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Retail 2024: REID A. BROWN
Brown is among the fourth generation to run Brown Distributing, a company that began in 1919 as a bottling operation for cherry cola and has grown into a major beverage-distribution business. He joined the family business in 2006. His brother, Jason Brown, came on board in 1999 and serves as vice president. Brown Distributing serves […]
Retail 2024: GEORGE L. HOLM
Holm became Performance Food Group’s leader in 2008 after more than four decades in the food service-distribution industry, with leadership roles at Sysco, US Foods, Alliant Foodservice and Vistar. He became president and CEO of PFG when the Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management purchased PFG and merged it with a [...]
Manufacturing 2024: HOWARD BROADFOOT
Broadfoot has been with Electro-Mechanical since 2009. He was promoted from chief operating officer to CEO when founder Russell Leonard retired in 2021. Operating in Bristol, Virginia, for 65 years, Electro-Mechanical’s divisions include Line Power, Federal Pacific, Mafesa and Mirus International. With five manufacturing facil[...]
Arts | Entertainment | Sports 2024: CORAN CAPSHAW
In January, Red Light and Live Nation broke ground on Riverfront Amphitheater, a new 7,500-capacity music venue in downtown Richmond that is expected to open in summer 2025. The $30 million amphitheater will host about 30 events per year and is expected to become a premier outdoor destination, bringing top-name artists to the gr[...]
Transportation 2024: MICHAEL W. COLEMAN
As head of CV International and Capes Shipping Agencies, a family-owned global logistics and vessel agency service company, Coleman is responsible for the overall management, direction and growth of the company. He serves as chairman of the Virginia Maritime Association (VMA) and is a board member of the Hampton Roads Shipping A[...]
Transportation 2024: JUDY BARRETT
Barrett, who grew up in Hampton Roads and scored her first job working at the candy counter at Irwin’s Pharmacy, has accumulated more than 30 years of experience in banking and finance. She has been with TowneBank for over 16 years. She is the second woman president in the Virginia Maritime Association’s 104-year history. Ba[...]
Transportation 2024: STEPHEN A. EDWARDS
The Virginia Port Authority runs the Port of Virginia, which is one of the state’s chief economic drivers. In fiscal 2022, the port’s output sales hit $124.1 billion, up from $100.1 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, Edwards and other port leaders have stayed focused on finishing the $1.4 billion dredging and widening project in th[...]
Hospitality 2024: JAMES CARROLL
A former Navy fighter pilot with a Harvard MBA, Carroll parlayed his financial management expertise into running one of the largest independent hotel operators in the country. Founded in 2000, Crestline Hotels and Resorts operates more than 17,600 rooms in 28 states and Washington, D.C. Recently, the company was selected to mana[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: FRANK ROTMAN
Rotman frequently pens advice to folks trying to build companies. “Getting a startup to ‘work’ isn’t simply about doing one thing well,” Rotman wrote in a post on X, where he tweets as @fintechjunkie. “Most startups are extremely complex and require many interconnected parts to all function in concert.” He should k[...]
Real Estate 2024: JACKIE THIEL
Overseeing Long & Foster Real Estate’s 200-plus offices and more than 9,000 real estate agents across eight states and Washington, D.C., Thiel is responsible for the organization’s strategic business direction and operations. The company is owned by The Long and Foster Cos., a subsidiary of HomeServices of America, a Ber[...]
Retail 2024: ROBERT A. ‘BOB’ ARCHER
Archer’s career began after earning a business degree from Virginia Tech in 1969, followed immediately by military service and a tour in Vietnam. Upon his discharge in 1972, Archer was named general manager and vice president of Blue Ridge Beverage, the wholesale beer, wine and nonalcoholic distributorship his family has owned[...]
Law 2024: FARHAD AGHDAMI
Born in Tehran, Iran, in 1968, Aghdami came to the United States in 1971 when his father joined the faculty of the Medical College of Virginia as an anesthesiologist. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a history degree, Aghdami earned his law degree from Wake Forest University, and a master of laws degree in [...]
