byline: Virginia Business

Tucker previously was director of Arlington Economic Development, and also served five years as director of economic development for Danville before returning to Southern Virginia in May 2022 to head  IALR, a regional hub for advanced manufacturing training initiatives and economic development.

In February, IALR launched its Naval Aviation School for Additive Manufacturing, a six-week program for active-duty U.S. Navy and Marine Corps maintenance personnel. Eighty-seven students comprising its 11th cohort graduated from the institute’s Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program, which trains workers for defense industry manufacturing jobs, in June. Other IALR initiatives include Next generation of Work (NOW), which gives teams of high school students real-world experience in working on solutions to problems for area businesses.

Tucker started his career teaching Spanish and math to middle school students in Lynchburg, where he grew up, before transitioning to economic development. During his time leading Danville economic development, Tucker helped attract step-van manufacturer Morgan Olson and vertical agriculture producer AeroFarms.

He graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor’s degree in international business and Spanish.

Peters has led the state’s professional association for CPAs since 1997, representing nearly 13,000 members in both the public and private sectors.

Last year, VSCPA announced an investment in the Center for Audit Quality’s Accounting+ program, a national campaign that aims to attract a new generation of diverse students to the industry. The accounting industry has faced a dearth of workers in recent years; in March, Peters told Virginia Business that while CPA staffing levels had become more stable recently, staffing levels industrywide were “still critical.”

Peters serves on the executive committee for the Virginia Council on Economic Education and on the LGBTQ+ committee for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She has served as president of the CPA Society Executives Association’s board of directors and on the AICPA Peer Review Board and the AICPA/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act Committee.

Peters holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is a graduate of Lead Virginia and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management.

In January, after serving as The Martin Agency’s chief creative officer since 2020, Robinson became the advertising agency’s CEO, succeeding Kristen Cavallo, who retired. Robinson joined Martin two decades ago and has overseen campaigns for national clients like Geico, UPS and Old Navy.

During his tenure as chief creative officer, Adweek named Martin its Agency of the Year for two consecutive years, in 2020 and 2021, and Ad Age recognized Martin as its top ad agency for 2023. In 2022, Robinson was named Ad Age’s Chief Creative Officer of the Year.

Before joining Martin, Robinson co-founded ad agency Vigilante, best known for Oprah Winfrey’s famous 2004 car giveaway.

Robinson has a bachelor’s degree from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and an MBA from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). He got his start as an associate creative director for The Guild Group. He serves on the board of Creative Ladder and is former board chair of Feed More.

In its annual A-List Awards, released in March, Ad Age ranked Martin the nation’s No. 5 agency, noting that it achieved 20% revenue growth in 2023 from new business.

A five-decade Hampton Roads real estate veteran, Wolcott leads a residential real estate and property management company created by the 2023 merger of Rose & Womble Realty and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Towne Realty.

With more than 750 agents across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, the firm has the backing of TowneBank and is a licensee of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway luxury real estate franchise.

In May, RW Towne found itself embroiled in a national controversy after a white client initially refused to sell her Virginia Beach condo for $749,000 to a Black molecular biologist due to the buyer’s race. The buyer, Raven Baxter, filed state and federal discrimination claims. Wolcott emailed Baxter to say the attitude of the “horribly misguided seller” would not be tolerated by RW Towne Realty or its agents. The New York Times reported the transaction was put back on track for a summer closing. (The seller, Jane Walker, 84, has not commented publicly.)

Wolcott is board vice president for the Real Estate Information Network board, the region’s multiple listing service. She also serves on TowneBank’s Virginia Beach regional advisory board. A past Virginia Realtors president, she received a 2019 lifetime achievement award from the Hampton Roads Realtors Association.

A labor market economist with a doctorate from Princeton, Hallock joined the private University of Richmond in 2021. One of the school’s long-term goals has been affordability. Need-based aid packages at UR average $60,740 toward the roughly $80,000 annual costs for tuition and room and board.

In September 2023, UR’s Robins School of Business received an anonymous $10 million gift to establish an endowed scholarship fund from an alumnus who worked part time at a grocery store to pay for school, the university announced. Earlier in the year, alumni Carole and Marcus Weinstein donated $25 million to support a student learning center based at UR’s library and focused on “effective speaking, writing and peer tutoring.”

With a student body of almost 4,000 students, 10% of UR’s enrollment is made up of international students representing almost 90 countries.

Before leading UR, Hallock spent 16 years at Cornell University, including as dean of its business college. He also co-founded PayStandards, a software company that assists companies in setting equitable salaries, and continues as a senior adviser there.

Set on a new track and fully restored, the famous Loch Ness Monster roller coaster roared back into action in May for its 46th year of operation. According to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Nessie was the world’s first interlocking loop coaster.

