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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: JONES, KHALID

Following his appointment by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024, Jones took the helm of the Virginia Lottery, an agency whose responsibilities continue to grow as the state embraces more forms of gambling.

Besides overseeing traditional scratch and draw games, the state lottery has been charged with regulating casinos and internet sports betting. For fiscal 2024, the Virginia Lottery reported record-breaking revenue of $5.5 billion, and for the calendar year, the state’s three casinos raked in nearly 32% more in adjusted gaming revenues than in 2023. Two more casinos are under construction in Petersburg and Norfolk.

An attorney, Jones previously was a partner at All American Licensing, a sports and entertainment branding, marketing and licensing firm, and SourceRock Partners, an investment firm focused on real estate, media, sports and technology.

Jones, who hails from Little Rock, Arkansas, holds degrees from Wake Forest University and Stanford Law School. He also co-founded several businesses, including the now-disbanded esports organization Echo Fox, as well as consulting firm Kolier Group, whose clients included the Multi-State Lottery Association, Paramount Global and Universal Music Group.

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Government Contractors | Technology 2025: GEVEDEN, REX D.

Headquartered in Lynchburg, manufactures reactors, fuel and components; develops and manufactures microreactors for national security and space applications, and provides nuclear technical services at labs and facilities.

Geveden joined BWXT in 2015 as its chief operating officer before becoming CEO in 2017. He previously was an executive at Teledyne Technologies and a chief engineer and associate administrator at NASA.
A Fortune 1000 company, BWXT has approximately 8,700 employees — including about 2,840 in Virginia — and reported $2.7 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue, up from $2.49 billion the previous year.

In February, the company announced it had received $2.1 billion in Navy contracts to manufacture nuclear components for Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, and in July, it won an additional $2.6 billion in Navy contracts for nuclear reactor components.

In early 2025, the company also completed its $100 million purchase of L3Harris’ Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, in Jonesborough, Tennessee; in

April, it bought land in Tennessee for a centrifuge plant. Geveden has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Murray State University. He’s chairman of the board for TTM Technologies and is a trustee for the Research Association.

Education 2025: GUIDERA, AIMEE ROGSTAD

In 2021, Guidera was the first state secretary appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a signal of the importance he placed on the post.

A proponent of charter schools and parental involvement in , Guidera is responsible for leading the state’s public schools and has significant influence on postsecondary institutions, including the Virginia Community College System. In 2022, the state began establishing K-12 lab schools — public, nonsectarian schools based at and .

Her tenure has not been without controversy, including pushback over what critics see as anti-transgender state policies in public schools and history curriculum revisions involving teaching about race. In March, she issued a memo urging Virginia-based institutions that receive federal funds to review all policies to ensure compliance with President Trump’s executive order on Title VI and race-based practices.

Guidera was the founder, president and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, a nonprofit focused on using student testing data to improve schools.
Before founding DQC, Guidera was director of the Washington, D.C., office of the National Center for Educational Achievement and vice president and chief of staff for the National Alliance of Business.

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Energy 2025: PIERCE, SHANNON O.

A Surry County native, Pierce succeeded Robert Duvall in April as leader of the utility serving more than 310,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Southeastern Virginia.

Pierce didn’t grow up dreaming of working in , the field where she’s spent her entire career.

Fresh out of the University of Virginia School of Law, Pierce took a job at McGuireWoods in the energy and practice group. From there, she moved to Georgia to work as counsel at AGL Resources, which was purchased in 2016 by VNG’s parent, Southern Company Gas.
Pierce is happy to have landed in the industry.

“The work is always fascinating,” she said in a Virginia Business interview in 2024. “It’s tangible in terms of having a purpose. Our mission [is] to enrich the lives of the customers that we serve and make sure that they have the energy that they need for their lives and for our economy.”

In May, VNG broke ground on its $50 million operations headquarters in Chesapeake. In July, the Chesapeake City Council approved zoning for VNG’s proposed compressor station. The State Corporation Commission will next consider approval.

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Government Contractors | Technology 2025: LEVY, DAVID

In 2023, Levy was tapped to lead Amazon Web Services’ worldwide public sector business, overseeing contracting activities for Amazon.com’s cloud computing subsidiary, as well as business for educational, nonprofit and organizations.

In 2024, AWS recorded $107.6 billion in net sales, increasing 19% year-over-year from 2023 and surpassing $100 billion for the first time.

In January, AWS and McLean-based Fortune 500 government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton announced a partnership to speed digital transformation for U.S. federal agencies, including enhancements using artificial intelligence in national security and deterring cyberattacks. That comes as the Trump administration has sought to improve government efficiency while slashing costs.

Levy previously served as AWS’ vice president of U.S. government, nonprofit and health care business. Before joining AWS, he spent 12 years at Apple, leading teams that helped the U.S. government adopt new mobile technologies. Levy also worked for Monster.com, started Empire Capital

Management and co-founded Sulla Technology Group, where he served as chief operating officer.
Earlier this year, the Texas Tech University alumnus made Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 Awards list for the sixth time.

