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Real Estate 2024: DONNA MacMILLAN-WHITAKER
MacMillan-Whitaker has a history of working on major projects. As the development partner to Virginia Beach-raised music and fashion superstar Pharrell Williams, she’s been in the news most recently for the Atlantic Park project near the Oceanfront, the largest public-private partnership in Virginia Beach’s history. [...]
Real Estate 2024: GEORGE B. CLARKE IV
In 1982, Clarke didn’t just graduate from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering; he also founded MEB General Contractors, a full-service construction firm and master builder. Launched with a handful of employees as a small federal government contractor serving military installations across the H[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2024: CHRISTOPHER J. NASSETTA
Nassetta is the longtime president and CEO of one of the world’s largest hospitality companies. Hilton has a portfolio of 7,600 properties and 24 brands in 126 countries and territories, ranging from luxury brands like Waldorf Astoria to suite hotels such as Embassy Suites by Hilton. Nassetta joined Hilton in 2007 after in[...]
Education 2024: MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH
A scan of Abdullah’s accomplishments since joining the public, historically Black university in 2016 makes clear why his résumé includes so many accolades, prestigious board appointments and spots on top 10 and “best of” lists — not to mention a multimillion-dollar contract to stay on as president through 2029. Und[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: BRUCE L. CASWELL
Caswell joined government contractor Maximus in 2004 and has served as president since 2014; he became CEO in 2018. He started his career at what’s now PricewaterhouseCoopers before moving on to IBM, where he served as vice president of state and local government and education, as well as director of federal business devel[...]
Manufacturing 2024: TOM HAYES
Hayes began working for the tobacco products manufacturer in 2006, serving as chief financial officer and senior vice president before becoming president of Swedish Match in 2020. Swedish Match manufactures and distributes chew bags, moist snuff, cigars, tobacco-free nicotine pouches, matches and lighters. Among its notable bran[...]
Manufacturing 2024: PRABHAT JAIN
Jain has been CEO of Virginia Transformer, the continent’s largest U.S.-owned power transformer manufacturer, since 1982 — 14 years after he arrived from India, mechanical engineering degree in hand. Over 42 years, he has grown the company from 35 employees to more than 2,700 across six plants. Jain started as a machin[...]
Economic Development 2024: WILL PAYNE
Payne and his team helped secure a 65,000-acre development deal in Southwest Virginia, announced in November 2023, with Fortune 100 energy company Energy Transfer as part of the Energy DELTA Lab initiative. His team is leading a 10-year strategy, developing the land with projects that could generate 1 gigawatt of power. The deal[...]
Living Legends 2024: PAUL B. MANNING
In January 2023, Manning and his wife, Diane, donated $100 million to the University of Virginia to create the Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, which will advance research into new medical treatments, such as cellular and gene therapies, nanotechnology and immunotherapy. U.Va. broke ground on the institute in D[...]
Professional Services 2024: BILL MARX JR.
Marx became Grant Thornton’s D.C. market managing principal in July, leading the Arlington regional office for the Chicago-based U.S. arm of the global accounting firm network. He succeeds Greg Wallig, who left in June. With more than 25 years of experience, Marx has been a tax principal at Grant Thornton for 13-plus yea[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: JOHN WASSON
Since joining ICF International in 1987, Wasson has risen to become the global consulting and technology services provider’s chairman and CEO. During the past two decades, ICF has doubled in size every five years on average. It reported fiscal 2023 revenue of $1.96 billion, up 10% from the previous year. Wasson, who holds [...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: JOHN S. MENGUCCI
A 1980 McDonald’s All-American High School Band drummer, Mengucci aspired to have a career in music, but his father suggested he explore the more practical emerging field of computers. So, Mengucci earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Clarkson University and an MBA from Syracuse University. Previously [...]
