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A Roanoke reawakening
The Roanoke area is anything but sleepy when it comes to economic development these days. In fact, “the opportunity for Roanoke is greater now than it has been in quite some time,” says John Hull, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, a public-private joint venture that works to attract new business to the [...]
Telecommunications
VINCE APRUZZESE PRESIDENT, AT&T VIRGINIA, RICHMOND Apruzzese joined AT&T more than two decades ago in accounts payable and has served in roles ranging from legislative affairs to domestic and international corporate security. As president, he helps set and implement AT&T’s public policy and philanthropic initiatives in Virginia. When the pandemic scrambled everyone’s plans, he says, […][...]
Agriculture
CHAD BALLARD III PRESIDENT, BALLARD FISH & OYSTER CO. Inc., CAPE CHARLES Ballard left his job as an investment banking analyst in 2008 to focus on selling Misty Points, Chincoteague Salts and Littlenecks, oysters and clams that have been his family’s livelihood for five generations, going back more than 125 years. Ballard Fish & Oyster […]
Economic Development
TAYLOR ADAMS DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA BEACH DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, VIRGINIA BEACH Adams’ ability to sell Virginia Beach to both outside and current businesses is evident in the number of expansion announcements he has overseen in the past year. Those announcements include a $15.8 million investment from Acoustical Sheetmetal Co. to expand its Virginia Beach […]
Finance | Insurance
JOHN ASBURY PRESIDENT AND CEO, ATLANTIC UNION BANKSHARES, RICHMOND A native of Radford who graduated from Virginia Tech and received his MBA at William & Mary, Asbury now leads the largest regional bank headquartered in Virginia. Atlantic Union, which employs 1,839 people in Virginia, reported $677 million in revenue in 2020. It also has $19.6 […]
Hospitality | Tourism
NEIL P. AMIN CEO, SHAMIN HOTELS, RICHMOND The past year has been a bit of a mixed bag for Amin and Shamin Hotels, one of the United States’ largest independent hoteliers. Shamin, which owns more than 60 hotels, saw its Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa in Short Pump enter receivership in January after falling behind on […]
Transportation
ED ALDRIDGE PRESIDENT, CMA CGM AMERICA LLP AND APL NORTH AMERICA, NORFOLK Aldridge took over as president of CMA CGM America in June 2020, and he has served as president of CMA CGM subsidiary North America, the nation’s oldest ocean carrier, since 2017. In February, the French company announced the $36 million expansion of its […]
Virginia Business 3.0
Welcome to the second annual edition of the Virginia 500. Last year’s inaugural publication, published in the depths of a pandemic-constrained economy, was quite a surprise — in fact, it was the most successful new product launch in the history of Virginia Business. Publishing a directory of the commonwealth’s most powerful and influential leaders fits […]
Real Estate
J. SCOTT ADAMS REGIONAL PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA AND RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL GROUP INC., NORFOLK Asked to name one thing he’d change about Virginia, Adams says he’d like to see more collaboration between the commonwealth and North Carolina. Chances are that has at least a little to do with the fact that in fall 2020, […]
Federal Contractors | Technology
CRAIG P. ABOD PRESIDENT, CARAHSOFT TECHNOLOGY CORP., RESTON Abod has built Carahsoft into a $6 billion company over the past 17 years. With 1,900 employees, Abod has led Carahsoft to become a top-ranked General Services Administration schedule and NASA’s Solution for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) contract holder that provides solutions to more than 3,000 prime contractors, […]
Professional Services
RAND BLAZER PRESIDENT, APEX SYSTEMS LLC, FAIRFAX COUNTY Blazer has been with Apex Systems since 2007, after nearly 30 years with KPMG US LLC. The former U.S. Army captain has helped Apex, based in Glen Allen, grow into a firm with roughly 2,640 employees across the state. Apex and its parent company, ASGN Inc., together […]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy
SHERRIE ARMSTRONG PRESIDENT AND CEO, COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR A GREATER RICHMOND, RICHMOND Historians will likely focus on two things regarding 2020: COVID-19 and protesters hitting the streets to demand racial justice. Under Armstrong’s leadership, the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond worked to address both the pandemic and social justice. The philanthropic organization manages more […][...]
