-trained lawyer, mainly representing clients who faced housing discrimination. Then, starting in 1994, he won election to a series of public offices of escalating importance, starting with a seat on the Richmond City Council, then moving on to become mayor and lieutenant governor.

In 2006, Kaine became Virginia’s 70th governor. His administration had to grapple with the Great Recession, as well as the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, which claimed 32 lives and remains the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013, Kaine sits on the armed services, budget and foreign relations committees. Known for his “dad” persona and Spanish language skills, he was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election.

A devout Catholic, Kaine is married to former state Secretary of Education Anne Holton, the daughter of Republican Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr. In 2021, Kaine was part of a group of senators crafting an immigration reform bill that would likely include a path to citizenship.

TERRY McAULIFFE

FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR; DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR, McLEAN

Ever since he was introduced as the “once and future governor of Virginia” by then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in March 2020, McAuliffe has been viewed as likely to win a second, nonconsecutive term as governor.

McAuliffe won the Democratic nomination handily over four other primary candidates. In this fall’s gubernatorial race, the state’s 72nd governor faces Republican political newcomer Glenn Youngkin in what experts predict will be the most expensive race in Virginia history.

If he wins, McAuliffe will have a friendlier state legislature in his second term, with both houses currently controlled by the Democratic Party. During his first term, McAuliffe says, he functioned as a “brick wall” against abortion restrictions by the then-GOP-controlled legislature while also promoting the state’s trade and business climate.

If elected governor again, McAuliffe has promised to pursue a $15 per hour minimum wage and invest $2 billion in education.

The co-founder of Federal City National Bank, McAuliffe has spent much of the past two years campaigning for other Democrats, including Biden, who returned the favor in July with an appearance for McAuliffe.

JASON MIYARES

DELEGATE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES; REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, VIRGINIA BEACH

A delegate since 2016, Miyares is the Republican nominee for attorney general and faces incumbent Democrat Mark Herring on November ballots. He graduated from James Madison University and William & Mary Law School and then worked as a local prosecutor in Virginia Beach, where he grew up. His mother is a Cuban immigrant, and if elected, Miyares would be the first Cuban American attorney general in Virginia.

A staunch conservative, Miyares criticized police reforms passed by Democratic legislators last year, and he opposed Medicaid expansion in 2019. The same year, Miyares proposed a so-called Red Flag bill that would allow the removal of firearms from a person under an emergency order of protection, a bill introduced weeks after the May 2019 Virginia Beach mass shooting. The bill failed in committee. In 2021, he was the only GOP co-sponsor of a bill requiring casino operators to be trained in spotting human trafficking before receiving a state license.

Debating Herring in June, Miyares attempted to link the two-term AG to a rise in crime rates and controversial decisions made by the Virginia Parole Board, which caught flak for improperly paroling the convicted killer of a police officer.

THOMAS K. ‘TOMMY’ NORMENT JR.

SENATE MINORITY LEADER, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, WILLIAMSBURG

Norment has been a member of the state Senate since 1992 and has led its Republican caucus for 13 years. He sits on several powerful committees, including finance and appropriations, commerce and labor, and judiciary. He is a strong proponent of Virginia’s right-to-work laws and backed marijuana decriminalization, although he stopped short of supporting this year’s measures legalizing recreational use.

In 2021, Norment was one of four legislators who named citizen members to the state redistricting commission to draw new districts based on the 2020 U.S. Census. He also joined three Republican senators in voting to censure state Sen. Amanda Chase for “conduct unbecoming of a senator” in January.

Norment himself is no stranger to controversy, having been charged with a DUI in 2001, and in 2013, his affair with a lobbyist became public. Late last year, Norment, a Virginia Military Institute alum, compared scrutiny of the school and its superintendent’s resignation to a “lynching,” amid extensive allegations of racist incidents at VMI. Norment also holds a law degree from William & Mary.

RALPH NORTHAM

GOVERNOR, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

An Eastern Shore native, Northam graduated from Virginia Military Institute and Eastern Virginia Medical School, becoming a pediatric neurologist
and serving as an Army surgeon during the first Gulf War. In 2007, he won the first of his two terms as state senator, then won the 2013 lieutenant governor’s race. In 2018, he became Virginia’s 73rd governor.

Northam’s term can be divided into two parts: before the blackface photo and after. Although the governor says he wasn’t in the offensive yearbook photo, which was made public in 2019, many in his own party called for his resignation.

Northam remained in office and dedicated himself to doing more to promote racial equity and inclusion. With a Democratic-controlled legislature, he has led the state’s efforts to eliminate the death penalty, legalize marijuana, increase Virginia’s minimum wage and bolster voting rights protections. He also appointed the state’s first diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

Northam was a steady voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging Virginians to wear masks and get vaccinated. In January, he will end a four-year term that many consider the most progressive in Virginia’s history.

LARRY SABATO

ROBERT KENT GOOCH PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE

Sabato has been a high-profile figure at the University of Virginia for half a century. As far back as 1974, U.Va.’s newspaper reported that Sabato, then president of the student government, was better known on campus than the university’s own president.

Now a political pundit known to millions, Sabato has taught more than 20,000 students and authored more than two dozen books. In 1998, he founded U.Va.’s Center for Politics.

Although his Crystal Ball website continues to have a strong following, Sabato incorrectly predicted that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 presidency. He gamely admitted to the misstep in the Crystal Ball article, “Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.”

Sabato, who didn’t hold back on criticism of President Donald Trump, was recently targeted by the Republican Party of Virginia, which called for the university to investigate Sabato’s tweets lambasting Trump.

A Rhodes scholar in his youth, Sabato told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Trump’s behavior and the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection led to a change in his tone, as did witnessing neo-Nazis marching through U.Va. during the 2017 Unite the Right Rally.

RICHARD ‘DICK’ SASLAW

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER, SENATE OF VIRGINIA, FAIRFAX

One of the Virginia legislature’s longest-serving members, Saslaw is now the senior member in the Senate, where he’s served since 1980.

He’s also the legislature’s top recipient of funding from Dominion Energy, and more progressive Democrats have accused him of supporting bills favorable to the utility. In 2021, the Saslaw-led Senate Commerce and Labor Committee killed bills to reform the state’s electric utility rate review system.

Saslaw is known as one of the more moderate members of his party, which is now back in control after two decades in the minority.

The business-friendly Saslaw is a prominent voice for gun control, and in 2019, he proposed raising the age for gun purchases, as well as banning the sale of rifle “bump stocks,” which increase firing rates. His bill was short-lived in the then-Republican-led Senate, but it earned him an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association. He also supported law enforcement reforms last year during the summer special session of the General Assembly.

In 2018, for his support of affordable health care and the expansion of Medicaid benefits, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association named Saslaw a “Healthcare Hero.”

WINSOME SEARS

REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, WINCHESTER

“I am running because there are adult decisions that need to be made,” says Sears. The Jamaica-born former state delegate and U.S. Marine who later ran a homeless shelter now has a shot at making some of those decisions after beating five other candidates for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.

If successful, Sears, who faces Del. Hala Ayala in the general election this November, would be the first woman to be Virginia’s lieutenant governor and the first woman of color elected to statewide office in Virginia.

Sears served one term in the Virginia House from 2002 to 2004, representing Norfolk, then failed in her 2004 congressional bid. In 2018, she called on GOP voters to choose her as a write-in candidate for U.S. senator in place of nominee Corey Stewart, calling out his past association with white supremacists and his support for the Confederate flag.

Sears, whose campaign photo shows her holding a rifle, is endorsed by the National Rifle Association. She owns an appliance and plumbing repair business in Winchester.

LUKE TORIAN

CHAIR, HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, VIRGINIA HOUSE OF DELEGATES, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

One of Virginia’s political stalwarts, Torian has been elected six times to represent Prince William County in the House of Delegates, mostly without opposition. This year, he has a challenger, Republican Maria Martin, but Torian had $577,738 in his campaign war chest as of June 30, compared to $9,640 for Martin.

In 2020, when Democrats gained control of the General Assembly, Torian became the first Black chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. The pastor of First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries, Torian holds degrees from Virginia Union University and Howard University. He has sponsored dozens of successful bills, many in the areas of education, housing and criminal justice. The Virginia Education Association has given him its Solid as a Rock Award five times, and the Virginia Governmental Employees Association named him its 2020 Legislator of the Year.

In 2021, Torian introduced what would become the Virginia Community Policing Act, requiring police to collect demographic information on all drivers they stop, as well as the reason for the stop and whether a warning or citation was issued, data that will be analyzed by the state Department of Criminal Justice Services to investigate racial bias.

MARK WARNER

SENATOR, UNITED STATES SENATE, ALEXANDRIA

Virginia’s 69th governor, Warner is now the state’s senior senator, serving his third term in the U.S. Senate. Known as a moderate who often works with colleagues across the aisle, Warner is chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and serves on the finance subcommittees governing energy, natural resources and infrastructure, as well as international trade.

He is one of just a few Senate Democrats to oppose President Joe Biden’s bid to raise the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28%. As governor, he promoted the state as business friendly. He lowered some taxes while increasing sales and cigarette taxes, adding about $1.5 billion annually to state coffers. After he left office, CNBC named Virginia the best state for business in 2007, the first year the cable business news network began ranking the states.

Before holding public office, Warner co-founded the company that became Nextel and invested in hundreds of startups. His net worth reportedly exceeds $200 million.

Most recently, Warner has been in the news for the pivotal role he played in gathering bipartisan support for Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure package proposal.

GLENN YOUNGKIN

REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR, GREAT FALLS

A newcomer to state politics, Youngkin is the wealthiest major party candidate to run for governor and has staked millions of his own money in his campaign, beginning with the six-way battle he won for the gubernatorial nomination this spring. A former co-CEO of The Carlyle Group private equity firm, Youngkin is reportedly worth $300 million.

A graduate of Rice University and Harvard Business School, Youngkin grew up in Richmond and Virginia Beach. He started a career in finance with First Boston and worked for management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

A Republican in an increasingly blue-voting state, Youngkin is trying to appeal to both Trump devotees (he has received support tweets from the former president) and undecided suburban voters. In a leaked video, Youngkin said he would limit his comments about abortion because it could alienate moderate voters. He has acknowledged that Joe Biden is the rightful president but also participated in an “election integrity” rally at Liberty University in August.

Youngkin touts his business experience and says he will prioritize job creation and manufacturing if he defeats his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, this fall.

Education

MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH

PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, ETTRICK

While many college presidents enjoy basketball, few have Abdullah’s moves. In March, a video of him tying up an opponent went viral, receiving millions of views and appearing on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

Abdullah has overseen dramatic turnarounds at Virginia State University since he became its 14th president in 2016.

Prior to his tenure, VSU was running a $19 million deficit and was put on academic warning by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Now VSU is on better financial footing and fully accredited by SACSCOC.

In 2018, Virginia State was named HBCU of the Year by HBCU Digest, which also named Abdullah its 2017 HBCU Male President of the Year.

Abdullah has overseen the establishment of an advisory board for LGBTQIA+ inclusion and implemented a 2020-2025 strategic plan. Last year, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $30 million to the university, its largest-ever single-donor gift.

FIRST JOB: When I was 13 years old, I was a counselor for mentally challenged young people. It was a lot of fun and great to feel as though I was making a difference in someone’s life.

JAVAUNE ADAMS-GASTON

PRESIDENT, NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY, NORFOLK

A Washington, D.C., native, Adams-Gaston took the helm of Norfolk State University, a public, historically Black institution, in 2019. Since then, the school has secured more than $7 million in public and private partnerships, including with Apple Inc., Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Dominion Energy Inc. Additionally, the 5,457-student school has opened its NSU Innovation Center, a business incubator aimed at helping the school establish job and training pipelines in Hampton Roads.

Previously, as senior vice president for student life at The Ohio State University, Adams-Gaston dramatically increased student-organization activities, expanded the school’s campus living focus and implemented the national Second-Year Transformational Experience (STEP) program. She also helped the university raise $29 million toward an advanced student affairs development program and assisted in some of the school’s biggest construction projects.

NSU is part of the Virginia College Affordability Network, which provides free tuition and academic enrichment for Pell Grant-eligible students from Hampton Roads. The university, which employs 1,558 workers and 248 full-time faculty members, is also looking to expand its NSU Preschool Academy, a full- and part-time early childhood education and care program.

Adams-Gaston serves on the Hampton Roads Chamber Board of Directors.

JONATHAN R. ALGER

PRESIDENT, JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, HARRISONBURG

In a year when many institutions were adversely impacted by the pandemic, JMU, under the leadership of Alger, the university’s sixth president, partnered with the Harrisonburg community on a Stop the Spread campaign and aided in local vaccine administration. The school also renamed three campus buildings that had honored Confederates.

Hired in 2012, Alger had previously served as senior vice president and general counsel at Rutgers University and as assistant general counsel for the University of Michigan, where he was a key adviser in two successful U.S. Supreme Court cases on diversity in college admissions.

His key initiatives include JMU’s Valley Scholars program, which offers full scholarships to first-generation Shenandoah Valley college students from low-income backgrounds.

He also has overseen major expansions, as well as the school’s $200 million Unleashed fundraising campaign, which reached its goal nearly a year and a half early. During the last year, JMU opened its 8,500-seat Atlantic Union Bank Center arena, the $72.1 million College of Business building and its new Dukes Dining Hall.

Alger received his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in history at Swarthmore College and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

PETER BLAKE

DIRECTOR, STATE COUNCIL OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

As the state’s point man for higher education, Blake worked during the pandemic to help institutions address issues related to COVID-19 prevention, testing and mitigation. He also helped develop Pathways to Opportunity, a statewide strategic plan for increasing access to higher education, making it more equitable and affordable. Additionally, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia entered into a partnership with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce to create the Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership internship program.

Blake has worked in higher education for 30 years, starting as a research analyst at SCHEV. He subsequently became a legislative analyst for the Virginia House Appropriations Committee, before serving as the state’s deputy secretary of education from 2002 to 2005 and secretary of education from 2005 to 2006. Blake was then vice chancellor for workforce development services for the Virginia Community College System before returning to SCHEV as interim director in 2011. He became director the following year. Blake serves on the boards of Lead Virginia and the Richmond Public Library Foundation.

HOBBY/PASSION: In the last several years, I have become more interested in walking and hiking, and have a reputation of forcing friends and family to get outside.

LANCE R. COLLINS

VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH INNOVATION CAMPUS, ALEXANDRIA

Since Collins became vice president and executive director of the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in August 2020, a number of milestones have been achieved. A strategic plan for the $1 billion campus — currently being built out in Alexandria — has been developed for graduate education in computer science and computer engineering. In May, The Boeing Co. was named the campus’s first foundational partner, with a $50 million, multiyear commitment.

The inaugural Innovation Campus class — about 75 students based in the Washington, D.C., region pursuing master’s degrees in computer science and computer engineering — started in fall 2020; the campus’s first academic building, an 11-story, 300,000-square-foot structure, is scheduled to open in 2024.

During the pandemic, Collins mobilized alumni and students to build more than 70 custom desks for local low-income children doing virtual schooling. He also collaborated with Manumission Tour Co. to help inform students, staff and alumni about the contributions of African Americans in Alexandria. Collins serves on the board of trustees for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Foundation and The Mitre Corp., as well as the advisory boards of the engineering colleges of the University of Delaware and the University of Michigan.

GLENN DuBOIS

CHANCELLOR, VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM, RICHMOND

The longest-serving chancellor in the Virginia Community College System’s 55-year history, DuBois is himself a community college graduate who has led the organization since 2001, seeing it through three strategic plans and into its fourth, Opportunity 2027.

In August, DuBois announced he plans to retire in June 2022, after having built the college system into the state’s leading provider of workforce training.

In addition to helping community colleges navigate the pandemic, DuBois played an integral role in establishing Gov. Ralph Northam’s G3 (Get a Skill. Get a Job. Get Ahead.) program, which helps fully pay tuition for low- and moderate-income Virginians pursuing degrees in high-demand fields. In May 2020, DuBois announced the launch of CollegeAnywhereVA.org, an online portal connecting students with affordable online courses and advisers who can streamline application and course enrollment processes.

DuBois is a supporter of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, which he founded. He also founded the Great Expectations program for foster youth through the foundation. He sits on the boards of VFCCE, Rebuilding America’s Middle Class, Virginia529 and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. Virginia’s 23 community colleges employ roughly 18,000 faculty and staff members each year, serving a combined 250,000 individuals.

TRACY FITZSIMMONS

PRESIDENT, SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY, WINCHESTER

As Shenandoah University’s 16th president, Fitzsimmons leads an institution of 4,200 students and 900 faculty and staff at its 129-acre campus in Winchester, as well as sites in Clarke, Fairfax and Loudoun counties.

During the pandemic, SU saw its highest enrollment ever, continued in-person instruction uninterrupted and experienced no layoffs, furloughs or salary cuts. The university’s pharmacy school developed a COVID-19 saliva test to randomly sample asymptomatic students, and the pharmacy faculty sequenced samples to identify variants. The school also hosted a mass vaccination site, providing more than 70,000 shots.

Fitzsimmons serves on the boards of Shenandoah Telecommunications Inc. and GO Virginia’s Region 8 council. She is a past president of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, past chair of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and past president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She also serves on the boards of the Loudoun Education Foundation and Blue Ridge Region BB&T Bank.

Fitzsimmons graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, earning a bachelor’s degree in politics. She also earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Stanford University in Latin American studies and political science, respectively.

KEVIN F. HALLOCK

PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, RICHMOND

An economist and compensation and labor market scholar, Hallock took the helm at UR on Aug. 15, 2021.

His leadership of the university comes on the heels of a pandemic year that also saw controversy erupt after the UR board of trustees decided in February and March to retain the names of two buildings named for historical figures who had enslaved people and supported racial segregation. Following an uproar, the board announced in April it would “suspend” its decision. Hallock’s predecessor, Ronald A. Crutcher, the school’s first Black president, had spoken in favor of the board’s initial decision.

Prior to joining UR, Hallock served as the dean of Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business. During his time at Cornell, he also chaired the Department of Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Hallock graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and earned his master’s degree and doctorate in economics from Princeton University.

WILLIAM R. HARVEY

PRESIDENT, HAMPTON UNIVERSITY, HAMPTON

In the world of academia, few presidents have had the longevity of Harvey, who has served since 1978 as president of Hampton University, a historically Black school founded in 1868 to provide education to freedmen. In December 2020, the university announced that Harvey would retire in June 2022 after more than four decades as president. He is the eighth longest-serving university president currently serving in the United States and the 28th longest-serving in U.S. history.

During his tenure, Hampton has launched 92 academic degrees, added 29 buildings to its campus and grown its endowment from $29 million to more than $300 million. In July 2020, the university received its largest-ever donation, a $30 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc. founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos.

The president and full owner of the Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Houghton, Michigan, Harvey has said he would like to explore developing a slavery museum after retirement.

He and his wife, Norma, have donated more than $8.5 million to the university. Its William R. Harvey Leadership Institute bears his name, the main thoroughfare through the 314-acre campus is William Harvey Way and the library is named for the Harveys.

BRIAN O. HEMPHILL

PRESIDENT, OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY, NORFOLK

In February, Old Dominion University announced that Radford University President Brian Hemphill had been selected as ODU’s ninth president, succeeding John Broderick, the university’s president of 13 years.

Hemphill, who has led Radford since 2016, takes the helm as ODU is partnering with Norfolk State University to develop a regional School of Public Health.

It’s something he definitely knows about. In 2019, Hemphill negotiated a merger with the Jefferson College of Health Sciences and a partnership with Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic to create Radford University Carilion. Radford’s nursing program is now the second largest in Virginia.

During Hemphill’s tenure, Radford also received its largest-ever individual and alumni gifts, while growing its endowment by $20 million. Radford also saw its total enrollment reach a record 11,870 students in fall 2019, and the school received $101 million in state funding for the largest capital project in Radford history, its Artis Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity.

Before joining Radford, Hemphill was president of West Virginia State University. He received his doctorate in higher education administration and policy studies from the University of Iowa.

DONNA PRICE HENRY

CHANCELLOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA’S COLLEGE AT WISE, WISE

Since becoming U.Va. Wise’s chancellor in 2013, Henry has launched the school’s $100 million Honor the Future fundraising campaign and its strategic plan for 2030.

