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Education: JAMES E. RYAN
A first-generation college student who graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and graduated first in his University of Virginia law class, Ryan previously served as dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and clerked for the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Ryan came to Mr. Jefferson�[...]
Manufacturing: ROBERT H. ‘ROB’ SPILMAN JR.
Publicly traded furniture manufacturer and retailer Bassett Furniture Industries was founded in 1902 and continues to be headquartered in Henry County’s Bassett area, part of greater Martinsville. The company sells home furnishings in about 100 retail locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Spilman, who has been with B[...]
Law: J. BENJAMIN ROTTENBORN
Rottenborn made national headlines this year for representing “Aquaman” actress Amber Heard in the defamation trial brought by her world-famous ex-husband, Johnny Depp. During the widely viewed trial argued in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Rottenborn received intense public backlash from Depp fans. “I suspect that nobody a[...]
Health Care: JAMES D. DAHLING
As president and CEO of Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters health system since 2003, Dahling is passionate about pediatric mental health services. Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, CHKD put plans in motion to address increasing demands for mental health services among children, and between 2018 and this year, Dahl[...]
Finance/Insurance: JERMAINE JOHNSON
Bringing more than 25 years of experience in banking to the table, Johnson just completed two years as head of greater Washington, D.C., and Virginia operations for Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc. In addition to working to grow PNC’s banking business, Johnson strives to strengthen the region’s communitie[...]
Real Estate: T. RICHARD LITTON JR.
Litton serves as president of HGI, a real estate investment and management firm that reported a gross asset value of more than $19 billion in the first quarter of 2022. The company focuses on office, retail, multifamily and alternative investments throughout the country and the United Kingdom. One of its most famous properties i[...]
Health Care: RONY THOMAS
During its 40 years, nonprofit LifeNet has assisted with 8 million organ, tissue and cell transplants. It employs more than 1,400 people globally, including 991 in Virginia. Known as an organ procurement organization (OPO), LifeNet connects patients with newly available organs — often kidneys, which are needed by about 80% of [...]
Education: MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH
Since becoming Virginia State University’s president in 2016, Abdullah has led the public HBCU to national prominence, as well as a budget surplus after the university was in debt before his tenure. U.S. News & World Report ranked VSU in the top 30 of its Best Overall HBCUs for 2022 and it was also named […]
Education: MICHAEL RAO
Already one of the highest-paid officials in state higher education, Rao recently received an 8% raise. In June, VCU’s board of visitors approved raising his salary to $708,000, citing his fundraising abilities and stewardship of the university and its medical facilities since the pandemic. Since his 2009 appointment as presid[...]
Economic Development: Victor Hoskins
Named one of Washingtonian magazine’s 2022 Tech Titans, Hoskins came to Fairfax in 2019 after leading Arlington Economic Development and playing a key role in luring Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters to Virginia. In Fairfax, he’s continued attracting major businesses and retaining others, including the North Am[...]
Telecommunications: ERNIE ORTEGA
Ortega has spent his career in the telecom business since the days when a mobile phone couldn’t fit in your pocket. If you saw the movie “Wall Street,” Ortega says, you might recall the Motorola 8000 brick phone — it’s a model he used to sell. Ortega now serves as CEO of GTT Communications, which runs […]
Retail/Wholesale: MICHAEL A. WITYNSKI
Fortune 500 discount retailer Dollar Tree, which has more than 15,600 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores across the continental United States and Canada, raised eyebrows in June with a C-suite shake-up. The company said it would seek replacements for its chief operating officer, chief strategy officer, chief financial officer,[...]
