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Manufacturing 2023: ANDY GIRVIN
As plant manager for New Jersey chemical manufacturer AdvanSix’s largest factory, Girvin has navigated some challenges this year. In April, 340 union workers went on strike at the Hopewell plant, seeking wage increases. The strike ended in May, but that didn’t end troubles at the plant, which annually produces 400,00[...]
Education 2023: TIMOTHY SANDS
Known among Hokies as “the Sandsman” — a nod to the Hokies’ football anthem, Metallica’s “Enter the Sandman” — Sands joined Virginia Tech in 2014 after serving as interim president at Purdue University. Sands signed a contract in August 2022 to stay on as president through the 2027 academic year. During h[...]
Finance | Insurance 2023: JOHN C. ASBURY
Discovering an affinity for banking during a summer job while still in college, Asbury began his 30-year-plus career as a commercial credit officer at Wachovia Bank & Trust. He would serve in a variety of executive roles, including as president and CEO at New Mexico’s First National Bank of Santa Fe, before landing in [...]
Manufacturing 2023: BRYAN FAIRBANKS
In 2020, Fairbanks became president and CEO of publicly traded composite decking and railing manufacturer Trex, one of Fortune’s 100 fastest-growing companies that year. For fiscal year 2022, benefiting from a pandemic-era increased demand in home improvement, Trex brought in more than $1.1 billion, expanding distribution [...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: BRUCE L. THOMPSON
A Norfolk native and Virginia Business’ 2021 Person of the Year, Thompson is one of Hampton Roads’ most prominent developers and hoteliers. He is best known for developing the Cavalier Resort, which includes the restored historic Cavalier Hotel as well as two new hotels, restaurants and residences on 21 acres at the [...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: JOHN WASSON
Wasson has spent his 36-year career at ICF International, where he has led the global consulting and technology services provider through a series of acquisitions and growth. The company has doubled in size every five years over the past two decades and in fiscal year 2022 reported $1.78 billion in revenue. Wasson joined ICF as [...]
Law 2023: MELANIE D. WILSON
Dean of Washington and Lee University’s law school since July 2022, Wilson is a prolific writer and author who also holds the Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professorship in Law. Her experience spans multiple schools, states and awards: She was an associate professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and a visiting profe[...]
Economic Development 2023: LEONARD SLEDGE
Since 2019, Sledge has guided numerous economic development proposals in Richmond, culminating in the $2.4 billion Diamond District redevelopment project, approved by City Council this year. The site will feature a new baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels Double-A baseball team, an 11-acre green space and mixed-inc[...]
Health Care 2023: DR. J. STEPHEN JONES
Named as one of the top 1% of cancer specialists and urologists in the nation by Castle Connolly, Jones has led Inova Health System since 2018. The regional health system employs more than 20,000 people across its five hospitals and numerous other facilities, including Northern Virginia’s only Level 1 trauma center. In May[...]
Education 2023: DONNA PRICE HENRY
Henry is making history at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise — the school’s first female chancellor, she created the school’s first office devoted to equity, diversity and inclusion. And in 2019 she made technology accessible for every student by instituting a program to grant every incoming fresh[...]
Education 2023: DAVID DORÉ
A newcomer to Virginia, Doré arrived in April as the Virginia Community College System’s new chancellor. It was quite the jump in scale from Doré’s previous role as president of campuses and executive vice chancellor for student experience and workforce development at Tucson, Arizona-based Pima Community College, w[...]
Real Estate 2023: 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. Like Northern Virginia, Van Metre Cos. has grown exponentially in the decades since. Beau Van Metre joined the company in 1963. In 2002, he was[...]
