What does power mean? How do you determine who wields more than others? How can you measure an intangible but very real force? In our annual list of the 50 most powerful leaders in Virginia, we set out to do just that, considering the number of employees an executive leads, personal wealth and other metrics.  Think of those selected as the top 10% of our annual Virginia 500 list of the state’s most powerful people across 21 categories, ranging from finance and real estate to government and energy.

While determining who holds the most sway is somewhat subjective, some choices are clear, like Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Mars heiress Jacqueline Mars, the state’s richest resident.

As in every year, the 2025 list has some changes from its predecessor. Absent, for example, are executives who retired or left their previous companies. These include Kristen Cavallo, who left her position as CEO of MullenLowe Global and this year started as The Branch Museum of Design’s executive director, and Stu Shea, a national security industry fixture who retired from heading federal contractor Peraton.

As with the Virginia 500, to report the most accurate power elite, we do not adjust this list for diversity or geography. It therefore mirrors the larger landscape of American business and political leadership, skewing largely white and male, as well as primarily representing Virginia’s largest metro areas comprising its “Golden Crescent.”

Read on to learn which leaders made the cut this year and how they’re impacting Virginia’s bottom line.

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Craig P. Abod

President and founder, Carahsoft Technology, Reston

Since Abod founded Carahsoft in 2004, the privately owned IT and cybersecurity solutions provider has grown to land the No. 26 spot on Forbes’ 2024 list of the nation’s largest private companies, with $15.5 billion in revenue and 3,284 employees.

Abod is a University of Maryland alumnus who previously worked for DLT Solutions and Falcon Systems. In January he was named for the 11th time to Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 list of top government contracting executives.

His company is one of two firms modernizing federal payroll services under a General Services Administration contract. In June 2024, Carahsoft hosted its second annual DevSecOps Conference in Washington, D.C.

In September 2024, FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service agents raided Carahsoft’s headquarters in Reston. Bloomberg News reported later that day that the Department of Justice has been conducting a civil investigation since at least 2022 into whether German software developer SAP illegally conspired with Carahsoft to fix prices on sales to the U.S. military and other parts of the government. SAP executives have said that the raid was not related to that business.

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John C. Asbury

CEO, Atlantic Union Bankshares, Richmond 

In January, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond approved the merger of Atlantic Union Bank and Maryland’s Sandy Spring Bank, following the October 2024 announcement that their parent companies had entered into a definitive merger agreement in which Atlantic Union would acquire Sandy Spring in a $1.6 billion all-stock transaction. The transaction is expected to be completed by 2025’s third quarter.

Upon completion of the deal, Atlantic Union Bank would have $32 billion in total deposits and $29.8 billion in loans. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the Richmond bank had $24.6 billion in assets and 129 branches across Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina.

The transaction comes on the heels of Atlantic Union’s acquisition of Danville-based American National Bankshares, which was valued at about $507 million and closed in April 2024.

With more than 35 years of experience in banking, Asbury has led Atlantic Union since 2016. The Virginia Tech and William & Mary alumnus is also the 2024-25 chair of the American Bankers Association.

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G. Robert Aston Jr.

Executive chairman, TowneBank, Suffolk 

Aston and friends founded TowneBank in 1999. Today, the bank operates 51 bank offices in Virginia and parts of North Carolina and has the largest market share in Hampton Roads.

TowneBank signed a definitive agreement — announced in September 2024 — to acquire Midlothian’s Village Bank and its parent company in a deal worth approximately $120 million. The merged companies would have $17.8 billion in total assets, $14.9 billion in deposits and $12.1 billion in loans, based on financial information reported in June 2024. The acquisition is expected to close by mid-year.

Beginning his banking career in 1964, Aston became president and CEO of Citizens Trust Co. in 1981. He later led Commerce Bank and BB&T of Virginia.

In 2018, Aston ended his 20-year tenure as board chairman and CEO of TowneBank, becoming executive chairman according to a succession plan.
In October 2024, Chesapeake Bay Academy and Virginia Wesleyan University dedicated G. Robert Aston Jr. Hall at CBA. Aston also was inducted into VWU’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

He sits on the boards of Virginia Wesleyan University and the Virginia Business Higher Education Council.

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Patrick Bain

President and CEO, The Long & Foster Cos., Fairfax County 

Bain became Long & Foster’s president and CEO in March 2023. Founded in 1968, Long & Foster has more than 7,000 real estate agents across seven states and Washington, D.C.   He joined Long & Foster Cos. in 2010 as president of its insurance and home warranty businesses. Berkshire Hathaway affiliate HomeServices of America acquired Long & Foster in 2017, and in 2018, Bain took on oversight of Long & Foster Property Management and Long & Foster Rental Service Center. Bain rebranded the property management business as HomeServices Property Management in 2022, and in early 2022, launched Insight Home Inspections.

