byline: Virginia Business

In his March-released thriller, “A Calamity of Souls,” Baldacci tackles justice, racism and the power of partnerships.

Those concepts don’t just permeate the global bestselling author’s writing; they also reflect his values. A Richmond native, Baldacci frequently creates tales centered around justice, often incorporating characters from marginalized groups that must navigate challenging legal systems to achieve justice. His background as an attorney — Baldacci is a University of Virginia School of Law graduate who practiced in Washington, D.C. — lends veracity to his more than 50 novels, the first of which was adapted into the 1997 film, “Absolute Power,” starring Clint Eastwood.

Baldacci also is well versed in the power of partnerships: His nonprofit Wish You Well Foundation, which he founded with wife, Michelle, to fund adult literacy and education programs, partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind. He also has been active with his other alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University, where he and his wife have funded two scholarships, and Baldacci served on the board of visitors. In January, Baldacci was named the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion, an award given for literary advocacy.

Over the course of his military career, Schenck flew Black Hawk helicopters in Korea and trained others as a night vision goggle instructor pilot. He also served on the Army staff in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, a post with responsibilities for overseeing the flying hour program, which makes sure military aviators receive sufficient training. 

“You have an impact across the entire force, making sure every aviator had enough flying hour dollars, maintenance dollars, to train and be ready to accomplish their mission on behalf of the nation,” Schenck said during an episode of the “Aerospace Advantage” podcast.

Schenck, who earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1996, joined the PenFed leadership team in 2001 and was named its top leader in 2014. He went on to grow its assets from $17.8 billion to $34.79 billion and increased membership from 1.3 million to 2.9 million members. 

In March, the National Aeronautic Association picked Schenck as the recipient of the 2024 Bruce Whitman Memorial Trophy, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to aviation or aerospace.

Named president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in October 2023, Kamensky started work in January. The nonprofit owns and operates Monticello, the mountaintop plantation of the third U.S. president.

Kamensky previously served as the Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University and as the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director of the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Kamensky has authored or co-authored seven books across four centuries of American history.

With a bachelor’s degree and doctorate in history from Yale University, the New York City native chaired Brandeis University’s history department before joining Harvard.

The foundation has seen some key departures over the past year, including Jefferson historian Annette Gordon-Reed’s resignation from the board in January and American history scholar Frank Cogliano’s departure on June 30, when his contract as the International Center for Jefferson Studies’ interim director ended.

THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE ME: Thick-skinned, committed, self-mocking

ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE GRADUATES: Democracy is hard work, and a peerless privilege. Earn it, every day.

Since taking the lead of Microsoft’s federal arm in July 2023, Ling has focused on forging partnerships and advancing artificial intelligence, cloud computing and emerging technologies for federal customers.

This year, Ling announced that Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI generative AI tool would be available to federal customers through the company’s Azure Government Cloud environment.

Microsoft competes for tech and digital modernization task orders under the Department of Defense’s $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract with rival contractors Amazon Web Services, Google and Oracle. In the past year and a half or so, DOD has spent about $600 million on the program, but it’s not publicly known how much Microsoft received.

Before her current post, Ling served as Microsoft’s civilian federal sector vice president and as a government industry leader in Asia. She also spent
19 years with Canadian consulting firm CGI, serving as a senior vice president, among other positions.

Ling received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. In March, Ling was selected for the first time for Executive Mosaic’s annual Wash100 list of top government contracting executives.

DroneUp in March unveiled its new autonomous drone ecosystem, presenting a leap forward in last-mile delivery logistics. This system combines automated ground infrastructure where workers can deposit packages with autonomous pickup and delivery by drones. The drones are capable of operating at speeds up to 60 miles per hour over a 30-mile range and can carry roughly 10 pounds.

This follows years of rapid growth from the aerial drone services provider, which Walker launched in 2016. DroneUp purchased Web Teks in 2021 and partnered with Walmart to deliver items by aerial drone, expanding the retailer’s delivery network. In 2022, DroneUp announced it would establish a $20.2 million drone research center at Richard Bland College in Petersburg.

