Health Care 2024: ERIK SHANNON
Shannon has overseen this division of UVA Health since October 2021, starting as an interim chief executive and then as permanent CEO. UVA Community Health includes three Northern Virginia hospitals — Prince William Medical Center, Haymarket Medical Center and Culpeper Medical Center — as well as an integrated network of med[...]
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[...]
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[...]
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: VICTOR K. BRANCH
This year, Branch celebrates his 40th year at Bank of America. Since 2015, he has served as president of the bank’s Richmond market. He’s also chair of the Virginia Bankers Association board, which approved a merger with the Maryland Bankers Association to create the Mid-Atlantic Bankers Association holding company in July. [...]
Agriculture 2024: MATTHEW J. LOHR
With a combined annual economic impact of more than $105 billion, agriculture and forestry are Virginia’s largest private industries. Lohr’s office and its three agencies oversee these industries while also working to preserve farmland and forestland, promote access to safe and healthy food and support rural economic develop[...]
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[...]
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[...]
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[...]
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[...]
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[...]





















