More than 90,000 Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine doses are arriving in Virginia now through Thursday, the state vaccine coordinator said Wednesday afternoon.
According to Dr. Danny Avula, 69,000 doses of the one-shot vaccine are heading to local health districts, and retail pharmacies will receive 22,000 doses, which will be administered from Friday through early next week. All vaccination events offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be labeled as such, he added, and anyone who is contacted for an appointment who wants to wait for one of the two-dose vaccines from Moderna or Pfizer will not lose their place in line.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received emergency use approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday, has a lower efficacy rate than the other two vaccines, which have 95% effective rates, but public health experts have said that if a person is offered a Johnson & Johnson shot, they should feel comfortable taking it. With a 72% effectiveness rate at preventing COVID and 86% effectiveness in preventing serious illness, the one-dose vaccine is still a good vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said earlier this week. The vaccine helps move the country toward herd immunity, and it provides protection against COVID variants from the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, according to the FDA.
Virginia’s Johnson & Johnson doses will be used at large vaccination events starting Friday, Avula said. The state’s allocation of the doses will decrease during the next two weeks, but as production ramps up, the state may get as many as 100,000 Johnson & Johnson doses per week later this month. He expects the state to get about 500,000 doses per week by the end of March, and that number will go up to 650,000 doses in April. The state and pharmacies continue to require appointments for all vaccinations, and most pharmacies administering shots are working from the state’s preregistration list.
The increase in allocations will allow the state to vaccinate everyone in group 1b — people age 65 and older, younger people with underlying conditions and essential workers — by the end of April, and most of the rest of Virginia’s adult population that wants a vaccine by the end of May, Avula said.
That falls in line with President Biden’s announcement this week that the nation will have enough vaccine “for every adult American” by the end of May, after Merck & Co. agreed to manufacture doses for competitor Johnson & Johnson, with the White House brokering the deal.
Richmond City Council approved the sale of the city’s Public Safety Building on Monday, clearing the way for a $325 million VCU Health System medical office tower and multi-use project downtown.
Council members unanimously approved the 3-acre property’s $3.5 million sale to Capital City Partners LLC, a collaboration between Michael Hallmark of Los Angeles-based Future Cities LLC and Susan Eastridge of Fairfax-based Concord Eastridge Inc. Hallmark and Eastridge were part of the failed Navy Hill project last year and made an unsolicited offer last May for the aging Public Safety Building on 10th Street near City Hall. In the plan, the building will be demolished.
The $325 million mixed-use development would include an office tower with space for VCU Health System administrators and physicians, Class A office space and ground-level retail space, as well as new facilities for The Doorways and Ronald McDonald House Charities, which both provide housing and support for families of hospital patients, and a child care center. The project also would include reconstruction of Clay Street between 9th and 10th streets. According to the mayor’s office, the project is estimated to generate $55.9 million in real estate tax revenue for the city’s general fund over the next 25 years.
“VCU and VCU Health are strongly committed to the redevelopment of this area. The Public Safety Building project, along with the current construction of our new children’s inpatient hospital and Adult Outpatient Pavilion, will play a critical role in supporting a thriving urban center,” Michael Rao, president of VCU and VCU Health System, said in a statement.
“The sale and redevelopment of the Public Safety Building site is a critical first step to improving downtown,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said in a statement. “My administration was glad to work with City Council and Capital City Partners LLC to create this great win for Richmond. The project will aid minority businesses, create child care slots for Richmond families, fund scholarships for graduates of Richmond Public Schools, and generate nearly $56 million in new revenue for the city’s General Fund over the first 25 years. We can, and we will, continue to grow Richmond by redeveloping underutilized city-owned property.”
The developers, who also are behind the proposed GreenCity project in Henrico County, have pledged to create a $500,000 fund to help offset costs of small businesses to lease office or retail space at the development, as well as funding organizations that support small businesses. The fund also would assist Richmond Public School graduates with scholarships.
Virginia expects to receive its first allocation of 69,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses produced by Johnson & Johnson this week, along with about 360,000 more doses from Moderna and Pfizer Inc., the Virginia Department of Health announced this weekend.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine — which requires only one dose to be effective — for emergency use Saturday. Dr. Danny Avula, the state’s vaccine coordinator, said Friday in his weekly news conference that the state will receive fewer doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine after this week until the last week of March, when the company is expected to produce more doses.
According to VDH, the Johnson & Johnson doses “will be prioritized for mass vaccination clinics across the state. An additional allotment is expected to be sent to pharmacies participating in a federal partnership to help vaccinate priority groups, such as those 65 and older, at no cost.”
Avula predicts that Virginians in group 1b — including people ages 65 and older, younger people with underlying health conditions and essential workers — will all be able to get at least their first shot by April, and that state health district employees and call center workers will be contacting people who are preregistered on the state’s vaccine website to set up appointments this week.
Meanwhile, nearly 1.3 million people in Virginia — 15.2% of the population — have received at least one vaccine dose, according to VDH’s update Monday, and 686,289 people have been vaccinated fully. The state has received 2.4 million vaccine doses so far, and the state is administering about 42,000 shots per day, according to data from the past week.
Last week’s death totals are higher than usual because VDH is currently processing 2021 death certificates related to the post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases. Recorded last week were 1,297 COVID-related fatalities, a significant increase from the previous week’s 470 deaths. The state reported 11,904 new cases last week, continuing its decrease in infection rates. The state’s current seven-day positivity rate is 7.1%, down from 8.3% last week.
Since last spring, the state has reported 8,783 deaths and 577,174 cases.
The state slipped from 16th to 17th in the nation for its percentage of doses administered, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed by Becker’s Hospital Review. That’s likely because of an influx last week of vaccine doses delayed by winter weather the week before.
This week, the state’s health districts are receiving 180,000 first doses and 130,000 second doses from Pfizer and Moderna, and eight pharmacy groups are administering 52,000 doses received directly from the federal government, which have been earmarked for Virginians age 65 and older. In addition to CVS, which is still receiving 26,000 doses weekly, the other 26,000 weekly doses are being distributed among Walgreens, Walmart, Safeway, Giant, Food City, Food Lion and locally owned pharmacies. Walmart is not administering shots at stores but is setting up pop-up clinics in four locations a week across the state depending on need. In all cases, patients must have an appointment.
Last month, VDH launched a statewide vaccine registration website for all Virginia residents who want a vaccine, as well as a phone hotline staffed by 750 employees from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone who registered earlier with their local health district can call the hotline if their information does not show up at vaccinate.virginia.gov. The number is (877) VAX-IN-VA, or (877) 829-4682.
With race and ethnicity information available for only 67.9% of people who have received shots in the state, the majority of shots have been received by white, non-Hispanic people — 71.0% as of Monday, according to VDH. Black Virginians have received 13.3% of shots, although they make up 19.9% of the state’s population, according to 2019 estimates by the U.S. Census; 5.5% of vaccines were given to Latino residents, who comprise about 9.8% of Virginians.
State health officials have focused attention on equitable vaccination, especially as Latino and Black residents are heavily represented among people who have been infected, hospitalized and died from the coronavirus. Among Virginia’s COVID deaths in which ethnicity and race are recorded, 23.9% were Black, and 6.8% were Latino.
As of Feb. 25, the following health districts have positivity rates of 10% or higher:
Hampton — 15%, down from 15.9% on Feb. 18
Pittsylvania-Danville — 13.2%, down from 14.2%
Chesapeake — 13.1%, down from 13.7%
Portsmouth — 12.4%, down from 17.2%
Piedmont (Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties) — 12.1%, up from 9.5%
Peninsula (Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, James City and York counties) — 10.7%, down from 12.2%
Eastern Shore — 10.6%, up from 9%
Virginia Beach — 10.3%, down from 11.2%
Western Tidewater (cities of Franklin and Suffolk and Isle of Wight and Southampton counties) — 10.2%, down from 10%
Globally, there are 114.2 million reported COVID-19 cases and 2,534,195 confirmed deaths, as of March 1. The United States, which has the most confirmed cases and deaths worldwide, has seen 28.6 million confirmed cases so far, with 513,393 deaths attributed to the coronavirus since February 2020.
Updated March 2: Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Consumer Data Protection Act on Tuesday. In a statement, sponsor Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, said, “This is a huge step forward. By creating this omnibus bill, we take the lead in data privacy in the United States. This omnibus bill is clear, concise and holds companies accountable for protecting consumer data in providing protections for consumers.” Also, Utah plans to pass an identical bill by the end of the week, Marsden added.
Earlier:
Virginia is set to become the second state in the nation to enact a consumer data protection law, after Gov. Ralph Northam signs Virginia’s newly passed Consumer Data Protection Act. California was the first state to enforce data protection.
The act, which was passed by the General Assembly last month, would let consumers receive copies of their online data, amend or delete that data, and opt out of allowing big businesses to use the data for marketing or other purposes. It would take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. It affects only corporations that have personal data for at least 100,000 consumers in Virginia, or that make more than 50% of their income from the sale of personal data of at least 25,000 consumers in Virginia. If the bill is approved by the governor, the state’s Joint Commission on Technology and Science also will establish a work group to assess the bill’s implementation and release a study on its findings by this November.
Any fines collected from companies would go toward a “consumer privacy fund” in the state treasury, according to the bill.
That would keep all fines collected separate from the state’s General Fund, so they can be used for more specific purposes — similar to Virginia’s opioid abatement authority, which receives funds from lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors that are set aside for addiction prevention and treatment.
In terms of real-life impact, the bill will make it easier for people to opt out of sharing some personal details with big companies, notes Andrew Miller, vice president of strategy at Workshop Digital, a Richmond-based digital marketing firm. It also will place limits on large companies’ ability to use and sell details about Virginia users’ online lives, down to granular detail like which NFL team they prefer, which blender they bought last year or how often they listen to certain musical artists — if customers decide to opt out.
