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Transportation 2024: STEPHEN C. BRICH
With 26 years in transportation, Brich oversees VDOT’s almost 58,000 miles of road, 21,000 bridges and other structures, six tunnels and three ferry systems. Appointed in 2018, he manages approximately 7,700 VDOT employees and an $8 billion annual budget for the nation’s third largest transportation agency. April 17 was a mo[...]
Real Estate 2024: ROBERT C. ‘BOB’ KETTLER
While a student at George Washington University in 1974, Kettler got his start in real estate by remodeling apartments. A third-generation builder and the product of a long line of real estate developers, he left school to focus on work. After discovering a passion for community development, he founded real estate development co[...]
Living Legends 2024: RALPH SAMPSON
University of Virginia basketball legend Sampson already has made his stamp on state history. After winning three Naismith Awards as the National Player of the Year, the 7-foot-4 Sampson graduated from U.Va. in 1983 and played for the Houston Rockets through 1987. The Harrisonburg native won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in t[...]
Economic Development 2024: JONATHAN S. BELCHER
As leader of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority since 2006, Belcher has helped bring new jobs to Southwest Virginia through numerous economic development deals. Two notable job announcements in the past year have included 170 jobs at data center company Tate in its access floors division, announced in November[...]
Real Estate 2024: ALBERT G. ‘BEAU’ VAN METRE JR.
Van Metre’s late father founded his family real estate development company in 1955, partnering with B.B. Wills to build the first Van Metre Homes in Burke, a Fairfax County suburb. Beau Van Metre joined the company in 1963. In 2002, he was appointed vice chairman, and he became chairman in 2008. Today, the company has [&hellip[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: DIETRICH KUHLMANN
Kuhlmann took the helm at the credit union March 1, replacing Mary McDuffie, who was Navy Federal’s first woman CEO. She retired after 25 years with the financial institution, including five as CEO. After retiring from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral, Kuhlmann joined Navy Federal in 2019 as head of branch operations. He [&hell[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: NIGEL MORRIS
In 1994, Morris co-founded Capital One Financial with Richard Fairbank, who remains the credit card giant’s chairman and CEO. Morris served as Capital One’s president and chief operating officer until 2004, when he decided it was time for something new. In 2007, Morris partnered with Frank Rotman to launch QED Investors, a f[...]
Transportation 2024: P. DALE BENNETT
Bennett lost his father, Paul O. Bennett, this year, and the Virginia House of Delegates and the state Senate signed a joint resolution honoring him. Bennett adopted the love of trucking from his dad, a professional truck driver, and has advocated for the trucking industry for more than 40 years. The nation’s trucking indust[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: JENNIFER BOYKIN
Since beginning her career in 1987 at Newport News Shipbuilding in the nuclear engineering division, Boykin steadily rose through the ranks, becoming its first female president in 2017. Newport News Shipbuilding is a division of Fortune 500 military contractor Huntington Ingalls Industries and is the state’s top industrial emp[...]
Real Estate 2024: GERALD S. DIVARIS
Divaris co-founded his real estate firm 50 years ago in South Africa, where he earned degrees in accounting and real estate marketing, and then brought the company to Virginia in 1981. The following year, Divaris Real Estate, one of the companies now under the Divaris Group umbrella, opened its doors in Virginia Beach. Today, th[...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2024: LT. GEN. JAMES B. LASTER (USMC, RET.)
While the Toys for Tots program is closely associated with Christmas, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation has expanded its efforts and now provides year-round support for children in need, including children affected by natural disasters, kids in the foster care system and Native American children. In 2023, the organization dist[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: KATHY WARDEN
After previously serving as its president and chief operating officer, Warden in 2019 was named CEO of Northrop Grumman, the world’s third largest aerospace and defense company. No. 38 on Forbes’ 2023 list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Warden previously worked for General Dynamics and Veridian before joining Nort[...]