In fall 2019, she implemented innovate2eleVAte, a program that provided iPads, smart pencils and keyboards to students and faculty. That made it easier for the school to transition to online classes amid the pandemic.

Also a professor of biology at U.Va. Wise, Henry earned her bachelor’s degree in biological basis of behavior, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of Pennsylvania, and she earned her doctorate in physiology from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Henry serves on the boards of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council and the Southwest Virginia Public Education Consortium. She is also on the leadership council for the nonprofit STRONG Accountable Care Community, which works to improve overall health in the region.

She and her husband, Allen, a pilot for FedEx Corp., are the parents of adult twin daughters.

BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: Wine. My husband and I enjoy good food and wine. When we travel, we seek out interesting restaurants to try new things. Wine paired with food makes the meal more enjoyable.

ANNE M. KRESS

PRESIDENT, NORTHERN VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, ANNANDALE

Not many people can describe themselves as the first lady of the United States’ boss, but Kress can.

First lady Jill Biden has been an English professor at NOVA since 2009, when Joe Biden was vice president. She took a break during the campaign and transition to the White House but has returned to her teaching post, making her the only first lady to hold an outside job during her husband’s presidency.

In addition to her connection to Biden, Kress is probably best known for supporting workforce development. Since becoming NOVA’s sixth president in January 2020, Kress and the college have assisted Gov. Ralph Northam’s G3 (Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back) workforce development initiative, helped launch the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity and received a $1 million grant from the Bank of America Corp. for job skills training support for students of color.

Kress serves on the board of the American Association of Community Colleges and the executive committee of the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity.

She holds a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Florida.

JAMES F. LANE

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, RICHMOND

Appointed Virginia’s public education czar in 2018, Lane guided the state’s 1,860 public schools through the challenges of the pandemic.

He helped expand virtual instruction throughout the state, delivering guidance on safely reopening schools to in-person instruction and managing $3 billion in federal pandemic relief funding. He also served as co-chairman of the Southern Regional Education Board’s K-12 Education Recovery Task Force, providing reopening guidance to 16 member states.

Lane worked with the Virginia Board of Education this past year to update the state’s curriculum to reflect recommendations issued by Gov. Ralph Northam’s African American History Education Commission. He also supported the board as it updated teacher evaluation standards to include cultural competency in response to General Assembly legislation.

In May 2021, Lane testified at a federal House Education and Labor subcommittee hearing on the impact of COVID-19 on students experiencing homelessness and children in foster care. Lane also is overseeing the mandated expansion of VDOE to include responsibility for state and state-funded early childhood education programs.

Lane previously served as school superintendent in Chesterfield, Middlesex and Goochland counties; he was Virginia Superintendent of the Year in 2017.

KARL McDONNELL

PRESIDENT AND CEO, STRATEGIC EDUCATION INC., ARLINGTON

As the head of SEI, an education services holding company that includes the for-profit Strayer University and Capella University, McDonnell has focused this past year on introducing new affordability programs such as no-cost general education courses for students through the company’s Sophia Learning division.

SEI also launched its Workforce Edge platform to serve as a one-stop shop for employers looking to administer their tuition assistance benefit programs. Additionally, SEI began a new chapter by acquiring Australia/New Zealand-based Torrens University Australia, Think Education and Media Design School.

After first coming to SEI in 2006 as its chief operating officer, McDonnell joined its board of directors in 2011 and was named president and CEO in 2013. Previously, McDonnell served as chief operating officer of InteliStaf Healthcare Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately held health care staffing firms. He also served as vice president of the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. McDonnell has held senior management positions with several Fortune 100 companies, including The Walt Disney Co.

McDonnell is a graduate of Virginia Wesleyan College and Duke University, and he previously served as president and CEO of Strayer.

TROY D. PAINO

PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON, FREDERICKSBURG

Following a six-year stint as president of Missouri’s Truman State University, Paino took office in 2016 as UMW’s 10th president. Since then, he has concentrated on student and faculty diversity, creating a cabinet position in charge of equity and access, and increasing opportunities for minority and nontraditional learners.

Paino has also worked to put UMW on a firmer financial footing, overseeing the renovation of many buildings and the school’s amphitheater. Two of the school’s original residence halls have been brought up to 21st-century standards, and the former dining hall is being transformed into the new home for UMW’s College of Education.

During the height of the pandemic, UMW was among the state institutions with the lowest number of COVID-19 cases.

Paino earned master’s and doctoral degrees in American studies from Michigan State University. He holds a law degree from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in history and philosophy from what is now Evangel University.

He is a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ Presidents’ Trust, a past president of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges and a member of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council.

JERRY PREVO

PRESIDENT, LIBERTY UNIVERSITY, LYNCHBURG

Formerly the chairman of Liberty’s board of trustees, Prevo became the interim president of Virginia’s largest school by enrollment in August 2020, following the high-profile series of scandals that led to the resignation of Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty’s former president and chancellor, whom the university is suing for breach of contract.

Since then, Liberty, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has dropped the “interim” when describing Prevo, president of one of the world’s largest Christian universities and the nation’s second largest online university.

Prevo also inherited some problems. In July, 12 women filed a lawsuit against Liberty, saying the school’s previous leaders created an environment that put them at higher risk of sexual assault and rape.

Prior to leading Liberty, Prevo was the founder and senior pastor of Alaska’s most influential Baptist church, Anchorage Baptist Temple, for nearly 50 years. A prominent evangelist and entrepreneur, Prevo has received criticism from the LGBTQ community for positions he’s taken in past years opposing gay rights.

Prevo hired former Anchorage Baptist pastor Glenn Clary, who also chaired the Alaska Republican Party, as Liberty’s vice president of strategic partnerships and alliances, a newly created position.

A Tennessee native and a University of Tennessee graduate, Prevo is also chairman and CEO of Christian Broadcasting Inc., which runs TV and radio stations in Alaska.

ATIF QARNI

SECRETARY OF EDUCATION, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

As the state’s education secretary, Qarni assembled a work group last year to align education policies and develop recovery plans in response to the pandemic. Qarni and his office also worked with the state departments of health and education to provide guidance to school divisions, which were forced to close in March 2020.

This fall, most students are expected to return in person to public schools. In May, Gov. Ralph Northam announced $62.7 million in Virginia LEARNS Education Recovery grants to help fund school division initiatives to address learning deficits. Qarni and his office have also taken steps to address systemic inequities, including directing federal emergency funding to expand pre-K in 2020.

Appointed in 2018, Qarni hails from Pakistan and holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from George Washington University and a master’s in history from George Mason University. He was deployed to Iraq in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Baltimore Ravens

FIRST JOB: I went door to door to sell subscriptions for The Baltimore Sun and worked at Pizza Boli’s when I was growing up.

MICHAEL RAO

PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY, RICHMOND

One of Virginia’s highest-paid state officials, earning $1.1 million in 2019, Rao heads the largest employer in the Richmond area.

Since coming to VCU in 2009 from Central Michigan University — where he also served as president — Rao has overseen the addition of more than 5.3 million square feet to the university, including the construction of a $158.6 million medical education center, a $50.8 million renovation of Cabell Library and the 2018 opening of the $41 million Institute for Contemporary Art.

Rao also oversees the VCU Health System, which has a $325 million expansion in the works.

In July, VCU launched a six-year plan to develop its research enterprise priorities, pledging $10 million in research funding for the first two years. The university received one of its largest gifts in December 2020, $24 million from the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Foundation, spread among engineering, clinical research and the VCU Health Adult Outpatient Pavilion.

Rao is chair of the Virginia Bio+Tech Partnership Authority, as well as a senior advisory board member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and vice chair for the American Council on Education.

M.G. ‘PAT’ ROBERTSON

CHANCELLOR AND CEO, REGENT UNIVERSITY, VIRGINIA BEACH

A native of Lexington, Robertson is a 91-year-old televangelist best known for his Christian Broadcasting Network show “The 700 Club” and his Republican political influence.

In 1977, Robertson founded CBN University on the Virginia Beach campus of his television network. Now known as Regent, the university employs more than 1,500 people and teaches more than 11,000 students online and on campus. Referred to as the “Harvard of the Christian Right,” Regent has produced alumni such as former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, “Arrested Development” and “Veep” actor Tony Hale and radio host Jay Sekulow, who served as lead outside counsel for former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial.

During the pandemic, Regent froze tuition, increased online courses and developed a series of webinars to help families navigate the challenges posed by COVID-19. Regent nurses administered vaccines to the community, and the school’s Psychological Services Center provided counseling and therapy.

Long a controversial figure, Robertson weighed in on the controversy surrounding critical race theory in June 2021, calling it a “monstrous evil” that encourages Black people to hold “the whip handle” over white people. However, the Trump supporter acknowledged the president’s loss of the 2020 election in December, well before many other prominent conservatives did.

President Katherine Rowe says William & Mary underwent about five years’ worth of change in the past year. Photo by Skip Rowland/William & Mary — Rowe

KATHERINE A. ROWE

PRESIDENT, WILLIAM & MARY, WILLIAMSBURG

The former provost and dean of faculty at Smith College in Massachusetts, Rowe became president of William & Mary in 2018. Under her leadership, the “public ivy” has undertaken initiatives that include an entrepreneurship hub, a teaching innovation studio, a long-range sustainability plan and efforts to increase diversity and inclusion.

During the pandemic, Rowe dealt with a revenue drop-off caused by the shift to remote learning. Though the college successfully moved 2,000 courses online in just 10 days, it also initiated a hiring freeze and cleaved $17 million from its budget. Rowe took a 15% salary cut. At the same time, 2020 saw the school raise $149.9 million — its highest-ever annual fundraiser — and complete a decadelong $1.04 billion fundraising campaign.

Beginning this fall, the university is offering full-tuition scholarships to 10 Virginia students from low-income backgrounds in partnership with New York nonprofit The Posse Foundation. W&M also launched a program for veterans with a $10 million anonymous donation last year.

Rowe, who holds degrees from Harvard University and Carleton College, is co-founder and former CEO of Luminary Digital Media and serves on the boards of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

JAMES E. RYAN

PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE

A first-generation college student, Ryan came to U.Va. in 2018 with an extraordinary resume. He previously served as dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and earned his law degree from U.Va., graduating first in his class. He also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

In his first year as president of U.Va., Ryan launched a $5 billion capital fundraising campaign and helped raise $850 million. When the pandemic struck, he led a shift to remote work for employees and sent students home. Ryan and his team oversaw the development of resources to adapt to the new paradigm, led a team of medical experts to install COVID-19 testing sites and partnered with health officials to establish vaccination sites.

The pandemic, which caused financial losses for most universities, led to staff furloughs and hourly reductions at U.Va., as well as salary cuts for Ryan and other officials. However, the university also brought in some of its biggest donations in the past year, including a $50 million gift announced in June from alumni Martha and Bruce Karsh to start the nonpartisan Karsh Institute of Democracy.

TIMOTHY ‘TIM’ SANDS

PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA TECH, BLACKSBURG

A celebrated scientist and expert in the field of light-emitting diodes, Sands came to Virginia Tech in 2014 from Purdue University, where he served as acting president, executive vice president and provost.

Progress is underway on the forthcoming $1 billion Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in Alexandria. In late 2020, Tech alumni Mehul and Hema Sanghani made a $10 million gift to the university, $7.4 million of which will support the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics set to open in Alexandria in 2024.

In May, aerospace and defense contractor Boeing made a record $50 million, multiyear commitment to back scholarships, recruit faculty and researchers, and fund K-12 pathway programs at the Innovation Campus. Boeing’s gift tied the university’s previous largest donation made in 2019 by the Fralin family, supporting the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. Sands called the Boeing gift “a milestone moment” that will propel the Washington, D.C., area toward becoming “the world’s next major tech hub.”

Sands, who earned engineering and physics degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, chairs the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and serves on other boards.

GREGORY WASHINGTON

PRESIDENT, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY, FAIRFAX

In taking the reins at George Mason in July 2020, Washington arrived at one of the most challenging times for any institution — in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. However, under his leadership, the state’s largest four-year public university recorded no significant outbreaks, and its enrollment increased by 2.1%.

A first-generation college student and the university’s first Black president, Washington previously was dean of the University of California, Irvine’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering. He earned his degrees in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

On tap for next spring is the construction of a $168 million expansion of Mason’s Arlington campus near Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 headquarters. The 360,500-square-foot research, learning and business center is central to the state’s Tech Talent Investment Program, under which GMU has pledged to produce 2,277 additional bachelor’s and 5,328 master’s graduates in computer science and engineering during the next 20 years.

In February, Washington formed an advisory panel of nearly 30 regional business executives and community leaders to guide GMU’s innovation initiative.

FIRST JOB: My first job was working on a construction site as a laborer. I mixed cement in a wheelbarrow and loaded and carried bricks to the brick masons.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins. Photo courtesy U.S. Army. — Wins

MAJ. GEN. CEDRIC T. WINS (U.S. ARMY, RET.)

SUPERINTENDENT, VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE, LEXINGTON

It’s been a rocky year for VMI. After current and former Black cadets spoke to reporters about alleged racist behavior at the military college last year, Gov. Ralph Northam ordered a third-party investigation of VMI last fall. The retirement of the former superintendent, retired Army Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, soon followed.

Wins, a 1985 alumnus, came in as VMI’s interim superintendent in November 2020, and he was appointed the school’s permanent leader this April.

In June, the state issued its report, finding that VMI fosters a culture of “silence, fear and intimidation” regarding racist acts and sexual assault and harassment. Northam blasted his 1981 alma mater, saying “institutional racism and sexism are present, tolerated and too often left unaddressed.”

VMI’s first Black superintendent, Wins issued an action plan that aims to address issues of diversity and inclusion and hired VMI’s first chief diversity officer. Northam said he will expect significant progress in coming months, warning, “VMI is an agency of state government, and we will hold it accountable.”

Wins previously held many leadership and staff assignments during his 34-year military career, including in the Army’s Headquarters Department and at the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.

Energy

EDWARD H. ‘ED’ BAINE

PRESIDENT, DOMINION ENERGY VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

Baine is an example of the American dream made real. He grew up poor, working on his family’s tobacco farm in Lunenburg County, where, he says, he learned the value of hard work, dedication and responsibility. He subsequently applied that lesson during his more than 25-year-long career at Dominion Energy.

Last year, he became the first Black president of Dominion Energy Virginia, a promotion from his previous position as senior vice president of power delivery. A Virginia Tech graduate, Baine is a member of the university’s board of visitors and also the Southeastern Electric Exchange board, on which he serves as first vice president. He has received the Metropolitan Business League’s Oliver Singleton Humanitarian Award and received an Influential Black Alumni Award during Virginia Tech’s 2018 Black Alumni Reunion.

In an interview with Virginia Tech magazine last year, Baine said he gravitated toward Dominion because it was a stable company, but he stayed because it gave him a sense of purpose. “I wake up every day knowing that we provide an essential service to our customers and that they are depending on us.”

ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ BLUE

CHAIR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, DOMINION ENERGY INC., RICHMOND

Blue became president and CEO of Dominion in October 2020 after Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II transitioned to the role of executive chair for the Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility. In April, Blue also took up the chairmanship of Dominion’s board after Farrell, a business titan known for his involvement in state and local politics, died at age 66 from cancer.

Blue, who joined Dominion in 2005, is known for his unconventional commuting choice — a kayak that he paddles to Dominion’s riverfront headquarters. He took the utility’s helm at a time when Virginia’s state government has mandated that Dominion and other utilities must generate all electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. Among Dominion’s strategies for reaching that goal is the $7.8 billion offshore wind farm it’s developing 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.

A native of Albemarle County, Blue graduated from the University of Virginia and Yale Law School and holds a master’s degree from U.Va.’s Darden School of Business. He previously served as legal counsel and policy director for Gov. Mark Warner and was also a partner at Washington, D.C., law firm Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells).

STAN C. FEUERBERG

PRESIDENT AND CEO, NORTHERN VIRGINIA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, MANASSAS

Feuerberg leads one of the largest electric cooperatives in the country. The nonprofit Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative has almost $1 billion in assets and serves about 175,000 customers in six counties and two municipalities, including Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties.

He has headed NOVEC for almost 30 years and has driven its divestment in coal in favor of natural gas and renewable energy sources, including a biomass power plant and multiple solar installations. Feuerberg also leads the board that oversees NOVEC’s subsidiaries. During the pandemic, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln engineering and law graduate says, the cooperative responded to community needs, such as meal deliveries for health care workers and first responders.

The co-op also has focused attention to extend fiber connectivity in its coverage area, providing broadband access to 1,000 homes in northern Loudoun, which has struggled with poor internet coverage, despite Ashburn’s prominence as the “Internet Alley” through which 70% of the world’s internet traffic is routed.

“The need for high-quality, high-speed broadband has never been more in demand,” Feuerberg says.

ANDRÉS R. GLUSKI

PRESIDENT AND CEO, AES CORP., ARLINGTON

Under his decadelong leadership of AES, Gluski has decreased the company’s dependence on coal, which once represented 60% of its portfolio, as it moves rapidly toward providing affordable, sustainable energy to the 14 countries it serves.

The Venezuela native sees huge potential in energy storage and believes it will bring reliability to the green energy movement. He called it “the holy grail of renewables” in an interview with trade magazine Utility Dive. “If you ask me what the greatest challenges are, say, in the next decade, it’s really having enough supply of everything. This means land, this means people, this means batteries for energy storage, this means wind turbines, and this means solar panels,” he said.

Gluski’s reorganization of the Fortune 500 company has led to $250 million in annual savings while adding more than 5,000 megawatts of capacity. AES ended the first quarter of 2021 with revenues of $2.635 billion, a 12.7% increase from the previous year.

The Edison Electric Institute has honored Gluski with five International Edison awards. The University of Virginia alum earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the school, and he previously served as Venezuela’s director general of public finance. He also chairs the Council of the Americas board.

JOHN D. HEWA

PRESIDENT AND CEO, RAPPAHANNOCK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, FREDERICKSBURG

Hewa took over at the Rappahannock Electric Cooperative last year, three years after he joined REC as vice president and chief operating officer, following two decades in electric power.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee and George Washington University, Hewa recently served as chair of the nonprofit U.S. Energy Storage Association, and he’s currently a board member of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

REC has 170,000 connections made through 17,000 miles of line in 22 counties stretching from the northern Shenandoah Valley to the Middle Peninsula. “Our goal is to be always on,” Hewa says, but he faced a challenge to that ideal this winter when ice storms led to 20,000-plus outages in his far-flung service area.

Hewa is also a champion of smart-grid technologies, and one of his focuses is on closing the rural digital divide. Under his leadership, REC has been installing a “fiber backbone network” to support broadband rollouts and point-to-point service, aligning with the Northam administration’s goal to deliver broadband access to the entire state by 2023.

DIANE LEOPOLD

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, DOMINION ENERGY INC., RICHMOND

Leopold always has been a trailblazer. One of only two women in her University of Sussex graduating class in England, she became the first female power station engineer at Pepco in 1989, in part, she says, because of her willingness to scale a 500-foot smokestack.

Since joining Dominion in 1995, Leopold has continued to climb to new heights in an industry that is heavily male dominated. Last year, she took on her current role, which, among other duties, includes oversight of Dominion Energy Virginia, which provides electricity to 2.7 million customers in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, and of Dominion Energy South Carolina, which serves 1.1 million customers.

Last year, Leopold, who holds business and engineering degrees from George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, was named chair of the American Gas Association. She is also a trustee of Virginia Union University and serves on the board of the GO Virginia Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the state economic development initiative.

Leopold is not one to sit still either at work or in her off hours. She has logged more than 450 skydiving jumps, rappelled down a 20-story building for charity and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

Retail | Wholesale

MICHAEL AKROP

CEO, LEESA SLEEP LLC, VIRGINIA BEACH

Akrop, who was Leesa Sleep’s president and chief operating officer, earned a promotion in January, becoming the online mattress retailer’s CEO. He has an extensive background in digital startups, having logged nearly a decade at Zappos, the online shoe retailer, and then two years at Vroom, a fully digital car dealership, where he was chief financial officer before joining Leesa.

Leesa, a certified B-Corp, donates one bed to a child for every 10 sold and has given away more than 40,000 mattresses since its inception. Last November, during the weeklong “1 Bedless Night” promotion, the company upped its commitment, donating a bed in the name of each person who volunteered to spend a night without a bed.

