Manufacturing 2023: CHRIS KEFFER
Keffer took over leadership of U.S. operations for German chainsaw and power tools manufacturer Stihl in early August, after joining the company in 2022 as vice president for sales and marketing. He previously spent about two decades with Stanley Black and Decker. He replaced Terry Horan, who led the division for a little more t[...]
Manufacturing 2023: ROB COLLIER
Collier has worked for ChemTreat, an industrial water treatment company owned by Danaher, two different times. His first stint was from 2012 to 2018, when he was in the marketing department. He left to become president of Danaher subsidiary McCrometer, a California-based flow meter manufacturer, and returned to ChemTreat in 2020[...]
Real Estate 2023: BRETT HITT
Hitt’s grandparents started the family business in 1930, now one of Virginia’s biggest general contracting firms, earning $5.41 billion in 2022 construction revenue and landing in the top 20 of Engineering News-Record’s 2023 Top Contractors list. Hitt joined his family’s company as an assistant project manager in 1984. H[...]
Economic Development 2023: NANCY L. GRDEN
In April, Grden oversaw the merger of Reinvent Hampton Roads, which she had led since 2022, with the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable to form the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable. Grden will lead the new organization, which is focused on realigning the region’s economic development initiatives to boost growth. For the past [...]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: JERRY MURRELL
Five Guys founder Murrell’s mother always told him, “If you can give a good haircut, or if you can serve a good drink at a bar, or if you can serve a good hamburger, you can always make money in America.” His mom was right. Husband and wife Jerry and Janie Murrell opened a carryout […]
Law 2023: MICHAEL N. HERRING
In his role as managing partner of the firm’s Richmond office, Herring represents people and corporations accused of white-collar crimes or involved in commercial litigation or government investigations. Herring served for 13 years as Richmond’s commonwealth’s attorney before joining McGuireWoods in 2019. In 2021, the firm[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: REGGIE AGGARWAL
Cvent is a market-leading meeting, events and hospitality technology provider based in McLean. Originally trained as a lawyer, Cvent CEO Aggarwal received degrees from the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University and Georgetown University Law Center. But he was seduced from the law by events management. After stagin[...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2023: JACK DYER ‘J.D.’ CROUCH II
Following a long and distinguished diplomatic and national security career that included leadership roles in the public and private sectors, Crouch became the USO’s 23rd president and CEO in 2014. Since 1941, the USO has served as an American nonprofit charitable corporation supporting the men and women in the U.S. military an[...]
Government | Politics 2023: LARRY J. SABATO
A Norfolk native and University of Virginia stalwart with a national profile as a political commentator, Sabato founded and leads the 25-year-old U.Va. Center for Politics. His Crystal Ball newsletter, which handicaps political races, had a 99% accuracy rate in 2004 and was up in the high 90s at other times, although Sabato had [...]
2023 Virginia 500: Hospitality | Tourism
Neil Amin CEO, SHAMIN HOTELS, RICHMOND Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, PARK HOTELS & RESORTS, TYSONS Doug Bradburn PRESIDENT AND CEO, GEORGE WASHINGTON’S MOUNT VERNON, MOUNT VERNON James Carroll PRESIDENT AND CEO, CRESTLINE HOTELS AND RESORTS, FAIRFAX Christy S. Coleman EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JAMESTOWN-YORKTOWN FOUNDATION, […][...]
Government | Politics 2023: GLENN YOUNGKIN
Oft rumored to be considering a presidential run, Youngkin led a CNN education town hall in March. But he’s said he’s focused on state legislative races this fall, with control of the General Assembly at stake. Youngkin voiced frustration this summer as state legislators wouldn’t compromise on an amended state budget that [...]
Manufacturing 2023: CHARLES ‘CHARLIE’ LUCK IV
The third generation of Lucks to lead the crushed stone company and its real estate subsidiary, Charlie Luck is currently celebrating the company’s 100th anniversary. Over the years, Luck Cos. has established a footprint that extends throughout Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, with about 950 employees. In [...]