Virginia’s bill is “not on its face difficult from a compliance standpoint” for businesses, says Ashley L. Taylor Jr., a partner at Troutman Pepper who has a focus on federal and state government regulatory and enforcement matters. “The complexity is created by the fact that California is slightly different, Virginia is slightly different and there are rumblings in Oklahoma” for a data privacy law. But if more states follow the leads of Virginia and California, it could create a “patchwork of laws,” Miller notes.
More state data laws also means a lower chance of a federal bill that would supersede states’ acts and require more regulations, Taylor adds. Also fewer law firms will be willing or able to advise companies on compliance from state to state, since attorneys would have to be experts on how enforcement is taking place in multiple jurisdictions.
Civil enforcement of Virginia’s act, like California’s, would lie with the state attorney general’s office.
Virginia’s legislation would affect more than just the largest companies active here, despite the 100,000-customer benchmark. California’s Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which allows California residents to opt out of the sale of their personal information and the right to delete some personal information already collected, has “touched every business, even a pizza place that has a rewards program,” Taylor notes. Every website or app that collects data is required to include an opt-out link under California’s law, and Virginia’s statute is similar, although a bit “scaled back,” he says.
Although California’s law, which is based on the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) act, has had an impact on companies, corporate decisions to shift away from collecting more data also are affecting policies — and bottom lines.
“Google Analytics is way out in front with privacy,” Miller says. “Google and Google Analytics are planning a future … [in which] third-party cookies are going to be phased out in the next year. Chrome will stop allowing cookies to track people.”
Also, Apple has made recent moves to increase customer awareness of data collection, making its Identifier for Advertisers an explicitly opt-in setting with its operating system update set for this spring.
That means that unless an iPhone user selects the option that they want advertisers to track their purchases to measure ad effectiveness, marketers will not have access to that information. What this means for Google and Facebook is a potential loss of billions of revenue, financial analysts predict. Facebook has been in a standoff with Apple over the iOS update and another coming feature, the App Tracking Transparency program, which would require users to opt in to allow apps to track them across different apps and websites.
With these industry-driven changes and the possibility of other states soon following Virginia and California’s lead in consumer data protection, many companies will likely have to make some significant changes in their marketing practices in the next few years. California enacted its legislation, the state attorney general’s office reviewed companies’ websites, and if there wasn’t plain language showing users how to contact the company about data collection, “they got subpoenas,” Taylor says.
Virginia’s effective date of Jan. 1, 2023, should give companies plenty of time to comply, Taylor adds, as long as “the attorney general and the state give [companies] guidance on their regulations and expectations of business. You’ve got to have a target to shoot at. Maybe an open forum, a conference — some type of public conversation. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
This time last year, Virginia’s fortunes seemed as high as Clemente Development Co. Inc.’s proposed 600-foot Iconic Tower.
Part of Clemente’s long-planned, 3-million-square-foot The View at Tysons mixed development, the Iconic Tower was to be the tallest commercial structure between Philadelphia and Charlotte, North Carolina.
But then the coronavirus pandemic hit and now Clemente has hit pause on the project until it becomes clear what the post-pandemic demand for office space will look like.
Once again named the No. 1 state for business by CNBC in summer 2019, Virginia was sitting atop a peak of prosperity before COVID-19.
But a year after the first lockdown, the pandemic’s resulting economic downturn has had many industries, such as restaurants and hospitality businesses, facing a precipice. More than 65,000 Virginians remain unemployed after nearly 12 months.
The coronavirus has decimated Virginia’s tourism sector, particularly restaurants, amusement parks and hotels. Brick-and-mortar retailers and small business owners across many industries continue to struggle, and essential questions remain in many industries.
On the positive end, however, government contractors continued to win lucrative federal contracts in 2020, and construction companies had plenty of work in the pipeline last year. Virginia’s data center boom continues, and the market for distribution centers and warehouses has grown exponentially.
And even though Virginia and the nation are only in the early stages of vaccinating people against the virus, we are already speaking in terms of “before” the pandemic and “after.”
Key questions remain to be answered, however: How many people will continue to work remotely after herd immunity is achieved, and will business travel and large conventions be as big a part of work as they were in the before times? What will be the impact on small businesses in central business districts? And what will happen in rural areas that may not spring back as quickly as large urban centers?
Many Virginians will return to something similar to pre-pandemic life in coming months as more people are vaccinated. Others will start training for new careers based on new economic demands for tech workers, shipbuilders and health care providers. Others will continue working chiefly from home, with in-person meetings here and there. Some chefs and restaurant owners will reopen for full service or start new ventures.
The following pages of The Big Book take a deeper look at these trends and many other events from the last year, exploring how Virginia’s economy has performed across several key sectors, including economic development, ports and shipping, construction and commercial real estate, accounting, law, banking and finance, insurance, hotels and more. And like always, you’ll find a host of valuable, up-to-date reference lists covering everything from Virginia’s largest public and private companies to the commonwealth’s top law firms and craft breweries.
Tom Afferton, president of cyber mission, Peraton Inc., Herndon
John Coleman, president of global defense and security, Peraton Inc., Herndon
Roger Mason, president of space and intelligence, Peraton Inc., Herndon
Tarik Reyes, president of civil and health, Peraton Inc., Herndon
National security contractor Peraton has made massive moves lately, purchasing Perspecta Inc. for $7.1 billion and Northrop Grumman Corp.’s federal IT and mission support services business for $3.4 billion, all in cash. A subsidiary of private equity firm Veritas Capital, Peraton in February divided the company into four sectors — led by Afferton, Coleman, Mason and Reyes. Reyes and Afferton both come from Northrop Grumman, while Mason and Coleman were promoted from within Peraton.
Afferton
Coleman
Reyes
Dr. Danny Avula, state vaccine coordinator, Virginia Department of Health, Richmond
Avula
Named the state’s COVID-19 vaccination coordinator in January, Avula is a familiar face in the Richmond area, where he also serves as director of the Richmond and Henrico County health departments. A VCU School of Medicine graduate, he is trained as a pediatric hospitalist and advises medical students at VCU. He’s also comfortable explaining complex concepts, which makes him a natural behind the microphone at coronavirus news briefings.
Baker
Devaki Baker, CEO of VeriToll LLC, Ashburn
Baker, who hails from Mexico and founded technology consulting firm Team Verso, is the new head of tolling-as-a-service company VeriToll as of June 2020. Baker’s company developed a similar product and worked with toll road operator Transurban, experience she brings to her new role. With Baker’s hire, the California-based company moved its headquarters to Northern Virginia.
Robert M. Blue, president and CEO, Dominion Energy Inc., Richmond
Diane Leopold, chief operating officer, Dominion Energy Inc., Richmond
Edward H. Baine, president, Dominion Energy Virginia, Richmond
In October 2020, Dominion undertook a leadership shuffle that saw the Fortune 500 utility’s longtime chairman, president and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II, become executive chair. Blue, Leopold and Baine are all familiar names at Dominion and throughout the state, even if they’re in new positions. Baine and Leopold both joined the company in 1995, and Blue, who served as a counselor and director of policy for Gov. Mark Warner, started in 2005. With Dominion’s strong focus on wind and renewable energy, the trio is going to be busy in coming years.
Blue
Leopold
Baine
Corrie Bobe, director, Danville Office of Economic Development, Danville
Bobe
In July 2020, Danville native Bobe was picked to lead the city’s economic development office after serving as its interim leader since January 2020. With one of the state’s first casinos headed to the city, there is a lot of development in the cards for Danville. An updated master plan incorporating the Caesars Virginia casino is in the works, and the city’s Industrial Development Authority allocated funding in January for the continuation of an environmental study of the casino’s Schoolfield site, as well as the White Mill and Long Mill properties — all in preparation for future development, Bobe says.
Bugg
Sylvia Bugg, chief programming executive and general manager of general audience programming, PBS, Arlington
Last fall, Bugg was tapped to oversee all non-children’s content and to lead PBS’ programming strategy for broadcast and digital platforms, a promotion from her former position as vice president of general audience programming. An Old Dominion University alum, Bugg previously worked with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Discovery Communications networks. This year, she has the added challenge of delayed productions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although she said in November 2020 that news-focused shows such as “Frontline” and “PBS NewsHour” remain a key focus during the public health crisis.
Jared Chalk, executive director, Norfolk Economic Development Authority, Norfolk
Chalk
Chalk was named the head of Norfolk’s economic development office in spring 2020, after working for the city since 2005. All systems are go in Norfolk for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s casino and the redevelopment of Military Circle Mall, which was sold to the city for $11 million in May 2020. There’s plenty of developer interest in the mixed-use mall project, including a bid from a team including music superstar Pharrell Williams. A decision is expected this summer, Chalk says.
Collins
John Collins, chief financial officer, Navy Federal Credit Union, Vienna
In August, Collins arrived at the world’s largest credit union, with total assets of $135.7 billion, after 20 years at Capital One Financial Corp. A University of Richmond alum, he served in executive roles in the capital markets and risk analysis departments at the credit card giant, as well as overseeing two of Capital One’s bank acquisitions and integrations. Collins’ new job now focuses on managing the finances of a credit union with 9 million members worldwide.
Lance R. Collins, vice president and executive director, Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, Alexandria
Collins
Collins, who joined Virginia Tech in August 2020 after serving as engineering dean at Cornell University, is the university’s man in the North — Northern Virginia, that is, where early construction work on the $1 billion Innovation Campus started in 2021. He has an impressive fundraising background, a useful skill set for Collins’ new job. In January, alumni Mehul and Hema Sanghani donated $10 million to expand and move Tech’s Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics to the new campus in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard.