Akrop, who replaced interim CEO John Replogle, graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and prior to his forays in the startup world, he worked in a variety of industries, including health care and sports management, as well as for traditional accounting firms.

Akrop’s promotion to CEO followed a two-year period of growth at Leesa that followed three years of losses. He’s behind the introduction of a new product lineup, as well as distribution and marketing strategies.

ROBERT ‘BOB’ ARCHER

PRESIDENT AND CEO, BLUE RIDGE BEVERAGE CO., SALEM

Archer and his family have deep roots in the Virginia business community, having operated one of the state’s largest beverage distribution companies for more than 60 years.

Blue Ridge Beverage distributes both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages throughout Southwest and Central Virginia. The company has been owned by the Archer family since 1959, and it has been a family affair for years, with Archer’s mother, brother and sisters all holding leadership roles at various points. Archer has been CEO since 2001.

Blue Ridge Beverage distributes beverages to 49 counties and 16 cities in Virginia from facilities based in Salem, Waynesboro, Lynchburg and Abingdon. The company employs more than 460 people.

A past chairman of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and former president of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, Archer is a Vietnam War veteran who retired as a U.S. Army colonel in 1999 after 30 years of service.

Archer is a Virginia Tech graduate, and he is in the second year of a four-year term as rector of Radford University. Archer has served on the board of directors of the Virginia War Memorial Foundation since 2015.

Gilbert T. Bland photo by Mark Rhodes — Bland

GILBERT BLAND

CHAIRMAN, THE GILJOY GROUP, VIRGINIA BEACH

Bland has held leadership positions in an array of industries in Virginia, ranging from health care and fast food to higher education and community development organizations.

As a commercial banker, Bland established his restaurant management group, which is named for a combination of his and his wife’s first names. The Giljoy Group has owned and operated 70 fast food restaurants throughout Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years, employing more than 2,000 people.

The former chairman of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, Bland currently serves on the board of Sentara Healthcare. He also is president and chairman of the Urban League of Hampton Roads, as well as a member of Truist’s community advisory board and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce executive committee.

A native of King George County, Bland is a graduate of James Madison University. He said in a February interview with Virginia Business that he advises younger people to “think in terms of what the other person needs. I spent a lifetime building relationships, [learning] not just how it benefits me but how it benefits others.”

MICHAEL BOR

Co-founder, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, CARLOTZ, RICHMOND

Bor got the idea for CarLotz as he was driving home from his job as an investment banker, noticing all the “for sale” signs on cars during his commute.

He felt there had to be a better way to sell a car than DIY advertising, so Bor teamed up with two other Harvard alumni in Richmond to launch the used-car consignment company in 2011. The mission was to simplify the process of buying a used car by charging a flat fee to handle the entire sales transaction for used-car sellers.

The nation’s largest online used car broker expanded its operations significantly in 2021, with new locations in Seattle and Orlando. The company is also growing its headquarters in Richmond, CarLotz announced in June.

CarLotz went public in 2020, although the business has struggled throughout the first half of 2021, with Bor having cut its revenue outlook to $272 million to $317 million range, down from an expected $335 million to $375 million. The ongoing car shortage brought on by the pandemic has made finding inventory a challenge.

Bor earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Lehigh University and an MBA at Harvard.

JOHN BOYLE

PRESIDENT AND CEO/MANAGING DIRECTOR, MASSIMO ZANETTI BEVERAGE USA, PORTSMOUTH

John Boyle has been in leadership at Massimo Zanetti since joining the coffee distribution firm as chief operating officer and senior vice president in 2006.

The Portsmouth-based Massimo Zanetti heralds itself as the nation’s only vertically integrated coffee company, sourcing beans from farms in Costa Rica, Brazil and Hawaii. The firm roasts 150,000 tons of coffee beans annually at 14 locations globally.

In December, Massimo Zanetti started construction of a 356,000-square-foot distribution center in Suffolk. The firm, which is one of the nation’s largest coffee companies, distributes familiar brands including Kauai Coffee, Chock Full o’ Nuts, and Hills Bros. Coffee & Cappuccino.

A University of South Carolina Gamecock, Boyle has worked in the food and beverage industry since joining Nestlé USA in 1987. He’s also a trustee of the Hampton Roads Chamber and a former chair of the National Coffee Association board.

REID A. BROWN

PRESIDENT, BROWN DISTRIBUTING CO., RICHMOND

Brown is continuing a family tradition, as the great-grandson of Brown Distributing’s founder leads the company that was born in Richmond at the end of World War I.

Brown Distributing was founded in Richmond in 1919, as the Brown brothers launched a soda bottling business. Reid Brown, a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, joined the firm in 2009.

Since then, the business has expanded into Florida, creating a new division that distributes beer, wine, spirits and specialty beverages into the state.

The distributor also has gained accolades for jumping on the trend of microbreweries. In 2012, Brown Distributing’s Florida division was named the Craft Beer Distributor of the Year, presented by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Brewers Association.

Brown now has more than 500 employees and is the provider for both mainstream and obscure drinks, from Belgium’s The Musketeers Troubadour brews to Virginia’s Bold Rock Hard Cider.

WILLIAM G. ‘BILL’ CRUTCHFIELD JR.

FOUNDER AND CEO, CRUTCHFIELD CORP., CHARLOTTESVILLE

One of the biggest names in electronics, Crutchfield Corp. was established in 1974 when Bill Crutchfield had trouble finding an after-market stereo while restoring a Porsche 356 coupe. He realized there was no one-stop shop for consumer electronics, so he started the company that became his legacy.

Crutchfield is a pioneer in online electronic sales and was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame. His company launched its website in September 1995, about two months after Amazon.com went live. The company continues to collect accolades, being tied for first (with Dell) out of 37 businesses in the consumer electronics category of Newsweek’s Best Online Shops 2021.

A former U.S. Air Force officer, Crutchfield has flown for decades. His love for dogs is reflected in the company’s many dog-friendly practices, including the bring-your-dog-to-work norm at the corporate headquarters. He also serves on the University of Virginia Health System board.

The privately held company employs about 700 people, most of whom work at its Albemarle County headquarters, although Crutchfield also has a brick-and-mortar store in Harrisonburg, a call center in Norton and a research office in Christiansburg.

BENJAMIN J. DAVENPORT JR.

CHAIRMAN, DAVENPORT ENERGY INC., FIRST PIEDMONT CORP., CHATHAM

Davenport Energy has been a family-run fuel distributor since 1941, when Davenport’s father established the Pittsylvania County business as Chatham Oil Co. Ben Davenport also serves as chair of First Piedmont Corp., a waste management service that runs an industrial landfill.

A devoted Virginia Tech Hokie since earning his business degree there, Davenport has served on multiple boards associated with the university, including terms on the Virginia Tech board of visitors. He was on the board from 2002 to 2010, serving during the tragic April 16, 2007, mass shooting at the university. In 2016, Davenport received Virginia Tech’s highest honor, the William H. Ruffner Medal, which recognizes “notable and distinguished service” to the university. In 2020, he received the Sorensen Leadership Award from the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Davenport has served on the boards of many community organizations, including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Health Care Foundation and the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, as well as the state board of GO Virginia.

Davenport Energy serves approximately 30,000 customers throughout Virginia and North Carolina, with about 175 employees. The distributor also delivers gas and diesel to 200 gas stations in the region.

ARTHUR ‘BO’ FISHER III

CEO, FISHER AUTO PARTS, STAUNTON

Fisher has just one workplace listed on his LinkedIn profile: Fisher Auto Parts, the family business where he has worked since 1970 and that today ranks as the fifth-largest distributor of auto parts in the country.

A James Madison University alumnus, Fisher took over as CEO and chairman of the board after the death of his father, Art Fisher, in 2004. At the time, Bo Fisher had been president of Fisher Auto Parts since 1992 and owned a majority of the company. He is also co-chairman of the Automotive Parts Services Group.

Fisher Auto Parts is one of the region’s most prolific auto parts dealers, with 360 stores in 15 states throughout the East Coast and Midwest. The company was founded in 1929 by Fisher’s grandfather, Blair Coiner, and the company was known as Coiner Parts until 1983.

Although the company has been in the family since its inception, Bo Fisher has spent the past year and change in a contentious legal battle with his brother, David Fisher, over $65 million in company shares left behind by their mother, Mary, who died in 2018.

DAVID M. GUERNSEY

PRESIDENT AND CEO, GUERNSEY INC., DULLES

A fender-bender car crash when he was a high school senior altered the trajectory of Guernsey’s life. He collided with a Cadillac and ended up owing $150 for damages, so he put college on hold and got a job selling typewriters in 1971.

Guernsey had a knack for sales, but he could anticipate that workplace supply needs were shifting. As a 21-year-old, he opened his own supplies dealership that has now evolved into Guernsey Office Products, a massive office supply business based in Northern Virginia. Although he started out just selling typewriters, today Guernsey sells office supplies, furniture, janitorial supplies, breakroom products and corporate promotional products.

As Guernsey’s company grew, he brought in family members to join his team, and at various points his brother, sister, daughter, wife, niece and nephew have all worked for the firm.

Guernsey has served on many community boards, including stints as chairman of both the Arlington and Fairfax chambers of commerce, chairman of the Office Products Industry Association and chairman of the National Federation of Independent Business.

DAVID GUM

CEO, WHITE HOUSE FOODS, WINCHESTER

The patriarch of the Gum family and head of the century-old White House Foods, Gum is a country boy at heart. A lifelong resident of the region, he lives on a farm in Frederick County. His family’s empire has expanded from apples to include handcrafted furniture.

Gum has been with White House Foods since 1981, and in 2006 the Gum family bought the fruit company. Today it is the largest privately held apple-processing company in the country, producing more than 650 varieties of juice, applesauce and vinegar.

Gum’s entrepreneurial interests aren’t limited to apples. His family firm focuses on purchasing companies in distress, and in 2013, it bought furniture crafters Henkel Harris in Winchester. Gum has instituted profit-sharing systems at both White House Foods and Henkel Harris, giving all employees a stake in each company’s success.

He also serves on several community boards, including stints with the Virginia Manufacturers Association, the Apple Processors Association and the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore.

TRAVIS HILL

CEO, VIRGINIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL AUTHORITY, RICHMOND

Hill, who took the reins of Virginia ABC in 2018, grew up in a family where political debate was welcomed.

He remembers his grandfather encouraging everyone to chime in, even the kids, when discussions got heated at the dinner table. And that ability to take in multiple perspectives has served Hill well while navigating the halls and politics of Richmond.

He joined the ABC in 2014, when he was appointed as chief operating officer, and he’s overseeing the agency’s move to a new headquarters and distribution center in Hanover County, which opened in June. In fiscal year 2020, Virginia ABC brought in a record $1.2 billion in gross revenue, including $212.1 million in profits from retail sales.

Previously, Hill served as deputy secretary of agriculture and forestry for both Gov. Bob McDonnell and Gov. Terry McAuliffe. He also worked as an attorney with Williams Mullen from 2003 to 2011.

Hill earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and when he’s not working, he enjoys biking, paddleboarding on the James River and Saturday-night family dinners.

GEORGE L. HOLM

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PERFORMANCE FOOD GROUP, GOOCHLAND

Holm has been in the food- distribution industry for more than 40 years, holding leadership positions with major distributors, including Alliant Foodservice, US Food and Sysco Corp. In 2002, Holm founded Vistar, a multichannel food, snack and beverage distributor that rapidly grew into a multibillion-dollar enterprise.

Holm has been president and CEO of Performance Food Group since May 2008, when Vistar acquired it, and in 2019, he took the business public, becoming its chairman. The company, with headquarters in Goochland County, has a nationwide network of more than 100 distribution centers.

In May, Performance Food Group announced the acquisition of convenience store supplier Core-Mark for $2.5 billion in stock and cash, and the purchase is expected to add about $17 billion to the company’s net annual sales, while expanding its reach into the entire country and parts of Canada. Holm has spearheaded efforts to diversify PFG’s business sectors beyond just restaurant supplies, and the need for new avenues intensified as COVID-19 shut down restaurant dining for months.

MARC KATZ

CHAIRMAN AND CEO, CUSTOM INK, FAIRFAX

Katz was sleeping on an air mattress in a basement when he and a couple of college friends launched Custom Ink, a design-it-yourself online T-shirt retailer in 2000. It was the peak of the dot-com boom, and Katz had just quit his job on Wall Street because he wanted to do something more entrepreneurial.

Today, the company employs more than 1,600 people, and Katz has earned his original supporters their original investment back many times over.

The company saw its sales plummet at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With social distancing making social gatherings impossible, Custom Ink’s sales fell by 80% in just two weeks, and Katz had to institute mass furloughs. The company survived by harnessing the new trends caused by the pandemic, selling masks, work-from-home gear and virtual high school graduation swag.

Katz grew up around entrepreneurs — his father, Steve Katz, started three businesses and had plenty of advice as Katz started Custom Ink, a business that his father thought had no shot of surviving.

Earning his bachelor’s degree in physics, Katz graduated from Harvard University, where he also led community service programs through the Phillips Brooks House Association.

MARTIN KELLY

CONDUCTOR OF CREATIVITY, CULTURE & COMMERCE, SAUER BRANDS INC., RICHMOND

Kelly has held numerous leadership positions within the food and beverage industry, often stepping in to execute major business realignments or new strategies.

He was a vice president at Coca-Cola and Miller Brewing Co. before taking on executive positions in the booming craft beer industry in the early 2000s. As the president and CEO of Magic Hat Brewing Co. from 2004 to 2010, he increased revenues tenfold before getting into the frozen food industry, hoping to similarly jump-start growth.

Kelly has led Richmond-based Sauer Brands since 2019, after the former C.F. Sauer Co. was purchased by Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Group.

In 2020, Kelly announced that the company would begin sponsoring an annual college football bowl game, and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl was born. That same year, Sauer also acquired Kernel Season’s, the top popcorn seasoning brand in the country, and its parent company, Chicago Custom Foods.

Kelly attended the University of Virginia, where he earned degrees from the McIntire School of Commerce and the Darden School of Business.

ARIE KOTLER

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ARKO CORP., RICHMOND

Kotler, who is originally from Israel, was a venture capitalist back in 2003, when he began considering the American convenience store market.

He has an eye for a good investment, and Kotler quickly built up GPM Investments LLC (holding company Arko’s primary asset) by acquiring family-owned convenience store chains in smaller markets, and he sold the company in 2006.

In 2011, he bought back in, becoming owner and CEO. Kotler’s strategy for growing the company has been to avoid new construction and buy up struggling chains that have well-established branding.

Arko had been publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange for years, but in 2021, it joined the New Nasdaq Exchange after merging with Haymaker Acquisition. The company purchased the 60-store ExpressStop chain in Michigan and Ohio in May, which moved Arko up from the seventh- to the sixth-largest convenience store corporation, with 3,000 locations, 1,400 of which are operated by the company.

In May, Kotler said that GPM would be experimenting with new prototypes of convenience stores in Virginia, with plans to open 10 new stores customized to meet the interests of customers in each region.

MICHAL LAGUNIONEK

PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIDL U.S., ARLINGTON

Leaders of Lidl, the German discount grocery chain, are hoping they have found the right man to lead an aggressive expansion into the American market.

In April, Lidl’s board appointed Lagunionek to lead Lidl’s U.S. operations. As a member of the international board of parent company Schwarz Group, he will also help lead the grocer’s retail strategy in multiple countries.

Lagunionek, who is Lidl’s fourth U.S. head since 2013, has been an executive with Lidl for more than 20 years, serving as CEO of its division in Poland between 2005 and 2015 and holding a board position at its headquarters in Germany since then. Trade publication Winsight Grocery Business noted this spring that the grocer saw quick growth in Poland, having grown to become the country’s third-largest chain less than two decades after entering Poland.

The company, which operates more than 11,200 stores across Europe and the United States, launched its first U.S. store in June 2017. Since then, the chain has opened more than 160 stores along the East Coast, with its headquarters in Arlington. The company has added more than 50 U.S. stores since January 2020.

FLOYD MERRYMAN III

EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, SONNY MERRYMAN INC., LYNCHBURG

Merryman has been with the firm his father created for more than 40 years.

In 1967, Floyd W. “Sonny” Merryman Jr. founded Sonny Merryman Inc. as a small bus and trailer sales business operating out of Rustburg. Since then, it has grown to be one of the state’s largest bus dealers, with four locations and hundreds of employees.

The company works with several industries, although they are best known as a school bus dealer.

The Merryman clan has deep roots at Virginia Tech. Floyd Merryman III was a 1981 graduate of the university, and his father graduated in 1946. The family has given millions back to the school over the years, and in 2019, they donated $2 million to be split evenly between the school’s athletic program and the Pamplin College of Business’ Global Business and Analytics Complex, which will open in 2024.

In December 2020, Merryman announced that the company would be expanding its Campbell County location to add an electric bus charging facility.

Merryman transitioned to the role of executive chairman this July, announcing that former Thomas Built Buses President and CEO Caley Edgerly would become his company’s new president and CEO.

KEVIN MURPHY

CEO, FERGUSON ENTERPRISES INC., NEWPORT NEWS

Although construction was one of a few industries that kept chugging along during the pandemic, the industry is now coping with supply shortages and high material prices.

But Murphy has steered his company and its thousands of employees through the new challenges, benefiting from its status as the country’s largest distributor of commercial and residential plumbing supplies.

This year, in addition to dealing with supply chain challenges, Murphy led a “de-merger” with Ferguson’s international wing, selling its U.K.-focused business to a private investment firm for $421 million so the plumbing supplier can focus on continued growth in the United States. The company sees global sales near $22 billion a year, mainly driven by sales in North America. In the third quarter of 2021, Ferguson saw a 24.5% increase compared with the same quarter in 2020.

A Columbus, Ohio, native, Murphy earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio in 1992. Ferguson purchased Murphy’s family-owned Midwest Pipe and Supply in 1999, and Murphy has held positions with increasing responsibility for Ferguson since then, becoming CEO in 2017 and being appointed group chief executive of Ferguson PLC in 2019.

JERRY MURRELL

FOUNDER AND CEO, FIVE GUYS BURGERS ENTERPRISES LLC, LORTON

Back in 1986, Murrell famously told his sons they could either “start a business or go to college.” That advice led to the birth of Five Guys, which now ranks among the world’s 50 largest fast food restaurants.

Murrell graduated from the University of Michigan, where he worked in his frat house’s kitchen. He was working as a financial planner in the D.C. area when he gave his two oldest sons the college or entrepreneurship ultimatum. They opted to use the money set aside for their education to start Five Guys, which opened its first location in Arlington in 1986.

The patriarch and his sons ran the business for 16 years before they decided to franchise, selling more than 300 franchises in 18 months.

Murrell and his sons maintain complete control of the Five Guys empire, which now has more than 1,700 locations. Their business approach has been to avoid advertising, instead relying on intense quality control and the burger chain’s fan following.

Five Guys generates more than $1.6 billion in annual revenue, with locations stretching from the United States to the U.K., the Middle East and China.

WILLIAM D. ‘BILL’ NASH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARMAX INC., RICHMOND

Nash has led used vehicle retailer CarMax from pandemic-related layoffs and furloughs to record-setting revenue in 2021.

Despite an initial hit to the industry, demand for used cars rocketed during the pandemic. CarMax’s sales surpassed Wall Street expectations by more than 25% at times, and the company reported record net revenues and profitability.

He began his career working as an accountant before joining the corporate team at Circuit City, where he held a variety of roles in operations. Nash first encountered CarMax, which was created by Circuit City, working on an audit in 1993.

Nash was hired as an auction manager for the fledgling subsidiary in 1997. CarMax spun off from Circuit City in 2002. Nash climbed the corporate ladder at CarMax, holding several roles before being appointed CEO in 2016.

This year, CarMax introduced the 24-hour test drive and CarMax purchased Edmunds, the online database for used cars.

Nash earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from James Madison University.

DREW PARKER

CEO, CARTER MACHINERY, SALEM

Parker has held the top leadership spot with Carter Machinery since 2011. He stepped in as Carter’s management bought the company from Caterpillar, ending its 23-year run as the only Caterpillar-owned dealership in the United States.

Since then, Carter Machinery became the exclusive Blue Bird Bus dealer in Virginia in 2013. That same year, the firm acquired the Cat Mining equipment distribution business from Caterpillar Global Mining LLC.

