Virginia 500 Spotlight: THOMAS L. MILBURN
THREE WORDS TO DESCRIBE ME: Innovative. Compassionate. Driven. HOW I CHOSE MY CAREER: I initially majored in English [because I was] interested in storytelling and communication. I even spent some time in seminary, where I developed a strong sense of purpose and leadership. Ultimately, I realized that I could combine my analytic[...]
Real Estate 2024: FRANK ‘BUDDY’ GADAMS
In 2000, Gadams founded Marathon Development Group, known for its commercial and residential projects in Hampton Roads, including the Icon Norfolk and the James Apartments residential buildings in Norfolk. Gadams also has led historic renovation projects such as the restoration of the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. Late las[...]
Real Estate 2024: TONY FIORILLO
Fiorillo began his career at ECS in 1993 as a field technician. In 2020, he was promoted to president of the ECS Group after serving as chief operating officer. Because Fiorillo joined the company when it was new, he had the opportunity to work on projects for the primary owners while developing strong relationships with [&helli[...]
Manufacturing 2024: ROB WERGE
In 2022, Werge became Cadence’s president and CEO. He previously held leadership positions at Nypro (now Jabil Healthcare), where he led its consumer and electronics business for the Americas region and led India operations. He also was vice president and general manager of Phillips-Medisize’s global commercial divis[...]
Real Estate 2024: JASON GUILLOT
Guillot is a commercial real estate developer focused on mixed-use projects with Class A office, retail and multifamily. He joined Thalhimer in 2007 as an office broker and developer, and led the redevelopment of the former Westhampton Theater in Richmond’s West End into the Westhampton on Grove retail complex. In recent y[...]
Professional Services 2024: CASSIE HARTOGS
Hartogs serves as BDO USA’s tax people operations managing principal and the firm’s tax market managing principal for the Greater Washington market. She oversees more than 550 tax professionals across 10 cities and leads the tax practice in operations, strategy, business development, recruiting and professional devel[...]
Law 2024: KEN RANDALL
In 2023 and 2024, George Mason’s law school appeared in numerous articles about allegations of sexual misconduct by Joshua Wright, a tenured law professor who served on the Federal Trade Commission. In an August 2023 email to students, Randall wrote that Wright had resigned “rather than face a termination proceeding that[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: JENNIFER TAYLOR
Taylor leads the Northern Virginia Technology Council, one of the largest regional technology trade associations in the nation. Comprised of some 400 members, NVTC represents tech industry players ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies to universities and nonprofits. Before taking the helm at NVTC in 2020, Taylor, an Ohi[...]
Education 2024: JAMES E. RYAN
Since becoming president in 2018, Ryan has spearheaded several growth initiatives at the state’s flagship university, including the School of Data Science, a new performing arts center and the Karsh Institute of Democracy — all projects funded by donors, including a record 2019 gift of $120 million from alumni couple Jaf[...]
Real Estate 2024: ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ KING
Since 1978, King has been leasing shopping centers for individuals, private partnerships and institutional clients, and has led the commercial real estate company’s retail leasing team since 1985. He was named president of the firm in 2019, and took over as chairman last year when his adoptive father, Harvey L. Lindsay Jr.[...]
Retail 2024: STEVE PRESLEY
Presley has been overseeing the U.S. market — Nestlé’s largest market, with around $30 billion in annual sales — since 2018. In 2021, he also became head of the Swiss food producer’s continent-wide business when Nestlé created a North America business zone, along with a China zone, to align with its market-led [...]
Manufacturing 2024: JOHN PARKINSON
Parkinson has served as Drake Extrusion’s CEO since 2001. A subsidiary of Duroc AB, a Swedish manufacturer specializing in filament yarn and staple fiber, the company established its roots in Henry County in 1996. In 2021, Drake acquired North Carolina-based yarn manufacturer Michael S. Becker. Drake has expanded its Henry[...]





