Fine
Matthew Fine, president, The Runnymede Corp., Virginia Beach
Continuing his family’s tradition, Fine was named president of the 63-year-old commercial real estate development company last April after 30 years on Runnymede’s board of directors. Outside of the family business, the University of Richmond alum is a founding director of Suffolk-based TowneBank. He’s a glass and granite sculptor as well as a screenwriter and director of independent films along with his brother, Jeffrey.
Earl T. Granger III, chief development officer, Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg
Granger
Granger was named chief development officer at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation last summer. He joined the foundation in August as the pandemic continued to impact Colonial Williamsburg, which had furloughed or placed on administrative leave more than 700 employees during the pandemic’s early months. Bolstered by a move to outdoor programming and the return of furloughed employees, Granger says the world’s largest living history museum, which has faced declining revenues and visitation in recent years, has “cause for cautious optimism” in 2021.
Last September, Grden was named the first executive director of the newly formed Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative for Growth & Innovation, an umbrella organization that aims to bolster the region’s maritime industry. Grden, who most recently served as the associate vice president of Old Dominion University’s Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, says the collaborative will be “action-oriented” as it focuses on maritime economic development and innovation, as well as initiatives involving offshore wind, coastal resilience and talent pipelines.
Jehmal Hudson and Angela Navarro, State Corporation Commission judges, Richmond
Hudson, who held several roles at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, was appointed to the three-member Virginia State Corporation Commission last June as its first Black judge. Navarro, former deputy secretary of commerce and trade under Gov. Ralph Northam and previously deputy secretary of natural resources, joined the commission in January.
Hudson
Navarro
D. Jermaine Johnson, Greater Washington Area and Virginia regional president, PNC Bank, Washington, D.C.
Johnson
With 25 years of industry experience, Johnson honed his skills at Bank of America and GE Capital prior to joining PNC 15 years ago. Tapped last August as PNC’s D.C.-region president, he is responsible for $18 billion in local deposits and 1,600 employees in the bank’s corporate, business, retail, real estate and financial institutions groups. He has big shoes to fill in a slot previously held by regional banking icon Richard Bynum, who was promoted to PNC’s chief responsibility officer.
Kayrouz
Dr. Thomas Kayrouz, president and chief medical officer, Riverside Medical Group, Newport News
In September 2020, Kayrouz was named president and chief medical officer by the Riverside Medical Group, a multispecialty group practice for Newport News-based Riverside Health System. He oversees the group’s more than 600 providers and 100 practice sites. With a career in pediatric critical care medicine and physician-led health care leadership, Kayrouz previously served as executive vice president and chief physician executive for AnMed Health in South Carolina. He also held roles at Piedmont Health Partners, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical and Carilion Children’s Hospital in Roanoke.
Kathryn Keller, president, The Harvest Foundation, Martinsville
Keller
Keller took the helm of The Harvest Foundation in July 2020, following a 20-year career with Cincinnati-based health foundation Interact for Health, where she worked in strategy, policy and external relations. Founded in 2002 with proceeds from the sale of Memorial Hospital, The Harvest Foundation seeks economic development opportunities for the Martinsville-Henry County area. In the past year, the foundation has focused on assisting small businesses hard-hit by the pandemic as well as promoting racial justice. This year, the foundation plans to formulate a new strategic plan, Keller says.
Leslie
Kevin Leslie, executive director, Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium, Norfolk
A William & Mary grad who holds a doctorate in biophysics from Virginia Commonwealth University, Leslie was tapped in November 2020 to lead this new partnership between Old Dominion University, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Sentara Healthcare. HRBRC’s mission is to strengthen and initiate research collaborations among ODU, EVMS and Sentara as well as to find solutions for making health care in Hampton Roads more efficient and less expensive. Leslie previously served as associate director of VCU’s health care startup arm, VCU Ventures.
Mark Nantz, president and CEO, Valley Health, Winchester
Nantz
A former chief administrative officer and Atlantic group president for Bon Secours Mercy Health, Nantz started his job in June 2020, in the early months of the pandemic. Overseeing six hospitals and 50 medical practices in the Shenandoah Valley, Nantz immediately had to contend with financial shortfalls due to cancellations of elective surgeries. However, the health system avoided layoffs. In December 2020, Valley Health finalized a contract extension with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia, after months of tense negotiations with the insurer, which covers about 40,000 area residents.
Porter
Elizabeth Porter, health group president, Leidos Holdings Inc., Reston
Porter, who previously held leadership positions at Lockheed Martin Corp., was promoted to president of Reston-based federal contractor Leidos’ $2 billion health group in August 2020, after serving as the division’s acting president for five months. In February, Porter’s division landed a $2 billion contract to provide nonmedical counseling to military service members and their families through the Department of Defense’s Military and Family Life Counseling (MFLC) program.
Doug Wagoner, president and CEO, LMI, Tysons
Wagoner
Hired as president and CEO of Tysons-based government and defense consultancy LMI in August 2020, Wagoner previously served as sector president at Reston-based Science Applications International Corp. In that role, which he had held since 2013, he oversaw SAIC’s operations and its 15,000 consultants and engineers. Wagoner helped oversee the 2013 split of SAIC into two publicly traded companies, Leidos and SAIC. He also previously worked for DSA Inc., ChoicePoint (now LexisNexis) and Electronic Data Systems (now part of DXC Technology).
Washington
Gregory Washington, president, George Mason University, Fairfax
In July 2020, Washington became GMU’s eighth president. An innovator in the field of dynamic systems, he was the first in his family to attend college, earning his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University. While serving as dean of the engineering school at the University of California, Irvine, Washington increased school enrollment and diversified the faculty. Among the projects on his plate are GMU’s $250 million Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA). Set to open in 2025, the institute will foster the tech talent pipeline and anchor an “innovation district.”
The continuing progress on Amazon.com Inc.’s massive East Coast headquarters in Arlington, along with the promise of four new casinos across the state, kept spirits buoyed in Virginia’s construction sector in 2020.
Across the country, construction employment decreased in December 2020 compared with December 2019, but not in Northern Virginia, which saw a gain of 5,300 jobs over the year, a 7% increase. The state as a whole added 10,800 construction jobs in 2020 — the largest number in the country — according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America released in late January.
Commercial construction aside, the Virginia Department of Transportation’s largest-ever infrastructure project — the $3.8 billion expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel — started in fall 2020, with completion set for late 2025. Using a massive, custom-made underwater tunnel-boring machine, the corridor will expand by two tunnels with eight above-water lanes. Approximately 300 managers have been hired for the Hampton Roads Connector Partners-helmed project as well as 1,200 skilled craft employees, including crane operators, carpenters and other labor positions.
Work also began in earnest on the 2.1 million-square-foot, $2.5 billion Amazon HQ2 in 2020, with demolition of a block of warehouses where two towers will be built. In January, the e-tailer released more information about the JBG Smith Properties project, including its unusual Helix building, a spiral-shaped centerpiece that will include native Virginia trees and foliage in a walking path that winds to the top of the 370,000-square-foot structure.
Dominion Energy Inc. filed plans for its $7.8 billion, 2,640-megawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which would see 180 to 190 wind turbines built off the coast of Virginia Beach by 2026.
And the Interstate 66 widening project is continuing, with work reported to be on pace for a 2022 finish of the $3.7 billion project adding lanes outside the Beltway.
In November 2020, voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth overwhelmingly passed referendums allowing casinos to be built in their cities. It may be difficult now to envision people sitting side by side at slot machines, but casino backers are excited about the construction jobs for the resorts and other projects spurred by the introduction of commercial gambling in Virginia.
Green building, following several years of increased interest, also has taken hold. Amazon’s plans include an increase in green space available to the public, and the $2.3 billion GreenCity project under consideration in Henrico County, which has received support from officials, would represent the commonwealth’s first “ecodistrict.” On 204 acres partly owned by the county, the project would include a 17,000-seat arena, 2.3 million square feet of office and retail space, two hotels and 2,400 residential units, all with a sustainable focus. [See story, Page 14.]
Turner Construction Co.’s nearly $660 million expansion of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is set to finish by the third quarter of 2021, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees the project.
Despite overall healthy employment in construction during the pandemic, many in Virginia’s construction field were preparing for a slowdown in the near future. New hotels, offices and retail are simply not in the offing currently, contractors and builders say, and some higher education projects are on hold. But public projects and the expanding tech sector are providing work for the construction industry.
Last fall, the $800 million expansion of the Port of Virginia’s terminals in Hampton Roads was completed, and the dredging of Norfolk Harbor to make it the deepest and widest port on the East Coast is under way. Amazon also is expanding its empire in Virginia with two new facilities expected to be finished this year, including a robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk expected to employ 1,000 people. It will be the largest industrial building in Virginia, with 3.8 million square feet of floor space.
Virginia’s data center boom continues, with expansions across Loudoun County and in eastern Henrico County, where Facebook’s $1 billion data center opened last August, part of a $3.8 billion industry in the county. Microsoft, Google and Amazon are all major players in Northern Virginia’s data center field, and other regions, including Southwest Virginia, are also looking to cash in by offering ready workforces and other incentives.
After the pandemic hit in mid-March 2020, many industries hit pause on big decisions. But it didn’t take long for Virginia’s economic development departments to perk back up.
In May 2020, Microsoft Corp. announced it would expand its presence in Reston Town Center by launching a software development and research hub, creating 1,500 jobs. And in August 2020, T-Mobile USA Inc. said it would build a call center in Henrico County, creating 500 full-time jobs and increasing the center’s employment to 1,300 total jobs. Meanwhile, in Hampton Roads, federal contractors won numerous Department of Defense contracts to build ships and submarines last year, which will create more skilled jobs over the next decade.