In 2020, the company set the stage to more than double its rental fleet, with the acquisition of Baltimore-based Alban Tractor Co.

Carter Machinery has deep roots in Southwest Virginia, and in 2018 Parker accepted a community leadership award from Virginia Western Community College. Under his leadership, the machinery firm has made major donations to expand access for students to attend community colleges.

Parker earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois.

CHRIS PERRY

PRESIDENT, CEO AND OWNER, VAMAC INC., RICHMOND

Perry is preparing the fourth generation of his family to lead VAMAC, the plumbing supply wholesaler that got its start in 1915 as a single well drilling contractor and supply business.

VAMAC is one of the oldest companies in Richmond, and the Perry family has been part of it since Perry’s grandfather, Julian Perry, came aboard as a bookkeeper in 1923, working his way up to CEO 32 years later.

The firm’s original focus was on drilling wells and installation, but it has branched out to become one of the East Coast’s largest suppliers of plumbing products and bath fixtures.

Perry has been president since 1992 and CEO since 1994. Since he took over, VAMAC has expanded throughout the commonwealth, opening nine new locations.

A past president of the Western Henrico Rotary Club, Perry earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Military Institute, where he was a member of the VMI Karate Club and led the pep band for three years. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army National Guard for 10 years, leaving as a captain and company commander.

STEVE PRESLEY

CHAIRMAN AND CEO, NESTLÉ USA, ARLINGTON

When Presley landed his first job as a paperboy in the fourth grade, he never dreamed he would end up as the CEO for the U.S. division of the world’s largest food manufacturer.

Presley has been chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA since 2018. He started with the company working at the Nestlé facility in Suffolk in 1997. In 2013, he was named chief financial officer for Nestlé USA.

Under his leadership, the company has aggressively reshaped its portfolio, shedding less popular brands and actively recruiting new products. In July, the company reported that global sales grew 1.5% to $46 billion in the first half of 2021.

Presley preaches that often the best ideas come from within.

Shortly after he took the lead at Nestlé USA, he launched a process to solicit innovative ideas from employees. The effort has put products on store shelves — a fitness buff working in finance pitched the Jacked Rabbit protein shake, and it became a real product, sending a signal to Nestlé workers that their bosses were serious about seeking their ideas.

LORI RAYA

PRESIDENT, MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION, KROGER CO., GLEN ALLEN

Raya became president of Kroger Co.’s mid-Atlantic division on July 19, a position for which she’s well-prepared.

At age 21, she started out as a clerk at a Safeway store. Instead of finishing her education at Colorado Mesa University, she worked her way up to senior management positions and eventually became a division president. Colorado Mesa later awarded her an honorary doctorate
in business.

Raya most recently served as the chief merchandising and marketing officer for SpartanNash, a grocery distributor and retailer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She also served as the first female division president for Western U.S. supermarket chain Vons and led its largest division, Southern California. Raya has served on the boards for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles and the Western Association of Food Chains.

In her new job leading Kroger’s mid-Atlantic division, she will be responsible for more than 100 grocery stores in five states — 69 in Virginia — with more than 18,000 employees. The division opened its new headquarters in Glen Allen, relocating from Roanoke, in January.

GRANT F. REID

CEO AND OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, MARS INC. McLEAN

Reid walks the cocoa fields in Ghana and Brazil, where the plants used in making the chocolate for Mars’ M&Ms candies and Milky Way candy bars are grown. He wants to ensure quality and to increase environmental sustainability.

Reid, who hails from Scotland, is passionate about lifelong learning, and his hobbies include mountain biking, mixed martial arts, historic car racing, and strength and conditioning training.

He has been with Mars for 31 years and was appointed as CEO in 2014, joining Mars’ board of directors the following year.

Reid has led a number of social initiatives during his CEO tenure. He’s urged other companies to study their environmental impact, pointing out that Mars’ own evaluation revealed that the manufacturer of candy, pet food and other food products had the same carbon footprint as a nation as large as Panama.

Reid will often point to the mantra that he said guides him and the corporation: “Profit without purpose isn’t meaningful, and purpose without profit isn’t possible.”

VINCE SHEEHY IV

PRESIDENT AND CEO, SHEEHY AUTO STORES, FAIRFAX

Sheehy has been at the helm of Sheehy Auto Stores since 1987, transforming a single car dealership into one of the most recognizable names in car sales in Virginia and Maryland.

Sheehy’s father founded the company in the 1960s, and Sheehy worked his way up through various roles. Becoming president in 1998, Sheehy oversaw the business’s expansion to nearly 30 locations reaching from northern Maryland to Richmond.

Sheehy has helped spearhead apprenticeship programs for high school students in D.C.-region public school systems, and he has been a supporter of Catholic schools, particularly his alma mater, Georgetown Preparatory School.

Earlier this year, Sheehy and his brother Paul, the company’s used vehicle director, donated $100,000 to the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia School of Law after listening to a speech by a wrongfully convicted man whom the organization had helped free from prison. (Vince and Paul Sheehy and their sister Ann Fowler, the company’s director of real estate, co-own the family business.)

Sheehy earned his bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

STEVEN C. SMITH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, K-VA-T FOOD STORES INC., ABINGDON

Growing up, Smith spent a lot of time in the Grundy Piggly Wiggly store that his dad, grandfather and a couple of other family members opened in 1955.

The Smith family went on to purchase numerous grocery stores, including a 19-store chain called Quality Foods, which in 1984 they gave the Food City name. Today, K-VA-T Food Stores, Food City’s parent company, operates 137 retail outlets throughout Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and North Georgia. The company opened its first store in Alabama in April.

Additionally, K-VA-T owns and operates a 1.1 million-square-foot Food City Distribution Center in Abingdon, the location of the company headquarters.

Over his 42-year career, Smith held numerous jobs ranging from director of meat operations to director of advertising and chief operating officer before replacing his father, Jack C. Smith, as CEO in 2001. K-VA-T has about 17,500 employees and earned $2.95 billion in revenue in 2020.

FIRST JOB: Cemetery worker. I trimmed, mowed and dug graves.

SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN: Go through a pandemic.

ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: I’d like to see more development [in] and commitment to the rural areas of Virginia.

SHANE SMITH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, SMITHFIELD FOODS INC., SMITHFIELD

Smithfield Foods appointed Smith CEO in July, shortly after his predecessor, Dennis Organ, unexpectedly stepped down after less than a year, capping a tumultuous period for the world’s largest pork product manufacturer and hog producer.

Organ had been at the helm for about seven months when he resigned for personal reasons. Smith stepped in as CEO just days after the company announced it would no longer be slaughtering pigs in the company’s hometown of Smithfield. The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of China-based WH Group, announced several executive retirements earlier this year, as the meat industry giant continued dealing with the pandemic, which had disrupted operations amid factory outbreaks in 2020, some resulting in worker deaths.

Smith joined Smithfield in 2003 as a financial analyst. He held various executive leadership roles with Smithfield overseas before returning to Virginia as the company’s chief strategic officer.

Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Mount Olive and an MBA from William & Mary.

WARREN THOMPSON

FOUNDER, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN, THOMPSON HOSPITALITY CORP., RESTON

Born in rural Windsor, Thompson got hit with an entrepreneurial drive early.

At 14, he launched a grass-cutting business. A year later, he sold produce out of a school bus. By the age of 16, he’d purchased the family hog business from his father.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from Hampden-Sydney College in 1981, Thompson earned his MBA from the University of Virginia.

Thompson worked for the Marriott Corp. for nine years before deciding to buy 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants from the company in 1992. Thompson Hospitality was born.

In 1997, Thompson Hospitality and Compass Group formed a partnership that runs dining services for companies, universities and hospitals, now the largest minority-owned food and facilities management company in the U.S. The company also owns several restaurants and chains, including The Ridley, an upscale-casual restaurant in Charlottesville named after Walter Nathaniel Ridley, the first Black man to receive a doctorate from a predominantly white university in the South (U.Va.).

Thompson serves on the boards of Richmond-based Performance Food Group and Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. He’s also a member of the Hampden-Sydney board of trustees.

CHARLES E. TYSON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, LL FLOORING, RICHMOND

Tyson stepped up as interim president and principal executive officer at the Henrico County-based retailer of hard-surface flooring after Dennis Knowles resigned abruptly as president, CEO and board member in February 2020.

At that time, Tyson had been at the company for less than two years as chief customer experience officer. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s merchandising and marketing, consumer and pro sales, installation and distribution.

Last May, members of the board announced Tyson had received the top job permanently, a month after the company rebranded from Lumber Liquidators to LL Flooring.

Previously, Tyson worked at Advance Auto Parts Inc. for nine years, most recently as executive vice president for merchandising, marketing and supply chain. Before that, he held senior roles at Office Max and Office Depot.

In 2020, LL Holdings reported $1.1 billion in net sales, a $5.1 million increase over 2019. In 2020, the company opened six stores while closing 15 others, including all Canadian locations. The company now operates 416 stores nationwide.

A graduate of Guildhall University in London, Tyson volunteered as a fundraiser for JDRF International, which funds research into Type 1 diabetes.

ROBERT S. ‘BOBBY’ UKROP

CHAIRMAN AND CEO, UKROP’S HOMESTYLE FOODS LLC, RICHMOND

As a student at Richmond’s George Wythe High School, Ukrop juggled his studies with a job working as a courtesy clerk at the family-owned Ukrop’s Super Markets.

After earning a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Richmond and the University of Virginia respectively, Ukrop returned to the family business, where he enjoyed a 40-year career, with more than a decade spent as CEO. He also served on UR’s board for 20 years and chaired ChamberRVA.

In 2010, the Giant-Carlisle division of Ahold purchased the grocery chain, but Ukrop wasn’t ready for retirement. He launched Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods, which produces ready-to-heat meals, sides, salads and baked goods that are familiar to legions of Richmonders.

In December 2020, Ukrop’s Market Hall, a retail space and dining room in Henrico County, opened to immediate success and has about 400 employees.

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT MY WORK: The opportunity to help enhance the quality of life for our customers and our associates as together we strive to nourish families and communities with the food we make.

WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL: Very shy, probably because I stuttered

SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN: Ballroom dancing lessons

DENNIS WINNETT

PLANT MANAGER, THE HERSHEY CO., STUARTS DRAFT

For more than three decades, Winnett has worked in operations management for the food industry.

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Winnett launched his career working as a frontline supervisor for Quaker Oats in Missouri. Next, he was off to the Chicago area as technical coordinator of puff cereal processing for General Mills.

Winnett then worked as a plant manager at International Multifoods in Missouri and later at an Alabama facility owned by Golden Oval Eggs.

Making a sweet career move, Winnett joined the Hershey Co. in 2012 as a plant manager in Robinson, Illinois. Four years later, he moved
to Stuarts Draft to manage Hershey’s second-largest plant in the United States, where employees produce Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and
other products.

During his time with the company, Winnett has overseen considerable growth. In 2019, the Hershey Co. invested $104 million on an expansion and a facility to house the Roasting Center of Excellence. A year later, the company invested an additional $135 million on expansion, adding more than 100 jobs.

In 2019, the company started holding two-week paid boot camps in Augusta County to train anyone interested in working in food manufacturing.

MICHAEL A. WITYNSKI

PRESIDENT AND CEO, DOLLAR TREE INC., CHESAPEAKE

With Witynski at the helm, Dollar Tree made more than $25 billion in sales in 2020, an 8% increase over the prior year.

Dollar Tree’s board selected Witynski, who has more than four decades of retail experience, to replace CEO Gary Philbin in July 2020.

With supply chains logjammed, raw material costs increasing and inflation on the rise in mid-2021, Witynski said the store would continue to “deliver at a dollar.” More locations are opening in 2021, including some that combine Dollar Tree with Family Dollar, a discount store where prices are not locked in at $1 per item.

A Fortune 500 company, the discount retail giant operates under the brands Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada. It owns more than 15,700 stores and employs more than 200,000.

After joining Dollar Tree in 2010 as senior vice president of stores, Witynski quickly climbed the ranks, becoming president in 2017.

Earlier in his career, Witynski worked as president of Shaw’s Supermarkets and as executive for Supervalu Inc.

A graduate of Benedictine University in Illinois, Witynski sits on the boards of the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.

JACK WOODFIN

CEO AND PRESIDENT, WOODFIN HEATING INC.; CEO, EMC MECHANICAL SERVICES, RICHMOND

Woodfin lost his mother, Anne Cunningham Woodfin, in February, when she died after battling a decades-long inoperable brain tumor. Together with her late husband, John Howlett Woodfin, she co-founded Woodfin Oil in 1977.

Caring for the company his mother and father built has been Jack Woodfin’s mission for the entirety of his career. Since 2011, he’s led the business as CEO. He didn’t start off at the top, though, instead working as retail manager from 1995 until 2001, when he became chief operating officer and executive vice president.

Additionally, Woodfin has served as CEO of a Richmond commercial mechanical contractor, EMC, since 2006.

Woodfin Co. began as a small heating-oil firm, but it’s grown over the years to offer a variety of services, including plumbing, electrical and home automation. In 2020, Woodfin Heating Inc. received $10 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

As a young man, Woodfin followed in his father’s footsteps and attended VMI, where he played varsity tennis. After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering in 1991, Woodfin went on to earn an MBA from the University of Virginia.

TING XU

PRESIDENT, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, EVERGREEN ENTERPRISES; CEO AND CO-OWNER, PLOW & HEARTH, RICHMOND

A native of Shanghai, Xu understands the difficulties of owning a small business.

Although she now runs one of the U.S.’s largest flag wholesalers, Xu launched Evergreen Enterprises from her garage in 1993.

When demand for outdoor heaters by restaurant owners skyrocketed last year because the chances of contracting COVID-19 while outside are lower, Xu wanted to help.

After locating 200 much-in-demand outdoor heat lamps, she worked with the city of Richmond to donate them to small-business owners. “We’re fortunate to have the sourcing capabilities and factory partners to help us deliver these sought-after heaters,” Xu said in a statement.

Evergreen Enterprises has come a long way since Xu’s mother designed and sewed flags that the family sold at the Virginia State Fair. With annual revenue of about $250 million and more than 1,000 employees, Evergreen Enterprises sells home and garden decor, gifts and licensed sports items. The company more than doubled the size of its Richmond showroom this year.

Over a decade ago, Xu and her husband, Frank Qiu, bought PH International LLC, parent company to a number of brands, including Madison-based Plow & Hearth, which sells home decor and garden products.

Law

FARHAD AGHDAMI

MANAGING PARTNER, RICHMOND OFFICE, WILLIAMS MULLEN, RICHMOND

In his 22-year career with Williams Mullen, the state’s third-largest law firm, Aghdami has focused on high-net-worth individuals and families, middle-market business owners, institutional fiduciaries and charitable entities. An expert in wealth transfer tax and business succession, he has published numerous articles on private-wealth law. He became managing partner at the firm’s Richmond office in 2015.

A graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law and Georgetown University Law Center, where he received a Master of Laws degree in tax, Aghdami is a member of the Southern Federal Tax Institute board and has held leadership positions in numerous professional organizations, including the Virginia Bar Association’s wills, trusts and estates section, of which he was chairman from 2011 to 2013. He has been the state chairman and southeast region chairman for the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and serves on the board of directors of the Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia, a mutual property and casualty insurance company.

He has also sat on boards for the Medical College of Virginia Foundation, Venture Richmond and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: University of Virginia men’s basketball

VICTOR O. CARDWELL

PRINCIPAL AND CHAIRMAN, WOODS ROGERS PLC, ROANOKE

As co-chairman of the firm’s labor and employment law section, Cardwell focuses on diversity, the Fair Labor Standards Act and labor/management relations, including union-organizing campaigns and union-avoidance techniques, as well as workplace violence. President-elect of the Virginia Bar Association, Cardwell is chairman of Woods Rogers’ board, president-elect of the Virginia Bar Association Board of Governors and a member of the Virginia State Bar board that organizes its annual diversity conference.

A graduate of the University of Virginia and the Washington and Lee University School of Law, Cardwell counsels the Bradley Free Clinic and is on the board for the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges. In 2019, he received the Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Social Justice Award from the Roanoke chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

In an interview with Virginia Business last year, Cardwell said that structural and cultural racism is a “historical impediment … so ingrained in our culture that to have a fair conversation, we must look at the health care, housing, educational and judicial systems.”

FAVORITE APP: Duolingo; I am over 300 days taking my Spanish lessons. I am not good, but I can understand and speak more than I could.

RICHARD CULLEN

SENIOR PARTNER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN, McGUIREWOODS LLP, RICHMOND

The former longtime chairman of Virginia’s largest law firm, Cullen is senior partner in the government investigations and white-collar litigation department. He counsels corporate executives, boards of directors, elected officials (such as former Vice President Mike Pence) and the heads of major nonprofit institutions on sensitive matters often involving national security.

Cullen’s government roots run deep. He served as Virginia’s attorney general from 1997 to 1998 and was U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia during President George H.W. Bush’s administration. He was on President George W. Bush’s legal team during the 2000 Florida recount, served as special counsel to then-U.S. Sen. Paul Trible during the Iran-Contra investigation and was on the staff of U.S. Rep. M. Caldwell Butler during the Watergate investigation.

He also was one of the attorneys advising Virginia Military Institute during a state-ordered investigation into alleged systemic racism at the college, but in early 2021, VMI switched firms.

A graduate of Furman University in South Carolina and the University of Richmond School of Law, Cullen is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court bar and was behind the institution of McGuireWoods Consulting, the firm’s public affairs arm.

CALVIN W. ‘WOODY’ FOWLER JR.

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, WILLIAMS MULLEN, RICHMOND

Admitted to the commonwealth bar in 1987, Fowler specializes in business litigation. Serving as chairman, president and CEO of the state’s third-largest law firm since 2015, he has represented a variety of institutional clients, including universities, health care systems, insurance companies, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. He’s one of just 20 attorneys who have been included in Virginia Business’ Legal Elite each year since the project began in 2000. This year, he was named Richmond Lawyer of the Year for Litigation, Banking and Finance by Best Lawyers. Chambers USA ranks him as an eminent practitioner.

The University of Virginia alum serves on the boards of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

With seven offices, including five in Virginia, Williams Mullen reported $148 million in 2020 revenue.

RECENT READ: “My American Journey,” by Colin Powell with Joseph E. Persico

THOMAS R. FRANTZ

CHAIRMAN EMERITUS AND PARTNER, WILLIAMS MULLEN, VIRGINIA BEACH

In Frantz’s 47 years at Williams Mullen, he has served as the firm’s chairman, CEO and president, all while advising multinational corporations, handling major mergers and acquisitions, and lecturing on tax and corporate law at local universities and national professional associations.

Chair of the GO Virginia Region 5 Council, he has served on numerous community boards, including the Hampton Roads Community Foundation and the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

Frantz also sits on the board of Miller Energy Inc. and Virginia Beach-based DroneUp, an aerial drone solutions company in which Walmart recently invested and for which Frantz served as an adviser.

A William & Mary graduate with three degrees, he sat on W&M’s board of visitors for nine years and also serves on its Real Estate Foundation board. The retired U.S. Army captain also was King Neptune XXIII at the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival in 1996.

BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: California cabernet

RECENT READ: “A Gambling Man,” by David Baldacci

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: More focus on strengthening its regions.

RISA L. GOLUBOFF

DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW, CHARLOTTESVILLE

The 12th dean of the University of Virginia School of Law is also its first female dean. Goluboff assumed the post in 2015 after a 13-year professorship, during which she directed the university’s J.D.-M.A. in History program. In December, she was appointed to a second five-year term as dean.

Last year’s entering class was the most diverse in the law school’s history, with more than half of the students made up of women and 33% identifying as people of color.

