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Transportation: W. SHEPPARD ‘SHEP’ MILLER III
A lifelong Norfolk resident, Miller was appointed state transportation secretary by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in January. He was previously appointed by Gov. Ralph Northam to serve on the Commonwealth Transportation Board, a body he now chairs. In 2017, Miller retired as chairman of Virginia Beach defense contractor KITCO Fiber Optics[...]
Telecommunications: MATTHEW J. DESCH
Desch has led Iridium for 16 years and serves on its board. The satellite communications company connects clients around the globe, reporting more than 1.72 million subscribers and $614.5 million in 2021 revenue. Iridium operates 66 low earth orbiting satellites and works with partner companies to provide voice and data communic[...]
Manufacturing: TOM HAYES
Hayes has worked at Swedish Match since 2006 and was promoted to group chief financial officer in 2018. In August 2020, he took over as president after Richard Flaherty retired. Swedish Match’s U.S. Division is based in Richmond, while Swedish Match AB is based in Stockholm. The company develops, manufactures and sells smoke[...]
Manufacturing: ASHLEY B. SMITH
Although Smith became CEO in 2018, he did not become Smith-Midland Corp.’s board chairman until January 2022, after his father, Rodney I. Smith, stepped down after 62 years. The family company, founded in 1960 by David G. Smith (Ashley Smith’s grandfather), manufactures, licenses, rents and sells precast concrete products. T[...]
Living Legends: J. KNOX SINGLETON
Back in 1983, when Singleton took a job as executive vice president for operations at Fairfax Hospital Association, he expected to stay only a few years. But a year later, he was made president of the three-hospital system, which he transformed into Inova Health System, now a $4 billion regional health provider with five hospita[...]
Media: DOUG DAVIS
Davis spent more than 20 years managing various aspects of Norfolk television stations WAVY and WVBT before taking charge of a vast region of what would become America’s largest local television and media company in 2017. Davis was among a handful of general managers promoted to senior, regional positions that year, after Nexs[...]
Media: DAVE LOUGEE
In February 2022, Tegna, the nation’s largest owner of NBC affiliate TV stations, reached an agreement to be bought by New York hedge fund Standard General for $5.4 billion, ending its seven-year stint as a publicly traded company formed after Gannett Co. Inc. spun off its broadcast and digital media divisions. Tegna owns[...]
Media: MIKE REED
The owner of flagship newspaper USA Today, Gannett is the largest newspaper group in the nation with more than 600 papers, and under Reed’s leadership, the company’s digital revenue has skyrocketed. In 2021, Gannett’s digital revenue exceeded $1 billion for the first time, comprising one-third of the media company’s reve[...]
Media: GORDON ROBERTSON
Robertson grew up with the Christian Broadcasting Network. His father, TV evangelist Pat Robertson, founded the network in 1960 and was its CEO for nearly 50 years. Gordon Robertson did not immediately join his father’s business. Instead, he graduated from Yale University, then received his law degree from Washington and Lee U[...]
Law: JONATHAN P. HARMON
Harmon is a highly sought-after and nationally recognized trial lawyer who brings in millions of dollars representing Fortune 500 companies in bet-the-company litigation actions. Harmon became the leader of Virginia’s oldest and largest law firm in 2017. Before that, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point graduate and Gulf Wa[...]
Manufacturing: PABLO DI SI
Di Si is credited as the chief architect for Volkswagen’s turnaround in Latin America, including its largest product launch, with 20 models. Amid a shakeup in leadership as the German automaker seeks to gain a foothold in the North American electric vehicle market, Di Si was named in July to succeed Scott Keogh, who has [&hell[...]
Manufacturing: R. MARCUS ‘MARC’ AMMEN
Ammen joined Universal Fiber Systems in 2000 and has served as its chief financial officer and president of its Universal Fibers Inc. subsidiary. A Clemson University alumnus, he has served as the fiber manufacturer’s CEO since 2009 and is on The Carpet and Rug Institute’s board of directors. Founded in 1969 in Bristol, Tenn[...]
