MICHAEL J. ‘MIKE’ QUILLEN

A former coal magnate, Mike Quillen today serves as an adviser on mining, energy, economic development and transportation issues. He also manages Quillen Properties, which oversees multiple business ventures.

A longtime champion of the western part of the state, Quillen serves on the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority, a body that promotes opportunities for energy development in the region. In 2024, Quillen and his wife, Debbie, gave $1 million to the University of Virginia’s College of Wise. He also has been heavily involved at his alma mater, Virginia Tech.

Quillen sits on several boards, including the board of Ballad Health, a health system serving the Appalachian Highlands, including parts of Southwest Virginia. Quillen has served on the board of Mountain Mission School, a Grundy nonprofit that provides a home and school to at-risk children, for more than two decades.

At Tech, Quillen was trained as a civil engineer and embarked on a long career in mining, serving as an executive at Paramont Coal, Pittston Coal and other companies before going out on his own. In 2002, he founded Alpha Natural Resources, which became one of the country’s largest coal suppliers. Quillen retired as Alpha’s chairman of the board in 2012, after it had become a Fortune 500 company with 13,000 employees.

From 2010 to 2018, Quillen served on Virginia Tech’s board of visitors, including as rector for two years. Additionally, he served on the Virginia Port Authority from 2003 to 2012 and was elected the body’s chair in 2011. That year, he was named the Virginia Business Person of the Year.