Long & Foster moved its headquarters within Fairfax County in July 2023. The company completed 38,000 transactions in 2023.

Prior to joining Long & Foster, the Allegheny College graduate served as vice president and general manager for Pittsburgh-based Howard Hanna Insurance Services. He founded internet insurance startup InsRateDirect.com in 1998 and was managing partner at the McDonnell Bain Group. He negotiated both companies’ sales to larger insurance companies in 2002.

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Thomas I. Barkin

President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Richmond 

Barkin has served as head of one of 12 regional Fed banks since 2018. He was a voting member on the Fed’s interest-setting Federal Open Market Committee in 2024, although he rotated off in 2025.

In January, Barkin said in the Virginia Bankers Association and Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 Financial Forecast that he sees a largely positive economic outlook for this year, but in February, he said he’d need more information on how tariffs and other Trump White House economic proposals will impact inflation and the U.S. economy.

To gather insights on the economy, Barkin likes to be on the ground, talking with business, civic and community leaders in the Fed’s Fifth District, which covers South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia and Maryland.

Hailing from Tampa, Florida, Barkin worked for three decades at global consultancy McKinsey & Co., where his roles included chief financial officer and chief risk officer. He also served on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta from 2009 to 2014.

A three-time Harvard grad, Barkin has sat on the Emory University board of trustees since 2014.

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Brendan Bechtel

Chairman and CEO, Bechtel Corp., Reston 

Serving as CEO since 2016 and chairman since 2017, Bechtel is the fifth generation to lead his family-owned global engineering, construction and project management company. Ranked the nation’s third largest construction company in 2024 by Engineering News-Record, Bechtel Corp. has completed more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries since its 1898 founding.

The firm’s portfolio includes massive infrastructure and industrial projects around the world, including the Ankara-Gerede highway in Turkey and Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line railway in England. Bechtel also was part of the team behind the 85-station, six-line Riyadh Metro network in Saudia Arabia, the first phase of which opened in November 2024.

Although Intel announced in February 2024 it was slowing construction on its $20 billion semiconductor manufacturing project in Ohio, which Bechtel is building the first phase of, the U.S. Commerce Department awarded the tech company $7.86 billion in CHIPS Act funding, with $1.5 billion directly funding the Ohio project, in November 2024.

Bechtel sits on the board of the Business Roundtable and chairs its smart regulation committee.

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Thomas A. Bell

CEO, Leidos Holdings, Reston 

After serving as chairman and CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, Bell became CEO of Fortune 500 federal contractor Leidos in May 2023, replacing the retiring Roger Krone.

Among the defense, aerospace and information technology company’s recent wins are a Transportation Security Administration contract for checkpoint maintenance services worth up to $2.6 billion, awarded in December 2024, and an up to $987 million Air Force contract supporting F-16 Foreign Military Sales customers, a win Leidos announced in December 2024.

Bell started his career at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), then joined McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing), where he was a senior vice president and strategy lead for Boeing Defense and Space. Bell had led defense contractor Rolls-Royce North America since 2018.

Leidos reported $16.6 billion in annual revenue in fiscal 2024, up 8% from 2023, and has about 47,000 employees worldwide. Bell has appeared twice on Executive Mosaic’s annual Wash100 list of top government contracting executives. He holds a bachelor’s from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology. Bell serves on the Aerospace Industries Association’s executive committee.

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Robert M. ‘Bob’ Blue

Chair, President and CEO, Dominion Energy, Richmond

Blue oversees Fortune 500 utility Dominion, which has 14,400 employees and served about 6 million customers in 15 states in 2023. Before joining Dominion in 2005, Blue was an attorney and served as counselor and director of policy under Gov. Mark Warner.

Dominion expects to complete its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm on time, in 2026, but in February the utility announced the project would cost $10.7 billion, up from the previously announced total of $9.8 billion. The company said in January it doesn’t have a timeline for developing its other two ocean leases — 40,000 acres off North Carolina and 176,505 acres adjacent to CVOW.

In October 2024, Dominion completed its $2.6 billion sale of a 50% noncontrolling stake in CVOW to investor Stonepeak. Also that month, Dominion Energy Virginia and Amazon.com announced an agreement to explore potential development of small modular nuclear reactors at North Anna Power Station.

A University of Virginia alumnus, Blue has a law degree from Yale University, where he was editor of the Yale Law and Policy Review. He chairs the Nuclear Energy Institute board and sits on U.Va.’s board of visitors and the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the Greater Washington Partnership.

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Eugene J. Bredow

President and CEO, NVR, Reston 

Bredow has worked for NVR since 2004 and, after holding several executive positions in accounting and administration, became president of NVR Mortgage in April 2019. In 2022, he was appointed president and CEO of NVR, which operates in two business segments that include homebuilding and mortgage banking.