Government Contractors | Technology 2025: GRAY, DeETTE

After starting her career as a middle school math and science teacher, Gray became interested in coding, which led her to IT, where she worked as a software developer. A former executive at Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, Gray has won the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International Women’s Appreciation Award for promoting STEM and women in the workplace. In 2025, Gray appeared for the ninth time on Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 list of top contracting executives.

Gray joined Fortune 500 contractor CACI in 2017 as president of its U.S. operations, then was president of business and IT solutions starting in 2019. In 2024, CACI announced she would once again be president of U.S. operations. The company employs roughly 23,000 people and generated $7.65 billion in 2024 revenue.

In addition to major contract wins worth billions of dollars in 2024, including with the Air Force and NASA, CACI made two acquisitions in the latter part of the year. Those purchases included Fairfax County-based Azure Summit Technology in an all-cash $1.3 billion deal as well as an all-cash purchase of Reston-based Applied Insight.

Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: EARLE-SEARS, LT. GOV. WINSOME

Earle-Sears is a woman of firsts: the first Black woman and immigrant to hold statewide office in Virginia and the commonwealth’s first female lieutenant governor, serving as president of the state Senate and occasionally casting tiebreaking votes. This year, she seeks to be Virginia’s first female governor as the Republican nominee.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former state delegate, the Jamaican-born Earle-Sears took an unusual path to the Virginia State Capitol in a career that has included owning an appliance, plumbing and electrical company and managing a homeless shelter. In addition to her support for gun rights, she has been a vocal advocate for school choice programs, including taxpayer-funded educational savings accounts and charter schools.

Earle-Sears has criticized President Donald Trump in the past, but as a gubernatorial candidate, she has vocally supported him. She also has tracked to the right of Gov. Glenn Youngkin on some social issues, opposing abortion after six weeks and guaranteed access to contraceptives. Facing lagging polling and fundraising, Earle-Sears swapped campaign managers this summer in her race against Democrat Abigail Spanberger. She also pivoted her campaign to focus more on the military and veterans.

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Health Care 2025: LUTES, MICHAEL

Lutes joined Bon Secours in 2022 as Richmond market president. The health system created his state president role this year; he now oversees the Richmond and Hampton Roads markets, including about 14,000 employees across the state.

In May, the health system opened its approximately $80 million, 100,000-square-foot Harbour View Center in Suffolk. The same month, Henrico County supervisors approved a permit for Bon Secours’ planned $370 million renovation and expansion of St. Mary’s Hospital, which will include a 200,000-square-foot tower. Construction is expected to begin this year.

Meanwhile, the hospital system started construction on a new medical office building in Chesterfield County, set to include an outpatient surgical center. The project is expected to be finished in late 2026.

Before joining Bon Secours, Lutes served in leadership roles for Atrium Health in North Carolina. He’s served on the Virginia Hospital & Association’s board since 2022.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University and a master of health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.

FIRST JOB: Worked at a movie theater in concessions

TRAITS I ADMIRE: Honesty, work ethic, humor

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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: KAINE, U.S. SEN. TIM

Labeled by supporters as “America’s Dad” for his level-headed, folksy and sometimes wonky demeanor, Democrat Kaine has been a fixture in Virginia since his 1994 election to Richmond City Council. From there, he became Richmond mayor, then Virginia’s lieutenant governor and governor. His 2006-10 term in the Executive Mansion was marked by both the Great Recession and the Virginia Tech shooting that left 32 dead.

The Kansas City native and attorney became Virginia’s junior senator in 2013 and was re-elected for a third term in 2024. In 2016, Kaine was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in her unsuccessful presidential bid.

In the Senate, Kaine serves on the Armed Services, Budget, Foreign Relations, and Health, , Labor, and Pensions committees. With fellow Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Kaine has taken aim at President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, as well as federal employee layoffs and cuts to services, including Medicaid. In May, Kaine’s resolution that would have blocked Trump’s global tariffs narrowly failed in the Senate.

A Catholic, Kaine has said he is personally against abortion but has voted to support women’s reproductive rights.

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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: CULLEN, RICHARD

Richmond insider Richard Cullen was an early pick by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to serve on the political newcomer’s cabinet when he took office in 2022, and he has remained a prominent figure in the executive branch since.

Before joining the Youngkin administration, Cullen was a senior partner at McGuireWoods, Virginia’s largest law firm. There, he served as chairman for more than a decade and represented a slate of high-profile clients, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former Gov. Doug Wilder, former

Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones, and Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the businessman whose relationship with former Gov. Bob McDonnell led to a federal corruption conviction later overturned by the
U.S. Supreme Court.

Cullen’s service hasn’t only been in the private sector, though. From 1991 to 1993, he was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and he spent seven months as attorney general of Virginia in the late 1990s after then-Attorney General Jim Gilmore stepped down to run for governor.
A graduate of Furman University and the University of Richmond School of Law, Cullen is the immediate past board chair for the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

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