In 1989, Foster bought Foster Fuels from his father, the late Watt R. “Bobby” Foster Sr. The younger Foster marks the third generation to run the family business, which was founded in 1921.

A James Madison University alumnus, Foster held the titles of CEO and president until January 2024, when the company named a new president, Will Rohrig, who has been with Foster Fuels since 2009. The change allows Foster to concentrate more on his family’s land conservation efforts and The Foster Foundation, which supports disadvantaged children, scholarship funds and local charities.

Foster, who also serves on the Bank of the James Financial Group’s board, has placed more than 2,000 acres of land under conservation easements.

With 250 employees, Foster Fuels holds the prime contract for emergency fuel delivery with the federal government, receiving in 2024 a contract from the Department of Defense, in partnership with FEMA and DLA Energy, worth up to $442 million over five years. Through its Mission Critical division, the company has responded to multiple relief efforts, including Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, Texas ice storms and Hurricane Ian.

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Fisher Auto Parts, one of the nation’s largest automotive-parts retailers with about 500 locations, is a family affair. Blair Coiner, Bo Fisher’s grandfather, founded the company in 1929 as a small auto-parts sales concern, and it grew under the leadership of Fisher’s father, Art, who died in 2004.

A James Madison University graduate, the younger Fisher joined the company in 1992 and was serving as president at the time of his father’s death. He was unanimously elected CEO and chairman of the board, and has led the company, which changed its name to Fisher Auto Parts in 1983, to tenfold, debt-free growth in the past two decades. In July, Fisher Auto Parts announced it had acquired Genden Auto Parts, another family business with more than 70 years of service.

Fisher also serves as chairman of Federated Auto Parts, which Art Fisher founded. In that role, he created the Art Fisher Memorial Scholarship program for students in the automotive aftermarket industry and the Art Fisher Memorial Award, which annually honors a member of Federated Auto Parts who has contributed to its success.

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In January 2024, Davis assumed the role of CEO at Cort Business Services, a Berkshire Hathaway-owned company that includes Cort Furniture Rental, Cort Trade Show and Events, and other businesses. Cort has more than 100 offices, rental showrooms and retail furniture outlets nationally and provides furniture rentals in more than 80 countries.

A member of the Move for Hunger board, Davis has been with Cort since 1997, when he started as a distribution manager at Cort Furniture Rental. He then worked in a number of roles, including executive director and group vice president of Cort Trade Show & Event Furnishings, and group vice president of ABC Special Event Rentals & AA Party Rentals by Cort. He previously was the company’s executive vice president, chief operating officer and president. Before his tenure at Cort, he worked at Viking Freight, ABF Freight and 3 Day Blinds.

On Dec. 31, 2024, Dwellworks acquired Cort’s Destination Services business and additionally received access to Cort’s rental property search aggregator and network of licensed real estate agents.

In February, Cort won the Corporate Housing Providers Association’s Tower of Excellence Award for Associate Partner of the Year.

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Brown is among the fourth generation to run Brown Distributing, a company that began in 1919 as a bottling operation for cherry cola and has grown into a major beverage-distribution business. He joined the family business in 2006. His brother, Jason Brown, came on board in 1999 and serves as vice president.

Brown Distributing serves more than 2,000 retailers throughout Virginia, delivering more than 5 million cases of domestic and craft beers, ciders, seltzers and nonalcoholic beverages annually, with its primary suppliers being AB InBev, Heineken USA and national and regional breweries. It has more than 200 employees.

The company acquired craft beer distribution companies in Virginia and Florida in 2009. While it sold off the South Florida business, it retained a 120,000-square-foot warehousing facility in West Palm Beach. In October 2023, Brown Distributing sold that facility for $31 million to Boise Cascade, a lumber supplier, in an all-cash deal.

Brown has been an active player on the beer and brewery scene, helping create the Richmond Beer Elite group, which provides an online forum for the local beer community, including competitive distributors and breweries.

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Founded in 1924 by Borches’ great-grandfather, Carter Myers Automotive is one of Virginia’s largest car sales groups, with 24 dealerships selling 18 brands. It ranks 80th on Automotive News’ Top 150 Dealership Groups list, up seven spots from the previous ranking. Borches became CEO in 2012.

CMA employs more than 1,000 people in Virginia, all of whom are part owners; Carter Myers is one of the only dealer groups in the nation that shares equity with its employees.

Carter Myers Automotive is part of Driving Lives Forward, a partner- ship initiative between the United Way of Greater Charlottesville and CMA to assist economically challenged families with purchasing reliable vehicles and providing vehicles and repairs for single mothers.

Borches is a co-founding member of Women United in Philanthropy and serves on the life board of the United Way of Greater Charlottesville as well as the board for Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Virginia. She also sits on the board of Plug In America, an electric vehicle advocacy organization. She lives in Charlottesville with her husband, Pete, and their two teenage children.

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Creedon became permanent CEO of Dollar Tree in December 2024, after being appointed interim CEO the preceding month, when Rick Dreiling stepped down, citing health problems. Creedon joined the Fortune 500 discount retailer as chief operating officer in 2022, after over six years with Advance Auto Parts.

Recent years have challenged the chain, which employed more than 200,000 workers and operated 16,590 stores in 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of November 2024. In March, Dollar Tree announced it would sell the Family Dollar brand to private equity firms Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management for more than $1 billion. The company announced it had closed the sale in June.

While Dollar Tree’s first quarter revenue this year was up more than 11%, to more than $4.6 billion, the company warned there would likely be future hits due to tariffs. Dollar Tree is also raising prices, making some goods cost between $1.50 to $7.

An alumnus of Middlebury College, Creedon serves on the boards of trustees for the Chrysler Museum of Art and Norfolk Academy.

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Since taking the reins at the candy and pet food giant in September 2022, Weihrauch has been aiming to double its sales by 2033. He joined Mars in 2000.

With approximately $55 billion in 2024 sales, Mars is the largest privately held company in Virginia and the fourth largest in the nation, with approximately 150,000 employees worldwide. Although best known for its candy brands like M&M’s and Snickers, the company’s veterinary care and pet foods branch accounted for about 60% of its 2023 revenue.

In 2024, Mars announced it planned to purchase Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts maker Kellanova in a $35.9 billion deal that was initially expected to close in August, but in June the European Union’s antitrust watchdog agency opened a 90-day investigation into the merger. Although the deal could still go through, it will be delayed at least until the end of October.

In July, Mars announced it will invest $2 billion in its U.S. manufacturing operations by 2027. It also launched a $250 million innovation fund focused on sustainability in the food industry.

Weihrauch has degrees from Denmark’s Aalborg University and Scotland’s Strathclyde Business School. He serves on Henkel AG & Co.’s shareholders committee and The Consumer Goods Forum’s board.

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