In the Roanoke and New River valleys, the truck building industry continued to grow. Mack Trucks began producing medium-duty trucks for the first time since 2002, rolling out of the Valley TechPark last summer. In Pulaski County, at the Volvo Trucks North America plant, a new VNR Electric truck line is set to come online this year. And at Blackburg Industrial Park, Torc Robotics said in August 2020 it would create 350 software development jobs to support the company’s work to commercialize self-driving trucks for Daimler Trucks North American LLC, its owner.
In November 2020, voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth overwhelmingly approved measures to bring casinos to their cities in coming years, a development that’s expected to energize investment in their areas and create more than 6,500 permanent jobs statewide.
Despite the pandemic, major businesses were still relocating to or expanding in Virginia in 2020, pledging new jobs at a time when a record number of residents were filing for unemployment benefits.
Virginia saw 438,000 workers temporarily furloughed or permanently laid off by April 2020, nearly erasing gains of 502,000 jobs made during the 2010s, according to Old Dominion University’s 2020 State of the Commonwealth report.
A December 2020 Moody’s Analytics employment forecast predicts that more populated areas should expect to return to pre-pandemic employment levels by late 2023. Rural and small metro regions may not recover until 2025.
In Arlington, work is in full swing on Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion East Coast HQ2 headquarters, which is set to be finished by 2030, but in revised plans released in February, the e-tailer appears to be adjusting to the idea of its planned 25,000-employee workforce using a hybrid office-remote work model.
The three 22-story office buildings will include open coworking space, as well as “The Helix,” a corkscrew-shaped 370,000-square-foot tower that will feature “alternative working environments” and ample greenery.
Outside Richmond, in western Henrico County, the developers of the city’s failed Navy Hill project are taking another stab at bringing an arena to the capital region. In December 2020, Henrico County officials announced their support for the proposed $2.3 billion, arena-anchored GreenCity development, a mixed-use “ecodistrict” that will feature environmentally sustainable buildings, including 2.3 million square feet of office and retail, 2,400 housing units and two hotels over 12 years. Parks and trails are also a major feature of the plan, which will be paid for with bonds if it receives approval as expected.
While most Virginia offices likely won’t resemble those planned for Amazon or GreenCity, developers and companies are all considering what work will look like in the future, especially for industries that have flexibility for remote working. Already, some businesses are taking advantage of the current environment by renewing commercial leases at lower rents and with more benefits, especially in Northern Virginia. Others, like State Farm in Charlottesville, are deciding to close some offices permanently.
That sense of uncertainty also extends to the kinds of jobs that will be available to Virginians, some of whom may have to retrain for new careers, experts say.
“I think one of our really big challenges is how do we get those people back into the workforce,” Thomas Barkin, president and CEO of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, said during a June 2020 panel held by Virginia Tech. “In many cases, they’ll be back in jobs they had before … but in many cases they won’t. There’s an opportunity to extend what’s been innovated in online learning into retraining.”
Just as Zoom conferences and cloud computing have transformed our pandemic-era work lives, so too is technology changing the nature of influence.
That evolution is perhaps best evidenced by the addition of Reston-based MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor to Virginia Business’ 2021 list of the 50 most influential Virginians. Saylor may not spend his time huddled in cigar smoke-filled country club lounges with wealthy business leaders and politicians, but, along with Elon Musk, he has been one of Twitter’s leading cryptocurrency evangelists, influencing nearly half a million followers.
This year’s list also includes entrants reflecting the importance of diverse leadership, as well as the continuing and growing significance of Northern Virginia’s government contracting community to the commonwealth’s overall economic health.
Read on to learn how each of these leaders is contributing to business and leaving their imprint on Virginia.
Nancy Howell Agee, president and CEO, Carilion Clinic Inc., Roanoke
Agee
Why she is influential: Agee oversees the Roanoke Valley’s largest employer, with 13,000-plus personnel. Carilion Clinic has a $1 billion expansion and renovation plan in the works, including a $500 million overhaul of Roanoke Memorial that would make it one of Virginia’s largest hospitals. A former chair of the American Hospital Association, Agee is also a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates.
Recent developments: Although the COVID-19 pandemic paused Carilion’s expansion plans last spring, the health system has been hard at work on other forms of growth. In July 2020, Carilion completed the purchase of Lexington’s Stonewall Jackson Hospital from the SJH Community Health Foundation. And in October 2020, Carilion received a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to fund virtual care centers, teleneurology service access and portable telehealth video devices.
Asbury
John C. Asbury, president and CEO, Atlantic Union Bankshares, Richmond
Why he is influential: Following a career working for large financial institutions, Asbury built Atlantic Union into the largest regional bank headquartered in Virginia following mergers in 2018 and 2019. Asbury was elected chairman of the Virginia Bankers Association board of directors last June and he also serves as vice chairman and chairman-elect of the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America.
Recent developments: Through both initial rounds of federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief loans, Atlantic Union Bank helped more than 11,400 small businesses obtain more than $1.7 billion in funding. Atlantic Union also made undisclosed donations supporting inclusion and equity in 2020, which the bank said represented its largest-ever philanthropic gifts. The bank reported net income of $152.6 million for 2020, with $19.6 billion in assets.
G. Robert Aston Jr., executive chairman, TowneBank, Portsmouth
Aston
Why he is influential: A former president of Commerce Bank, Aston co-founded TowneBank in 1999 and helped it grow to become the largest regional bank in Hampton Roads and one of the biggest banks in the state. With 42 offices throughout Virginia and North Carolina, TowneBank had $14.63 billion in total assets at the close of 2020.
Recent developments: In June 2020, TowneBank and Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters jointly purchased the 22-story Norfolk Southern Tower in downtown Norfolk from the Fortune 500 railroad corporation, which is in the process of migrating its corporate headquarters to Atlanta. TowneBank also made the Forbes 100 Best Banks in America list for the third consecutive year, ranking No. 16 position on the 2021 list. The bank assisted 6,500 businesses in securing more than $1.1 billion in PPP relief loans during the pandemic and added a branch in Chesterfield County. It has two Charlotte, North Carolina, locations slated to open this year.
Barkin
Thomas I. Barkin, president and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond,Richmond
Why he is influential: Barkin, who has led the Richmond Fed since early 2018, oversees monetary policy and regulation and payment services for the bank as well as the Fed’s information technology organization. This year, he became a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the bank’s chief monetary policy body. Previously, Barkin was a senior partner and CFO at the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Co. and served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Recent developments: Barkin’s primary concern about the pandemic is the impact it’s had on the labor market. Fiscal policy, he says, should prioritize people who are “close to the edge.” Although he expects more bumpy months ahead, Barkin calls the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations “the light at the end of the tunnel.” Until clearing that tunnel, though, he expects the Fed will spend about $120 billion per month in bond purchases and maintain interest rates near zero through 2023.
Gilbert T. Bland, chairman, The Giljoy Group, Virginia Beach
Bland
Why he is influential: In 1985, Bland founded a fast food franchise business that owns and operates more than 70 Burger King and Pizza Hut restaurants, employing as many as 2,000 people. He’s also been a major voice in Virginia through board memberships. In 2018, he became president and chairman of the Urban League of Hampton Roads, which supports social and economic equality for African Americans and other minorities to the larger community. He serves on the Randolph-Macon College Board of Trustees and the boards of Sentara Healthcare and the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.
Recent developments: Bland’s community volunteer duties expanded to include an appointment as chairman of the new Virginia African American Advisory Board in 2019 in the wake of Gov. Ralph Northam’s blackface scandal. The 26-member board advises the governor on issues of importance to Black Virginians, including health, education and business. In October 2020, the board issued its first annual report, focusing on the impact of COVID-19 on Black communities, businesses and public health.
Boykin
Jennifer Boykin, president, Newport News Shipbuilding, and executive vice president, Huntington Ingalls Industries,Newport News
Why she is influential: Boykin became the first woman president of the Newport News shipyard in 2017, coming from a marine engineering background. Part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News Shipbuilding is the leading industrial employer in Virginia. With about 23,000 employees, it is currently working on the U.S. Navy’s largest-ever shipbuilding contract — $22.2 billion, shared with General Dynamics Electric Boat — to build nine Virginia-class Block V attack submarines.
Recent developments: As a large employer, the shipyard saw dramatic changes in its work schedules last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving from three shifts to two shifts in May 2020. Meanwhile, NNS continued work on its large backlog of projects that include the submarine contract. Boykin also was named to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s new Board of Visitors last year; she is a 1986 graduate.
Victor Branch, Richmond market president, Bank of America Corp., Richmond
Branch
Why he is influential: Branch, who joined Bank of America in 1984, has served as its Richmond market president since 2015, responsible for 25 branch offices, a technology and operations center and 2,000 employees. A William & Mary alum, he has an extremely active civic life. He serves on the university’s board of visitors and also sits on the boards of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, ChamberRVA, Venture Richmond and Virginia’s Gateway Region.
Recent developments: In December 2020, Branch was honored as one of the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s People of the Year. Two months later, he penned a guest column for Virginia Business, calling on the business community to continue the momentum of last year’s racial justice discussions and make long-term commitments to increase equity and diversity and end discrimination.
