Education 2023: PETER BLAKE
Blake will leave quite a legacy when he steps down from his role as director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia at the end of the year. SCHEV is establishing a search committee for his replacement and will work with the state education secretary’s office and others. During Blake’s 11 years at […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: LORI RAYA
In 2021, Raya became president of Kroger’s mid-Atlantic division, overseeing more than 100 stores in five states and 18,000 employees. She brings more than three decades in the grocery business to the job, mostly spent at Safeway and Albertsons, including as president of Safeway’s Vons division from 2012 to 2015. In 2018, Albertsons acquired Safeway, […]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2023: LT. GEN. JAMES B. LASTER (USMC, RET.)
Toys for Tots is far more than a Christmastime charity. During its 2022 campaign, the foundation distributed more than 24.3 million toys, books and games to a record 9.9 million children in need during its 75th year. “There are approximately 11 million children in the U.S. who live at or below the poverty level,” says […]
Manufacturing 2023: JEREMY HOFF
Hoff joined Hooker Furniture in 2017. He served consecutive terms as president of the upholstery, case goods and then legacy brands divisions before being named its first nonfamily CEO in 2021, the same year the company rebranded as Hooker Furnishings. Hoff serves as treasurer for the High Point Market Authority and is a board member […]
Arts | Entertainment | Sports 2023: ANDY EDMUNDS
When Hollywood productions like “Dopesick,” “Cold Mountain,” “Wonder Woman 1984” and others want to film in Virginia, they come to Edmunds to get the ball rolling. As director of the Virginia Film Office since 2011 — and the office’s locations manager for 14 years before that — Edmunds helps productions access economic incentives and works […]
2023 Virginia 500: Education
Makola M. Abdullah PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, ETTRICK Javaune Adams-Gaston PRESIDENT, NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY, NORFOLK Jonathan R. Alger PRESIDENT, JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, HARRISONBURG Peter Blake DIRECTOR, STATE COUNCIL OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR VIRGINIA, RICHMOND Lance R. Collins VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH INNOVA[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: JOHN HENEGHAN
A former English teacher who went into tech in the 21st century, Heneghan has led ASGN’s federal consulting subsidiary since 2022. He previously was the company’s chief operating officer, and Heneghan held executive roles at Stanley Associates and CGI Federal. ECS expanded last fall with ASGN’s acquisition of cybersecurity business Iron Vine Security for an […]
Media 2023: JOSH EASTRIGHT
Eastright began his nearly 25-year career at Bloomberg as a college intern studying political science at Amherst College and then worked for Bloomberg LP, focusing on energy and commodities markets. He later moved to Bloomberg New Energy Finance before shifting to Bloomberg Government. In 2018, Eastright was named CEO of Bloomberg Industry Group, a Bloomberg […]
Professional Services 2023: CASSIE HARTOGS
In May, Hartogs was promoted to managing partner of tax people operations, a position in which she’s responsible for more than 3,800 tax professionals nationwide at professional services company BDO USA, the U.S. member firm of BDO Global, the world’s fifth largest accounting network. Based in McLean, Hartogs previously served as BDO’s Atlantic region managing […]
Health Care 2023: LT. GEN. TELITA CROSLAND
Previously deputy surgeon general for the U.S. Army, Crosland became director of the Defense Health Agency in January, following her confirmation last year by the U.S. Senate. With a staff of nearly 140,000 civilians and military personnel and a budget of more than $54 billion, the decade-old Defense Health Agency is responsible for providing medical […]
Manufacturing 2023: JOHN M. STEITZ
A global manufacturer of plastic films and aluminum extrusions, Tredegar is a 1989 spinoff of Richmond fuel additives company Ethyl. Steitz was named president and CEO in 2019 following the retirement of John D. Gottwald, who had served in the role for 30 years. Steitz had served on Tredegar’s board of directors since 2017 while […]
Manufacturing 2023: ASHLEY B. SMITH
Smith, the third generation of his family to lead the precast concrete company, became CEO in 2018 and board chairman in 2022. The Fauquier County business was started by his grandfather, David G. Smith, in 1960 as Smith-Cattleguard, named for its concrete cattleguard innovation. By 1995, Smith-Midland was a publicly traded company. Today, the company […]