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Energy 2025: GLUSKI, ANDRÉS R.

Originally from Venezuela, Gluski joined AES in 2000 and became its president and CEO in 2011. The Fortune 500 global utility generates and distributes power in 15 countries.

In 2024, AES reported $12.3 billion in revenue, with $47 billion in assets. For 2024, Gluski’s total compensation was about $13.4 million.

Gluski seems optimistic about 2025, stating in a news release, “We see strong demand from the growing needs of AI data centers and new manufacturing plants in the [United States], and we are well-placed to meet their demand for the shortest time to power.”

The company reduced its workforce by 10%, an executive said during AES’ fourth-quarter earnings call in late February.

AES celebrated innovation news over the last year: It introduced an AI-powered robot named “Maximo” that works alongside construction workers to enhance solar installation speed, efficiency and safety.

In addition to an undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University, Gluski earned a master’s degree in economics and a doctorate in economics and international finance from the University of Virginia. He serves as chairman of the Council of the Americas and is on the board of Waste Management.

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2025 Living Legends: BARRY, CAROLYN AND RICHARD F.

Longtime Hampton Roads residents, the Barrys made a $35 million donation to Old Dominion University in 2016, then the Norfolk university’s largest individual gift, which funded the Barry Art Museum.

Richard “Dick” Barry, whose father was a math professor at ODU, retired as vice chairman of Landmark Media Enterprises in 2010, and Carolyn Barry, a Mary Washington College graduate, was an adjunct math educator at ODU in the 1960s, and she became a serious collector of rare and antique dolls, some inherited from her aunt.

The Barrys also became major collectors of art and have rehomed their glass artworks and American paintings at the museum, which opened in 2018. In August, the museum temporarily closed for a $25 million renovation set to be finished by early 2027, a project funded by the Barrys and other ODU donors.

Dick Barry was a member of ODU’s board of visitors for eight years, including two as rector, and held leadership roles in fundraising for the university. An attorney, Barry worked for Landmark for nearly 40 years and oversaw the company’s TV stations and newspapers, including The Virginian-Pilot.

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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: SPANBERGER, ABIGAIL

Spanberger first became a household name in 2018, when she narrowly defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Dave Brat to flip control of a longtime Republican stronghold in Central Virginia. Today, having served three terms in Congress, she is running to become Virginia’s first female governor.

A former CIA officer and U.S. Postal Inspection Service law enforcement officer, Spanberger has forged a reputation as a moderate Democrat, being ranked the state’s most bipartisan member of Congress by The Lugar Center and Georgetown University. In 2024, she did not seek re-election.

So far, Spanberger has been significantly ahead of her GOP opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, in polling and fundraising. In the second quarter, Spanberger raised $10.7 million, a quarterly record for a Virginia candidate for statewide office.

Despite a fairly smooth path to the nomination, Spanberger faced pushback from Virginia progressives over her moderate record in Congress. She is focusing largely on kitchen table issues on the campaign trail, including ending car taxes and lowering household bills.

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Health Care 2025: ARNER, STEVE

Arner succeeded Nancy Howell Agee as CEO in October 2024, after being promoted to president in 2023. He leads Carilion’s 13,000-plus workers, who serve about 1 million patients in Virginia and West Virginia at seven and 250 offices.

Arner, who joined Carilion in 1996 as a financial analyst, previously served as chief operating officer and executive vice president for the health system’s Roanoke operations. He also was president and CEO of Carilion Medical Center.

Carilion received state approval in May for a kidney transplant program and expects to begin offering the surgeries in 2026.

In June, the $2.4 billion not-for-profit health system opened its 500,000-plus-square-foot Crystal Spring Tower at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, housing an expanded emergency department and Level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center. The Cardiovascular Institute there opened in July.

Construction on the 257,000-square-foot Carilion Taubman Cancer Center, named for Advance Auto Parts CEO Nicholas Taubman and his wife, Jenny, who donated $25 million, is expected to be completed in 2027.

A Brigham Young University alumnus, Arner is a past chair and current member of the Virginia Hospital & Association’s board.

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Government Contractors | Technology 2025: KASTNER, CHRISTOPHER D.

Kastner was tapped in 2022 as CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries, the nation’s largest military shipbuilder and a Fortune 500 company that owns Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia’s biggest industrial employer. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for HII, which has 44,000 employees and reported $11.5 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue.

In June, HII furloughed 471 shipbuilders for up to five months “to increase accountability and efficiency, and to improve overall performance.” Nevertheless, Kastner has said HII, which is building two Ford-class aircraft carriers in drydock simultaneously, plans to add 3,000 new workers in the next year, but has shifted its focus from entry-level to career-minded workers with more experience.

In January, HII closed its purchase of a manufacturing facility in South Carolina. And in April, the Department of Defense awarded HII a $1.2 billion contract modification for work on two Virginia-class submarines. Late last year, HII’s McLean-based Mission Technologies division received a $6.7 billion Air Force contract.