In addition to the Loch Ness coaster’s reopening, the park launched a new event, “Summer of Wonder,” in which Virginia artists created murals and other art installations to display throughout the park.

Lembke became president of Busch Gardens Williamsburg & Water Country USA in 2018 and has been part of the amusement park industry since 2000, when he started at SeaWorld Orlando. Busch Gardens and Water Country USA are owned by United Parks & Resorts, a name change for SeaWorld Entertainment, effective Feb. 12. The company owns 12 parks in the United States and a 13th park in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Lembke serves on the board of the Williamsburg Tourism Council. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University at Buffalo, after which he interned at the marketing sales department of the Buffalo Bills NFL team before joining SeaWorld.

VandeHei co-founded Axios in 2016; it launched in 2017. Five years later, Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises acquired it for a reported $525 million. However, VandeHei remains at the helm as CEO. Communications software business Axios HQ became an independent company.

A University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumnus, VandeHei began on his entrepreneurial journey after spending time as a Washington, D.C.-based reporter. He covered congressional and House news for The Wall Street Journal from 2000 to 2003, followed by three years at The Washington Post. In 2006, he left the Post to co-found Politico, serving as its CEO until co-founding Axios.

VandeHei hasn’t strayed too far from his reporting roots, though. In May, VandeHei’s second book, “Just the Good Stuff,” hit The New York Times bestseller list, and in July, he and Axios co-founder Mike Allen reported that President Joe Biden was about to exit the presidential race just days before it happened.

In August, VandeHei announced that Axios would be laying off around 50 employees, about 10% of its workforce. The media company’s first layoffs were necessitated, VandeHei emailed staff, “by a rapidly changing media landscape.”

In November, the National Press Club will present VandeHei and Allen with the Fourth Estate Award — the club’s highest honor.

As CEO of Apple Hospitality, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, Knight oversees more than 220 hotels, mainly Hilton and Marriott brands, in 37 states and Washington, D.C. He joined the company in 2000 and took over from his father, founder Glade Knight, in 2014. The elder Knight serves as executive chairman of the REIT.

For 2023, Apple Hospitality reported $1.34 billion in revenue, up from about $1.24 billion in 2022. As of Dec. 31, 2023, the company had $4.9 billion in assets.

In March, Apple Hospitality announced it had acquired the AC Hotel by Marriott Washington DC Convention Center for $116.8 million, and in June, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Madison Downtown in Wisconsin for $79.5 million. The company also announced in June it had sold the 82-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott Greensboro in North Carolina for about $7 million.

Knight earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA from Brigham Young University. He is a member of the board of trustees for Venture Richmond.

One of Hampton Roads’ most prominent developers and hoteliers, Norfolk native Thompson is best known for developing the Cavalier Resort, which includes the restored historic Cavalier Hotel as well as two new hotels, restaurants and residences on 21 acres at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The $435 million project is the culmination of nearly four decades of work by Thompson to reposition Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads into an exclusive area with high-end hotels and residences.

Thompson opened his first hotel in the early 1980s. Under the name Professional Hospitality Resources (PHR), Thompson’s hotel empire grew. He founded Gold Key as a timeshare company, along with marketing and finance companies to assist with timeshare sales. The privately owned Gold Key | PHR has annual revenues in excess of $140 million and employs more than 2,400 people.

Thompson, Virginia Business’ 2021 Person of the Year, has had a long and colorful career, working as a concert promoter and ski trip organizer before entering the hospitality industry. He has also been active in community service, often raising money for ALS care and research in honor of his son, Josh, who died from
the disease.

In May, Calio became president and CEO of Fortune Global 500 aerospace and defense contractor RTX. Previously known as Raytheon Technologies, the company moved its headquarters to Arlington in 2022 and rebranded in 2023. At RTX, Calio, who previously served as chief operating officer, leads 185,000 employees.

Calio also was president of RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney, which designs and manufactures aircraft engines. He joined United Technologies Corp. in 2005 as an assistant counsel and served in multiple leadership roles until UTC merged with Raytheon in 2020.

Calio holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Trinity College and an MBA and law degree from the University of Connecticut.

RTX reported $68.9 billion in revenue in fiscal 2023, up 2.8% from the previous year. This year, RTX agreed to sell its cybersecurity, intelligence and services business segment for about $1.3 billion to private equity firm Blackstone, which spun off the business as a new standalone company, Arlington-based Nightwing. Last year, RTX also approved a $10 billion stock buyback program. RTX’s supplying of weapons to Israel has prompted protests since the Israel-Hamas War began, particularly at Austin, Texas’ annual South by Southwest festival, which RTX co-sponsored in March.