Founded in 1980, the Fortune 500 company is one of the nation’s largest homebuilding and mortgage banking companies. NVR reported $10.52 billion in 2024 revenue, an 11% increase from the previous year.

NVR’s homebuilding segment operates under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes and Heartland Homes brands in 36 metro areas across 15 states as well as Washington, D.C. Its mortgage and settlement subsidiaries provide an array of financing, settlement and title services to complement its homebuilding business.

Bredow is a graduate of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business and serves as a member on its board of advisers.

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Christopher T. Calio

President, CEO and chairman-elect, RTX, Arlington County 

After serving as chief operating officer and president, Calio became president and CEO of Fortune Global 500 aerospace and defense contractor RTX in May 2024. He’ll also become chairman on April 30, again succeeding Gregory J. Hayes, who will serve as special adviser to the CEO through early January 2026.

The company moved its headquarters to Arlington in 2022 and rebranded from Raytheon Technologies in 2023. RTX has more than 185,000 employees and reported $80.8 billion in 2024 adjusted sales, up 9% from 2023.

In October 2024, the U.S. Justice Department announced that RTX subsidiary Raytheon had agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve multiple allegations that included fraud and bribing a Qatari official. An RTX spokesman said that the misconduct occurred “largely prior to 2020.”

Later that month, Raytheon won a $900 million contract modification from the Missile Defense Agency.

A Trinity College and University of Connecticut graduate, Calio also was president of RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney. He joined United Technologies Corp. in 2005 as an assistant counsel and served in multiple leadership roles until UTC merged with Raytheon in 2020.

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Michael C. Creedon Jr.

CEO, Dollar Tree, Chesapeake 

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 under the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada brands as of November 2024.

Dollar Tree saw a $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and announced plans to close almost 1,000 Family Dollar stores over the next few years. In June 2024, it began reviewing strategic alternatives for Family Dollar, including selling or spinning off the brand.

Dollar Tree reported $7.56 billion in consolidated net sales in the third quarter, up 3.5% from fiscal 2023’s third quarter.  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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Karen Dahut

CEO, Google Public Sector, Reston 

In October 2022, Dahut became CEO of Google Public Sector, a subsidiary of the tech giant focused on government and educational contracting. Before joining Google, she led Booz Allen Hamilton’s $4 billion global defense business.

Dahut served in the U.S. Navy for six years, including at the Navy Medical Research Institute in Maryland. As a civilian, she worked at the Logistics Management Institute, a Tysons-based nonprofit federal contractor, before joining Booz Allen.

Google Public Sector has a Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a Data & Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence and a Federal AI Solution Factory with Accenture Federal Services, all supporting federal agencies. Google Public Sector and The Aerospace Corp. announced in January a collaboration to improve space weather forecasting.

Dahut is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s University and the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California. She sits on the boards of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and the Center for a New American Security.

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Lawrence ‘Larry’ Di Rita

 Greater Washington, D.C., market president, Bank Of America, Washington, D.C. 

Di Rita joined Bank of America as an external affairs executive in 2006 and has led the greater Washington, D.C., market for Bank of America since 2019, overseeing about 2,500 employees. He’s also the bank’s head of global public policy.

From 1980 until 1993, Di Rita served in the Navy, with his final active-duty assignment as a politico-military planner for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He then was deputy director of foreign policy and defense studies at conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and was policy director for U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm’s 1996 presidential campaign. From 2001 to 2006, he was special assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Bank of America posted $27.1 billion in net income in 2024, up from $26.5 billion in 2023, and had $3.28 trillion in total assets, up from $3.15 trillion in 2023.

A U.S. Naval Academy and Johns Hopkins University graduate, Di Rita is the Rumsfeld Foundation’s board secretary and serves on the boards of Greater Washington Board of Trade, the U.S. Navy Memorial and The Economic Club of Washington, D.C.

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Stephen A. Edwards

CEO and executive director, Virginia Port Authority, Norfolk 

The Virginia Port Authority runs the Port of Virginia, including marine terminal facilities in Hampton Roads and the Virginia Inland Port in Front Royal. In fiscal 2024, the port processed 3.5 million 20-foot units, up 2% from fiscal 2023.

A major project included in the port’s $1.4 billion infrastructure program is the dredging and widening project in the port’s channels, easing the path for enormous freighters arriving in Hampton Roads. The widening phase concluded in March 2024, and the deepening phase was expected to be completed this fall. The port also has set a goal to eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

On Oct. 1, 2024, more than 45,000 dockworkers across U.S. ports went on strike, including at the Port of Virginia, although the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance reached a tentative agreement on day three and again reached an agreement in January, preventing a new strike on Jan. 15.

Edwards joined the port in 2021 after serving as CEO of TraPac, Global Container Terminals and Ports America. The graduate of England’s Aston University is an ex officio member of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s board.