Long interested in social justice, Goluboff taught sociology at the University of Cape Town in South Africa as a Fulbright Scholar and is an award-winning author of two books, “The Lost Promise of Civil Rights” and “Vagrant Nation: Police Power, Constitutional Change, and the Making of the 1960s.” The latter project was supported by a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

At U.Va., she teaches law and history, and Goluboff has received the school’s Carl McFarland Prize and its All-University Teaching Award.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, master’s and doctoral degrees from Princeton University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. She clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

DOUGLAS S. GRANGER

MANAGING PARTNER, RICHMOND OFFICE, HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP, RICHMOND

A lifetime career at Virginia’s second-largest law firm — first joining what was then Hunton & Williams as a summer associate in 1984 — culminated with Granger being named managing partner of the firm’s Richmond office in 2017. Over his decades there, he has developed expertise working with multinational companies on corporate mergers and acquisitions across a wide range of industry sectors: energy, building/construction, media and telecommunications, public utility, tobacco, insurance, railroads and health care. Granger is especially versed in U.K. strategic acquisitions and was lead counsel for several M&A Atlas Award-winning multibillion-dollar deals.

Now a global firm with more than 1,000 attorneys in 19 cities and two client centers, Hunton employs 200 attorneys in its Richmond headquarters office.

A graduate of William & Mary and the University of Virginia School of Law, the Richmond native has served on boards for the American Heart Association and the Maymont Foundation. The father of four has coached football, basketball and baseball and volunteers with United Way, the YWCA and the Boy Scouts, parlaying his interest in sports as a board member of the Tuckahoe YMCA and Avalon Recreation Association.

ROGER L. GREGORY

CHIEF JUDGE, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT, RICHMOND

Born in Philadelphia but with deep roots in Virginia, Gregory was appointed in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, becoming the first Black person to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was renominated by President George W. Bush in 2001, achieving another milestone as the first federal appellate court appointee by presidents of opposing political parties.

Gregory’s political standing was long in the making as co-founder of Wilder & Gregory, the Richmond firm he started with former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation’s first elected Black governor. Gregory graduated from Virginia State University and the University of Michigan Law School.

Appointed chief judge in 2016, Gregory’s notable opinions have humanitarian leanings. In 2014, he joined the majority opinion declaring Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. In 2017, he upheld a lower court’s injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban on refugees and nationals from certain countries.

A member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, Gregory has served on the boards of the Industrial Development Authority of Richmond, Leadership Metro Richmond and ChildFund International. He is a trustee emeritus for the University of Richmond.

MARGARET F. HARDY

SHAREHOLDER, PRESIDENT, SANDS ANDERSON PC, FREDERICKSBURG

A triumvirate of skills and experience has served Hardy well in her role as president of Sands Anderson, a firm that includes health care and related regulatory issues among its practice areas. A registered nurse with an MBA from Old Dominion University and a law degree from William & Mary, Hardy is the managing shareholder in the firm’s Fredericksburg office, representing health care providers, agencies and facilities in malpractice actions.

Hardy joined the firm more than 20 years ago as a summer associate, becoming its president in 2017. Also the president of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, she is frequently named to professional “best of” lists among law associations. She serves as legal counsel for the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and is on the board of trustees for Mary Washington Healthcare, UMFS and the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region.

In her spare time, Hardy is a fiber artist, raising Angora goats and spinning their wool for yarn she uses in her art. She also likes riding motorcycles.

FAVORITE BOOK: “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee

JONATHAN P. HARMON

CHAIRMAN, McGUIREWOODS LLP, RICHMOND

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Harmon is a Gulf War veteran who served in the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, and he has headed McGuireWoods since 2017. A nationally recognized trial lawyer who formerly led the firm’s business and securities litigation department, he is its first Black chairman and a leader for the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Harmon’s notable clients include Yahoo!, International Paper Co., United Parcel Service and DuPont. In many instances, he is “parachuted” into high-profile cases a short time before trial — a sort of secret weapon who nets multimillion-dollar results.

He’s a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Virginia Law Foundation, as well as a board member of the Pro Bono Institute, and Harmon also was included in The Best Lawyers in America for 2021.

A graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, Harmon participates in a mentorship program for local high school students interested in legal careers. He has for several years led Bible-study classes for prisoners through Faith Landmarks Ministries.

BRANT J. HELLWIG

PROFESSOR OF LAW, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, LEXINGTON

An expert in the field of federal taxation, Hellwig taught partnership, corporate, and estate and gift taxation at Washington and Lee University from 2012 until 2015, when he was named dean. In 2020, he announced he would return to full-time faculty after a sabbatical, stepping down as dean in June 2021. Michelle Lyon Drumbl, the Robert O. Bentley Professor of Law and director of W&L’s Tax Clinic, is serving as interim dean.

A Wake Forest University and New York University alumnus, Hellwig is credited with leading the law school through a difficult financial period and hiring more minority and female educators, who now make up 50% of the school’s faculty. Students named him “Faculty Member of the Year” in 2020.

Hellwig is widely published in law review journals and academic textbooks, including “The United States Tax Court: An Historical Analysis,” commissioned by the U.S. Tax Court. His published works tackle topics ranging from federal estate and gift taxation to the estate tax treatment of closely held business entities employed as trust substitutes.

Prior to W&L, Hellwig taught at the University of South Carolina School of Law for a decade.

THOMAS C. INGLIMA

MANAGING PARTNER, WILLCOX SAVAGE PC, NORFOLK

Inglima, who specializes in mergers and acquisitions, replaced Robert L. Dewey as the firm’s managing partner in June 2021, after having served as a member of Willcox Savage’s management committee for two decades and as chair of its compensation committee. He also previously chaired the firm’s corporate, securities and finance practice group.

The firm, which has 60 attorneys in three offices (Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Tysons), celebrated its 125th anniversary last year and boasts 29 practice areas ranging from banking and intellectual property to transportation and maritime law. Real estate is its one of its largest practices, with 11 attorneys.

A graduate of Duke University and Georgetown University Law Center, Inglima was lead counsel to Landmark Communications Inc. when the Norfolk media company sold its flagship property, The Weather Channel, to NBCUniversal for a reported $3.5 billion. He also has represented Dominion Enterprises in several sales and is general counsel to the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission, which oversees major traffic projects in the region.

JOHN ‘JACK’ LAVOIE

PARTNER IN CHARGE — RESTON, COOLEY LLP, RESTON

The head of Cooley’s real estate practice group, Lavoie focuses on commercial transactions, including the purchase, sale, and development and leasing of office, industrial, retail and technology-driven properties. He has represented buyers and sellers, landlords and tenants, and corporations and individuals. He established a subspecialty representing clean and renewable energy projects, including the development of wind and solar lease farms and related installations.

A graduate of Catholic University and the Georgetown University Law Center, Lavoie joined the Palo Alto, California-based law firm in 2008, handling transactions throughout the Washington, D.C., metro area and mid-Atlantic region with retail projects including Tysons Corner Center and Potomac Mills.

Before joining Cooley, Lavoie was a partner at Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald, a firm specializing in construction and surety law in five cities, and Staubach Co., a real estate advisory firm. A classmate of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Lavoie served on the transition committee after McAuliffe was elected in 2013.

Lavoie is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors. He cites American history and Minor League Baseball among his passions.

DONALD W. LEMONS

CHIEF JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF VIRGINIA, RICHMOND

Born in Washington, D.C., Lemons has served as a judge or justice at every level of Virginia’s judiciary. He was named the 26th chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court by his fellow justices in 2015 after 15 years of service on the commonwealth’s highest court.

Lemons also is a well-regarded educator who’s currently a distinguished professor of judicial studies at Washington and Lee University; he formerly served as assistant law dean at the University of Virginia, his alma mater. He also was an adjunct professor of law at the University of Richmond’s law school.

Reared in Northern Virginia — his father was a Secret Service agent on the protection detail for President Harry S. Truman — Lemons started out as a probation officer for the Fairfax County Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court. Lemons was in private law practice for 18 years before his 1995 judicial appointment to the Richmond Circuit Court, where he created a pioneering “drug court” for nonviolent offenders. The General Assembly elected him to Virginia’s Court of Appeals in 1998.

The former president of the American Inns of Court also received the Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics in 2019.

MONICA T. MONDAY

MANAGING PARTNER, GENTRY LOCKE ATTORNEYS, ROANOKE

The first woman to lead Gentry Locke, Virginia’s ninth-largest law firm, Monday joined the firm in 1993, making partner in 1999. She has been managing partner at the 63-attorney firm since January 2013.

She also leads the firm’s appellate practice, representing clients in state and federal appellate courts in cases involving commercial and business disputes, health care, personal injury, local government matters and domestic relations.

Last year, Best Lawyers in America named her “Roanoke Lawyer of the Year for Appellate Practice.” With her 2015 induction as a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Monday was only the fifth Virginia attorney to be so honored.

The William & Mary alumna is a longtime board member of The Harvest Foundation and also served for a decade on the board of the Virginia Museum of Natural History.

FIRST JOB: Working at FAO Schwarz toy store

PERSON I ADMIRE: My mother, who, while raising two teenage girls, worked full time and put herself through college.

THURSTON R. MOORE

CHAIRMAN EMERITUS AND SPECIAL COUNSEL, HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP, RICHMOND

A Richmond native, Moore received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Virginia and joined the state’s now-second-largest law firm right after graduation in 1974.

Moore’s expertise lies in corporate and securities representation, with particular emphasis on corporate financing and governance, venture capital, real estate investment trusts and partnership law. His tenure at Hunton Andrews Kurth includes seven years as chairman of its executive committee and 15 as managing partner.

He has a particular interest in educational missions. Moore is board chairman emeritus of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and chairs the board of NextUp RVA, an after-school program for Richmond middle school students.

He also serves as president of the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, which funds nonprofit organizations in and around Richmond, awarding about $128 million since 1988.

FAVORITE APP: PictureThis for plant identification

MOST RECENT BOOK READ: “Rescuing the Planet: Protecting Half the Land to Heal the Earth,” by Tony Hiss

WHAT I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: Giving the public more access to the culture of our state through museums and teaching more history in the schools.

JAY MYERSON

PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA STATE BAR; FOUNDER AND OWNER, THE MYERSON LAW GROUP PC, RESTON

Myerson, former president of the Fairfax Bar Association, is serving as the 2021-22 president of the Virginia State Bar. Unlike the Virginia Bar Association, which is an independent nonprofit organization for Virginia attorneys, the state bar is an administrative agency for the Supreme Court of Virginia but does not receive state tax dollars.

A double graduate of Georgetown University, Myerson practiced civil litigation and ERISA for two years as an associate, was a litigation and enforcement attorney for the Federal Election Commission from 1978 to 1980, and returned to private practice as a partner at Israel & Raley for six years. In 1986, he founded his small litigation practice, which specializes in family law, criminal defense and civil disputes.

A member of the state bar’s executive committee since 2018, Myerson has volunteered his time with the budget and finance committee and served for six years on its legal ethics committee. Over the years, he has been honored by the Fairfax Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar multiple times. He also has been inducted as a fellow in the Virginia Law Foundation.

RICHARD H. OTTINGER

PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA BAR ASSOCIATION; PARTNER, VANDEVENTER BLACK LLP, NORFOLK

Recognized for his expertise in admiralty and maritime law, Ottinger currently serves as president of the Virginia Bar Association, the nation’s oldest voluntary organization for attorneys. Among the VBA’s goals are completing its strategic plan and building membership and relationships with law schools.

The association, which is known for its Virginia gubernatorial candidates’ debate held at the Omni Homestead Resort every four years, decided this year to cancel the event after Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin declined to participate.

An experienced litigator at Vandeventer Black, Ottinger focuses on intellectual property disputes, tort defense, transportation and maritime litigation, and complex trust and estate disputes for clients ranging from international manufacturing companies to small partnerships. He also serves on the firm’s executive board and co-chairs its government relations committee.

Ottinger’s recognitions include Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s “Leaders in the Law” in 2020 and the Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Sandra P. Thompson Award.

He’s a graduate of Boston University and the William & Mary School of Law and currently serves on the boards of the Norfolk Economic Development Authority and the Downtown Norfolk Council.

COURTNEY MOATES PAULK

PRESIDENT, HIRSCHLER, RICHMOND

Paulk was named the 75-year-old firm’s first female president in 2018 and heads its litigation practice.

Her expertise in the construction industry has garnered recognitions in Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Virginia Super Lawyers. She represents developers and contractors on claims and dispute resolution, contracts and industry-specific issues such as defective work, mechanics liens and payment bonds. Paulk is a member of the Associated General Contractors and the Virginia State Bar’s Construction Law and Public Contracts Section, as well as a fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

With 86 attorneys, Hirschler has offices in Richmond, Fredericksburg and Tysons, and it has had a real-estate practice since the 1970s.

A Virginia native, Paulk is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and the University of Richmond School of Law.

Outside of legal circles, Paulk is well known as a competitive open-water swimmer. She is the only person to complete the “Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming” four times — circling Manhattan and crossing the English and Catalina channels.

Paulk also volunteers with SwimRVA, a nonprofit community aquatics organization, and serves on the board of Richmond Sports Backers.

WENDY COLLINS PERDUE

DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND SCHOOL OF LAW, RICHMOND

Perdue had a long teaching career as associate dean and professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center before becoming dean of the University of Richmond School of Law in 2011. Her areas of expertise include civil procedure, conflict of laws and land use.

Recognizing the 150th anniversary of UR’s law school in 2020, Perdue wrote an op-ed column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, focusing on attorneys serving the needs of community members compassionately and ethically.

A graduate of Wellesley College and the Duke University School of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the law journal, Perdue began her career at Hogan & Hartson in Washington, D.C., after clerking for then-Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who later was named to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Perdue is widely published in her areas of practice. She was the editor of the two-volume “Procedure and Private International Law” (2017).

Perdue is the immediate past president of the Association of American Law Schools and a former vice president of Order of the Coif, an honor society for law school graduates.

JOHN M. RAMIREZ

MANAGING PARTNER, VIRGINIA BEACH OFFICE, TROUTMAN PEPPER, VIRGINIA BEACH

Ramirez is the longtime leader of the Virginia Beach office of Troutman Pepper (formerly known as Troutman Sanders before the Atlanta-based Troutman Sanders merged last year with Philadelphia’s Pepper Hamilton law firm).

A University of Virginia and University of Richmond School of Law graduate, Ramirez has focused his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital transactions and commercial finance transactions. His representation has included all aspects of business for a national specialty contractor; product development negotiation and license agreement for a software company; and a private equity fund’s acquisition and financing of a distribution business.

Best Lawyers in America last year named Ramirez the Corporate Law Norfolk Lawyer of the Year, and it has recognized him for his mergers and acquisitions work every year since 2012.

Ramirez is also a 2008 alumnus of Norfolk’s CIVIC Leadership Institute, an eight-month program studying civic service and community impact in the Hampton Roads region.

KEN RANDALL

ALLISON AND DOROTHY ROUSE DEAN, ANTONIN SCALIA LAW SCHOOL, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY, ARLINGTON

Randall joined George Mason University’s Scalia Law School as its dean in late 2020.

Formerly the dean of the University of Alabama School of Law from 1994 to 2013, Randall oversaw the creation of the nation’s first online Master of Laws degree at an American Bar Association-accredited law school and helped Alabama Law’s U.S. News & World Report ranking rise from 96th to 21st place.

With a doctorate and a master’s degree in international law from Columbia University, he also holds degrees from Yale and Hofstra universities and was editor-in-chief of the Hofstra Law Review.

Randall also is an entrepreneur. In 2013, he founded iLaw Distance Education, a market leader in online legal education, partnering with nearly 25% of all law schools. In 2017, BARBRI Holdings, through Leeds Capital, acquired iLawVentures LLC for an undisclosed amount.

In a February 2021 interview with Above the Law, Randall touted George Mason’s law school faculty and its proximity to Washington, D.C., and Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 in Arlington. “We need to be aware that lawyers work collaboratively,” he said. “That’s really what being a lawyer in 2021 is all about.”

LAURA FOOTE REIFF

CO-MANAGING SHAREHOLDER — NORTHERN VIRGINIA OFFICE, GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP, McLEAN

Reiff works in a timely field of law: immigration and compliance, which includes her role as legal counsel for the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, a business alliance group she co-founded in 1999.

She manages Greenberg Traurig’s business immigration and compliance practice, advising U.S. and foreign corporations on compliance-related issues such as Form I-9 eligibility employment verification matters. She conducts I-9, H-1B and H-2B compliance inspections relating to routine internal reviews and due diligence during mergers and acquisitions or investigations.

Reiff also co-chairs the international employment, immigration and workforce strategies subgroup for the firm’s labor and employment practice. A founding member of the EB-5 Immigration Coalition, she is an immigration advocate — particularly for businesses employing lesser-skilled immigrant labor — and has represented businesses within the framework of the Regional Center Program created by the federal government under the auspices of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which offered permanent residency to qualified foreign investors. It expired in July but is under consideration by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

A former trustee for the American Immigration Law Foundation, Reiff joined the firm in 1999 after earning her juris doctorate from the George Washington University Law School.

F. DOUGLAS ROSS

MANAGING SHAREHOLDER, ODIN, FELDMAN & PITTLEMAN PC, RESTON

A seasoned litigator, Ross specializes in representation banking, real estate, title insurance, shareholder and partnership disputes, and defamation law. Ross primarily appears before the Virginia state courts and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and occasionally represents clients in courts outside of the state.

A graduate of the George Washington University Law School and Duke University, last year Ross was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation, and he holds the “AV Preeminent” rating from Martindale-Hubbell through its peer review rating system for professional excellence and integrity.

Established in 1972, Odin, Feldman & Pittleman employs more than 60 attorneys in numerous practice areas ranging from family law and real estate to corporate and technology law. The firm is nationally ranked Tier 2 in four practice areas and regionally ranked Tier 1 in four practice areas, including commercial litigation, in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of law firms.

KATHERINE ‘KATE’ J. SEIKALY

MANAGING PARTNER, TYSONS OFFICE, REED SMITH LLP, McLEAN

In her 12 years at global law firm Reed Smith LLP, Seikaly has established herself in the areas of government and internal investigations, regulatory compliance and enforcement matters. She has particular expertise in white collar investigations, financial crime and other fraud and abuse matters, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the False Claims Act, which penalizes those submitting false claims to the government. She represents clients in health care, manufacturing, defense, and financial and banking services.

In 2019, Seikaly successfully co-led the defense of the Russian-owned Concord Management & Consulting LLC, which was indicted by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller for conspiracy to defraud the United States for its alleged role in meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to sway it in President Donald Trump’s favor. The case was dropped in 2020.

Seikaly earned her juris doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law. She has been named to Global Investigations Review’s Women in Investigations 2021 list and is an executive board member of the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam section, which focuses on the False Claims Act.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM: Washington Nationals

ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: More railway!

PHILIPPE JEAN-CLAUDE SIGNORE

MANAGING PARTNER, OBLON, McCLELLAND, MAIER & NEUSTADT LLP, ALEXANDRIA

A patent attorney in the firm’s Electrical and Mechanical Patent Prosecution group, Signore focuses on litigation, monetizing and technology transfer, representing clients in the fields of energy, software electronics and consumer products. With a doctorate in physics from the University of Florida, he has expertise working with industries such as aerospace, semiconductors, optical systems, medical devices, automotive, energy, solid state batteries, oil and gas, consumer electronics, computer hardware, software and artificial intelligence.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Georgetown University Law Center, Signore has been named an “IP Star” by Managing IP Magazine for three consecutive years, and he’s been on Intellectual Asset Management Magazine’s list of the top 1,000 patent prosecution attorneys in the world from 2016 to 2020. He is widely published on the topic of patents in America, Europe and Asia, where he also regularly lectures. Signore has taught patent law at the George Mason School of Law and at the Center for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) in Strasbourg, France.

Signore’s doctorate work included solid state physics, superconductivity, semiconductors and magnetic materials. He has won several national awards for his work in electrical and mechanical patents.

BROOKS M. SMITH

MANAGING PARTNER, RICHMOND OFFICE, TROUTMAN PEPPER, RICHMOND

Smith, whose practice includes compliance, health and safety law, has represented clients such as Dominion Energy, the Virginia Manufacturers Association and the Virginia Coal & Energy Alliance.

He’s written extensively on developments relating to the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws, and he has chaired conferences across the United States and Canada. He has advised federal and state trade associations, including the Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council and the Virginia Manufacturing Council, advocating for companies before the Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental agencies.

He joined Troutman Pepper in 2013 (when it was known as Troutman Sanders), after 13 years with Hunton & Williams (now Hunton Andrews Kurth).

Smith is a past trustee of the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation and the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation.

A graduate of the Vermont Law School, he serves on the boards of Art on Wheels, the Richmond Jazz Society and Richmond CultureWorks. He also is a past board member of the Valentine Museum, and a board member emeritus of the Richmond Public Library Foundation.