Carlson
Teresa Carlson, vice president, worldwide sector and industries, Amazon Web Services, Herndon
Why she is influential: As the founder of AWS’s public sector business, Carlson helped establish the company as the world’s most ubiquitous cloud platform. After the CIA moved to AWS cloud services in 2013, many organizations followed suit; today, AWS works with more than 7,500 government agencies, 14,000 academic institutions and 35,000 nonprofit organizations around the world. AWS recently expanded Carlson’s purview, giving her responsibility for its largest regulated industry customers, including financial services, energy services and telecommunications. She also oversees AWS training and certification programs, including global inclusion and diversity initiatives, and advises Amazon’s policy wing on global issues.
Recent developments: Following the February news that AWS CEO Andy Jassy would succeed Jeff Bezos as Amazon’s second CEO, speculation broke out as to whether Carlson might rise to AWS’s top spot. (Others rumored to be in the running include AWS vice presidents Peter DeSantis and Matt Garman.) Carlson could have an edge, having led the 2020 launch of a new business segment dedicated to accelerating innovation in the aerospace and satellite industry, sectors of particular interest to Bezos.
C. Daniel Clemente, founder, chairman and CEO, Clemente Development Co. Inc., Tysons
Clemente
Why he is influential: This seasoned Northern Virginia real estate developer has played a major role in making Tysons a Northern Virginia edge city. He founded his firm in 1986 after careers in banking and law. A former George Mason University rector and board of trustees chair, Clemente currently serves on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s board.
Recent developments: In February 2020, Clemente Development secured the remaining land for its $1.3 billion, 3 million square-foot, proposed mixed-use development, The View at Tysons. However, the ambitious project has been put on hold as the company waits to see if demand for office space revives following the pandemic. Located near the Spring Hill Metro Station, the project includes a proposal to build the 600-foot-tall Iconic Tower, which would be the tallest building in Virginia and the Washington, D.C., region, as well as 1,400 apartments priced as affordable workforce housing.
Davenport
Benjamin J. Davenport Jr., chairman, First Piedmont Corp. and Davenport Energy Inc., Chatham
Why he is influential: Davenport joined his family’s namesake energy company in 1964 after graduating from Virginia Tech. He has overseen its expansion from a small family-owned company to a major provider of propane, fuel oil and retail gasoline equipment to more than 30,000 commercial and residential customers in Virginia and North Carolina. Davenport established First Piedmont Corp., a full-service waste-management company, in 1969. A loyal Hokie, he has served on Tech’s board of visitors and on the boards of the Tech Foundation and Carilion School of Medicine.
Recent developments: Last April, Davenport received the 2020 Sorensen Institute Leadership Award in recognition of his efforts to revitalize the Southern Virginia economy and for his championship of Danville’s Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, created in partnership with Virginia Tech.
William B. “Bill” Downey, CEO, Riverside Health System, Newport News
Downey
Why he is influential: For nearly a decade, Downey has overseen the massive Eastern Virginia health care system that employs more than 9,500 people and includes almost 700 providers and seven hospitals, plus nursing homes and continuing care retirement communities. During his tenure, Riverside has undertaken a number of ambitious building projects, including a $90 million expansion of the Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News and a $50 million renovation and expansion of Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester.
Recent developments: Downey lends a prodigious amount of time to civic organizations and has served on the boards of many, including the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, the Virginia Symphony, the Hampton Roads Economic Development Authority and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Last year, the Hampton Roads Community Action Program presented him its 2020 Community Builders award in recognition of his positive impact on the region.
DuVal
Barry DuVal, president and CEO, Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Richmond
Why he is influential:In the 11 years that DuVal has served as president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, he’s grown its membership from 847 in 2010 to more than 27,000, including an additional thousand this past year. A former state secretary of commerce and trade, he is also a past mayor of Newport News and was president and CEO of Kaufman & Canoles Consulting LLC.
Recent developments: Last year, DuVal and the chamber released its pandemic best practices report, “Blueprint for Getting Virginians Back to Work,” supported relief for small businesses and lobbied for businesses to be protected from pandemic-related lawsuits. DuVal also continues to be a vocal advocate against the repeal of the state’s right-to-work laws. This year, the chamber is developing a statewide economic development strategic plan, Blueprint Virginia 2030.
James W. Dyke Jr., senior advisor, State Government Relations, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, Tysons
Dyke
Why he is influential: A former secretary of education under
Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, Dyke wields significant influence in state politics as a lobbyist for three universities: George Washington, Marymount and the foundation at George Mason University. He also serves on the board of GO Virginia, a state-funded economic initiative promoting regional collaboration and private-sector investment in economic development.
Recent developments: Dyke served as one of three co-chairs of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation’s Back to Work Virginia task force created last year. In December, the group recommended that the state make child care available to all Virginians by 2030, regardless of income. “For Virginia to recover and prosper, we cannot go back to business as usual with a child care system that fails to provide equitable access to affordable, quality care for working families. Virginia can do better and we will do it together,” said Dyke, who is also an advocate for topics ranging from yearlong public education to racial equity and bipartisanship.
Fairbank
Richard Fairbank, founder, chairman, CEO and president, Capital One Financial Corp., Tysons
Why he is influential: Fairbank co-founded McLean-based Capital One in 1994, growing it from a startup into a Fortune 100 company that’s one of the 10 largest banks in America, with $421.9 billion in assets. A billionaire who has served as Capital One’s CEO since 1994, Fairbank hasn’t taken a base salary since 1997. He previously served as chairman of MasterCard’s U.S. board of directors.
Recent developments:Early in the pandemic, Capital One caught heat from business customers for its slow rollout of PPP loans, processing just 196 loan approvals during the federal relief program’s April 2020 first round. The pandemic also accelerated the bank’s trend of closing branches in favor of digital transactions, with Capital One filing more than 50 branch closure applications in the last half of 2020. In October 2020, the bank announced a five-year, $200 million commitment to advance economic growth and socioeconomic mobility in underserved communities. Capital One started 2021 on a bad note, however, being hit with a $390 million federal civil penalty for willfully violating anti-money-laundering requirements between 2008 and 2014.
Thomas F. Farrell II, executive chairman, Dominion Energy Inc., Richmond
Farrell
Why he is influential: Farrell has led the state’s largest utility since 2006, transitioning from its CEO to executive chairman in October 2020. Dominion is a major player in state politics and Farrell is one of Richmond’s best-known and most powerful executives, though not even his influence could save his proposed $1.5 billion Navy Hill downtown development plan, which Richmond City Council killed in early 2020.
Recent developments: As one of the state’s most powerful leaders, Farrell chairs the state GO Virginia board, which allocates funding for economic development projects across Virginia. In April 2020, he also was appointed as Altria Group Inc.’s chairman of the board, a non-executive position. Last summer, Dominion pulled the plug on its $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline and sold its gas transmission and storage business to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for almost $10 billion. As part of a state initiative to shift to carbon-free energy production by 2050, Dominion last year completed the pilot phase of its proposed $7.8 billion, 2,640-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach. Scheduled for completion in 2026, it will be the nation’s largest offshore wind farm.
Fralin
Heywood Fralin, chairman, Medical Facilities of America Inc., Roanoke
Why he is influential: A former University of Virginia rector who was also a longtime member of the U.Va. and Virginia Tech board of visitors, Fralin chairs the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and is a director of the Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation Board. Fralin and his wife, Cynthia, are noted philanthropists who donated $50 million in 2018 to Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke. U.Va.’s art museum is also named for the couple, who donated their collection of American art to the university in 2012. As a businessman, Fralin oversees 40 nursing home facilities in Virginia and North Carolina and is co-chairman of Retirement Unlimited Inc., which has six assisted-living facilities in the commonwealth.
Recent developments: In December 2020,Fralin and his wife pledged $5 million to endow U.Va.’s head football coaching position, which is now officially known as the Fralin Family Head Football Coach. Matching funds will create a permanent endowment of $7.5 million.
William F. “Billy” Gifford,CEO, Altria, Richmond
Gifford
Why he is influential: In April 2020, following the retirement of former CEO and Chairman Howard Willard, Gifford took the helm of the tobacco giant, which reported net revenues of $26.2 billion in 2020, a 4.2% increase from 2019. The Henrico County-based Fortune 500 parent company of cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris USA (where Gifford was president and CEO) holds a 35% stake in San Francisco- based e-cigarette producer Juul Labs Inc., having invested $12.8 billion in the company in 2018. Gifford also serves on the board of directors for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, in which Altria holds an equity stake.
Recent developments: In November 2020, Altria converted its nonvoting shares of Juul to voting shares but said it didn’t plan to take a more active role on the board until a federal antitrust complaint was resolved. A month later, Altria announced its third-generation IQOS tobacco heating system device, which is being marketed as less harmful for one’s health than traditional cigarettes, had been approved for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Gilliland
Amy Gilliland, president, General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., Falls Church
Why she is influential: Gilliland was named president of GDIT in 2017 and a year later, the General Dynamics Corp. subsidiary doubled in size with the largest acquisition in company history: the $9.6 billion purchase of Falls Church-based IT services company CSRA Inc. Gilliland now is a high-profile leader overseeing an organization of nearly 30,000 employees, including 8,250 in Virginia, that delivers critical mission capabilities for the civilian government, defense and intelligence communities. A third-generation military veteran, she served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a public affairs officer at the Pentagon before joining General Dynamics in 2005.
Recent developments: In government contracting circles, one of the biggest stories of 2020 was the fact that GDIT retained the $4.4 billion, 10-year Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) contract, which had previously been awarded to CSRA. Under the contract, GDIT will support the largest deployment of Microsoft Office 365, and the first in a classified environment. GDIT also secured a $695 million IT contract for the U.S. Army’s Europe headquarters, in addition to being selected as a prime contractor on a $3.3 billion global support contract for the State Department.