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Jason El Koubi

President and CEO, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Richmond 

El Koubi became the head of Virginia’s top economic development organization in 2022, after serving five years as executive vice president. He’s played key roles in landing major deals such as Amazon.com’s $2.5 billion HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington County and Lego Group’s $1 billion manufacturing campus under construction in Chesterfield County.

VEDP also helped secure Microporous’ $1.3 billion battery separator manufacturing facility coming to Pittsylvania County, announced in November 2024 and expected to create 2,015 jobs.

Last year, Virginia claimed the top spot in CNBC’s Top States for Business ranking for a record sixth time and was Business Facilities’ 2024 State of the Year.

A graduate of Louisiana State University and the London School of Economics and Political Science, El Koubi previously led One Acadiana, the former Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce in Louisiana, where he started a five-year, $15 million regional economic development program to expand businesses in the region. He also helped lead Louisiana Economic Development to attract more than $28 billion in capital investment.

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Richard Fairbank

Co-founder, chairman and CEO, Capital One Financial, McLean 

After earning an economics degree and an MBA from Stanford University, Fairbank landed at Virginia’s Signet Bank, where he co-created the business that became Capital One. He became CEO in 1994 during the company’s initial public offering.

The Fortune Global 500 credit card giant reported $39.1 billion in 2024 net revenue, up 6% from 2023. The company had
$362.7 billion in deposits and $490.1 billion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Capital One announced its proposed $35.3 billion all-stock acquisition of Discover Financial Services in February 2024, with shareholders set to vote Feb. 18, after this issue’s press deadline, with the transaction expected to close in the first quarter of the year.

In January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Capital One Financial and its subsidiary, Capital One N.A., alleging the companies cheated millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest payments related to its 360 Savings account product. However, under President Donald Trump, the bureau has changed leadership and paused cases.

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Raul Fernandez

President and CEO, DXC Technology, Ashburn

Fernandez was named president and CEO of Fortune 500 IT services and consulting company DXC Technology in February 2024 after serving in an interim capacity since December 2023. He also has been on the board of directors since 2020. He succeeded Mike Salvino following three years of declining revenues.

DXC has more than 121,000 employees serving 6,000 customers worldwide. Its fiscal 2024 revenue was $13.7 billion, down 5.3% year-over-year. DXC was delisted from the S&P 500 Index and moved to the S&P SmallCap 600 Index in October 2023.

In January, DXC announced it would develop the next generation of Ferrari’s in-vehicle infotainment systems.  Fernandez is also vice chairman and co-owner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards and the Washington Mystics.

He founded and was CEO of website and internet services developer Proxicom, which Dimension Data acquired in 2001. Fernandez served as CEO of Dimension Data North America from 2000 to 2002 and then as CEO and chairman of ObjectVideo.

The University of Maryland graduate served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under President George W. Bush.

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Julian G. Francis

President and CEO, Beacon Roofing Supply, Herndon 

Francis joined Fortune 500 distributor Beacon Roofing Supply as president and CEO in 2019. He previously served as president of the insulation business at Owens Corning.

Founded in 1928, Beacon is a distributor of building products, including roofing materials and complementary products, such as siding and waterproofing. It has approximately 8,000 employees and operates more than 580 branches in all 50 states and Canada. In 2024, Beacon reported $9.65 billion in revenue, up nearly 6% from 2023’s $9.11 billion.

The company has been on a growth streak, opening new locations in multiple states and racking up a list of acquisitions, including of New Jersey-based Passaic Metal and Building Supplies Co. and of Canadian company SSR Roof Supply.

In January, Beacon confirmed it had received and rejected an unsolicited proposal from QXO to acquire all outstanding Beacon shares for $124.25 per share in cash.

A United Kingdom native, Francis earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and his doctorate in materials engineering at Swansea University in Wales. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration at DePaul University.

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Thomas S. Gayner

CEO, Markel Group, Glen Allen

Gayner has led the Fortune 500 insurance company as sole CEO since early 2023, after serving more than six years as co-CEO with Richard Whitt III, who retired Jan. 1, 2023. Before joining Markel in 1990, Gayner was vice president of Davenport & Co.

Markel reported operating revenues of $16.62 billion in 2024, up from $15.8 billion in 2023. Gayner oversees about 21,600 employees and three divisions: insurance, investments and Markel Ventures, which owns controlling interests in a portfolio of about 20 businesses. He made $8.1 million in total compensation in 2023.

In 2022, Gayner’s wife, Susan, retired as CEO of ParkLand Ventures, a Markel subsidiary that buys and operates manufactured housing communities. In 2023, the couple launched the University of Virginia’s Gayner Family Sustainable Investment Fund, where revenue from student-directed investments is used to fund scholarships.

A U.Va. graduate, Gayner serves on the boards of Markel, Graham Holdings and The Coca-Cola Co.

