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Hospitality | Tourism 2024: RITA McCLENNY
A Southampton County native, McClenny has been working to bring tourism and film productions to Virginia since 1991. She ran Virginia Film Office, a division of the Virginia Tourism Corp., for two decades before becoming president of the state agency in 2012. Tourism in Virginia generated $33.3 billion in visitor spending in 202[...]
Retail 2024: DALE FARINO
A former board vice chair, Farino was named CEO of Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority in April, succeeding Travis Hill, who led the agency for nearly a decade. Farino was executive vice president of Sandston-based Breakthru Beverage Virginia, a wine and spirits wholesaler and brokerage company, and previously worked a[...]
Government | Politics 2024: L. LOUISE LUCAS
Since Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election, Lucas has become the face of Virginia Democrats’ “blue brick wall” strategy to block Republican priorities in Richmond. Key to her public image is the state senator’s brash and outspoken presence on X, where she has more than 95,000 followers. Democrats’ success in the November e[...]
Real Estate 2024: MARK C. LOWHAM
Since 2011, Lowham has led the Washington, D.C., office of the luxury real estate company, where he sells residential real estate to the rich and famous. In 2024, he was once again named to T3 Sixty’s Swanepoel Power 200 list, a ranking the country’s top leaders in residential real estate. He is ranked among the […]
Health Care 2024: DR. MICHAEL J. DACEY
Dacey has stayed busy since January 2023, when the Riverside Health System president added CEO to his title and responsibilities. Riverside has more than 9,500 employees and operates seven hospitals in Newport News, Williamsburg, Hampton, Yorktown, Gloucester and Onancock, as well as 110 medical offices in the region. In May, Da[...]
Real Estate 2024: LOUIS J. ROGERS
Since Rogers founded Capital Square in 2012, the real estate investment company has completed more than $7.8 billion in transaction volume and grown from handling mainly Delaware Statutory Trust 1031 Exchange offerings to launching a real estate investment trust and developing and operating multifamily properties across the nati[...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2024: ANGELA F. WILLIAMS
President and CEO of United Way since 2021, Williams is the first Black woman to lead the organization. Previously, she was president and CEO of Easterseals and executive vice president at YMCA of the USA. United Way Worldwide and its four partners in the Power Forward Communities coalition received a $2 billion, seven-year Nati[...]
2024 Virginia 500: Professional Services
JEREMY BLANK U.S. TAX CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, DELOITTE, McLEAN JACOB BLONDIN PRESIDENT AND CEO, RD HOLDINGS, RETAILDATA, INTRICS, GLEN ALLEN RUTH ‘PAIGE’ CLAY GLOBAL SALES AND CLIENT ENGAGEMENT LEADER AND MERCER SENIOR PARTNER, MARSH McLENNAN, RICHMOND MARK ELLENBOGEN CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, BDO USA, McLEAN CASSIE HARTOGS TAX […]
Retail 2024: ELIZABETH ‘LIZA’ MYERS BORCHES
Founded in 1924 by Borches’ great-grandfather, Carter Myers Automotive is Virginia’s fifth largest car sales group, with 24 dealerships selling 18 brands. It currently ranks No. 87 on Automotive News’ Top 150 Dealership Groups list, down 12 spots from 2023. Borches became CEO in 2012. The company employs more than 1,000 pe[...]
Retail 2024: ARIE KOTLER
An Israeli native, Kotler has led Arko, the nation’s sixth largest convenience store chain and parent company of GPM Investments, since 2020, when it merged with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II to become a U.S.-listed public company. He founded GPM in 2003, sold the business and reacquired it in 2011. The company has been on a[...]
Insurance 2024: THOMAS S. GAYNER
Gayner has led the Fortune 500 insurance company as sole CEO since early 2023, after serving more than six years as co-CEO with Richard Whitt III, who retired last year. Before joining Markel in 1990, Gayner was vice president of Davenport & Co. Markel reported operating revenues of $15.8 billion in 2023, an increase from [&[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: MAHFUZ AHMED
In the mid-1990s, Ahmed founded what’s now Dexian as a side venture while working as a consultant for Northrop Grumman and a senior technical manager for Mobil Oil. Today, the McLean-based provider of staffing, IT and workforce solutions employs about 12,000 workers across 70 locations worldwide. Originally known as Digital In[...]
