Hoff joined Hooker in 2017, serving as president of the upholstery, case goods and legacy brands divisions before being named its first nonfamily CEO in 2021.

The 101-year-old company employs more than 1,000 people and has corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities in Virginia, North Carolina and California, with showrooms in High Point, North Carolina; Las Vegas and Vietnam.

For 2024, Hooker Furnishing’s consolidated net sales were $397.5 million, down 8.3% from the previous year. Tariff uncertainty, lower consumer confidence and a weakened housing market are all reasons for the decline, Hoff said in April. This year, Hooker closed its warehouse in Savannah, Georgia, and launched restructuring that aims to cut $25 million in annual fixed costs by fiscal 2027.

Hoff serves as vice chair of the High Point Market board and is a member of the American Home Furnishings Alliance board.

ON INTEGRATING AI: AI is a powerful tool, but it’s just that — a tool. We use it to enhance our customer experience by delivering faster, more accurate information and freeing up our team to focus on high-value, human-centered work. It should elevate people, not replace them.

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Culbreth joined American Woodmark in 2014 as its senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was promoted to president and CEO and joined its board of directors in 2020.

American Woodmark’s cabinet brands include its namesake, as well as Shenandoah Cabinetry, Timberlake Cabinetry and Waypoint Living Spaces. It has more than 7,800 employees and bills itself as one of the East Coast’s largest kitchen and bathroom cabinet suppliers. In January, the company informed the state that it would be closing its manufacturing facility in Orange County and laying off
131 employees by late March.

The cuts were made, Culbreth explained during a May earnings call, to “streamline operations and improve responsiveness” amid increasing tariffs. American Woodmark reported $1.71 billion in net sales for its fiscal 2025, down 7.5% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the company launched its 2030 business plan this year, as well as launching a cloud-based strategy at its Anaheim, California, manufacturing facility in May.

Culbreth has a MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech, where he serves on the Pamplin College of Business’ finance department advisory board.

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Greene has led Delta Star, a manufacturer of power transformers and mobile substations, since 2016.

In June, Greene welcomed state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s Delta Iron Works, an 80,000-square-foot facility that will serve as a hub for steel fabrication, allowing the company to boost its production capabilities.

That wasn’t the only major company news this year. In April, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Delta Star has planned an additional expansion of its Lynchburg operations — a $35 million investment expected to create 300 jobs.

Greene came aboard Delta Star back in 2003 as a controller. In 2010, he took a pause from the company while working for a multistate ministry. He was back at Delta Star by 2011, however, and quickly rose, including serving as chief operating officer.

A graduate of the accounting program at Virginia Tech, Greene also completed a leadership development program at Harvard Business School. Greene serves on the boards of Freedom Word Church in Appomattox County and the Central Virginia Community College Educational Foundation.

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Keogh leads German parent company Volkswagen’s electric truck and sport utility vehicle division, a job he took in 2022 after serving as president and CEO for Volkswagen of America for four years.

Scout is a revamp of the iconic Scout all-terrain vehicle brand produced by International Harvester from 1961 to 1980. In 2021, Volkswagen acquired the rights to Scout’s name after buying Navistar International, which succeeded International Harvester, for $3.7 billion.

Volkswagen announced in 2023 plans to build a $2 billion Scout manufacturing plant near Columbia, South Carolina, bringing at least 4,000 jobs. In 2024, Scout broke ground on the plant, and initial production is targeted to begin in 2027.

Although headquartered in Tysons, Scout is looking to move its U.S. headquarters soon, with rumors swirling that South Carolina may be its new home. In June, Keogh said in an interview with the Carolina Business Review that the headquarters will employ about 1,000 people.

“We’re going to have to convince an awful lot of people to say, ‘This is going to be a great place to raise your family,’” he said.

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Following Gregory H. Trepp’s September 2024 retirement, Tidey became the appliance manufacturer’s new CEO and a board member. He was named president earlier last year as part of Hamilton Beach’s succession plan.

Previously, Tidey was senior vice president of global sales at subsidiary Hamilton Beach Brands, and he started with the company in 2010 as senior vice president of sales and marketing for the North American sector.

For 2024, Hamilton Beach Brands Holding reported revenue of $654.7 million, an increase of 4.6% over the previous year, and the company employs about 650 people.

A Richmond native, Tidey has a degree in business management from Virginia Tech, and he is a member of the university’s marketing department’s emeritus board. Tidey also is a volunteer for Upward Basketball, a Christian youth sports organization, and is a frequent public speaker for organizations like the Rotary Club.

FIRST JOB: Delivering the Richmond Times-Dispatch in the morning and The Richmond News Leader in the afternoon. Back then, you not only delivered the papers — you also collected payments from customers. You learned a lot about your neighbors when they owed you a few dollars.

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A native of Sweden, Högberg became president of Volvo Penta North America in 2022. He joined Volvo Group in 1994 and has held a variety of positions, including in digital services, retail development and aftermarket sales. He previously was senior vice president for services, solutions, digital and IT for Mack and Volvo Trucks North America.

Högberg oversees the strategic direction and execution of the company’s operations throughout the continent. Sharing the name of the vehicle manufacturer, Volvo Penta is a supplier of engines and power systems for marine and industrial applications, and it runs an engine test facility in Suffolk. The company also has an assembly plant in Tennessee, a parts distribution center in Mississippi and a warehouse in Ontario, Canada.

Högberg earned his marketing degree at IHM Business School in Sweden and his MBA from the United Kingdom’s Henley Management College.

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Ibañez joined Lego Manufacturing Virginia in January to oversee hiring and construction of the Danish toymaker’s $1 billion Chesterfield County facility, bringing two decades of executive leadership in multiple countries. He previously served as vice president of operations at Lego’s plant in Monterrey, Mexico, and was executive operations director for tire company Bridgestone.

Before that, he worked for more than a decade at Bosch Group in Spain, India, Vietnam and Texas. A graduate of Spain’s University of Deusto MBA program, Ibañez earned degrees in engineering as well.

In May, Lego Group announced its plans to build a new 2 million-square-foot warehouse in Prince George County to complement its Chesterfield campus, which is set to begin production in 2027. The company opened a temporary packaging facility in Chesterfield in 2023.

FAVORITE TEAM: Spanish soccer team Atlético de Bilbao (Athletic Club, in Bilbao)

BOOK I’D RECOMMEND: “Grit,” by Angela Duckworth, which made me reflect on my childhood.

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