With some 400 employees, DroneUp announced a $7 million expansion in 2022 and has partnerships with Carilion Clinic and Riverside Health System to deliver medications.

Walker served in the Navy as an officer for nearly 17 years and was an adviser to the White House on technology. He also spent 17 years as president of software company Web Teks. In June, Walker was named a Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year by EY.

In October 2023, Townes-Whitley took the reins of federal contractor SAIC, becoming one of two Black female Fortune 500 CEOs and leading a company with fiscal 2023 revenue of $7.7 billion. She told USA Today that she wanted people to move beyond focusing on a CEO’s race and gender, but added, “If there is a young lady out there who looks like me and says, ‘I’m not sure if there’s ever a role for me there,’ now she knows that there is.”

Following some recompete losses in past years, SAIC chalked up big wins in April and July, winning a seven-year, $494 million safety and mission assurance support recompete contract from NASA and being selected to compete for task orders on the Department of the Interior’s Foundation $2 billion, 10-year Cloud Hosting Services II contract.

A Princeton University alumna, Townes-Whitley volunteered for the Peace Corps after college. Before SAIC, she served as president of Microsoft’s U.S.-regulated industries, president of CGI Federal and held management roles at Unisys. She joined SAIC as its CEO-elect in June 2023.

Townes-Whitley serves on the boards of Nasdaq, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative.

The Democratic Spanberger first became a household name in 2018, when she narrowly defeated incumbent Dave Brat to flip control of a longtime Republican stronghold in Central Virginia. Now, with three terms in Congress under her belt, she’s set her sights on occupying the Executive Mansion. She’s currently the frontrunner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2025 after winning the endorsement of the deep-pocketed Clean Virginia PAC and the withdrawal of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney from the race.

A former CIA officer and U.S. Postal Inspection Service law enforcement officer, Spanberger has forged a reputation as a moderate Democrat capable of winning tight contests in politically divided districts. She succeeded in holding control of the 7th District in 2022, even after redistricting left her own Henrico County home outside its new boundaries.

While Spanberger backs most major Democratic priorities, she has been critical of progressive circles’ embracing of “defund the police” rhetoric and has broken with her party’s majority on several key occasions, including a 2023 vote to lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for health care workers. She serves on the House Agriculture Committee and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Ghanim returned to ChildFund International in 2022, becoming its ninth president and CEO. He previously was vice president for the Africa region, vice president
of global operations and executive vice president for programs before leaving to serve as president for Search for Common Ground in 2018. 

ChildFund, previously known as the Christian Children’s Fund, spent $182.7 million in 2023 on programs focused on basic education, nutrition, early childhood development, health and sanitation, emergencies and micro-enterprise. The 85-year-old nonprofit operates in 23 countries. Its programs and services reached 14.8 million children and families last year.

ChildFund also has taken a strong stance against online sexual abuse of children, running a national campaign in the United States called #TakeItDown to build support for legislation to force technology companies to protect children online. The #TakeItDown campaign has received several national awards for creativity.

Ghanim, who was born and raised in Sudan, began his international development career with CARE Sudan. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Khartoum.

Apruzzese has spent his entire career at AT&T. He was named AT&T Virginia’s president in 2010 before taking on the additional role of president of external affairs for Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C., in April 2023. In his current position, he leads AT&T’s legislative, public policy and philanthropic initiatives, working with elected and appointed officials on public policy issues, and with business, community and civic leaders to support key local initiatives.

During 2023, AT&T expanded its 5G network in communities throughout Virginia, including Loudoun and Prince William counties, Herndon and Fredericksburg.

In November 2023, AT&T contributed $30,000 to the Tidewater Community College Educational Foundation as part of a $400,000 contribution the company is making to local organizations across the country that serve veterans and active-duty military personnel. This is particularly meaningful to Apruzzese, a Georgia State University graduate who served 10 years as an Army Reserve and National Guard commissioned officer.

Apruzzese serves on the advisory board for the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia and the nonprofit Jobs for Virginia Graduates board.