Chrysler Museum names communications director
Norfolk’s Chrysler Museum of Art has named Ashley Grove Mars as its new director of communications. Mars previously spent more than seven years working for the Virginia Zoo, including in marketing and as creative director. She worked as its communications director since March 2021, according to her LinkedIn account. Mars h[...]
Stihl hires HR exec from HII
Virginia Beach-based Stihl Inc. has named Melody Doleman as its new vice president of human resources, effective Sept. 6. She will be responsible for overall strategic management of human resources for the chainsaw and outdoor power equipment manufacturer. Stihl employs more than 3,000 workers in the United States and supplies t[...]
Va. Beach-based Fortis acquires Illinois packaging company
Virginia Beach-based packaging manufacturer Fortis Solutions Group LLC has acquired Montgomery, Illinois-based Identi-Graphics Inc., the company announced Tuesday in a news release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Identi-Graphics manufactures pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging for the snack, bakery, cosmetic and chemical markets in the United States and Canada. It specializes in printing bar […][...]
DroneUp appoints second Walmart exec to board
Virginia Beach-based DroneUp LLC has appointed David Guggina, Walmart Inc.’s senior vice president of innovation and automation, to its board of directors, the commercial drone delivery and flight services company announced Monday. “DroneUp has been a key player in making customer delivery via drone a reality for million[...]
Cabbies cry foul over Va. Beach’s free ride service
Lynne Johnston’s business, All City Cab Co., took a hit from the pandemic. But when the city of Virginia Beach started offering free door-to-door rides in one of her busiest zones — the Oceanfront — during tourist season, it was like another punch to the gut. This year, Virginia Beach contracted with Miami-based microtrans[...]
Va. officials woo chip manufacturers
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and state and local economic development officials are vying to attract semiconductor chip manufacturing facilities to four Virginia industrial sites as the commonwealth gears up to fight for a piece of the financial pie from sweeping federal legislation that promises to ramp up chip production in the U.S. [...]
TowneBank names new CEO
Suffolk-based TowneBank announced Friday that William “Billy” I. Foster III will become CEO, succeeding J. Morgan Davis, who is retiring. Foster, the bank’s market president for Central Virginia and the Carolinas, joined TowneBank as a regional president in 2004, leading the bank’s expansion into the Norf[...]
Va. Beach’s DroneUp to add 655 jobs
Virginia Beach-based DroneUp LLC is adding 655 jobs as part of a $27 million expansion that will include establishing a drone testing, training and research and development center at Richard Bland College, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced during a news conference Wednesday at the Executive Mansion in Richmond. DroneUp, which specia[...]
Lease signed for Fairwinds Landing in Norfolk
The ball has started rolling on the $100 million project turning the Lambert’s Point Docks property in Norfolk into Fairwinds Landing, a maritime operations and logistics center to support the local offshore wind, defense and transportation industries. The Miller Group signed a lease for the 122-acre site owned by Norfol[...]
Va. hotel revenues up slightly over 2019
Northern Virginia’s hotel market continues to be a drag on the lodging industry’s performance in the commonwealth as a whole, according to recently released data from STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry. The latest data show rooms sold decreased by 4.6%[...]
TowneBank to acquire Farmers Bank
Suffolk-based TowneBank has agreed to acquire Windsor-headquartered Farmers Bankshares Inc., the parent company of Farmers Bank, the two companies announced Thursday. The deal is expected to close early next year. The $56 million deal, which would create a combined company worth $17.5 billion in total assets, loans of $10.9 bill[...]
Choice Financial Group names new president, COO
Virginia Beach-based insurance company Choice Financial Group has named Michael J. Andersen its president and chief operating officer, the company announced Tuesday. Andersen, who has started at his new post, has more than 37 years of experience in the insurance industry, according to a news release. He most recently served as [...]