A. BENJAMIN SPENCER

DEAN, CHANCELLOR PROFESSOR OF LAW, WILLIAM & MARY LAW SCHOOL, WILLIAMSBURG

When Spencer was named dean at America’s oldest law school last year, he made history himself as William & Mary’s first Black dean. He also is the Chancellor Professor of Law, covering civil procedure, federal civil litigation and military law.

Spencer has a distinguished career as an educator, having served as the Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia and director of the Frances Lewis Law Center and associate dean for research at Washington and Lee University. He was the 2019-20 Bennett Boskey Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He started his career teaching at the University of Richmond School of Law.

A captain in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, Spencer is the third generation of men in his family to achieve distinctive firsts. His father is retired U.S. District Court Senior Judge James R. Spencer — the nation’s first Black chief judge — and his grandfather, Dr. Adam S. Arnold, was the first Black professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Spencer earned his law degree from Harvard, a master’s degree in criminal justice policy from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Morehouse College.

MICHAEL LAURENCE STERLING

MANAGING PARTNER, VANDEVENTER BLACK LLP, NORFOLK

In his 36-year career at the Norfolk-based law firm, Sterling has built an expertise in construction law, on a wide array of projects including wind tunnels, cable-stay bridges, highways, stadiums, hotels, hospitals, condominiums and ship construction. He has represented stakeholders from general contractors and design professionals to vendors, manufacturers and owners.

Sterling is also versed in nonconstruction areas such as eminent domain and land use, securities fraud, commercial litigation and work disputes. He manages Vandeventer Black’s dispute-resolution area and serves
as an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association.

A graduate of William & Mary Law School, Sterling is a past chairman of the Virginia Bar Association Construction and Public Contract Law Executive Council. He serves on the board of directors of Eggleston Services, which provides services for people with disabilities, and serves as treasurer for its foundation. He is also a board member of WHRO, Hampton Roads’ public radio and television station.

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT MY WORK: An evolution of challenges each day, and opportunities to do well for others

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Baking bread

DANIEL C. SUMMERLIN III

PRINCIPAL AND PRESIDENT, WOODS ROGERS PLC, ROANOKE

President of the firm since 2015, Summerlin focuses on environmental law, specializing in water, waste and air-quality compliance, and has a subspecialty in brownfield redevelopment. He has represented clients before the Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and other state environmental agencies.

Summerlin is also versed in labor and employment, recently authoring publications on employment law in Virginia, and he has presented on COVID-19 issues in the workplace. He is a litigator and counsels clients on government investigations and white collar criminal defense.

A Roanoke native and University of North Carolina alumnus, Summerlin has worked at Woods Rogers since his 1997 graduation from William & Mary Law School. He is admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals’ Fourth Circuit and the U.S. District Court’s Eastern and Western districts of Virginia.

At 127 years old and with more than 80 attorneys, Woods Rogers is among Virginia’s top 10 largest firms, with offices in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Richmond and Roanoke. Summerlin serves on the executive board of Roanoke’s Council of Community Services and was part of a 2019 team that won the Subaru Ironman Mont-Tremblant relay in Quebec.

ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ TATA

MANAGING PARTNER, NORFOLK OFFICE, HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP, NORFOLK

Based in the firm’s Norfolk office, Tata has expertise in intellectual property litigation and government investigations and commercial litigation. He is also versed in maritime law, products liability defense, employment law and personal injury.

His victory in X-IT Products vs. Walter Kidde, a patent trade secrets case decided in 2001, yielded the largest jury verdict in Virginia history at $116 million. He is routinely involved in multimillion-dollar cases and is regularly recognized by Chambers USA and Super Lawyers as a top litigator. Tata is an alumnus of the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Virginia School of Law, and he became a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

A graduate of Old Dominion University’s MBA program, Tata served on ODU’s board of visitors for six years and currently serves on the Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia board. He is a past president of the Virginia Beach Bar Association and the Virginia Beach General Assembly Delegation’s Judicial Recommendation Panel. Tata’s father, the longtime Virginia Beach Republican Del. Bob Tata, died in June at the age of 91.

CARL W. TOBIAS

WILLIAMS PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND SCHOOL OF LAW, RICHMOND

The author or co-author of more than 200 law review articles, Tobias has honed a particular expertise in federal judicial selection. He is also a widely published commentator, contributing op-eds and essays in national publications such as The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Slate and Politico.

Since 2004, Tobias has been the Williams Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, where he teaches torts, products liability and constitutional law. Prior to his Virginia teaching career, he taught at William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada and the University of Montana School of Law. He began his legal career at Hunton & Williams (now Hunton Andrews Kurth) in Richmond, practicing general civil litigation and general environmental law.

He was a legal consultant to the Food and Drug Administration and the American Bar Association’s Commission on the Twenty-First Century Judiciary, and since 2005, he has been a reporter for the National Conference on Appellate Justice. Tobias belongs to the American Law Institute, whose members are judges, lawyers and legal scholars.

Tobias received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his law degree from the University of Virginia.

WILLIAM R. ‘BILL’ VAN BUREN III

PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN, KAUFMAN & CANOLES PC, NORFOLK

Van Buren’s practice focuses on merger and acquisition transactions, banking and finance, corporate law, capital formation, contract negotiation and health care.

A past president of the Virginia Bar Association and the Virginia Law Foundation, in 1981 he joined the Canoles, Mastracco law firm, which became Kaufman & Canoles in a merger. The firm, which has offices in eight cities in Virginia, is the recipient of the Corporate Darden Award for Regional Leadership. This year, it opened an office in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A William & Mary and University of Virginia School of Law alumnus, Van Buren serves on the executive boards of the Fort Norfolk Retirement Community, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. He is also on the boards of several charitable and local civic organizations in and around Hampton Roads.

FIRST JOB: Newspaper delivery (Van Buren’s family owned the Daily Press until 1986.)

BEVERAGE OF CHOICE: Woodford Reserve bourbon on the rocks

ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: Erase city boundaries and create strong regional governments that would bolster coordinated economic development and consistent regional priorities.

J. TRACY WALKER IV

MANAGING PARTNER, McGUIREWOODS LLP, RICHMOND

As the leader of McGuireWoods’ product liability team, Walker has counseled a range of manufacturing clients in industries ranging from power tools to automobiles. He also has represented some of the world’s largest automakers in national trial, class action and appellate litigation across state borders and jurisdictions.

Over his career, Walker also has handled consumer products safety and class action suits, in addition to commercial litigation at the trial and appellate levels. He is versed in Consumer Products Safety Commission investigations. In 2017, he became managing partner of the state’s largest law firm, 19 years after joining McGuireWoods.

For more than 10 years, Walker has been recognized by Chambers USA in America’s Leading Lawyers for business, litigation, products liability in Virginia.

A member of the Virginia Bar Association, Walker was a member of its Boyd-Graves Conference, which studies and proposes reforms to state laws. Walker also served in several roles with the Richmond Bar Association, including as president and on its board of directors for 11 years. A graduate of the University of Virginia in mechanical engineering, Walker earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Health care

NANCY HOWELL AGEE

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARILION CLINIC, ROANOKE

Agee leads Carilion Clinic, a nonprofit integrated health system that serves more than 1 million people in Virginia and West Virginia and is the Roanoke Valley’s largest employer. Agee began her career in health care as a nurse, then moved into leadership roles at Carilion.

As executive vice president and chief operating officer, she remodeled Carilion from a group of hospitals to a physician-led, clinic-based organization focused on integrated care. The health system also partners with Virginia Tech in the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and in 2018, Carilion and Radford University merged with Jefferson College of Health Sciences, forming Radford University Carilion, which offers degrees in health sciences.

Like many other health care systems, Carilion saw ambitious plans hamstrung by COVID-19 last year. The health system had to pause the $500 million renovation of its flagship hospital, Roanoke Memorial, and it lost around $150 million in revenue because of the pandemic. Nonetheless, Carilion accelerated the adoption of telehealth, and Agee says that at one point during the pandemic, more than 70% of patients were reached through technology. In October 2020, Carilion received a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to fund virtual care centers.

DR. DANNY TK AVULA

VIRGINIA VACCINATION COORDINATOR, RICHMOND

As director of the Richmond and Henrico County health departments, Avula had spent most of 2020 working hundred-hour weeks as he battled COVID-19. No sooner had he taken a vacation than Gov. Ralph Northam’s office called: Would Avula lead Virginia’s vaccination efforts?

Avula said yes. He took the job in January 2021 — when the state was among the slowest vaccinators in the nation and people were complaining. Under his oversight, the process got smoother and by mid-July, more than 72% of Virginia adults had received at least one vaccine dose. Avula’s work was far from over, however. Some parts of the state reported lagging vaccination rates below 40% as of mid-August, even as the highly contagious delta variant spread.

Avula, a practicing pediatric hospitalist, graduated from the University of Virginia when he was just 19. He attended the VCU School of Medicine and completed residencies at VCU and Johns Hopkins University, where he also received a master’s degree in public health. As Richmond’s health director, he established mini-clinics in low-income neighborhoods and pushed outreach to Spanish-speaking communities. Once his state job is done, Avula says he is excited to return to his local work.

ANTHONY ‘TONY’ BAKER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PLANT MANAGEMENT, ELKTON VACCINE OPERATIONS LEADER, MERCK & CO. INC., ELKTON

As executive director of Merck’s Elkton plant, Baker helps carry out the company’s mission of delivering lifesaving medicines and vaccines to patients around the world. The global sprint to produce COVID-19 vaccines “helped reinforce my commitment to vaccine manufacturing and accessibility,” Baker says. It also gave him hope that in the future, the development and approval process might be expedited for vaccines treating other conditions.

In February, Merck partnered with Johnson & Johnson to produce more of its erstwhile rival’s vaccine to speed up distribution, earning praise from President Joe Biden.

Baker has been with Merck & Co. since 2008 and moved to Rockingham County in 2015. Merck has operated a plant there for 80 years and is investing $1 billion to expand the plant’s production of its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Baker is known for mentoring junior staff at the company — “trying to pay it forward,” he says.

His passion is scuba diving, and he and his wife, Katie, recently took their 13-year-old twins on their first diving trip off the Caribbean island of Bonaire.

AMY CARRIER

PRESIDENT and CEO, CENTRA HEALTH, LYNCHBURG

On Sept. 7, Carrier took the helm at Centra, a nonprofit health care system serving more than 500,000 people in Central Virginia.

Carrier was previously market president of the Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System since October 2018, after serving six months as chief operating officer for the Bon Secours Virginia Health System in Richmond. Prior to Bon Secours, she was senior vice president of Wellstar Health System and president of Wellstar Cobb Hospital in Georgia.

Carrier holds a bachelor’s degree in labor and industrial relations from Penn State and an MBA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

In 2020, after 18 years of marriage, Carrier and her husband became the guardians of a teenage girl from Uzbekistan.

FIRST JOB: My first real job after college was as a part-time medical records clerk in a psychiatric medical practice. I worked my way through every nonclinical role in health care and continue to carry with me the respect for what every individual person’s role brings to the team as a whole.

SEAN T. CONNAUGHTON

PRESIDENT AND CEO, VIRGINIA HOSPITAL AND HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATION, GLEN ALLEN

Connaughton has served as president and CEO of the VHHA since 2014, but his work took on new urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic. The association, which partners with the Virginia Department of Health to run the Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program, was involved in almost every facet of the state’s pandemic response.

Among the organization’s duties were helping hospitals get personal protective gear and ventilators in the early days of the pandemic, regularly updating a dashboard tracking hospitalized COVID patients in Virginia, and facilitating vaccine distribution. That’s in addition to the VHHA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of hospitals for reimbursement of pandemic-related revenue losses. Through it all, Connaughton has continued to focus on the VHHA’s mission of improving statewide health care access, safety and quality.

Connaughton previously served as Virginia’s transportation secretary from 2010 to 2014, and he was administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration from 2006 to 2009. Connaughton served as a commissioned officer on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard and later joined the Naval Reserve, retiring with the rank of commander.

WILLIAM B. ‘BILL’ DOWNEY

CEO, RIVERSIDE HEALTH SYSTEM, NEWPORT NEWS

Downey first joined Riverside Health System 40 years ago as an administrative extern. After receiving his master’s degree in health administration from the Medical College of Virginia (Virginia Commonwealth University), he rejoined Riverside as an assistant administrator. After serving in many other positions at Riverside and elsewhere, including Salem’s Lewis-Gale Medical Center, he became Riverside’s CEO in 2012.

Riverside, which serves Eastern Virginia, has grown significantly under Downey’s leadership. He’s overseen a $90 million expansion of Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, a $50 million renovation and expansion of Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester and a $35 million expansion of the continuing care community Patriots Colony at Williamsburg. Riverside sold its hospital and physician practices in the Northern Neck and upper Middle Peninsula to VCU Health System in 2021.

Downey currently serves as a board member for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, and in 2020 he received the Hampton Roads Community Action Program’s Community Builders award.

DR. ERIC EDWARDS

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, PHLOW CORP., RICHMOND

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Phlow Corp. was founded at a fortuitous time. Edwards launched the company in early 2020 with Frank Gupton, a department chair at Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Engineering. In May 2020, the Trump administration awarded a four-year, $354 million contract to Phlow to make COVID-19 medications, as well as other essential drugs.

Phlow’s larger aim is to establish a resilient and reliable domestic supply chain for manufacturing essential medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients. The company is moving fast: It has partnered with generic-drug maker Civica Inc. to open a $125 million plant in Petersburg, and it also announced an agreement to supply hard-to-find medicines to a nationwide coalition of children’s hospitals. Officials broke ground in May at the AMPAC Fine Chemicals plant in Petersburg.

Edwards himself has extensive experience in pharma, having previously founded (with his twin brother) Kaléo Inc., a company that produces an injectable pen for allergy emergencies. With a medical degree and a Ph.D. from VCU, Edwards volunteers on a local rescue squad and trains paramedics in pre-hospital emergency care.

W. HEYWOOD FRALIN

CHAIRMAN, MEDICAL FACILITIES OF AMERICA INC.; CHAIRMAN, RETIREMENT UNLIMITED INC., ROANOKE

Fralin, one of Virginia Business’ “Eight over 80” honorees in 2021, is known for his indomitable energy. He is chairman of Medical Facilities of America, which operates 39 skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers in Virginia and North Carolina, and co-chairman of Retirement Unlimited, with 10 senior living communities in Virginia.

He also has served on numerous boards, including a long stint as a member and former chair of the influential State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. During his tenure, which ended in June, he was known for guiding SCHEV’s strategic planning and emphasizing the state’s return on investment for supporting higher education.

Fralin’s generous philanthropy has left a lasting mark on Virginia’s flagship institutions. In December 2019, along with the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust, Fralin and his wife, Cynthia, gave $50 million toward the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, part of the Virginia Tech Carilion Health Sciences and Technology Campus in Roanoke.

At the University of Virginia, his alma mater, the Fralins donated $5 million last year to create the Cynthia and Heywood Fralin Football Coaching Endowment. The university’s art museum is also named for the couple, following their gift of 40 pieces of American art.

MICHAEL J. FRIEDLANDER

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FRALIN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT VTC, ROANOKE

A sophisticated magnetometry helmet that can read magnetic signals from volunteers’ brains as they move around and interact with others. A focused ultrasound device that targets tissues deep in the body, treating movement disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. A COVID-19 Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory that has assisted health districts all over Virginia.

The innovations never cease at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion, where about 30 research teams are working to solve persistent health challenges. Overseeing it all is Friedlander, the founding executive director of the institute as well as vice president for health sciences and technology at Virginia Tech and the senior dean for research at the VTC School of Medicine.

A former neuroscience professor at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Friedlander conducts his own research, specifically investigating brain processes related to vision, developmental plasticity and traumatic brain injury. He serves on several boards, including the Children’s National Hospital Research, Education and Innovation Board; the Valleys Innovation Council; and Virginia Catalyst (also known as the Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp.).

B. FRANK GUPTON

CO-FOUNDER, PHLOW CORP.; FOUNDER AND CEO, MEDICINES FOR ALL INSTITUTE, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY, RICHMOND

Gupton had already retired from a long career in pharmaceuticals when VCU asked him to join its faculty in 2007. He became the Floyd D. Gottwald Professor and chair of the department of chemical and life science engineering at the VCU School of Engineering.

He has focused on the high cost of medicines worldwide, starting the Medicines for All Institute, which optimizes active pharmaceutical ingredient production and then shares its findings with global manufacturers. He also co-founded pharmaceutical manufacturer Phlow Corp. with Dr. Eric Edwards.

In partnership with the institute and nonprofit drugmaker Civica Inc., Phlow landed a $354 million contract with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a U.S. supply chain for producing essential medications and pharmaceutical ingredients. In Petersburg, Phlow is developing a pharmaceutical hub expected to generate at least 350 jobs.

A graduate of the University of Richmond, Georgia Tech and VCU, Gupton was executive director of chemical process development at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, where he led the team that developed the antiviral AIDS medication nevirapine. Through Medicines for All, he helped cut the drug’s cost by 15%.

DR. J. STEPHEN JONES

PRESIDENT AND CEO, INOVA HEALTH SYSTEM, FALLS CHURCH

One of the nation’s top cancer physicians and urologists, Jones not only pilots Inova, the largest private employer in Northern Virginia, but is also a professor of urology at the University of Virginia. Currently, one of his biggest focuses is Inova’s plan to build a $1 billion hospital campus at the shuttered Landmark Mall in Alexandria.

The new hospital, which is replacing the nearly 60-year-old Inova Alexandria Hospital, will include a Level II Trauma Center, a new cancer center and 230 patient rooms. Developers hope to begin construction by 2023 on the hospital and mixed-use project on the site.

Jones teaches urology at the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, which partnered with U.Va. to start a northern branch of U.Va.’s medical school. In March, it welcomed the first 36 students to the campus.

He previously served as president of Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals and Family Health Centers and as professor of surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

DR. ARTHUR L. KELLERMANN

CEO, VCU HEALTH SYSTEM, RICHMOND

Taking leadership of the VCU Health System, Kellermann left a job he loved, as dean of the renowned F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland. The school provides tuition-free instruction to medical students in exchange for an active-duty military service commitment.

In October, Kellermann became VCU Health’s CEO, as well as senior vice president for health sciences. He soon stepped up as an outspoken advocate of public health and common-sense COVID-19 prevention, although VCU Health also encountered a couple of bumpy moments during the early days of vaccinations, first delaying second doses for employees in late January in an effort to distribute more first doses, but then quickly reversing course amid concerns from frontline health workers.

At USU, Kellermann expanded its research program, established a new program in health professions education and hired the school’s first associate dean for diversity and inclusion.

Kellermann co-edited a 2017 book about combat casualty care in Iraq and Afghanistan. Earlier in his career, Kellermann taught at Atlanta’s Emory University, where he earned his medical degree, and served as founding director of the Emory Center for Injury Control.

DR. K. CRAIG KENT

CEO, UVA HEALTH; EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR HEALTH AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CHARLOTTESVILLE

In February 2020, Kent became the new leader of all UVA Health operations. He arrived at a tumultuous time, as the health system had come under fire (along with VCU Health) for its practice of suing low-income and uninsured patients for unpaid bills.

Under Kent, UVA Health stopped the lawsuits and canceled past judgments and liens. Kent has stated that he wants to make care affordable and accessible for those with fewer financial resources.

Then came COVID-19. The health system was the center of research for coronavirus treatments, vaccines and other innovations related to the pandemic. Earlier this year, UVA Health became full owner of Novant Health UVA Health System, a Northern Virginia regional health system that had been a joint initiative with North Carolina-based Novant.

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT MY WORK: I truly believe in the mission of an academic health system and the differentiated clinical care we provide for our patients and our community. … I am an equally passionate academic researcher of over 30 years. … I [also] love educating the next generation of health care providers.

HOWARD P. KERN

PRESIDENT AND CEO, SENTARA HEALTHCARE, NORFOLK

Sentara, a $9.8 billion not-for-profit system with more than 1,200 physicians and 30,000 other employees, was listed as one of the nation’s top five large health systems in the 2021 annual ranking by Fortune and IBM Watson Health. Sentara has 12 hospitals in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, and it owns two health insurance plans serving 850,000 people.