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William F. ‘Billy’ Gifford Jr.

CEO, Altria Group, Henrico County 

Joining the company at its subsidiary Philip Morris USA in 1994, Gifford became CEO of Fortune 500 tobacco products manufacturer Altria Group in 2020. He has held various executive posts at Altria for nearly three decades. The company reported $24 billion in revenue for 2024, down nearly 2% from 2023. It also completed a $3.4 billion share repurchase program, buying back 73.5 million shares. In 2025, Altria has started a new $1 billion share repurchase program.

Among Altria’s operating companies, in addition to Philip Morris USA, are U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, John Middleton, Helix Innovations and NJOY, as well as Horizon Innovations, its majority-owned joint venture with JT Group.

In August 2024, a judge for the U.S. International Trade Commission made an initial determination supporting Juul Labs in its patent infringement complaint against NJOY ACE, a pod-based e-vapor product authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, and recommended its importation into the U.S. be prohibited. Altria and NJOY said they planned to dispute the initial determination.

NJOY filed a similar, independent patent infringement complaint against Juul in August 2023.

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Andrés Gluski

President and CEO, AES, Arlington

Originally from Venezuela, Gluski joined AES in 2000 and became its president and CEO in 2011. The Fortune 500 global electric utility generates and distributes power in 15 countries. In fiscal year 2023, AES reported $12.6 billion in revenue, with $44 billion in assets.

Gluski has pushed for solar farms and, in 2021, announced that AES plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2040. In 2018, AES and Siemens Energy launched Fluence Energy, focusing on the development and expansion of energy storage technologies.
AES announced in September 2024 it reached an agreement to sell a 30% indirect equity interest in AES Ohio to CDPQ for approximately $546 million. The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

The utility has grown its energy supply sales to data centers, including signing 2.2 gigawatts’ worth of agreements directly with data center customers in fiscal 2024’s second quarter.

Gluski holds master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from the University of Virginia. He also serves as chairman of the Council of the Americas and is on the board of Waste Management.

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Jonathan Harmon

Chairman, McGuireWoods, Richmond 

In 2017, McGuireWoods’ board of partners elected Harmon to be the first Black chairman of the state’s largest law firm, which had 300 attorneys in Virginia as of Jan. 1, 2024, and has about 1,000 attorneys nationwide.

Before becoming chairman, Harmon led the firm’s business and securities litigation department. A nationally recognized trial lawyer, he brings in millions of dollars representing Fortune 500 companies in bet-the-company litigation actions
and has represented giants like Yahoo, DuPont, CSX Transportation and UPS Ground Freight.

McGuireWoods surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time in 2023, according to The National Law Journal, bringing in $1.02 billion. In later 2023, McGuireWoods launched a DEI practice group and hired a chief innovation and AI officer, although Tom Trujillo succeeded Peter Geovanes in July 2024.

A West Point graduate, Harmon earned his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and served during Operation Desert Storm. Outside of work, he chairs the Pro Bono Institute’s board and does volunteer and ministry work in prisons.

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George L. Holm

Chairman and CEO, Performance Food Group, Goochland County

Holm became Performance Food Group’s leader in 2008 after more than four decades in the food service-distribution industry, with leadership roles at Sysco, US Foods, Alliant Foodservice and Vistar. He became PFG’s president and CEO when the Blackstone Group and Wellspring Capital Management purchased PFG and merged it with a subsidiary of Vistar, where Holm was president and CEO, in a $1.4 billion deal. Effective Jan. 1, though, PFG promoted Scott McPherson to president and chief operating officer.

The company went public in 2015, and Holm became its board chairman in 2019.

The Fortune 500 food products distributor, which employs more than 40,000 people, reported $58.28 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue, up from $57.25 billion in fiscal 2023. It delivers food products to more than 300,000 locations in the United States and Canada. PFG recently closed two acquisitions, purchasing Puerto Rican foodservice distributor José Santiago for $580 million in July 2024 and Cheney Bros., a foodservice distributor based in Florida, for $2.1 billion in October 2024.

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Dr. J. Stephen Jones

President and CEO, Inova Health System, Falls Church 

Jones has led Inova Health System since 2018. The Northern Virginia health system employs more than 24,000 people across its five hospitals and numerous other facilities, including the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

A urological surgeon, Jones previously led Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals and Family Health Centers. He holds bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Arkansas and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.

In September 2024, Inova broke ground on two hospitals — one in Alexandria and one in Springfield — that combined are expected to cost $2 billion and span more than 1.4 million square feet when completed in 2028.

In November 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced three Inova Health entities had agreed to pay more than $2.37 million to settle claims that Inova submitted Medicaid claims containing falsified information. The health system acknowledged it had improperly received $1.58 million from Medicaid.