Robert Gray, chief, Pamunkey Indian Tribe, King William
Gray
Why he is influential: Chief of the Pamunkey Tribe since 2015, Gray has partnered with Tennessee billionaire investor Jon Yarbrough on two casino projects: one in Norfolk that is moving ahead after a local referendum passed last November, and a proposed resort in Richmond.
Recent developments: The city of Richmond began accepting proposals for casino projects in late 2020, with an operator and site expected to be selected this summer. Local voters will weigh in with a November ballot referendum. The tribe has purchased land in the Manchester neighborhood on Richmond’s South Side. Meanwhile, work starts soon on the tribe’s $500 million casino in Norfolk, with about 1,500 jobs and $185 million in annual revenue expected. Gray says the project will lead to increased prosperity for members of his tribe and the community where it will be operating the casino.
Harmon
Jonathan P. Harmon, chairman, McGuireWoods LLP, Richmond
Why he is influential: A Gulf War veteran who graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Harmon has led Virginia’s largest law firm since 2017. McGuireWoods has 24 offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia, employs close to 900 attorneys and made $853.5 million in total revenue in 2020. A respected trial attorney, Harmon represents several Fortune 500 companies and previously led the firm’s business and securities litigation department.
Recent developments: Last summer, Harmon participated in a one-on-one discussion with Ibram X. Kendi, best-selling author of “How to Be an Antiracist,” for a webcast, and the firm received Bank of America’s Law Firm Diversity & Inclusion Award. Amid widespread racial equity protests, Harmon penned a June 2020 column in The Wall Street Journal about grappling with racism and discrimination. In a December 2020 interview with Virginia Business, Harmon acknowledged how hard last year was for many people: “If there had been just one of the events — pandemic, social unrest, political divisiveness — any one of those things would have been enough. You find out a lot about who you are as a leader when you go through challenging times.”
Victor Hoskins, president and CEO, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Fairfax
Hoskins
Why he is influential: Since landing Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters deal for Arlington County in 2018, Hoskins has been laser-focused on bringing economic prosperity not only to Fairfax County, where he moved in August 2019, but to the entire Northern Virginia region. In 2019, he started working with 10 Northern Virginia jurisdictions to establish the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance, which will help the region compete for large projects and promote economic development cooperation.
Recent developments: In 2019, Hoskins took his magic touch to Fairfax County, which, since his arrival, has snagged major deals from Microsoft Corp., Google LLC, Facebook Inc., Amazon Web Services and Volkswagen Group of America. A $64 million Microsoft investment will establish a new software development and R&D regional hub at Fairfax County’s Reston Town Center, creating 1,500 jobs, and Volkswagen Group of America Inc. signed a 20-year lease agreement in Reston Town Center, where it will be the anchor tenant in Boston Properties’ under-construction 1.1 million square-foot development. [See interview, Page 24.]
Jones
Dr. J. Stephen Jones, president and CEO, Inova Health System, Falls Church
Why he is influential: Jones oversees the operation of five not-for-profit hospitals and several other health care assets, all located in Northern Virginia. Inova, which has 18,000 employees and serves 2 million patients annually, is the highest-rated large health system in the nation, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Jones isn’t just an administrator. A professor of urology at the University of Virginia, he consistently ranks among the top 1% of the nation’s cancer physicians and urologists.
Recent developments: In December 2020, Inova announced plans to build a $1 billion medical campus on the 52-acre site of the vacant Landmark Mall in Alexandria, eventually replacing Inova’s existing hospital there. The new hospital will be one of only three Level II trauma centers in Northern Virginia. The 4-million-square-foot site will include a medical office building and residential, retail, commercial and entertainment developments.
Nazzic S. Keene, CEO, Science Applications International Corp., Reston
Keene
Why she is influential: Keene leads SAIC, a major government contractor with 2020 revenues of about $7.1 billion and 25,500 employees worldwide. She joined SAIC in 2012 and rose through a series of leadership roles before becoming CEO in mid-2019. Barely six months into leading SAIC, she oversaw the company’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Unisys Corp.’s federal business unit. Keene sits on the Inova Health System Board of Trustees and is a member of ADP’s board of directors. She’s also a familiar face in local philanthropy, previously serving on boards of nonprofits such as Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Capital Partners for Education, Year Up National Capital Region and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.
Recent developments: Keene was one of a handful of CEOs of federal contracting firms who publicly called for unity following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In February, SAIC won an $830 million contract to provide engineering services for the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command, Aviation & Missile Center.
Kern
Howard P. Kern, president and CEO, Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk
Why he is influential: Leading Sentara since 2016, Kern oversees one of Virginia’s largest health systems, with 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina and about 30,000 employees. Sentara also became majority owner of the Virginia Premier health plan after striking a deal with VCU Health System in spring 2020.
Recent developments: In August 2020, Sentara announced its intention to merge with Greensboro, North Carolina-based Cone Health, which will produce a health system with $11.5 billion in combined revenues. Kern will oversee the larger company, which will remain headquartered in Norfolk. And in January, Kern announced Sentara’s $10 million investment and partnership with Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School to start a School of Public Health and support other public health initiatives in the Hampton Roads and Peninsula areas.
Justin G. Knight, president and CEO, Apple Hospitality REIT Inc., Richmond
Knight
Why he is influential: As CEO of Apple Hospitality REIT, Knight oversees 235 hotels, mainly Marriotts and Hiltons, in 34 states. He is vice chair of the board of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and additionally serves on the boards of Richmond’s Valentine Museum and Venture Richmond, which supports the state capital’s downtown businesses.
Recent developments: In December 2020, Apple Hospitality received a 2019 Hilton Legacy Award for being a top performer for the Hilton Garden Inn brand. That honor, however, preceded the arrival of the pandemic, which brought Apple Hospitality a 55% revenue drop in 2020. In response to the crisis, Knight consolidated operations, postponed nonessential projects, reduced operational costs and renegotiated service contracts. With the vaccine rollout beginning, however, Apple’s business-traveler-oriented hotels have begun to rebound, and stock advisers at The Motley Fool picked the REIT as one of their top 10 investments for 2021.
Krone
Roger A. Krone, chairman and CEO, Leidos Holdings Inc., Reston
Why he is influential: Since 2014, Krone has served as the top executive at Leidos, a Fortune 500 government contractor that reported $11.1 billion in 2019 revenue and employs 37,000 people. The pilot and aerospace engineer also has 22 years under his belt with The Boeing Co. and 14 years with General Dynamics Corp. His time with Leidos has seen both major acquisitions and contract awards, including the 2016 purchase of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business for $4.6 billion.
Recent developments: In February, Krone became the first eight-time winner of Executive Mosaic’s prestigious Wash100 Award, which recognizes the most influential leaders in government contracting. Just a month before, Leidos completed its $215 million, all-cash acquisition of Reston-based information technology services company 1901 Group. That’s not to mention roughly $4 billion in major federal contracts Leidos landed in late 2020 and early 2021.
John R. Lawson II, executive chairman, W.M. Jordan Co., Newport News
Lawson
Why he is influential: For 32 years, Lawson served as president and CEO of the construction company his late father co-founded, rising to executive chairman in 2018. During his tenure, the company has grown its annual revenue from $25 million to more than $500 million, but his power is even more evident in the greater Hampton Roads community. The 2018 Virginia Business Person of the Year leads a company that works on projects including the Ferguson campus at Newport News City Center, Liebherr USA’s expansion in Newport News and the Measurement Systems Lab at NASA Langley Research Center. In November 2020, he joined the National Academy of Construction.
Recent developments: W.M. Jordan is constructing a 14-story mental health care facility in Norfolk, set to open in 2022, for the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. The company in late 2020 started construction on the new Embassy Suites Hotel, the final piece of the Cavalier Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach. The company also provided construction management services for the $125 million, 305-room Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront, which opened last June and is also part of the Cavalier renovations.
Mastracco
Vincent J. Mastracco Jr., partner, co-chair, Real Estate Strategies Group, Kaufman & Canoles PC, Norfolk
Why he is influential: Considered one of the top securities and corporate finance attorneys in the Tidewater region, Mastracco has been practicing law for more than 55 years as a member of the equally venerable firm of Kaufman & Canoles. He also has been involved in many significant commercial developments in downtown Norfolk. As the former chair for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s board of directors, he was on a team that helped bring Amazon’s HQ2 to Northern Virginia. Mastracco is a trustee of both the Sentara Foundation, which responds to the health care needs of the Hampton Roads area, and the Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, and law degrees from the University of Richmond and New York University.
Recent developments: Mastracco continues his community service as a board member of the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable, the Community Leadership Partners and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.
Terri McClements, senior partner and partner candidate development leader, COVID-19 executive project management officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, McLean
McClements
Why she is influential: McClements has spent more than three decades serving in various leadership roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), from overseeing high-performing markets to developing its human capital and talent program. In 2017, McClements was named to lead the Big Four accounting firm’s mid-Atlantic practice, which encompasses more than 4,000 employees in Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
Recent developments: Last September, McClements left her role as market managing partner to lead two initiatives. As head of PwC’s Partner Candidate Development program, she’s responsible for developing the firm’s future leaders in a three-year pipeline program. McClements was also assigned to lead PwC’s COVID-19 response, which included the development of products and technology to assist the company’s clients with contact tracing, risk management and other aspects of guiding a business through the pandemic.
McDuffie
Mary McDuffie,president and CEO, Navy Federal Credit Union, Vienna
Why she is influential: McDuffie leads the world’s largest credit union, with more than 9 million members, $135.7 billion in assets, 22,100 employees and 344 branches. She has been with the credit union for more than two decades and became president and CEO in January 2019. During her time with the organization, she oversaw the launch of the credit union’s first mobile app — just one example of the credit union’s “digital first” mindset. In 2020, Navy Federal was ranked as one of the best places to work in IT.
