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Virginia500 2022

Aug 29, 2022

Law: J. BENJAMIN ROTTENBORN

Rottenborn made national headlines this year for representing “Aquaman” actress Amber Heard in the defamation trial brought by her world-famous ex-husband, Johnny Depp. During the widely viewed trial argued in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Rottenborn received intense public backlash from Depp fans. “I suspect that nobody a[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Telecommunications: ERNIE ORTEGA

Ortega has spent his career in the telecom business since the days when a mobile phone couldn’t fit in your pocket. If you saw the movie “Wall Street,” Ortega says, you might recall the Motorola 8000 brick phone — it’s a model he used to sell. Ortega now serves as CEO of GTT Communications, which runs […]

Aug 29, 2022

Real Estate: T. RICHARD LITTON JR.

Litton serves as president of HGI, a real estate investment and management firm that reported a gross asset value of more than $19 billion in the first quarter of 2022. The company focuses on office, retail, multifamily and alternative investments throughout the country and the United Kingdom. One of its most famous properties i[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Health Care: RONY THOMAS

During its 40 years, nonprofit LifeNet has assisted with 8 million organ, tissue and cell transplants. It employs more than 1,400 people globally, including 991 in Virginia. Known as an organ procurement organization (OPO), LifeNet connects patients with newly available organs — often kidneys, which are needed by about 80% of [...]

Aug 29, 2022

Education: MICHAEL RAO

Already one of the highest-paid officials in state higher education, Rao recently received an 8% raise. In June, VCU’s board of visitors approved raising his salary to $708,000, citing his fundraising abilities and stewardship of the university and its medical facilities since the pandemic. Since his 2009 appointment as presid[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Economic Development: Victor Hoskins

Named one of Washingtonian magazine’s 2022 Tech Titans, Hoskins came to Fairfax in 2019 after leading Arlington Economic Development and playing a key role in luring Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters to Virginia. In Fairfax, he’s continued attracting major businesses and retaining others, including the North Am[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Education: MAKOLA M. ABDULLAH

Since becoming Virginia State University’s president in 2016, Abdullah has led the public HBCU to national prominence, as well as a budget surplus after the university was in debt before his tenure. U.S. News & World Report ranked VSU in the top 30 of its Best Overall HBCUs for 2022 and it was also named […]

Aug 29, 2022

Nonprofits/Philanthropy: TED HART

For 30 years, Charities Aid Foundation of America has enabled cross-border giving by Americans to validated charities and charitable projects worldwide. Hart has led the organization for the last decade. His passion for the nonprofit’s work stems from “the privilege of helping our donor clients bring their dreams and prayers[...]

Photo by Casey Curry/Invision/AP
Aug 29, 2022

Living Legends: ROBERT DUVALL

Perhaps most famous as Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen in the first two “Godfather” films, Duvall, 91, is still making movies, 60 years after he first hit the silver screen as Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Since the 1990s, Duvall has lived on a 360-acre farm in Fauquier County, and he formerly co-owned [&h[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Nonprofits/Philanthropy: KEVIN A. LYNCH

During his four-decade career working closely with people who are blind, Lynch says he’s observed firsthand the unlimited capabilities of this largely untapped workforce. “Without a doubt, there is nothing that people who are blind can’t do,” says Lynch, who has led the nation’s largest employment resource for people w[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Retail/Wholesale: MICHAEL A. WITYNSKI

Fortune 500 discount retailer Dollar Tree, which has more than 15,600 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores across the continental United States and Canada, raised eyebrows in June with a C-suite shake-up. The company said it would seek replacements for its chief operating officer, chief strategy officer, chief financial officer,[...]

Aug 29, 2022

Law: WENDY COLLINS PERDUE

Perdue is approaching her 12th year as dean of the University of Richmond School of Law. The Wellesley College graduate has spent most of her career in education. After a brief period as an associate at Washington, D.C.’s Hogan & Hartson, Perdue joined the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center in 1982, later becoming[...]

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