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Finance/Insurance: JAMES SCHENCK
Schenck learned to fly as a teen, flew Black Hawk helicopters in the Army and remains an avid pilot today. “All the normal decisions I have to make on a daily basis, they’re in the background,” Schenck says of flying in a video for PenFed, where he’s worked since 2001. Whether it’s taking time to […]
Finance/Insurance: FREDRICK D. ‘FRED’ SCHAUFELD
After graduating from Lehigh University in 1981, Schaufeld took a job selling extended warranties to auto dealers. When he learned his employer hadn’t actually taken out policies on all his clients, Schaufeld went into business for himself, working directly with the insurance company and dealers. That adventure led to Schaufel[...]
Nonprofits/Philanthropy: LT. GEN. JAMES B. LASTER (USMC, RET.)
During the pandemic, Laster says, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation learned how to make remote work successful and initiated a drive-thru concept that has made toy and book distribution more efficient for the nonprofit. Toys for Tots isn’t just a Christmastime charity. It distributes more than 1 million toys and games to nee[...]
Real Estate: ROBB ‘R.J.’ JOHNSON
Johnson closes deals in the mid-Atlantic region for commercial real estate company JLL and its offices in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. In February, JLL announced it was moving its Northern Virginia office from Vienna to McLean, on Tysons Boulevard. Johnson, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political scie[...]
Federal Contractors/Technology: Y. MICHELE KANG
With more than 1,300 employees, Cognosante works with federal and state governments to expand access to and improve delivery of health care. Kang founded the company in 2008 and this year became majority owner of the Washington Spirit, the National Women’s Soccer League 2021 champion. Kang is an advocate for minorities, vetera[...]
Finance/Insurance: H. HITER HARRIS III
Initially, Harris followed in the commercial banking footsteps of his father and grandfather. But in 1991, Harris blazed his own trail, partnering with Christopher Williams, a Harvard business school friend, to launch Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisitions of middle market companies. T[...]
Finance/Insurance: ALBERTO SCHIAVON
Not to be confused with the Italian Olympic snowboarder, Schiavon has led Elephant Auto Insurance since 2017. As a student at the University of Padova in his native Italy, Schiavon studied engineering. Unfortunately, he graduated in 2007 during the Great Recession, he told Authority magazine, at a time when seemingly no one need[...]
Professional Services: JULIE SWEET
Sweet became global CEO of Accenture in 2019 and assumed chairmanship of the Fortune Global 500 professional services company in September 2021. Previously, she served as CEO of Accenture’s business in North America, the company’s largest geographic market. Before that position, she was Accenture’s general counsel, secreta[...]
Real Estate: JULIAN G. FRANCIS
In 2019, Francis joined Beacon, a publicly traded Fortune 500 distributor of roofing material and complementary building products. Before that, the United Kingdom native was president of the insulation business at Owens Corning, a provider of insulation, roofing and fiberglass composite materials. He also served as vice presiden[...]
2022 Virginia 500: The power of leadership
Power is one of those things that can sound great until you have it. It’s a be-careful-what-you-ask-for kind of thing. Power without leadership often goes awry, leading to unfortunate outcomes. The kind of power that works well requires leadership, good stewardship and a genuine concern for the well-being of an entire team. Ma[...]
Economic Development: LEONARD SLEDGE
During the pandemic, Sledge has logged many hours on Zoom, working with Richmond City Council members, developers and other stakeholders on several massive projects. One of the biggest is the Diamond District redevelopment project, which is heading toward a council vote this year and would include a new baseball stadium and mixe[...]
Federal Contractors/Technology: JILL SINGER
Singer joined AT&T in 2015 after working for more than 30 years in national security, both in the federal government and in the private sector. In 2020, she was tapped to lead the telecommunications company’s defense and national security work for the public sector. She also is involved with FirstNet, the nation’s broadb[...]