The immediate past chair of the American Medical Group Association, Jones also sits on the boards of the Greater Washington Partnership and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

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Tim Kaine

Senator, United States Senate, Richmond 

A Democratic leader who has served as Richmond mayor and Virginia’s lieutenant governor and governor, Kaine has been the state’s junior U.S. senator since 2013 and was re-elected for a third term in November 2024. He came to national prominence in 2016 as Hillary Clinton’s running mate during her unsuccessful presidential campaign.

The Kansas City native and University of Missouri graduate moved to Richmond after meeting his future wife, Anne Holton, at Harvard Law School in the 1980s. He started his political career in 1994 with a Richmond City Council run.

His 2006-10 term in the Executive Mansion was marked by both the Great Recession and the Virginia Tech shooting that left 32 dead.

In the Senate, Kaine serves on the Armed Services; Budget; Foreign Relations; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees. Recently, Kaine has helped secure federal funding for disaster recovery in Virginia following Hurricane Helene. He’s also criticized multiple executive orders issued by President Donald Trump in January and opposed Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as secretary of defense.

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Christopher D. Kastner

President and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Newport News 

Kastner was tapped as Huntington Ingalls Industries’ president and CEO in March 2022 after serving as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. The Fortune 500 company is the nation’s largest military shipbuilding company and owns

Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia’s largest industrial employer. HII, which has approximately 44,000 employees, reported $11.5 billion in 2024 revenue, up less than 1% over 2023.  HII was formed in 2011, when parent company Northrop Grumman spun out its entire shipbuilding portfolio, including NNS and Mississippi-based Ingalls Shipbuilding. Before becoming an HII executive, Kastner was Ingalls Shipbuilding’s vice president and CFO.

In January, HII acquired a metal fabrication manufacturing facility and assets of W International near Charleston, expanding its shipbuilding capacity.

HII’s technical solutions division, renamed Mission Technologies in 2022, has grown massively since its establishment in 2016. It focuses on artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and unmanned systems. In late 2024, the McLean-based division announced the U.S. Air Force had awarded it a $6.7 billion contract for electronic warfare engineering and technical services support, the division’s largest contract.

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Arie Kotler

Chairman, president and CEO, Arko, Henrico County 

An Israeli native, Kotler has led Arko, the nation’s sixth largest convenience store chain and parent company of GPM Investments, since 2020, when it merged with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. II to become a U.S.-listed public company. He founded GPM in 2003, sold the business and reacquired it in 2011.

The company has been on an M&A journey in recent years, expanding from 200 convenience store sites in 2013 to approximately 1,550 company-operated stores as of June 2024. It ranked No. 453 on the 2024 Fortune 500 list, up 45 rankings from its 2022 debut. Arko has approximately 13,400 employees.

It brought in $34.6 million in net income in fiscal 2023, down substantially from the nearly $72 million reported the previous year.

Arko’s 2024 third quarter net income was $9.7 million, down from $21.5 million for the third quarter of 2023. In September 2024, Reuters reported Arko is planning to divest its convenience store operations in a potentially $2 billion deal, a reversal from its M&A growth strategy.

This year, Arko plans to build new food-focused convenience stores, with a rollout of seven stores in the Richmond area.

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Dietrich Kuhlmann

President and CEO, Navy Federal Credit Union, Vienna 

Kuhlmann took the helm at the nation’s largest credit union March 1, 2024, succeeding Mary McDuffie, who was Navy Federal’s first woman CEO.

After retiring from the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral, Kuhlmann joined Navy Federal in 2019 as head of branch operations. He later worked as chief real estate lending officer before being named chief operating officer in 2022.

Navy Federal reported $180.8 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2024. It has more than 14 million members and over 25,000 employees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced in November 2024 it was ordering Navy Federal Credit Union to refund more than $80 million to customers and pay a $15 million civil penalty for allegedly charging illegal overdraft fees from 2017 to 2022.

Spending more than three decades working for the Navy and the Department of Defense, Kuhlmann was a career submariner who also worked in financial management. As programming division director on staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, Kuhlmann was responsible for the Navy’s $800 billion, five-year capital allocation process.

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David Levy

Vice president, worldwide public sector, Amazon Web Services, Arlington County 

In October 2023, Levy was tapped to lead Amazon Web Service’s worldwide public sector business, overseeing government contracting activities for Amazon.com’s cloud computing subsidiary, as well as business for educational, nonprofit and health care 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 March 2024, Amazon concluded its $4 billion investment in AI startup Anthropic, which is using AWS as its primary cloud provider for mission critical workloads. AWS and Anthropic are part of the eight-company Partnership for Global Inclusivity, announced by the State Department in September 2024. Members committed more than $100 million total to explore using AI for sustainable development and improved quality of life in developing countries.

Levy previously served as AWS’ vice president of U.S. government, nonprofit and health care business. Before joining AWS, Levy spent 12 years at Apple. He also worked for Monster.com, started Empire Capital Management and co-founded Sulla Technology Group.