Recent developments: In July 2020, Big Four accounting firm KPMG ranked Navy Federal No. 4 on its annual list of top 10 U.S. brands for customer experience excellence — a fitting accolade as McDuffie has made improving customer service one of her top priorities. Expansion has also been a priority for Duffie, who’s overseen the openings of 20 additional branches in the last couple years.
Jim McGlothlin, chairman and CEO, The United Co., Bristol
McGlothlin
Why he is influential: A Southwest Virginia native, McGlothlin was known for 40 years as a coal mining magnate, but today he’s forged a second act as a co-developer of Bristol’s forthcoming $400 million casino resort, in partnership with Hard Rock International and fellow former coal executive and developer Clyde Stacy. McGlothlin and his wife, Frances Gibson McGlothlin, have also been major donors to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and to McGlothlin’s alma mater, William & Mary.
Recent developments: Voters in Bristol overwhelmingly approved a November 2020 referendum allowing the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino to move forward, along with three other resorts across Virginia. The casino is expected to produce 2,000 jobs and generate $130 million in annual revenue. McGlothlin and Stacy, who began pursuing the idea of a casino in 2018, are credited with bringing about a change in the state’s commercial gambling laws in 2020 that opened Virginia’s doors to casinos.
Milliken
John G. Milliken, chairman, Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners, Arlington
Why he is influential: Milliken has chaired the Virginia Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners under five Virginia governors. He previously led the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, served as Virginia secretary of transportation and was an Arlington County supervisor from 1981 to 1990. Since he rejoined the port authority in 2014, it has leveraged nearly $1.5 billion to modernize and expand the port through infrastructure projects that will extend through 2024, including dredging to make it the deepest port on the East Coast, able to handle the largest cargo ships.
Recent developments:Milliken shepherded the VPA through a pivotal transition year in 2020, overseeing the process of choosing Stephen A. Edwards as the successor to VPA President and CEO John F. Reinhart, who retired in January after seven years. A longtime maritime executive, Edwards is the former president and CEO of TraPac LLC, which operates port terminals in California and Florida.
Stephen Moret, president and CEO, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Richmond
Moret
Why he is influential: Moret played a key role in landing Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters in 2018, described as the largest single economic development deal in U.S. history. Named by Virginia Business magazine as its 2019 Virginia Business Person of the Year, Moret is a tireless promoter of Virginia as a great location for business, helping to reclaim Virginia’s status as CNBC’s top state for business in 2019.
Recent developments: Essentially the state’s point person on economic recovery, Moret and his VEDP staff have been working with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce to update Blueprint Virginia 2030, a comprehensive long-range plan for Virginia businesses that’s expected to be presented in 2022. Business Facilities ranked Virginia third for workforce development last August, citing VEDP’s two-year-old Virginia Talent Accelerator Program for workforce training.
Nassetta
Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.,Tysons
Why he is influential: Nassetta, a 37-year industry veteran who also chairs the World Travel & Tourism Council, has been a prominent voice in business media during the last year, discussing the hotel industry’s prospects for economic recovery from the devastating losses it suffered during the pandemic. He’s also talked about how the industry may change as a result, evolving to host more high-quality “hybrid” conferences that will have in-person attendees while also broadcasting virtually to larger remote audiences. Nassetta is in charge of a portfolio of more than 17 hotel brands, encompassing 6,100 properties in 119 countries and territories. The company had 173,000 employees prior to the pandemic.
Recent developments: Last June, as the pandemic settled in, Hilton laid off 2,100 of its 9,600 corporate employees. For third quarter 2020, it posted a 61% loss in revenue compared with the previous year. Nassetta doesn’t expect his company to recover to 2019 levels for two or three years, but, he adds, “We’re not crying in our milk. We’ve got a business to run. This too shall pass.”
Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO, General Dynamics Corp., Falls Church
Novakovic
Why she is influential: Last year, Forbes ranked Novakovic the 27th most powerful woman in the world in recognition of her position as head of the Fairfax County-based aerospace and defense company, a behemoth with more than 100,000 employees and annual revenues nearing $38 billion. Novakovic is a member of the executive chairman’s circle of Ford’s Theatre and chairs the board of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Recent developments: In December 2020, Virginia Business chose Novakovic as its 2020 Business Person of the Year. That same month, she was tapped to serve on the board of JPMorgan Chase & Co. General Dynamics landed several major contracts in late 2020, including being named as one of three prime contractors for the State Department’s Global Support Strategy contract vehicle, which has an estimated value of as much as $3.3 billion over the next decade, as well as a $695 million contract to provide IT services to the U.S. Army.
Pesicka
Edward A. Pesicka, president and CEO, Owens & Minor Inc., Richmond
Why he is influential: Owens & Minor was already a longtime Fortune 500 company when the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying demand for personal protective equipment elevated it to more national prominence. Pesicka, who joined the company as president and CEO in 2019, rose in profile as Owens & Minor accelerated and expanded production of N95 respirators, surgical and procedure masks, face shields and isolation gowns. Pesicka joined other executives in the medical and pharmaceutical industries in a task force with President Donald Trump and federal officials about how to speed the PPE supply chain. Standing next to Trump, Pesicka addressed the press during a March 2020 Rose Garden task force briefing about the emerging pandemic.
Recent developments: Like many other companies, Owens & Minor moved to telework during the pandemic, ultimately deciding in November to pull stakes on its call center at Richmond’s Riverfront Plaza and sublet the space instead. Owens & Minor continues to pursue public-private relationships: In January, the day after the new president’s inauguration, the company sent a news release in which Pesicka thanked President Joe Biden for expanding and encouraging the use of face masks.
Mike Petters, president and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News
Petters
Why he is influential: Petters leads America’s largest military ship-building company. HII employs more than 42,000 people, and reported $9.4 billion in 2020 revenue. Petters previously was president of what was formerly Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and has worked in the Newport News shipbuilding industry since 1987. He is a member of many boards, including the Aerospace Industries Association, the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, the National Association of Manufacturers and others.
Recent developments: Huntington Ingalls carried on despite the pandemic, keeping pace with its 2019 performance. For 2020, it had built a backlog of $46 billion in contracts to fulfill, a decrease of less than $1 billion from the year before. Additionally, in January, HII completed the first phase of construction on its $47 million Unmanned Systems Center of Excellence campus, a manufacturing and research facility to develop underwater drones.
Rozanski
Horacio D. Rozanski, CEO, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., McLean
Why he is influential: Rozanski, who started out as an intern in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Buenos Aires office in 1991, has played an important part in Booz Allen’s growth into a global technology and consulting powerhouse. He guided Booz Allen through the separation of its government and commercial sides into two companies, its initial public offering in 2010, and a strategic transformation that redirected Booz Allen’s portfolio toward mission-critical, high-margin solutions. Booz Allen has cultivated a diverse workforce, adding members of underrepresented groups to its board and leadership teams at more than twice the rate of its competitors. A dedicated philanthropist, Rozanski chairs the board of directors for Children’s National Medical Center and is a board member for CARE USA. He also serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience and the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board.
Recent developments: In April 2020, Rozanski was awarded the prestigious Horatio Alger Award, recognizing Americans who have succeeded despite adversity.
Buddy Rizer,executive director, economic development, Loudoun County
Rizer
Why he is influential: Loudoun’s economic development leader is also the self-styled “Godfather of Data Center Alley,” reflecting the fact that the county has the world’s largest concentration of data centers. More than 70% of all internet traffic passes through the county’s Ashburn area and companies such as Amazon Web Services, Google LLC and Microsoft Corp. are continually building more there. Rizer sits on the boards of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Northern Virginia Community College Foundation.
Recent developments: The increased demand for cloud services and streaming video from remote workers during the pandemic caused some data center development projects to get fast-tracked in 2020, Rizer has said. The coronavirus crisis also had Rizer focused on aiding the county’s small businesses. Loudoun doled out millions in relief funds via its COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund and allocated $250,000 in federal CARES Act money to help local restaurants offset costs for switching to outdoor dining service.
Salvino
Mike Salvino,president and CEO, DXC Technology, Tysons
Why he is influential: Founded in April 2017 as a result of the merger of Computer Science Corp. and the Enterprise Services business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., DXC employs 138,000 people worldwide and reported 2020 revenues of more than $19 billion. A former CEO of Accenture Operations who has written regularly about leadership for Chief Executive magazine, Salvino joined DXC in May 2019. During his seven-year tenure at Accenture, he went from a bad first year to growing revenues by 20% and he says he’s taking DXC on a similar “transformation journey.”
Recent developments: DXC divested its state and local health business to private equity firm Veritas Capital in March 2020 for $5 billion in cash. In January, DXC received an unsolicited $10 billion bid for all DXC shares from Paris-based IT company Atos SE, but Salvino and DXC’s board declined, saying the offer was too low and they think DXC has far more potential.
Michael J. Saylor,chairman, president and CEO, MicroStrategy Inc., Tysons
Saylor
Why he is influential: With more than 460,000 Twitter followers, software CEO Saylor is one of the top proponents of bitcoin as a safe-haven investment, and he’s preached that gospel in interviews on CNBC and Bloomberg Television. An inventor, author and philanthropist, Saylor has said, “The destiny of money is to be encrypted.”
Recent developments: Saylor puts his money where his tweets are: His software company spent $675 million purchasing more than 70,000 bitcoins last year, making it one of the first public companies to convert cash holdings into cryptocurrency. By mid-February, the company’s bitcoins had increased in value to roughly $3.6 billion. And the company announced plans in February to purchase $900 million more in bitcoin to add to its treasury reserve.
