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Manufacturing 2023: ANDY GIRVIN
As plant manager for New Jersey chemical manufacturer AdvanSix’s largest factory, Girvin has navigated some challenges this year. In April, 340 union workers went on strike at the Hopewell plant, seeking wage increases. The strike ended in May, but that didn’t end troubles at the plant, which annually produces 400,000 tons of caprolactam, a compound […]
Manufacturing 2023: BRYAN FAIRBANKS
In 2020, Fairbanks became president and CEO of publicly traded composite decking and railing manufacturer Trex, one of Fortune’s 100 fastest-growing companies that year. For fiscal year 2022, benefiting from a pandemic-era increased demand in home improvement, Trex brought in more than $1.1 billion, expanding distribution in Texas and launching a new decking line. In […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: BRUCE L. THOMPSON
A Norfolk native and Virginia Business’ 2021 Person of the Year, Thompson is one of Hampton Roads’ most prominent developers and hoteliers. He is best known for developing the Cavalier Resort, which includes the restored historic Cavalier Hotel as well as two new hotels, restaurants and residences on 21 acres at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. […]
Health Care 2023: DR. J. STEPHEN JONES
Named as one of the top 1% of cancer specialists and urologists in the nation by Castle Connolly, Jones has led Inova Health System since 2018. The regional health system employs more than 20,000 people across its five hospitals and numerous other facilities, including Northern Virginia’s only Level 1 trauma center. In May, the health […]
Education 2023: TIMOTHY SANDS
Known among Hokies as “the Sandsman” — a nod to the Hokies’ football anthem, Metallica’s “Enter the Sandman” — Sands joined Virginia Tech in 2014 after serving as interim president at Purdue University. Sands signed a contract in August 2022 to stay on as president through the 2027 academic year. During his tenure, Sands has […]
Telecommunications 2023: DAVID C. WAJSGRAS
Wajsgras took over as CEO of Intelsat in April 2022 soon after the McLean-based satellite operator’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and financial restructuring. A little more than a year later, in June 2023, news surfaced that merger talks between Intelsat and its Luxembourg-based competitor SES had been called off. Last year, Intelsat deployed emergency communications […]
Real Estate 2023: JON JENNINGS
The third generation to lead the general contracting firm started as a masonry firm in 1952 by his grandfather, bricklayer Lawrence Floyd Jennings, Jon Jennings oversees about 350 employees and a large portfolio of projects in the Richmond and Washington, D.C., regions. Larry Jennings, L.F.’s son and Jon’s father, joined the company in 1965 and […]
Real Estate 2023: ALBERT G. ‘BEAU’ VAN METRE JR.
Van Metre’s late father founded his family real estate development company in 1955, partnering with B.B. Wills to build the first Van Metre Homes in Burke, a Fairfax County suburb. Like Northern Virginia, Van Metre Cos. has grown exponentially in the decades since. Beau Van Metre joined the company in 1963. In 2002, he was […]
Education 2023: JAMES E. RYAN
Ryan, who became the University of Virginia’s ninth president in 2018, has spearheaded several growth initiatives at the state’s flagship university, including the School of Data Science, a new performing arts center and the Karsh Institute of Democracy — all projects funded by donors, including a record 2019 gift of $120 million from alumni couple […]
Education 2023: MAJ. GEN. CEDRIC T. WINS (U.S. ARMY, RET.)
A 34-year U.S. Army veteran and 1985 VMI alumnus, Wins became the first Black superintendent to lead “the West Point of the South,” the nation’s oldest state military college, following the resignation of his predecessor in 2020. Wins joined at a time when VMI, known for its demanding “Rat Line” boot camp, was the subject […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: GEOFFREY POHANKA
Pohanka’s family has been selling cars since Frank Pohanka opened a Washington, D.C., dealership in 1919. Today, the family’s business, run by Frank’s grandson Geoffrey, has 18 locations in Virginia, Maryland and Texas, and is the third largest Virginia-based auto dealership. Geoffrey’s children now work in the business, too — marking the dealership’s fourth generat[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: BRUCE L. CASWELL
With over 50,000 employees worldwide, Tysons-based Maximus has been supporting government services programs for more than 50 years and runs Medicare and Affordable Care Act customer help lines, as well as pandemic vaccinations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Caswell joined Maximus in 2004 and has been president since 2014, becoming CEO in […]