Earlier this year, the Texas Tech University alumnus made Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 Awards list for the sixth time.

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L. Louise Lucas

President pro tempore; Chair, Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, Senate of Virginia, Portsmouth

Since Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election, Lucas has become the face of Virginia Democrats’ “blue brick wall” strategy to block Republican priorities in Richmond.

Democrats’ success in the November 2023 elections and a reshuffling of political maps propelled Lucas into the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee in January 2024. She is widely seen as the decisive factor in the demise of Youngkin’s proposal to build an arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals in Alexandria.

The first female shipfitter at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and a businesswoman whose ventures include a cannabis store in Portsmouth, 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.

Portsmouth renamed a road near the Rivers Casino Portsmouth from TCC Drive to L. Louise Lucas Drive in September 2024 to honor the senator.

In February, the Democratic-controlled state House and Senate money committees presented budget proposals that included $1.1 billion in tax relief, largely through rebates.

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Jacqueline Mars

Co-owner, Mars, The Plains 

As of September 2024, Mars is Virginia’s wealthiest person and the 19th wealthiest person in America, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $43.3 billion as of Jan. 28. She owns an estimated one-third of the candy, food and pet care company started by her grandfather, Frank C. Mars.

It’s now the largest private company in Virginia and the fourth largest in the country, with more than $50 billion in 2023 net sales. The Snickers and M&M’s maker has more than 140,000 employees in 80 countries.

Mars announced in August 2024 it had entered into a $35.9 billion, all-cash deal — expected to close in the first half of 2025 — to purchase Pringles and Cheez-It manufacturer Kellanova, one of the largest food industry acquisitions in history.

Mars’ son, Stephen Badger, has served on the family company’s board since 2008. The 85-year-old Mars keeps a low profile, after working for the company for more than 20 years and later serving on its board.

A Bryn Mawr College alumna, she serves on the boards for the Washington National Opera and the National Sporting Library & Museum and is an honorary life trustee of the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation.

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Dennis Matheis

President and CEO, Sentara Health, Virginia Beach 

Matheis has led Sentara Health, a not-for-profit health system with 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina, since 2022, overseeing more than 32,000 workers. He previously led the system’s insurance brands.

A long-time financial supporter of Eastern Virginia Medical School, Sentara has committed about $350 million in dedicated funding to EVMS’ integration into Old Dominion University’s new Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences division.

To help address workforce shortages, Sentara said in August 2024 it plans to roughly double its residency positions in the next six years to more than 400.

Since 2021, Sentara has been at the center of a federal civil investigation over how its former Optima Health subsidiary set insurance rates in Charlottesville in 2018 and 2019.

Before joining Sentara, Matheis held senior roles at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri, Cigna Healthcare and Humana Health Plan.

He serves as co-chair of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable. The University of Kentucky alumnus sits on several boards, including that of medical diagnostics company Lucid Diagnostics.

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Jim McGlothlin

Chairman, The United Co., Bristol 

McGlothlin started out as a lawyer in Grundy before co-founding United Coal Co. in 1970. The company became a billion-dollar business by the time it was sold in 2009 to a Ukrainian billionaire’s company.

The William & Mary alumnus then continued as chairman, CEO and sole owner of his remaining business entity, The United Co. It diversified into a hospitality and wealth management company with activities that include real estate development and coal; oil and gas exploration services; and holdings, including golf courses, RV parks and a stake in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol.

The permanent $515 million-plus Bristol casino opened in November 2024, after opening a temporary facility in 2022. In January, the United Co. announced it had purchased Par Venture’s ownership interest in Hard Rock Bristol, making it the majority owner.

McGlothlin stepped down as CEO in 2022 but has remained chairman of the company. He has served on the boards of Mountain Mission School, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the PGA Tour. He earned trustee designation for those who have donated to The First Tee.

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Thomas J. McInerney

President and CEO, Genworth Financial, Henrico County

McInerney has led Genworth Financial, which offers life, mortgage and long-term care insurance products, since 2013.

With about 2,700 employees, the Fortune 500 company posted 2023 revenue of about $7.5 billion, flat from the previous year. In the third quarter of 2024, Genworth reported $1.88 billion in revenue and $118 million in net income. Enact, Genworth’s private mortgage insurance subsidiary, drove net income in the quarter.

Genworth entities were named as defendants in class-action lawsuits filed in fall 2023 over the June 2023 data breach by a Russian cybercrime gang.

Before joining Genworth, McInerney held executive roles with the ING Group, a Dutch financial services company. He began his career working as an insurance underwriter in 1978.

A Colgate University and Dartmouth College graduate, McInerney chaired the board of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s nonprofit workforce training initiative, Virginia Ready, which ended operations in 2024. He sits on the boards of United Way Worldwide and Virginia Learns. McInerney donated $1.5 million in 2022 to the William & Mary Global Research Institute.

