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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: SHANE SMITH
Smith became CEO of Smithfield Foods in 2021, just as Smithfield, the world’s largest pork product manufacturer and hog producer, said it would end slaughter operations in its hometown of Smithfield, the country’s self-proclaimed “ham capital.” Now, Smith is trying to navigate tricky financial waters as conserv[...]
Finance | Insurance 2023: MICHAEL DeVITO
Freddie Mac’s leader since June 2021, DeVito has spent the past two years focused on advancing affordable housing, practicing risk management excellence, growing talent and delivering strong financial results. A government-sponsored enterprise that buys mortgages and packages them as mortgage-backed securities, the Federal[...]
Finance | Insurance 2023: JERMAINE JOHNSON
Johnson has led Virginia and Washington, D.C., metro area operations for Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc. since August 2020, 15 years after he joined the bank. A graduate of James Madison University, Johnson has more than two decades of experience in the banking industry. Before coming to PNC, he worked in port[...]
Government | Politics 2023: ROB WITTMAN
Elected to Congress in 2007, Republican Wittman represents parts of Richmond‘s suburbs, as well as the Peninsula and regions east of Fredericksburg on the Chesapeake Bay. As of January, he chairs the House Armed Services Committee, and serves on the Natural Resources Committee. Although Wittman has co-sponsored bipartisan [...]
Law 2023: VICTOR O. CARDWELL
Cardwell grew up in a family that highly valued education, and after his sister went to law school, so did he. A University of Virginia and Washington and Lee law graduate, Cardwell now is one of the leaders at the state’s fifth largest law firm, which formed in 2022 with the merger of Vandeventer Black […]
Law 2023: CARL TOBIAS
As Williams endowed chair for the University of Richmond School of Law since 2004, Tobias is a prolific writer and scholar, with an emphasis on federal judicial selection. He has authored more than 200 Law Review articles in some of the country’s top law journals, including the Stanford, Columbia, California and Cornell la[...]
Real Estate 2023: BRIAN F. BORTELL
Bortell has been with Timmons Group for over three decades, starting his career with the company as an entry-level engineer and working his way up into his current role. He sets the strategic direction for the 1,000-plus-person firm and oversees its four operating divisions and 18 offices across the U.S. Under Bortell’s le[...]
2023 Virginia 500: Agriculture
George C. Freeman III CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNIVERSAL CORP., RICHMOND Corwin Heatwole FOUNDING FARMER AND CEO, FARMER FOCUS, HARRISONBURG Neil A. Houff PRESIDENT AND TRANSLOADING OPERATIONS MANAGER, HOUFF CORP., WEYERS CAVE John King PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA POULTRY GROWERS COOPERATIVE, HINTON Matthew J. Lohr SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY, COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, […][...]
How we assemble the Virginia 500
When I give my elevator speech about the Virginia 500, it usually starts this way: It’s like the Fortune 500, but instead of companies, it’s about people. Unlike the Fortune 500, which ranks companies by gross revenues, this is a more subjective list. Compiled via staff research, we catalog Virginia’s 500 most [...]
Energy 2023: ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ BLUE
Dominion’s CEO since 2020, Blue leads the Fortune 500 utility’s 17,000 employees, serving nearly 7 million customers in 13 states. Dominion also is powering ahead on its $9.8 billion, 176-turbine offshore wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach. Upon its projected 2026 completion, it will produce 2.6 gigawatts of e[...]
Energy 2023: ANDRÉS GLUSKI
A native of Venezuela, Gluski was a leader in renewable energy production and carbon emission reduction, even before 2011 when he became head of AES, a Fortune 500 global electric utility that generates power to 2.6 million customers in 14 countries. In fiscal year 2022, AES reported $12.6 billion in revenue, up from $11.1 billi[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: CLAYTON TURNER
Turner reaches for the stars every day. A 30-year NASA veteran, he is at the helm of NASA’s celebrated Langley Research Center as scientists work to send astronauts back to the moon by 2025 and prepare for the momentous manned mission to Mars. For the past three decades, Turner has served in various engineering and [&helli[...]
