Sign In
Free Newsletter
Living Legends: TESSA GOWEN ADER
Ader’s influence on the Charlottesville arts community and beyond took a leap in September 2021 with a $50 million gift to the University of Virginia to help build an 1,100-seat performing arts center. A university official said the gift — made in the name of Ader and her late husband, Richard — was the largest […]
Real Estate: TONY FIORILLO
Fiorillo started his career at ECS in 1993 as a field technician, serving as chief operating officer before he was promoted to president in 2020. Founded in 1988, ECS focuses on geotechnical, construction materials, environmental and facilities engineering. It has more than 80 offices and testing facilities in the U.S. and more [...]
Real Estate: ROBERT C. ‘BOB’ KETTLER
Kettler comes from a real estate family. He attended the University of Miami with an interest in architecture. But after taking a year off to sail to South America with a friend, he switched his focus to real estate and business. He also studied at George Washington and American universities, though he didn’t finish his [&hell[...]
Nonprofits/Philanthropy: STACEY D. STEWART
Great leaders inspire others to be their best, says Stewart, and young women especially benefit from managers who value their input and opinions and encourage them to express both. “Believing in yourself, knowing your self-worth and leaning on those who have succeeded before you can be so vital,” says Stewart, recalling a co[...]
Federal Contractors/Technology: MAX PETERSON
Peterson has run Amazon’s cloud computing business for the government, health care, education and nonprofit sectors since April 2021, after spending four years as vice president for international sales within the worldwide public sector. He replaced Teresa Carlson, who left to become president of a San Francisco tech company l[...]
Transportation: WILLIAM E. ‘BILL’ WOODHOUR
A.P. Moller-Maersk lost its quarter-century reign as the world’s largest shipping company when it was overtaken by Mediterranean Shipping Company in January. Woodhour has been at the helm of the Danish shipping giant’s U.S. arm, Maersk Line, a Norfolk-based subsidiary founded in 1983 to support the U.S. Navy, since 2016. Mae[...]
Government/Politics: CAREN MERRICK
As Virginia’s current secretary of commerce and trade, Merrick came to the job with prior experience working with the governor. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, she became the founding CEO of the Virginia Ready Initiative — a public-private partnership that Gov. Glenn Youngkin co-founded with his wife, Suzanne. VA[...]
Real Estate: LISA CHANDLER
After an early childhood spent moving around the globe following her father, an Air Force officer, Chandler landed in Norfolk in 1973 at Old Dominion University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental health. In 1991, she joined the realty company started by her mother-in-law, Nancy Chandler; it merged with comp[...]
Manufacturing: THOMAS E. ‘TEDDY’ GOTTWALD
President and CEO since March 2004, Gottwald succeeded his father, Bruce, as chairman of the board a decade later. NewMarket is the parent company of Afton Chemical Corp. and Ethyl Corp., which manufacture lubricants and fuel additives. NewMarket traces its roots to Ethyl Gasoline Corp., a company acquired in 1962 by his late gr[...]
Law: RISA L. GOLUBOFF
Since 2015, Goluboff has served as the first woman dean of the University of Virginia School of Law. A renowned legal historian with degrees from Princeton, Yale and Harvard universities, her scholarship and teaching focuses on American constitutional and civil rights law and their historical development throughout the 20th cent[...]
Retail/Wholesale: TRAVIS HILL
This year Virginia ABC CEO Hill had to face customers unhappy about finding their favorite spirits missing from the shelves. The shortage was partially due to disruptions in the supply chain and congestion at U.S. ports, which all retailers have struggled with during the pandemic, according to Hill. Staffing issues also played a[...]
Health Care: SEAN T. CONNAUGHTON
Since 2014, Connaughton has led the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, which runs the state’s Healthcare Emergency Management Program with the Virginia Department of Health. As president and CEO of the trade organization, he strives to support the sustainability of Virginia’s health care system, reduce health ca[...]