A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Pepperdine University, Kastner was named to New York Life’s board in April. Kastner sits on the powerful board of the Business Roundtable, the association for the nation’s leading CEOs, alongside fellow Virginians Brendan Bechtel of Bechtel Corp. and Hilton Worldwide Holdings CEO Christopher J. Nassetta, as well as heavy hitters such as Apple CEO Tim Cook and JPMorganChase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.

Government Contractors | Technology 2025: CORRIGAN, MILE

Twenty-one years after joining not-for-profit federal contractor Noblis as a computer scientist, software architect and manager, Corrigan was named president and CEO in 2022.

With a bachelor’s in management science and information technology from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Georgetown, Corrigan previously served as Noblis’ executive vice president and before that as senior vice president of its Federal Civilian Solutions division.

According to ProPublica, Noblis earned $621 million in revenue in fiscal 2024, up from $536 million in 2023. Noblis landed a spot on a $982 million Navy contract in 2024 to design, develop, manufacture and maintain current and future unmanned surface vehicles for the sea service.

Corrigan serves on the executive committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the board of directors for the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. She received her third consecutive Wash100 award from Executive Mosaic earlier this year.

Education 2025: SCHMIDT, JAMES C.

Hired in March, Schmidt became JMU’s new president in July. He was most recently chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he was recognized as a “stellar fundraiser” and brought in one of the largest gifts in that university’s history: a $70 million athletics donation.
Schmidt’s 30-year career in higher , as well as his own education, has mainly taken place in Minnesota and Wisconsin. He received his doctorate in educational policy and administration from the University of Minnesota, and was vice president for university advancement at Winona State University in Minnesota.

Schmidt says that JMU has an opportunity to grow industry partnerships, collaborate with Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, and contribute to the economic success of Virginia.

JMU, the state’s fifth largest university, has plenty going on this fall, including a new residence hall’s opening, the renovation and expansion of Carrier Library, and work on the next master plan.

INTERESTING PLACE I’VE TRAVELED: The Sultanate of Oman

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: I’m a big Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac fan. I’ve passed that love on to my three sons, who are coming with me to their second Stevie concert in August.

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Government | Politics | Lobbying 2025: LUCAS, SEN. L. LOUISE

Since Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election, Lucas has become the face of Virginia Democrats’ “blue brick wall” strategy to block Republican priorities in Richmond. Key to her public image is the state senator’s brash and outspoken presence on X, where she has more than 82,000 followers.

She was instrumental in blocking Youngkin’s $2 billion arena plan for Alexandria in 2024, which Lucas nicknamed the “Glenn Dome.” As chair of the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, in 2025 Lucas felled other Youngkin proposals, including private school vouchers and a Virginia Gaming Commission amendment.

In July, Lucas was one of nine Senate Democrats who sued to prevent three from seating eight rejected Youngkin appointees to their boards. Her side won, although the attorney general’s office is appealing the decision.

The first female shipfitter at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and a businesswoman whose ventures include a cannabis store, Lucas came to the Senate from Portsmouth City Council in 1992. When Democrats retook control of the General Assembly in 2020, she became president pro tempore.

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Energy 2025: BAINE, EDWARD H. ‘ED’

Raised on a Lunenburg County tobacco farm, Baine attended Virginia Tech, earning an electrical engineering degree. Starting out as an associate engineer, Baine has worked for Fortune 500 utility Dominion for 30 years.

Baine became president of Dominion Energy Virginia in 2020. Since January, following the retirement of Diane Leopold, Dominion Energy’s former executive vice president and chief operating officer, Baine had been overseeing all of Dominion’s utility operations, consisting of Dominion Energy Virginia and Dominion Energy South Carolina, which includes more than 4 million customer accounts. In July, Baine was given a new title: executive vice president of utility operations for Dominion Energy. Baine will continue reporting to Dominion Energy Chair, President and CEO Robert Blue, who, in a statement, called Baine a “valued leader.”

Baine sits on several boards including Venture Richmond and the Southeastern Exchange. Additionally, he is rector of Virginia Tech’s board of visitors and a member of the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.

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Education 2025: FITZSIMMONS, TRACY

Shenandoah’s president since 2008, Fitzsimmons joined the private liberal arts school in 2001 as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

This year, the university celebrated its 150th anniversary and had its largest graduating class in history. For the sixth consecutive year, Shenandoah was named a College of Distinction and it opened its Hub for Innovators, Veterans & Entrepreneurs (HIVE) in fall 2024.

In 2024, Shenandoah received a record-breaking $20 million donation from alumnus Wilbur Dove and his wife, Clare, toward building a performing and visual arts center on campus.

Also last year, Shenandoah launched an undergraduate engineering program, master’s programs in mental health counseling and speech language pathology, and a doctorate in science during the past academic year.

Fitzsimmons has a master’s degree in Latin American studies and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University. She also serves as vice chair of Edinburg-based telecommunications company Shentel’s board.

BOOK I’D RECOMMEND: “What Owe Democracy,” by Ronald J. Daniels

FAVORITE FASHION ACCESSORY: That’s easy —high heels!.

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