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Law 2023: THE HON. MARK STEVEN DAVIS
Davis’ connection to the sea goes back to his specialty in maritime law in private practice, previously representing the company that won salvage rights to the Titanic. Davis joined McGuireWoods in 1989, became partner in 1996 and left in 1998 to join Carr & Porter. From 2003 to 2008, he served as a Portsmouth Circuit [...]
Law 2023: CHIDI I. JAMES
A partner with Blankingship & Keith, James is a personal injury attorney who handles wrongful death, products liability and inadequate security cases. He began his one-year term as Virginia State Bar president in June. Prior to joining the firm as an associate in 2003, James was a judicial law clerk to the Arlington County C[...]
Finance | Insurance 2023: MARY McDUFFIE
This year marks the 90th birthday of Navy Federal, the world’s largest credit union. As a leader focused on helping others thrive, McDuffie sees this milestone as an occasion to celebrate the credit union’s dedication to its members, writing on LinkedIn, “I’m thankful every day to be part of an organization t[...]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: DENNIS ELLMER
Ellmer launched Priority Auto in 1999 with the acquisition of two dealerships in Chesapeake. By 2023. he grew the business to No. 55 on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealer groups in the U.S., based on the 14,447 new vehicles the dealership sold in 2022. In June, auto retail giant Lithia Motors announced […]
Finance | Insurance 2023: ALBERTO SCHIAVON
Schiavon, who joined Elephant Auto Insurance in 2017 as its head of marketing and pricing, became CEO just eight months later. The Italian executive (who shares a name with an Italian Olympic snowboarder) earned his MBA from the University of Manchester in England and his undergraduate engineering degree at the University of Pad[...]
Economic Development 2023: JONATHAN S. BELCHER
In addition to leading the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, Belcher has also headed up the Virginia Coalfields Expressway Authority since 2020. This year, the Virginia Department of Transportation received $7 million from the federal government, which the expressway authority will use to widen a 2-mile stretch [...]
Manufacturing 2023: WILLIAM ‘BILLY’ GIFFORD JR.
Gifford became Fortune 500 tobacco product manufacturer Altria’s CEO in 2020, after having served as president and CEO of subsidiary Philip Morris USA and holding other executive posts at Altria for the past 25 years. After four challenging years, during which Altria saw the value of its 35% stake in Juul Labs’ e-cig[...]
Transportation 2023: CHARLES ‘CHUCK’ KUHN
Kuhn was just a teenager when he started JK Moving, which has grown into North America’s largest independently owned and operated moving company. Employing more than 1,000 workers, it was ranked best moving company for 2023 by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to his business successes, Kuhn is also known for his l[...]
Real Estate 2023: ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ KING
King was named chairman of the commercial real estate company’s board in May after his adoptive father, Harvey L. Lindsay Jr., died on April 19 at age 93. Lindsay adopted King and his brother, Billy, after he married their mother, Frances. Their father, naval pilot Robert M. King Jr., died in a training flight accident [&h[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: MIKE CORKERY
Corkery joined Deltek as its chief financial officer in January 2010 and was appointed president and CEO in November 2012. The company delivers enterprise software, information solutions and consulting services to project-based businesses. Since Corkery took the helm, Deltek has doubled in size; it now has about 30,000 customers[...]
Professional Services 2023: WILLIAM ‘DANNY’ ROBINSON
The Martin Agency’s chief creative officer since 2020, Robinson oversees ad campaigns for big-name clients like Geico, UPS and Old Navy and was named Ad Age’s 2022 Chief Creative Officer of the Year. It’s no coincidence that during his tenure, Adweek named Martin its Agency of the Year for three consecutive yea[...]
Nonprofits | Philanthropy 2023: TRAVIS STATON
In his nearly two decades as head of United Way of Southwest Virginia, Staton has continued to expand the organization’s reach and mission of creating a community impact model to improve the region’s health, education and financial stability. In May, UWSWVA announced a merger with the United Way of the New River Vall[...]