Smith
Steven C. Smith, CEO, Food City, Abingdon
Why he is influential: Smith’s father started out with a single Piggly Wiggly store in Grundy in 1955. In 2001, his son took over the family business, which became known as Food City, and expanded its portfolio to include more than 120 stores and 17,000 employees. Food City has posted $2.6 billion in annual revenues and operates in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia under the names Food City and Super Dollar Supermarkets. Smith plans to open the company’s first store in Alabama in April 2021. Food City is known in Southwest Virginia for its annual sponsorship of two NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway, the Food City 500 and the Food City 300.
Recent developments: Food City was named employer of the year for 2020 by the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Career Development and Transition for its commitment to providing opportunities to students with disabilities. Its pharmacies are partnering with the government to offer free COVID-19 vaccinations as they become available.
Clyde Stacy, CEO, Par Ventures LLC, Bristol
Stacy
Why he is influential: A former coal mining executive who headed Rapoca Energy Co., Stacy is a prominent developer and investor in Bristol, his hometown. He purchased the vacant Bristol Mall for $2.6 million in 2018, and it’s there where he and longtime friend Jim McGlothlin, CEO of The United Co., will be building the $400 million Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which was approved by Bristol voters in November 2020.
Recent developments: Along with the casino (one of four approved last year in local referendums across Virginia), Stacy also is an investor in Dharma Pharmaceuticals, a CBD processing facility currently housed at Bristol Mall. In October 2020, the company was the first in Virginia to dispense medical marijuana after the General Assembly loosened cannabis laws. Dharma plans to relocate to Washington County this year to make way for the casino.
Thompson
Warren Thompson, president and chairman, Thompson Hospitality Corp., Reston
Why he is influential: Thompson is the founder of the nation’s largest minority- owned food and facilities management company, which he started in 1992 after working for Marriott Corp. and buying 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants from the company. A University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumnus, Thompson has served on U.Va.’s board of visitors and other influential boards. In December 2020, he was named to Richmond-based Performance Food Group Co.’s board of directors.
Recent developments: Last year was difficult for the food service and hospitality industries, Thompson Hospitality included, which was forced to lay off about 75% of its workforce last spring. Staffing levels are back up, but are still at about half of 2019’s peak employment, Thompson said in January. But 2020 did have a few bright spots, including the company’s November acquisition of Reston-based Matchbox Food Group for $11.6 million. Thompson also served on Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 Business Task Force, advising the governor on strategies for assisting businesses harmed by the pandemic.
Tamika L. Tremaglio, greater Washington managing principal, Deloitte, McLean
Tremaglio
Why she is influential: Since 2017, Tremaglio has managed 12,000 employees in the greater Washington area for Deloitte. An active public speaker and fashion trendsetter who is highly visible in the D.C. region, she joined the Big Four accounting firm in 2010. She serves on the boards of Tuskegee University, United Way of the National Capital Area and is a past board member for The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. Washingtonian magazine has named her one of the region’s most powerful women.
Recent developments: In 2019, Tremaglio was named to the advisory board of the WNBA’s players union, alongside former Georgia U.S. Rep. Stacey Abrams and Vanderbilt University men’s basketball head coach Jerry Stackhouse. Among other initiatives, board members advised the union during negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement in January 2020 that tripled players’ salaries. The WNBA and its union have become more powerful since, with its support of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign against Atlanta team owner Kelly Loeffler, the former Republican senator of Georgia, cited as a turning point in the Democrat’s runoff win in January 2021.
VandeHei
Jim VandeHei, co-founder and CEO, Axios Media Inc., Arlington
Why he is influential: VandeHei began his career as a journalist writing for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. In 2006, he co-founded Politico, disrupting media coverage of national politics. VandeHei reprised the act in 2016 by co-launching Axios. It began with a focus on short, punchy news items delivered via email newsletters — currently read by 1.4 million subscribers — but has since expanded to podcasts and an HBO cable television series.
Recent developments: In 2020, Axios earned more than $60 million in revenue. HBO expanded its Axios series from short blocks of episodes to year-round production of biweekly shows. Axios expanded into local news with branches in Charlotte, Denver, Des Moines, Tampa Bay and Minnesota’s Twin Cities. In early 2021, it launched AxiosHQ, a communications platform designed for businesses to adapt the Axios house style for internal communications.
Kathy Warden, chairman, CEO and president, Northrop Grumman Corp., Falls Church
Warden
Why she is influential: Having previously held leadership roles at General Dynamics Corp. and Veridian Corp., Warden joined Northrop Grumman in 2008; she has served as CEO and president since January 2019. A past chair of the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, she serves on the board of visitors at her alma mater, James Madison University. She also chairs the Aerospace Industries Association board and serves on the boards of Merck & Co. and the global nonprofit Catalyst Inc., which works to advance women in corporate leadership and advocates for equity and inclusion.
Recent developments: Despite the challenges of 2020, Northrop closed its fourth quarter with a 17% revenue gain over the previous year. During 2020, the company increased sales by 9% to $36.8 billion and had net awards of $52.9 billion, outpacing analysts’ projections. In December 2020, the company sold its federal IT and mission support services business to Herndon-based Peraton for $3.4 billion in cash. Since November 2020, the company has won two major Air Force contracts potentially worth a combined $8.4 billion over the next decade.
Williams
Ardine Williams, vice president of HQ2 workforce development, Amazon.com Inc., Arlington
Why she is influential:After Williams’ first career in tech came to an end in 2014, Amazon lured her out of retirement from Intel Corp. to lead its effort to hire 23,000 workers for cloud computing subsidiary Amazon Web Services. Building on that success, Amazon placed her in charge of workforce development for its $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington, where it’s committed to hiring 25,000 workers by 2030. Williams has become one of Amazon’s most familiar faces in Virginia, traveling around the state to speak with businesses and hopeful job seekers.
Recent developments: While other companies have used the pandemic to enact a permanent move to telework, Amazon expressed a commitment to retaining physical offices for its corporate workers. In a year when Amazon grew its global workforce to 1.3 million, creating more than 400,000 jobs in the U.S. alone last year, Williams is helping the company scale its upskilling programs, including Amazon’s latest commitment to provide free training in cloud computing skills to 29 million workers globally.
Pharrell Williams, Grammy-winning recording artist and performer, developer and founder of the Something in the Water festival, Virginia Beach
Williams
Why he is influential: After rising to international prominence for his music hits (“Happy,” “Blurred Lines,” “Get Lucky”) Williams, a Virginia Beach native, has become increasingly known for his business ventures in the commonwealth. In 2019, he launched Something in the Water, a three-day music festival in Virginia Beach. Williams is also involved in developing the $325 million Atlantic Park surf park and entertainment venue at the Oceanfront.
Recent developments: Though the 2020 Something in the Water festival was canceled because of the pandemic, Williams has stayed busy. His surf park is expected to break ground in 2021, he’s working on a proposal to redevelop Norfolk’s Military Circle area and he spoke at Gov. Ralph Northam’s news conference last year announcing that Juneteenth would become a state holiday. In December, William launched Black Ambition, a nonprofit initiative to provide support for minority entrepreneurs launching startups.
Health systems found themselves at a crossroads in 2020. Their services were in demand more than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but elective surgical procedures and other appointments were postponed — necessitating layoffs and furloughs last spring, including between 200 and 250 Ballad Health employees furloughed in Southwest Virginia during April 2020.
As of early 2021, many Virginia health care employees are back at work, although those in COVID units were burdened by case spikes driven by holiday gatherings. Meanwhile, the rollout of vaccines beginning in December 2020 promised some relief for frontline health care workers who spent most of the past year at high risk for catching the virus.
Although the state now is shifting its focus to vaccinations, testing remains a priority, especially with more contagious virus variants circulating in the U.S. In February, Virginia had reported a handful of cases of variants from the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Aside from the pandemic, the year also saw a continuation of partnerships formed among hospital systems and universities, including the Hampton Roads Biomedical Research Consortium with Sentara Healthcare, Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Sentara announced in January a $4 million investment in a new public health school to be developed by ODU and Norfolk State University.
Also in Hampton Roads, VCU Health System purchased Riverside Tappahannock Hospital and its related services, and the university sold its majority stake in the Virginia Premier insurance plan to Sentara. And the busy Sentara announced a planned merger with North Carolina’s Cone Health, which would create a larger hospital system with $11.5 billion in combined revenues.
Bon Secours Mercy Health announced last June its plans to expand its Memorial Regional Medical Center in Hanover County by 44 beds, investing $50 million, and in January 2020, it purchased hospitals in Petersburg, Emporia and Franklin from Community Health Systems for nearly $150 million.
Roanoke-based Carilion Clinic continued its expansion in the region and beyond, including its purchase of Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington, now renamed Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital. The system continues fundraising for its $100 million cancer center in Roanoke.
The pandemic also ushered in a swift increase in telemedicine, from psychologists’ appointments to surgical consults via Zoom. Carilion received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in October 2020 to expand its telehealth expansion services, establishing virtual care centers in Tazewell and Wythe counties and Galax — areas that are affected by poor broadband access.
2020 was also a tough year for physicians with their own practices, in addition to those affiliated with hospital groups. In August 2020, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that the state would create a primary care task force with the Virginia Center for Health Innovation to determine better payment models and necessary infrastructure for practices. In a study released last year by the Richmond-based Larry A. Green Center, 40% of primary care practices reported laying off or furloughing staff due to the pandemic, and 19% temporarily closed.
Virtual appointments — as long as they’re covered by insurance companies — are likely to continue in the future, even when the coronavirus is under control, providers say. In a Doctors.com survey last year, 93% of patients polled say they would be likely to use telemedicine to get prescriptions filled or to learn more about their prescriptions from doctors.
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