byline: Virginia Business

On Sept. 3, Peters will succeed Jason Providakes as president and CEO of Mitre, a not-for-profit research and development corporation that manages federally funded R&D centers. Mitre has more than 60 sites worldwide, employing 10,000 workers. The corporation’s 200-plus labs develop innovations in applied science and technologies in sectors ranging from artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing to maritime and aviation safety.

An expert in nuclear fuel cycle technologies, nuclear waste management and national security, Peters previously served as
executive vice president of laboratory management and operations at Charlottesville’s Battelle Memorial Institute. He also was director of Idaho National Laboratory and president of Battelle Energy Alliance. Earlier in his career, Peters worked at Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory and served two terms as chair of the National Laboratory Directors’ Council.

He was a 2015 Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, a 2021 inductee into the National Academy of Engineering, and received the 2023 Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award, which recognizes individual service in developing and guiding the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Peters holds a doctorate in geophysical science from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Auburn University.

The state’s biggest individual campaign donor, Michael Bills has become a lightning rod in Virginia political circles for who he funds — candidates who pledge not to take money from Dominion Energy — and who he doesn’t.

The founder and chief investment officer of Charlottesville-based Bluestem Asset Management, Bills founded Clean Virginia in 2018 with the goal of countering Dominion’s influence in the General Assembly and advocating for clean energy policies. Since then, he’s channeled millions to candidates through the Clean Virginia Fund, including more than $12 million in the 2022-23 election cycle. In April, Clean Virginia endorsed U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s bid to run as the Democratic candidate for governor in the 2025 race and pledged an initial $250,000 to her campaign. It was a move that likely contributed to Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s decision to drop out of the gubernatorial primary.

Bills, who lives in the Charlottesville area, maintains close ties to the University of Virginia, his alma mater. He previously helped manage the school’s endowment, teaches finance courses at the McIntire School of Commerce, and in 1992, helped co-found the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Ferguson, an American-British plumbing and heating products distributor with about 35,000 employees, reported $29.7 billion in net sales in 2023.

In August, the company announced its North American subsidiary, Ferguson Enterprises, would also be headquartered in Newport News, following a corporate reorganization.

Ferguson has become known as a “serial acquirer” in recent years, having completed more than 50 deals in the past five years, eight of those in 2023. In August 2023, the company acquired plumbing distributor Bruce Supply; waterworks distributor The Kennedy Cos.; and HVAC equipment, parts and supplies distributor S. G. Torrice. In January, it acquired Yorkwest Plumbing Supply and plumbing, and HVAC distributor Grove Supply.

Murphy got his start in the plumbing industry working summers at his father’s business, Midwest Pipe and Supply, which was purchased by Ferguson in 1999.

In June, Pool Corp., a wholesale distributor of swimming pool equipment, parts and supplies, appointed Murphy to its board of directors, a move that required the company to expand its board from eight to nine members.

A lifelong entrepreneur and self-described “electronics nerd,” Crutchfield was only 13 when he built what he believes to be the first stereo system in Virginia. By age 15, he formed his first business, installing stereo equipment in homes throughout Charlottesville.

The war in Vietnam put a hold on his business plans when he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he commanded a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile crew and attained the rank of captain. However, entrepreneurship was in his blood, and in 1974, while restoring old Porsche 356s, he saw an untapped niche for installing stereos in them. Today, his mail-order car stereo business celebrates 50 years in business, employing 750 people in Virginia and selling everything from televisions to drones, with 2023 sales totaling $436 million.

A University of Virginia graduate, Crutchfield is a member of the UVA Health System board and the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.

WHERE I SEE MYSELF IN 10 YEARS: Still working. I’ll be 91 then!

ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE GRADUATES: Treat people with civility. The lack of civility which we see in society today is very troubling.

A former defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt University and Penn State and a player for the University at Buffalo until he suffered a career-ending injury, Pry became the Hokies’ 35th head coach in November 2021. His first season, not surprisingly, was not exactly stellar, with a 3-8 record, but in 2023, the Hokies improved to 7-6 and beat Tulane in the Military Bowl. As for the future, Pry has some exciting recruits, including AJ Brand, an incoming 2025 freshman quarterback from South Carolina.

A Lexington native, Pry grew up in a football family; his father, Jim Pry, was a quarterback at Marshall University beginning in 1971. He helped rebuild the team after the catastrophic 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 37 players and five coaches. This is Pry’s second time on the Virginia Tech coaching staff; from 1995 to 1997, he was a graduate assistant coach for the defensive line when the Hokies appeared in back-to-back bowl games.

Pry previously spent eight seasons at Penn State, including six as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, before returning to Blacksburg in 2021.

Since 2018, Haymore has led the global economic development consultancy within Hunton Andrews Kurth, one of the nation’s largest law firms. He previously served as Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade under Gov. Terry McAuliffe and secretary of agriculture and forestry for Gov. Bob McDonnell.

A Danville native, Haymore earned business experience as an executive for tobacco companies Universal Leaf Tobacco and Dimon (now Pyxus International).

He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he is serving a second term as rector. Haymore also is chairman of GO Virginia’s Region 4 Council, which spans from Hanover County to Emporia.

IF I HAD A TIME MACHINE, I’D MEET: Abraham Lincoln. The former president’s leadership and actions at a time of significant political divide profoundly changed our country for the better. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss all this and much more with the former president.

ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE GRADUATES: Bottom line: Remember to work hard, be accountable and have fun along the way.

Twenty-one years after joining not-for-profit federal contractor Noblis as a computer scientist, software architect and manager, Corrigan was named president and CEO in 2022. Her promotion began a round of C-suite changes at the company, including the promotion of Mark Lay to chief information officer in March.

Holding a bachelor’s in management science and information technology from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Georgetown, Corrigan previously served as Noblis’ executive vice president and before that as senior vice president of its Federal Civilian Solutions division.

According to ProPublica, Noblis earned $536 million in revenue in fiscal 2023. In June, Noblis announced it had been selected to take part in an $8 billion information technology contract with the FBI and a 10-year, $4 billion contract as the prime contractor for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction program.

Corrigan serves on the executive committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the board of Women in Aerospace. She was named one of the top 35 executives to watch by WashingtonExec last year.

After becoming ASGN’s CEO in May 2019, Hanson moved the Fortune 1000 IT and professional staffing services firm’s headquarters from California to Henrico County in 2020. Hanson previously worked for Apex Systems, one of ASGN’s subsidiaries, serving as its chief financial officer for 15 years. After Apex was purchased by ASGN in 2012, Hanson became executive vice president of the parent company, then president in 2016. 

In fiscal 2023, ASGN earned $4.45 billion in revenue, down 2.8% from the previous year. In June, ASGN’s federal government segment, ECS, announced that it had inked a potential $8 billion contract to continue providing the FBI with IT services and support and technology solutions. The deal is the largest contract vehicle ever awarded by the FBI.

A graduate of Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University, Hanson serves on the advisory council of the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. He also co-founded and serves as an emeritus board member of the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs at Virginia Tech. Hanson was inducted into the Greater Richmond Business Hall of Fame in 2023.