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Finance/Insurance: KEVIN P. STEVENSON
In 1996, when Stevenson co-founded international debt-buying business PRA Group, he had a vision of building an altruistic company. And in May, the Hampton Roads Community Action Program presented Stevenson with a Community Builders Award, which recognizes individuals making a positive impact on the region. Over the years, PRA G[...]
Hospitality/Tourism: NEEL DESAI
Desai founded S2K Hospitality, a management and development company focused on fast-casual dining, with his lifelong friend, Bijal Patel, last year. According to a news report, the S2K name is a combination of the initials of Desai’s daughters, Savi and Seva, and Patel’s daughter, Kayla. In March, S2K announced a 10-store fr[...]
Hospitality/Tourism: BRUCE L. THOMPSON
The man responsible for helping to reshape the Virginia Beach Oceanfront once promoted bands including Grand Funk Railroad and the Allman Brothers Band. A bartending gig in Virginia Beach helped propel Thompson. When the bar’s owners opened a sail and ski shop, Thompson was tapped to help. Soon, he became the largest ski trave[...]
Professional Services: MARK ELLENBOGEN
With more than two decades of experience in public accounting, Ellenbogen is BDO’s assurance regional managing partner for the Atlantic region and leads the company’s public sector practice. He also serves on the company’s U.S. board of directors. Having joined the firm in 1997, Ellenbogen has worked extensively with clien[...]
Real Estate: GARY BOWMAN
Bowman, whose first job was as a carpenter’s helper working for his father, earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. He was a principal for 15 years at Urban Engineering before founding Bowman Consulting Group, which was a five-person company at its inception in 1995. It now has 1,400 employees i[...]
Living Legends: JANE NEAL PARKE BATTEN
Batten was 19 when she married Frank Batten, who would go on to become chairman and CEO of Landmark Communications Inc. and co-founder of The Weather Channel. Together, they agreed that he would focus on business, and she would focus on civic giving and volunteerism. “Frank’s philanthropic focus was fairly narrow; mostly sup[...]
Finance/Insurance: JOHN C. ASBURY
A Radford native, Asbury became president of Atlantic Union Bankshares, the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank, in 2016. He was named CEO the following year, passing the presidency on to Maria Tedesco, who was named the bank’s chief operating officer in January, while continuing as president. Tedesco is now tasked with �[...]
Nonprofits/Philanthropy: TRAVIS STATON
Staton has spent the past decade of his 17 years as head of the United Way of Southwest Virginia shifting the organization toward a community impact model to improve the region’s health, education and financial stability. In late 2021, his United Way launched a $30 million initiative to build regional public-private partnershi[...]
Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY
After working on Wall Street for 16 years, Cassaday founded Cassaday & Co. Inc., an independent wealth management firm, in 1993. Today, the company boasts 81 employees and manages $4.7 billion in assets. Cassaday is a member of Barron’s Hall of Fame for appearing in the annual Top 100 Advisor rankings for 10 years or [&hel[...]
Living Legends: ANNA LOU and BOB SCHABERG
It’s fitting that Anna Lou and Bob Schaberg met through a local civic group, the Richmond First Club. Their partnership nearly 40 years later continues to focus on community service. The founder of multifamily housing developer Amurcon Corp. of Virginia, Bob is a graduate of Michigan State University and earned his MBA from Wa[...]
Arts/Entertainment/Sports: ANDY EDMUNDS
Edmunds knows which parts of Virginia will shine as a 19th-century stand-in or that can double as a modern Washington, D.C., street. He’s served as director of the Virginia Film Office since 2011 and worked as its locations manager for more than 14 years prior. Virginia has hosted a plethora of film and TV projects […]
Finance/Insurance: RICHARD FAIRBANK
Before he built a Fortune 500 bank holding company, Fairbank started a swimming school as an undergraduate student at Stanford University, where he later earned an MBA. Then he got his feet wet in finance, working as a banking consultant and landing at Virginia’s Signet Bank, where he co-created the spinoff business that becam[...]
