Economic Development 2023: BARRY DuVAL

DuVal, who has led the Virginia Chamber since 2010, oversaw the launch this summer of the chamber’s WiseChoice Healthcare Alliance, a multiple employer welfare association to offer health care plans for small businesses. Made possible through new state legislation, WiseChoice was the first such self-funded health insurance consortium in Virginia.

A longtime advocate for Virginia’s businesses, DuVal served as Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade from 1998 through 2002, a period when Virginia attracted 1,500 economic development projects with a combined $13.7 billion in investments. He also has served as mayor of Newport News, president and CEO of real estate firm DuVal Associates, and president and CEO of Kaufman & Canoles Consulting.

A graduate of James Madison University and American University’s Washington College of Law, DuVal led the creation of the chamber’s Blueprint Virginia, an economic development strategic plan intended to help guide elected officials’ decision-making for the next decade. DuVal and the chamber have also been active in advocating for a relocated FBI headquarters to be built in Virginia; the state is competing with Maryland for the agency’s new headquarters.