Since Kern took its reins in 2016, Sentara embarked on a massive renovation and expansion of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Last year, Sentara opened the $93.5 million Sentara Brock Cancer Center.

The health care system reversed course earlier this year on a planned merger with North Carolina’s Cone Health, announced in 2020. The two systems called off the deal because both parties said they could better serve their communities by remaining independent.

Kern’s role as president and CEO caps a 40-year career in hospital administration, managed health insurance, ambulatory services and health care finance.

MARY N. MANNIX

PRESIDENT AND CEO, AUGUSTA HEALTH, FISHERSVILLE

For 13 years, Mannix has served as CEO of Augusta Health, one of the few independent, community-owned health systems remaining in Virginia. Augusta Health was named one of The Leapfrog Group’s Top General Hospitals in 2020.

During the height of the pandemic, Mannix was determined to help her staff of 2,100 feel safe and informed; she wrote a letter every weekday telling her team exactly what was going on with COVID-19.

The health care system broke ground in Fishersville for a new outpatient pavilion last year. It’s expected to be completed in late 2022.

A Binghamton University graduate, Mannix began her career as a surgical ICU nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital/University of Rochester and previously served as president of the Guthrie Robert Packer Hospital in Pennsylvania. She serves on the boards of the American Hospital Association, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, and the Virginia Center for Health Innovation.

WHAT A COMPETITOR WOULD SAY ABOUT ME: We are focused, community-oriented, provide high-quality services, and we are determined.

ONE THING I’D CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: Its definition of barbecue.

DR. MICHAEL P. ‘MIKE’ McDERMOTT

PRESIDENT AND CEO, MARY WASHINGTON HEALTHCARE, FREDERICKSBURG

After a year that pushed all Virginia’s health care executives to their limits, McDermott received the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s quality and patient safety award, recognizing his leadership and commitment to the patient experience. A member of the VHHA’s COVID-19 committee and past chair of the organization, McDermott has been Mary Washington’s president since 2015.

He also is a diagnostic and interventional radiologist trained at the University of Cincinnati’s medical school and earned his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

McDermott has been a vocal advocate for COVID vaccinations. “Science wins again. It’s really a victory for mankind,” he told The Free Lance-Star in May. In July, the health care system announced it would require all employees and volunteers to get vaccinated by Halloween.

Mary Washington is a not-for-profit regional system of two hospitals, three emergency departments and more than 50 outpatient and specialty offices, employing 500 physicians and about 5,000 other employees.

McDermott is a fellow of the American College of Radiology and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

TIM McMANUS

PRESIDENT, HCA HEALTHCARE CAPITAL DIVISION, MIDLOTHIAN

McManus just marked five years as president of HCA Healthcare’s Capital Division, which includes 19 hospitals in Virginia, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Indiana. Even amid the tumult of the pandemic, HCA’s financial fortunes rose: In 2020 its revenue per patient increased 10.5% despite hospital admissions dropping 4.7%.

HCA’s recent moves to establish trauma centers in Virginia — a significant revenue driver, as hospitals can charge much higher rates for trauma care — have drawn criticism from other health care leaders for raising costs and diluting care, Kaiser Health News has reported.

Prior to taking his current role, McManus was CEO of Chippenham and Johnston-Willis Medical Center, a two-hospital system in Chesterfield. The Tulane and Johns Hopkins alum serves as secretary-treasurer of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Regardless of the field you choose, you are ultimately responsible for the trajectory of your own career. Others may give you a break or support you, but your success is in your own hands. You must be the person who creates professional opportunities, navigates obstacles and builds a professional legacy, so invest in yourself and do not depend upon others to build your career.

MARK NANTZ

PRESIDENT AND CEO, VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM, WINCHESTER

A nonprofit health care system that serves the northern Shenandoah Valley, as well as parts of Maryland and West Virginia, Valley Health faces challenges in supporting community health.

“Many of our patients are managing chronic diseases, have challenges accessing transportation to health care, lack access to fresh food, and myriad other factors that make it difficult to care for their health and well-being,” Nantz explains.

Before becoming president and CEO in June 2020, Nantz was chief administrative officer and Atlantic Group president at Bon Secours Mercy Health. He also has served as executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Bon Secours. Nantz has a master’s degree in health administration from Pfeiffer University in North Carolina and has volunteered with the American Heart Association and the March of Dimes, as well as other organizations.

TOP FACTOR THAT HELPED VALLEY HEALTH WEATHER THE PANDEMIC: Our people, but also our community. When we were uncertain about the future availability of [personal protective equipment] for our people — the community banded together and sewed more than 20,000 masks for our caregivers. That says a lot about our relationship with the community and the special place we hold in their hearts.

EDWARD A. PESICKA

PRESIDENT AND CEO, OWENS & MINOR INC., MECHANICSVILLE

Pesicka had just marked his first year as chief of Fortune 500 medical supply company Owens & Minor when “PPE,” short for personal protective equipment, suddenly entered everyone’s vocabulary in 2020. Production of surgical masks, gowns and face shields hurtled into overdrive as the company hired 500 more employees and ran four production shifts 24/7.

Pesicka was invited to an industry discussion advising the White House on PPE in the early days of the pandemic. During Pesicka’s tenure, the venerable company, which was founded as a Richmond drugstore in 1882, has seen its stock price rise.

The Case Western Reserve University and Muskingum University alumnus also chairs the Owens & Minor Foundation, a nonprofit with a primary focus on health care, the environment, and diversity and inclusion. He previously worked in executive roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific and TRW Inc.

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT MY WORK: Serving our humble mission of empowering our customers to advance health care is at the heart of everything we do. I’m continually inspired by seeing firsthand how the work we do makes a real difference for patients across the continuum of health care.

DR. JOHN PHIPPS

CEO, ORTHOVIRGINIA, RICHMOND

A practicing endocrinologist for more than 20 years, Phipps stepped into the lead role at OrthoVirginia in July 2020. Previously, he served as the system leader for care transformation at Inova Health System and as the president of Novant Health Medical Group.

Phipps received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and was previously based in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

OrthoVirginia is Virginia’s largest provider of orthopedic (musculoskeletal) medicine, with more than 100 doctors and 30-plus locations in Lynchburg, Northern Virginia, Richmond and Virginia Beach. Founded in 1960, the company has expanded rapidly in recent years. In 2021, three orthopedic, physical therapy and sports medicine practices in Arlington and Blacksburg became part of OrthoVirginia.

The practice has also built a reputation for innovation. Its stand-alone Ortho on Call clinics offer walk-in care for broken bones, sports injuries and other urgent injuries. Its Reston office recently began using the Augmedics xvision Spine System, which employs augmented reality to show surgeons a 3D model of a patient’s spine during implant surgery.

LT. GEN. RONALD J. PLACE

DIRECTOR, DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY, FALLS CHURCH

Place oversees a task of almost unimaginable complexity: transferring control of military medical and dental treatment facilities from military departments to the Defense Health Agency (DHA). After a pause during the pandemic, the transition is expected to be completed this fall.

Meanwhile, Place has faced a new challenge: ensuring that active-duty service members get vaccinated against COVID-19. By the end of June, 68% had received at least one dose, defense officials said, but it was proving difficult to convince all service members and VA workers to get their shots. In August, the Pentagon mandated that all troops must get the vaccine by mid-September.

The DHA manages many military health services, including the TRICARE health benefit, for 9.6 million beneficiaries.

A surgeon by training, Place was deployed to Afghanistan in 2001. He most recently served as the director of the National Capital Region Medical Directorate, and as interim assistant director for health care administration within the DHA. A native of South Dakota, Place also served as chief of surgery at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and was assistant surgeon general.

BRIAN SHEPARD

CEO, UNITED NETWORK FOR ORGAN SHARING, RICHMOND

UNOS manages the nation’s organ procurement and transplantation network, under contract with the federal government. It’s a high-tech and high-emotion field, as UNOS educates and supports donors, patients and professionals while managing the national transplant waiting list and working to improve safety and equity in organ transplants.

Despite the pandemic, UNOS facilitated a record 33,000-plus life-saving transplants from deceased donors in 2020, employing about 450 staffers. “Our team is committed to our lifesaving mission, and to the patients we help, and worked through extra hours, last-minute changes and new technologies to keep the nation’s transplant system on 24/7,” Shepard says.

He joined UNOS in 2010 and became CEO in 2013, having served as acting CEO since late 2012. Before that, Shepard worked in high-level positions in Virginia state government, including as director of policy in then-Gov. Tim Kaine’s administration. The Virginia native holds a history degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Find a job where the mission matters. Nonprofit companies are just as technically, operationally and financially complex as for-profit companies, and we know that what we do changes lives.

RONY THOMAS

PRESIDENT AND CEO, LIFENET HEALTH, VIRGINIA BEACH

Whether a patient needs a new aortic valve or a new Achilles tendon, LifeNet Health can provide it. The nonprofit, which employs 1,300 people worldwide and 913 in Virginia, is the federally designated organ procurement organization for the state and is one of the world’s largest organizations that specializes in organ procurement, bio-implants and cellular therapies.

Founded in 1982 as Eastern Virginia Tissue Bank, LifeNet has been led by Thomas since 2004. He serves on several boards, including those of the VCU College of Engineering Foundation, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Norfolk Academy School and the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

This year, the organization launched a newly expanded LifeSciences division to provide human cells, human tissues and other materials for scientific research, drug discovery and safety testing.

EDUCATION: Executive MBA, Case Western Reserve University; M.S in biomedical engineering, University of Akron

WHAT MAKES ME PASSIONATE ABOUT MY WORK: The process of developing nascent and abstract ideas, ideas that others think are too risky or are not feasible, into full-blown programs with the help of diverse, creative teams who execute well and quickly — and seek forgiveness later if needed!

FARAAZ YOUSUF

PRESIDENT, BON SECOURS — RICHMOND MARKET, RICHMOND

Under Yousuf’s leadership, the Catholic health system is looking to the future and growing rapidly to serve Richmond’s population — especially as it ages. In the last two years, Bon Secours launched a $50 million expansion of Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicsville, as well as a $119 million expansion of St. Francis Medical Center in Chesterfield County.

It also began work this year on a $30 million free-standing emergency center in Chester. While Bon Secours has traditionally focused on its hospitals, “as we advance in health care, we’re moving a lot of that care to the ambulatory or outpatient setting,” Yousuf said during the groundbreaking.

Yousuf became the Richmond market president in 2019 after Bon Secours and Mercy Health completed their merger in 2018. He oversees seven acute-care facilities and previously was chief strategy officer for the combined health system’s Atlantic Group. He holds degrees in health care administration and psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also on the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s board of directors.

Manufacturing

R. MARCUS ‘MARC’ AMMEN

CEO, UNIVERSAL FIBER SYSTEMS LLC, BRISTOL

Ammen has led the Bristol-based fiber manufacturer for 12 years, overseeing its two business units — Universal Fiber, which makes solution-dyed, synthetic filament-based fibers, and Premiere Fibers Inc., based in North Carolina, which produces manmade fibers.

Founded in 1969, the company also has manufacturing facilities in Europe, Thailand and China. Its markets span such industries as flooring, military, apparel, transportation and industrial use.

Universal Fiber has been recognized for its sustainable practices, including an award for Environmental Excellence and Community Impact by the Southwest Virginia Alliance of Manufacturers.

In June 2021, it expanded the health clinic it started seven years ago at its manufacturing facility for employees and their family members.

A Clemson University graduate, Ammen joined Universal in 2000 as its chief financial officer and served as president of its Universal Fibers division. As part of the company’s global growth strategy, he helped cut the ribbon on a new plant in Poland in 2019.

BRAD BEAUCHAMP

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARPENTER CO., HENRICO COUNTY

Beauchamp, who joined Carpenter Co. in 2008, was tapped as CEO of the privately owned, Henrico County-based manufacturer in the wake of former chairman and CEO Stanley F. Pauley’s death in November 2020.

A philanthropist and venerable presence at Carpenter, Pauley died at 93. Beauchamp had previously served as president and chief operating officer since April 2018.

Carpenter was founded in 1948, and in 2020, Forbes ranked it No. 212 on its list of “America’s Largest Private Companies,” citing revenue of $2 billion. The company makes flexible foam, fiber, air filtration media and other products at 16 plants, saying it’s the largest producer of comfort cushioning products in the world. It employs about 4,500 people at 43 locations worldwide.

Earlier this year, the company settled a 3-year-old lawsuit by former president and COO Michael Lowery, who claimed he was wrongly fired. The settlement amount was not disclosed.

Beauchamp has degrees in biology and chemistry from Bethel University and earned his MBA at Southern Methodist University. He worked at Stepan Co. for 18 years before coming to Carpenter in 2008 as national sales manager for its chemical division. He became that division’s vice president in 2013.

MANMEET S. BHATIA

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TMEIC CORP. AMERICAS, ROANOKE

When Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp. (TMEIC) decided in April to consolidate its two U.S. operations, it tapped Bhatia to take the helm. Bhatia, who’d served as chief operating officer of the Roanoke company since 2019, had been with TMEIC since 2003. He also serves on the board of TMEIC International Corp. and TMEIC Canada Corp.

TMEIC Corp. Americas, which has operations in Roanoke and Katy, Texas, employs 285 people in Virginia and 496 worldwide. It designs and develops advanced automation systems, large AC and DC motors, and photovoltaic inverters.

Before his tenure with TMEIC, Bhatia held leadership roles in North America, Europe and Asia at General Electric Co.’s Industrial Drives and Control System Business.

Bhatia has a bachelor of engineering degree in electronics and communications from Gulbarga University in India.

BEST ADVICE FOR OTHERS: Embrace change. Progress hinges on your ability to adapt to change.

SOMETHING I WOULD NEVER DO AGAIN: Eat snake meat

HOBBY/PASSION: Playing acoustic guitar

PERSON I ADMIRE: Mahatma Gandhi. He led a calm, nonviolent resistance to oppression and colonization, thereby inspiring movements for freedom and civil rights across the globe.

MARTIN BJUVE

PRESIDENT, VOLVO PENTA OF THE AMERICAS INC., CHESAPEAKE

Bjuve passed the one-year mark as president of Volvo Penta of the Americas in January, rising to the position after two years as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Part of the Volvo Group, Volvo Penta makes engines and power solutions for leisure and commercial boats and other industrial uses. Based in Chesapeake, it sells products through 3,500 dealers in 130 countries. It also has an engine test facility in Suffolk.

In March, the company launched a new assisted docking system for the marine industry. In June, the company announced that it had acquired a majority stake in ZEM AS, a Norwegian marine battery systems supplier.

Bjuve, who oversees operations in North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean, has an MBA from Karlstad University in Sweden, his native country.

He’s spent 17 years with Volvo, including as head of business support, based in Sweden, for the European region of Volvo Penta. He moved to Chesapeake to serve as CFO and became vice president of customer support and training at Volvo Penta of the Americas. A fan of boating, Bjuve enjoys wakesurfing and kitesurfing on the Chesapeake Bay.

HOWARD BROADFOOT

PRESIDENT AND CEO, ELECTRO-MECHANICAL CORP., BRISTOL

Broadfoot became head of the privately held Electro-Mechanical on June 1 after the retirement of Russell Leonard, who remains on the company’s board.

The company, which makes electrical distribution systems and components, traces its roots to Electric Motor Repair and Sales, a repair business that set up shop in Bristol in 1958. Broadfoot, who joined Electro-Mechanical as chief operating officer in 2009, now oversees a company with manufacturing facilities that cover nearly 1 million square feet in Virginia, Texas and Mexico. Its divisions include Line Power and Federal Pacific. As some of its coal-related business declined in the late 2000s, the company explored the data center market. It also found success through custom engineering systems.

Broadfoot holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial management and an MBA from the University of North Alabama. He served as vice president of operations with Thomas & Betts and director of operations at Newell Brands subsidiary Rubbermaid before coming to Bristol.

RÉGIS BROERSMA

PRESIDENT, GENERAL CIGAR CO. INC., GLEN ALLEN

Broersma got into the cigar business right after graduating from Utrecht University and earning his master’s degree in business economics from Tilburg University, both in the Netherlands.

He has worked in six countries for the Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG), which he joined in 2002. In April 2020, as part of a reorganization, he was named senior vice president of the company’s new North American Branded and Rest of World Division.

In that role, he also serves as president of STG’s cigar subsidiary, Glen Allen-based General Cigar Co. Inc., a role he previously held.

General Cigar exports to 62 countries and is the biggest retailer of hand-rolled cigars in the United States — “by far,” as Cigar Journal put it.

The company makes the Macanudo and Cohiba brands (among others), cultivates tobacco and manufactures its handmade cigars in Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan factories.

STG reported $1.28 billion in 2020 revenue. In December 2020, Broersma told Cigar Journal that sales during the pandemic were “through the roof,” with “double-digit growth” and factories at 140% capacity.

ALAN CONNOR

PRESIDENT AND CEO, CADENCE INC., STAUNTON

In 2012, Connor was tapped as president and CEO of Cadence Inc., which engineers and makes high-tech medical devices, including minimally invasive surgical technology.

The Pittsburgh native stayed close to home while he earned a degree in industrial engineering from Penn State and his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

He had a stint as a consultant with former Big Five accounting firm Arthur Andersen before joining Medrad, which has since been purchased by Bayer AG, becoming its director of global marketing. He also worked in operations at MicroAire Surgical Instruments before joining Cadence in 2011.

Based in Staunton, Cadence’s Virginia headquarters and manufacturing facilities are 95,000 square feet. The company announced the addition of a Class 8 clean room there in October, saying it would be used to more quickly develop and manufacture novel medical devices.

Cadence employs more than 500 people in Virginia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

Connor, who is a pilot, serves as board chairman of Virginia Bio, the state biotech trade association.

M. SCOTT CULBRETH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN WOODMARK, WINCHESTER

Culbreth completed his first year as CEO at American Woodmark in July, overseeing 5.7% annual revenue growth at the Winchester-based cabinet company, bringing its annual sales to $1.74 billion.

Culbreth oversees a company with 10,000 employees and 17 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Mexico. Woodmark says it makes a cabinet every two seconds — some 41,000 cabinets a day. Brands include Shenandoah Cabinetry, Villa Bath and the allen + roth line, which is exclusive to Lowe’s.

Wood prices and other costs have increased along with demand, Culbreth noted in May, saying that he would be focused on increasing production while tackling that dynamic.

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Culbreth is a Virginia Tech graduate who serves on the Finance Advisory Board for Pamplin College of Business. He earned his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. After Tech, Culbreth went to work for Shell Oil Co. and held executive positions at Robert Bosch LLC and Newell Brands.

Before his appointment to CEO of Woodmark, he served as chief financial officer for six and a half years.

BRYAN H. FAIRBANKS

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TREX CO. INC., WINCHESTER

Fairbanks has been working to complete a $200 million plan to expand capacity at Trex, the world’s largest manufacturer of composite decking products. Announced in June 2019, the expansion plan includes Trex’s new 200,000-square-foot Virginia production facility, which opened this January. The company also plans to establish a new headquarters
in Winchester.

Trex sells its composite decking materials, railings and related products in more than 6,700 locations. The company reported annual revenue of $817 million in September 2020, and in February 2021, it ranked No. 12 on the Forbes list of America’s Best Mid-Size Companies.

Fairbanks spoke about the company’s expansion on CNBC in March, saying consumer demand was growing for alternative wood products due to cost and environmental concerns. He noted that Trex’s composite decking products contain 95% recycled material.

Fairbanks has been with Trex for more than 17 years, becoming CEO in April 2020. A CPA, he graduated with a degree in accounting from the University of Dayton and earned his MBA in finance from the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business. Before Trex, he served as finance manager for Ford Motor Co. for 10 years.

BJOERN FISCHER

PRESIDENT, STIHL INC., VIRGINIA BEACH

A native of South Africa, Fischer has overseen U.S. operations for outdoor power equipment manufacturer Stihl since January 2016.

His appointment coincided with his joining the board of the Hampton Roads Chamber, where he serves as vice president of finance.

Stihl is a commanding presence in the region, where it’s been based since 1974 in Virginia Beach, with about 1,900 of its 2,100 U.S. employees working there. Fischer also has noted the importance of the Port of Virginia to Stihl, which exports to more than 90 countries.

In April 2021, Stihl opened a 100,000-square-foot facility for its Northwest region, announcing its expansion and relocation in Centralia, Washington. Fischer said the move underscored the company’s confidence in the U.S. market.

