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Manufacturing: ROB COLLIER
An industrial water-treatment company founded in 1968, ChemTreat promoted Collier to president in July 2021. Now owned by Danaher Corp., ChemTreat is one of the largest specialty chemical companies in the United States and employs about 2,000 people across the Americas. Collier succeeded Steve Hire, ChemTreat’s previous presid[...]
Federal Contractors/Technology: MAHFUZ AHMED
Ahmed is no stranger to Staffing Industry Analysts’ list of most influential industry leaders, having landed on it five times in the 11 years since it was established. He co-founded DISYS in 1994 and has served as its CEO since 1998. It is now one of the largest information technology staffing firms in the country, […]
Federal Contractors/Technology: REX D. GEVEDEN
Geveden, a former associate administrator and chief engineer for NASA, joined BWXT, a nuclear power and component supplier that reported $2.1 billion in revenue last year, as its chief operating officer in 2015, becoming CEO in 2017. A graduate of Murray State University, he logged nearly a decade as an executive at Teledyne Tec[...]
Finance/Insurance: JANET N. TOPE
Nearly five years ago, Wells Fargo made Tope its regional head for parts of the Richmond, Peninsula and Hampton Roads regions. She oversees 118 retail banking branches and serves as the company’s community ambassador. Tope has worked in banking for more than three decades in Florida and Virginia. Previously, she served as the [...]
Finance/Insurance: JEFF WRIGHT
With nearly two decades of experience in the insurance industry, Wright was promoted in February to CEO of Allianz Partners USA, a travel insurance and assistance company. He replaces Elena Edwards, who was promoted to chief markets officer at parent company Allianz Partners Group. Allianz has more than 19,000 workers globally, [...]
Finance/Insurance: MARY McDUFFIE
McDuffie accepted a vice president of marketing position at Navy Federal Credit Union in 1999 because she liked that the top mission of the world’s largest credit union was serving members — not padding shareholders’ pockets. “I was excited by Navy Federal’s commitment to serve those in uniform and their families and t[...]
Hospitality/Tourism: ROBERT GRAY
Gray’s grandparents moved to Philadelphia in the 1920s to escape racism in Virginia. Even so, Gray still got a taste of life at their former home, the 1,600-acre Pamunkey Indian Reservation in King William County, when his family visited there on holidays and in the summers. Gray, who holds a bachelor’s degree in physical th[...]
Retail/Wholesale: ANDREW CHOE
In April, Choe oversaw the opening of StarKist’s new global headquarters in Reston, with room for more than 70 corporate employees. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam announced in 2021 that the tuna and chicken purveyor would invest $3.6 million to move its corporate and administrative headquarters from Pittsburgh to Fairfax County. Choe[...]
Retail/Wholesale: SHANE SMITH
Smith’s first year as CEO of Smithfield Foods has been busy and filled with challenges. He took his post a few days after the company, the world’s largest pork product manufacturer and hog producer, announced it would stop slaughtering pigs in Smithfield, its hometown. He also scheduled the closing of Smithfield’s operatio[...]
2022 Virginia 500: Education
MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY, ETTRICK JAVAUNE ADAMS-GASTON PRESIDENT, NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY, NORFOLK JONATHAN R. ALGER PRESIDENT, JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, HARRISONBURG PETER BLAKE DIRECTOR, STATE COUNCIL OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR VIRGINIA, RICHMOND LANCE R. COLLINS VICE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA TECH INNOVATION CAMPUS, ALEXANDRIA [&[...]
Education: JONATHAN R. ALGER
As president of James Madison University, Alger led the public university’s $200 million fundraising campaign and the building of an 8,500-seat arena and academic buildings. He also oversaw the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccination campaign and the renaming of three academic buildings previously named for Confederates. In A[...]
Federal Contractors/Technology: AMY GILLILAND
In an industry in which many workers depend on security clearances, last year Gilliland launched “How are you, really?” an internal campaign to destigmatize mental health issues and encourage treatment among employees in need. With a workforce of more than 30,000, including 8,250 employees in Virginia, Gilliland says what ma[...]