Fischer graduated from the University of Cape Town with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. Before joining Stihl in 2012, he worked at Siemens for 20 years. Fischer also serves on the board of directors of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute and is a member of the Executive Advisory Council of Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business.

WILLIAM F. ‘BILLY’ GIFFORD JR.

CEO, ALTRIA GROUP INC., RICHMOND

Gifford took over as chief executive of the tobacco products manufacturer in April 2020. He’s been with the company more than 25 years, including serving as president and CEO of subsidiary Philip Morris USA.

He’s pushing a “Moving Beyond Smoking” strategy — a 10-year vision to transition smokers to “a noncombustible future.” That includes what the Fortune 500 company says are less risky products, including its IQOS systems, which heat tobacco — namely, Marlboro HeatSticks.

Gifford announced in April that Altria had acquired the remaining 20% of on! oral nicotine pouches, giving it full ownership. Altria’s $12.8 billion investment in e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs Inc. has been burdened by litigation, including an April ruling that plaintiffs may depose Gifford in their lawsuit blaming Juul for stoking youth addiction.

Traditional cigarette sales made up 88% of Altria’s $26.15 billion revenue in 2020. Other holdings include equity investments in cannabinoid company Cronos Group and Anheuser-Busch InBev, where Gifford serves on the board. Altria announced in July 2021 that it was selling Ste. Michelle Wine Estates for $1.2 billion.

Gifford is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where Altria has made multimillion-dollar gifts to a variety of community causes.

THOMAS E. ‘TEDDY’ GOTTWALD

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NEWMARKET CORP., RICHMOND

Gottwald leads the specialty chemicals company NewMarket Corp., which traces its roots to Ethyl Gasoline Corp. — a company his late grandfather Floyd Gottwald acquired in 1962 as president of Albemarle Paper Manufacturing Co.

NewMarket is the parent of Afton Chemical Corp. and Ethyl Corp., which manufactures lubricants and fuel additives.

Gottwald graduated with a chemistry degree from Virginia Military Institute, where he played football and served as class president. After graduation, he joined the company in 1984, later earning his MBA from Harvard Business School.

He has been president and CEO since March 2004, and he succeeded his father, Bruce, as chairman of the board in 2014. With a decline in sales from $2.19 billion to $2.01 billion during the pandemic, he said the company was “stress-tested” but turned in a good year.

Gottwald belongs to a philanthropic family that Forbes named one of America’s Richest in 2015. The family’s gifts have supported the sciences and other causes, including the restoration of Tredegar Ironworks, where the American Civil War Museum is based. Gottwald also serves on the boards of Venture Richmond and VMI’s Jackson-Hope Fund.

GINA HARM

PRESIDENT, AFTON CHEMICAL CORP., RICHMOND

Harm oversees a $2 billion company that develops, makes and sells petroleum additives at sites in the United States, Mexico, Belgium, Singapore, China and Brazil. More than 550 of the company’s 1,950 employees are based in Virginia.

After graduating with a chemical engineering degree from Grove City College, Harm joined engineering company Stone & Webster. She held positions with ExxonMobil Chemical Americas and GE Plastics before joining Afton in 2007. She was named senior vice president and chief operating officer in October 2015 and became president in May 2018. She also serves on the board of the American Chemistry Council.

ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: We need more lane capacity on Interstate 95 to handle the volume of travelers both northbound and southbound.

HOBBY/PASSION: As a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I have been a lifelong fan of all the Pittsburgh sports teams. Whenever I have the opportunity, I like to catch a live sporting event, whether it’s football, hockey or baseball. I also enjoy camping, hiking and spending time with my family.

FAVORITE VACATION DESTINATION: Hatteras Island, North Carolina

STEVE HIRE

PRESIDENT, CHEMTREAT INC., GLEN ALLEN

Hire leads ChemTreat, an industrial water-treatment company that’s part of the environmental and supplied solutions portfolio of Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corp.

ChemTreat, founded in 1968, was purchased in 2007 by Danaher — where Hire had worked a two-year stint as corporate director of DBS Growth Tools. Hire became president in March 2010.

He earned a marketing degree from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and spent six years as a brand manager for Cooper Hand Tools. Hire also held executive positions at Delta Consolidated Industries and Acuity Brands Lighting.

In September, ChemTreat opened an applied technology lab in Ashland, where it broke ground in 2019. The company said it invested $10 million in the 25,000-square-foot facility for product innovation, aiming to create 20 jobs in the next 10 years. It’s located in the Hanover County Airpark, across from the ChemTreat East Coast manufacturing hub.

JEREMY R. HOFF

CEO, HOOKER FURNITURE CO., MARTINSVILLE

Hoff took over Feb. 1 as Hooker’s fourth CEO — the first nonfamily member to hold the job since J. Clyde Hooker founded the company in 1924. Hoff succeeded the founder’s grandson Paul B. Toms Jr., who led the company for 20 years and remains board chairman.

Hooker employs 800 people at its Virginia and North Carolina locations, operates 12 divisions and says it’s one of the top five sources for the U.S. furniture market.

Hoff entered the furniture industry after graduating from Indiana University Bloomington with a business marketing degree. He worked for more than 17 years as a sales rep for the Huntington House, Pulaski, Universal and Craftmaster furniture brands.

After executive positions with the Broyhill and A.R.T. furniture companies, he became president of Theodore Alexander USA Inc. in December 2015. He joined Hooker in 2017. Hoff also serves as board vice president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Blue Ridge.

Shareholders will be watching for Hoff to shore things up after a tough year. He started as CEO at the end of fiscal 2021, when the company blamed the pandemic for a nearly 12% drop in revenue to $540.08 million.

PRABHAT K. JAIN

CEO, VIRGINIA TRANSFORMER CORP., ROANOKE

Virginia Transformer, owned by Jain’s family, is the second-largest power transformer manufacturing company in North America. It celebrates its 50th anniversary this year — and next year, Jain will mark his 40th year as its CEO.

Jain is an engineer and multiple patentholder with a degree in mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras. After moving to the United States in 1968, he earned his master’s degree in material science from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and his MBA from Lynchburg University.

Jain was a design manager for General Electric Co. in Salem for five years before acquiring the 35-employee Virginia Transformer Corp. in May 1982.

In 2014, the company acquired Georgia Transformer Corp., and the company now employs 1,400 people.

Jain has made it a mission to create power transformers that can last 60 years, telling The Roanoke Times that it’s the company’s “single most important achievement.”

Jain helped fund a STEM education initiative for Roanoke students. A former chair of the Virginia/DC District Export Council, he has served on the boards of the Roanoke Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Roanoke Valley.

SCOTT KEOGH

CEO AND PRESIDENT, VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA INC., HERNDON

A New York native and graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Keogh spent more than a decade in management with Mercedes-Benz USA before joining Volkswagen in 2006 through Audi of America, serving six years as chief marketing officer and six as president.

In 2018, Keogh was tapped to head Volkswagen Group of America. He oversees the brand in the United States, Mexico and Canada, as well as the automaker’s other high-end brands in the United States.

He champions electric vehicles and has said Volkswagen plans “to be the world’s largest manufacturer of electric cars” by 2030. The second quarter offered a hopeful sign for the company, which reported its best quarterly sales total since 1973. Almost 5% of models sold were the new ID.4 crossovers, at an MSRP of $39,995.

Volkswagen’s EV enthusiasm created problems for Keogh after a poorly received April Fool’s “gag,” as he referred to it to Reuters. The company issued a seemingly straightforward press release announcing the company’s rebrand to “Voltswagen.” Der Spiegel and other outlets reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission “opened an inquiry” into the matter.

CHARLES ‘CHARLIE’ LUCK IV

PRESIDENT AND CEO, LUCK COS., MANAKIN-SABOT

Luck leads the nearly century-old stone products company founded by his grandfather and led for decades by his father, the late Charles S. Luck III, who died in December 2020 at age 87.

Charlie Luck, too, has been with the company for most of his life. He was a trainee while attending Virginia Military Institute, where he earned a civil engineering degree. He also spent time as a NASCAR driver, competing in what is now the Xfinity Series.

After years working in the family business, Luck became president and CEO of the Luck Cos. in 1999.

The company stresses leadership, integrity, commitment and creativity as pillars, and Luck has written that his life’s purpose is “to help develop people and position them to exceed their wildest dreams.”

In 2015, Luck founded the nonprofit Innerwill, which aims to help people and organizations with leadership development.

Luck Cos. expanded to Georgia after a 2018 acquisition. “We saw all of the megatrends point to population growth in the Southeast,” Luck told Pit & Quarry in April 2020. “We also looked at where we felt our values and beliefs would culturally match the best.”

FRANKY MARCHAND

VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, NEW RIVER VALLEY PLANT, VOLVO TRUCKS NORTH AMERICA, DUBLIN

This summer brought a labor standoff to Marchand’s New River Valley Plant, where nearly 3,000 United Auto Workers went on strike off and on for more than two months before reaching a labor contract agreement in July.

Marchand defended what he deemed Volvo’s competitive package of benefits and improvements in June, saying, “It is difficult to understand this action.”

Marchand earned his mechanical and industrial engineering degree from then-École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Métiers in France. He began his career as an industrial engineer for Mack Trucks Australia and joined Volvo Trucks North America in 2002.

In 2014, he was appointed vice president and general manager of the Dublin plant, the largest Volvo truck manufacturing facility in the world. It’s located on 556 acres along Interstate 81, where the company announced a $400 million expansion of the plant in 2019. While it has also announced hundreds of layoffs, the company says it will achieve a net increase of approximately 600 positions at the plant this year.

PETER MAYR

MANAGING DIRECTOR, LIEBHERR USA CO., NEWPORT NEWS

Mayr moved to the United States in 2013 to become president of Liebherr Construction Equipment Co. Three years later, the Swiss-based, family-owned parent company reorganized its U.S. operations as Liebherr USA Co., and Mayr became a managing director. The company marked its 50th anniversary in the United States last year.

Mayr earned an international economics degree from the University of Innsbruck in Austria in 2001 and began his Liebherr career in sales. He became managing director of Liebherr Great Britain Ltd. in 2012.

The company employs 1,200 people in the United States, and Liebherr USA encompasses eight divisions across the country, with Mayr overseeing 520 employees in Newport News. He also saw the completion of a $60 million expansion there. The manufacturing complex, a five-minute drive from Newport News Shipbuilding, repairs cranes and makes construction and mining equipment.

GARY M. MIGNOGNA

PRESIDENT AND CEO, FRAMATOME INC., LYNCHBURG

Mignogna oversees the North American operations of Framatome, which says it’s serviced every U.S. nuclear energy facility and helps power 36 million American homes. The company employs 1,300 workers in Lynchburg, where it’s done business for more than 50 years. Mignogna relocated Framatome’s headquarters there from Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2018.

In March, Framatome launched an independent subsidiary, Framatome U.S. Government Solutions LLC, to oversee its federal contracting business, including work for the Energy and Defense departments. Mignogna chairs its board.

Mignogna’s career in the nuclear industry has spanned four decades. He’s been president and CEO of Framatome and its predecessor, AREVA Inc., since 2014.

He also sits on the executive committee of the Nuclear Energy Institute’s board of directors, is chairman of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation’s board of directors and serves on the board of Beacon of Hope, which helps Lynchburg City School students prepare for education after high school.

A graduate of Drexel University, where he also received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering, Mignogna is a trustee at the University of Lynchburg, where he earned his MBA.

JOHN PARKINSON

CEO, DRAKE EXTRUSION INC., RIDGEWAY

Despite the pandemic, Parkinson announced plans in June 2020 for a $6.9 million second manufacturing facility in Henry County.

The move came a couple of months after the yarn maker retained 195 jobs using a $2.05 million PPP loan, the Martinsville Bulletin reported. The company promised an additional 30 jobs would accompany the expansion. By February 2021, Drake was telling The Wall Street Journal that the factory was facing a “bottleneck” as it tried to keep up with increasing consumer demand for furniture and other products that use its yarn.

An accounting and finance graduate of the U.K.’s Lancaster University, Parkinson has been CEO at Drake since 2001. The company is owned by Swiss filament yarn and staple fiber manufacturer Duroc AB.

Parkinson is a member of the GO Virginia Region 3 Council and serves as secretary- treasurer of Virginia Career Works West Piedmont Region, part of the state’s workforce development initiative. He also serves on the board of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber’s Partnership for Economic Growth, the chamber’s charitable affiliate.

ASHLEY B. SMITH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, SMITH-MIDLAND CORP., FAUQUIER COUNTY

Smith’s first job was on the family farm, raising cows and growing corn. Now he leads the $43.8 million company his grandfather, David G. Smith, founded in 1960 as Smith Cattleguard.

Smith became CEO in 2018. The precast concrete company employs 230 people — 150 of them in Virginia. He considers the company’s
uplisting to the Nasdaq in 2020 as a milestone. Shares hit $25 in July. The company also expanded to California.

Smith is past chairman of the National Precast Concrete Association. He also serves on the board of trustees at Bridgewater College, where he graduated with a degree in business administration.

MOST RECENT BOOK READ: “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” by Daniel Kahneman

FAVORITE VACATION DESTINATION: Bryce Resort, Basye

ONE THING I WOULD CHANGE ABOUT VIRGINIA: Invest more in our transportation infrastructure. Virginia does an admirable job, but I think we need to increase the investment there.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Always find out. Don’t take what you hear or read for granted or as the truth. There is always another side of the story, and you need to check out the facts and the other perspective for yourself.

ROBERT H. ‘ROB’ SPILMAN JR.

CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BASSETT FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, MARTINSVILLE

Spilman, who’s been with Bassett for 37 years, spent part of his career working under his father, the late Robert H. Spilman Sr. — a member of the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame. Like his dad, he became CEO, a role he’s held since 2000.

Bassett, founded in 1902, sells home furnishings in about 100 retail locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Spilman has led an expansion of facilities in Newton, North Carolina, where the company plans to hire 80 more people. The expansion brings its manufacturing complex to more than 800,000 square feet.

Spilman said such moves were needed to increase upholstery manufacturing capacity. Its wholesale shipping backlog was up 362% at the end of the first quarter. Saying its backlog was seven times pre-pandemic levels, Spilman told The Wall Street Journal in July that the company was battling logistics-related delays.

A Vanderbilt University graduate, Spilman was a director of Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. from 2002 to 2014. He’s lead director of Dominion Energy Inc.’s board of directors and serves on the board of trustees for the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.

JOHN M. STEITZ

PRESIDENT AND CEO, TREDEGAR CORP., RICHMOND

Steitz has run Tredegar, the plastic films and aluminum extrusions manufacturer, since March 2019. Tredegar is a 1989 spinoff of Ethyl Corp., which now operates under NewMarket Corp. With facilities in North America, South America and Asia, Tredegar has approximately 2,400 employees.

Despite taking hits from the pandemic, Tredegar had “one of our best” years in 2020, Steitz said in the company’s annual report. He cited high backlog levels and record EBITDA from its specialty polyester films manufacturer, Terphane, which it acquired in 2011. He also noted that Tredegar’s aluminum extrusions business, Bonnell Aluminum, while experiencing challenges, outperformed the industry.

Before Tredegar, Steitz was president and CEO of Addivant and led the specialty chemical company PQ Corp. He was with Albemarle Corp. for more than a dozen years, rising to president and chief operating officer. He left Albemarle, another Ethyl spinoff, in 2012.

A chemical engineering graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Steitz earned his MBA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

JOHN STREET

PRESIDENT, ETHYL CORP., RICHMOND

In his role leading Ethyl, Street oversees the antiknock compounds business of NewMarket Corp. — which also serves as parent of specialty chemical company Afton Chemical Corp. NewMarket reported $2 billion in petroleum additives sales in 2020.

After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1975, Street embarked on a 32-year career with Ethyl, where he became vice president of health, safety and environment.

Street left in 2007 for a similar role with Afton Chemical Corp., but after three years, he returned to Ethyl. In 2013, he oversaw a closure of Ethyl’s plant in Corunna, Ontario. He became president of Ethyl in 2015.

Founded in 1921, Ethyl keeps its headquarters in Richmond but operates its fuel additives blending and distribution facility in Houston. It also provides storage and transloading services on the Houston Ship Channel and supplies fuel and lubricant additives for its sister company, Afton Chemical.

GREGORY H. TREPP

PRESIDENT AND CEO, HAMILTON BEACH BRANDS HOLDING CO., GLEN ALLEN

With more than 20 years in senior management, Trepp oversees Hamilton Beach Brands, which designs and sells kitchen and other small household appliances — more than 34 million a year, it says — as well as commercial products.

About half of the company’s 500 U.S. employees work in Henrico County, where Hamilton Beach bases its product design and runs a test kitchen. Approximately 200 other employees work in Canada, China and Mexico. Brands include Proctor Silex and Wolf Gourmet. Company revenue was down 1.3% in 2020 to $603.7 million.

A University of Richmond graduate who earned his MBA from the University of Connecticut, Trepp joined Hamilton Beach in 1996 and became president and CEO in 2010. When the business was spun off from NACCO Industries Inc. in 2017, Trepp became president and CEO of the holding company, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange.

One of Trepp’s strategies for 2021 is expanding into health and wellness. The company cites air purification and water filtration as examples, announcing in June that it was launching a line of air purifiers under a licensing agreement with The Clorox Co.

JO VANHOREN

PRESIDENT, CEO AND CLUSTER PRESIDENT, NORTH AMERICA, ALFA LAVAL INC., RICHMOND

Vanhoren oversees the North American operations of Alfa Laval, which represents 10% of the Swedish company’s workforce. The component manufacturer employs about 1,700 people in the United States and operates 34 manufacturing and service locations.

Vanhoren has spent his career with the company, joining Alfa Laval after studying engineering in Belgium. He spent five years with the company in Italy, then moved to Spain, where he became managing director and cluster president, South Europe. He was named president and CEO of Alfa Laval and cluster president, North America, in March 2018.

The company makes a variety of components that regulate the transfer of heat and fluids, including filters, pumps and exchangers. In 2019, Vanhoren oversaw a $50 million expansion that included adding a production line to Alfa Laval’s Henrico County facility, which moved most of the production of a heat exchanger to the United States.

A new area of interest will be energy storage solutions, Vanhoren recently told CEO Magazine. He also calls sustainability the “next wave of diversification.”

NEIL D. WILKIN JR.

CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, OPTICAL CABLE CORP., ROANOKE

Wilkin has been with Optical Cable Corp. for 20 years, overseeing the company that makes and sells fiber optic and copper communication cabling and offers other connectivity solutions — including specialty applications that can withstand harsh environments.

Wilkin has been on an efficiency mission, working to control costs and counter the pandemic’s effects. After taking a revenue hit in 2019, the company saw a 22.5% decrease in consolidated net sales to $55.3 million for 2020. But Wilkin noted that the company came through for military and front-line workers.

A University of Virginia graduate, Wilkin stayed with the university to earn his law degree from the School of Law and his MBA from the Darden School of Business. After practicing law at McGuireWoods LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, he became chief financial officer for an online-based real estate brokerage.

He joined Optical Cable in 2001 as CFO and senior vice president and was named chairman and CEO in 2003. Wilkin serves on the boards of the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation and Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic.

JAMES XU

CHAIRMAN, AVAIL VAPOR LLC, BLACKBRIAR REGULATORY SERVICES LLC, BLACKSHIP TECHNOLOGIES LLC, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY

Before Virginia legalized recreational marijuana possession this year, the markets for hemp-derived products, including cannabidiol, or CBD, were taking shape. Xu seemed to have known change was on the horizon, founding Avail Vapor in 2013.

Based in Chesterfield County, the company makes liquid for e-cigarettes and CBD products to be sold at its 98 retail locations across 12 states. The company employs approximately 200 people.

With Virginia’s new laws allowing adults to grow their own marijuana plants, the company also has created “all-in-one seed to harvest” at-home grow kits.

Xu is a graduate of Old Dominion University. His sister, Ting Xu, founded the home decor and gift business Evergreen Enterprises, which he worked on for a time. He is now chairman of Avail and two sister businesses — Blackship, an R&D company, and Blackbriar, which provides contract manufacturing and FDA compliance consulting. During the pandemic, Blackbriar pivoted to manufacture face masks.

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Tag: Virginia 500 2021