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William D. ‘Bill’ Nash

President and CEO, CarMax, Goochland County 

Nash began at CarMax in 1997 as an auction manager, working his way up to president and CEO in 2016. Founded in 1993 as a subsidiary of electronics retailer Circuit City, the Fortune 500 company with more than 240 stores is the country’s largest retailer of used cars, employing about 30,000 people, including nearly 3,300 in Virginia.  It’s pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

CarMax reported $26.5 billion in fiscal 2024 net sales and operating revenue, down from $29.68 billion in fiscal 2023. The company is building a reconditioning hub in New Kent County that will also host wholesale vehicle auctions for licensed dealers to buy cars that don’t meet CarMax’s retail standards.

The used car retailer has scored in local sports sponsorships. Starting with the 2026 season, it’s the naming sponsor for the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ new ballpark. CarMax Park is expected to be open in spring 2026 as the center of the city’s $2.4 billion Diamond District redevelopment project.

A 1991 graduate of James Madison University, Nash started out working in payroll and accounting at Circuit City. He serves on eBay’s board of directors.

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Christopher J. Nassetta

President and CEO, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, McLean

Nassetta is the longtime president and CEO of one of the world’s largest hospitality companies. Hilton has a portfolio of 8,300 properties and 24 brands in more than 135 countries and territories.

Nassetta took the helm at Hilton in 2007 after investment firm Blackstone acquired the company in a $26 billion deal and has more than doubled the company’s footprint. Hilton went public again in 2013.

The hotelier returned to the Fortune 500 list in 2023 following the pandemic-related industry downturn. Hilton reported 2024 net income of $1.53 billion, up from $1.15 billion in 2023. In 2024, Hilton added nearly 100,000 rooms — a record increase for the 100-plus-year-old company — and 973 hotels. It also added two lifestyle brands to its portfolio, acquiring Graduate Hotels and a majority controlling interest in NoMad Hotels creator Sydell Group.

Nassetta spent 10 years at Host Hotels & Resorts, serving first as chief operating officer and then as president and CEO before joining Hilton. The graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce was named chair of the U.S. Travel Association in 2023 and sits on CoStar Group’s board of directors.

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Phebe N. Novakovic

Chairman and CEO, General Dynamics, Reston 

Novakovic has led General Dynamics, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies, since 2013. During her tenure as CEO, General Dynamics, with Newport News Shipbuilding as a subcontractor, won the Navy’s largest-ever contract, up to $24.2 billion, to build nuclear submarines.

The Fortune Global 500 company employs more than 100,000 people and reported $47.7 billion in revenue for 2024, a 12.9% increase from 2023.

Its Falls Church-based General Dynamics Information Technology subsidiary announced in December 2024 it had won a $5.57 billion contract from the Air Force Mission Partner Capabilities Office.

Ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful Women list in 2024, Novakovic is a graduate of Smith College and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Before joining General Dynamics in 2001, she worked for the CIA, the federal Office of Management and Budget, and under two deputy defense secretaries.

Novakovic serves on several boards, including as chairman of the Association of the United States Army and vice chair of the Aerospace Industries Association.

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Edward A. Pesicka

President and CEO, Owens & Minor, Henrico County 

Pesicka became CEO of Fortune 500 health care logistics and supply company Owens & Minor in 2019.  In 2023, Pesicka announced a five-year strategic plan for the company to increase profits and reduce costs. In a preliminary full year report in February, Owens & Minor said it expected 2024 revenue to be between $10.67 billion to $10.7 billion, up from $10.3 billion in 2023.

The company moved its headquarters to Henrico’s Innsbrook Corporate Center after selling its Mechanicsville building to the Virginia Department of Transportation for $33.5 million in spring 2024.

In September 2024, Jonathan Leon succeeded Alexander Bruni as chief financial officer, following Owens & Minor’s June 2024 report in a securities filing that Bruni resigned at the company’s request.

In October 2024, Owens & Minor received a second request for information from the Federal Trade Commission regarding its planned $1.36 billion acquisition of Florida home-based care business Rotech Healthcare Holdings but said it still expected to close the merger in the first half of 2025.

A Muskingum University and Case Western Reserve University graduate, Pesicka previously held several leadership roles in his 15-year stint at Thermo Fisher Scientific.

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Thomas Ransom

Regional president for Virginia, Truist Financial, Richmond 

Ransom boasts more than 20 years in the banking industry. At BB&T he started as a commercial banker in 2020 and went on to become greater Washington, D.C., market president. After Truist formed in 2018 through a merger of BB&T and SunTrust Banks, Ransom went to Charlotte, North Carolina, as an executive vice president before returning to the commonwealth in 2021 to become president of the bank’s Virginia region, which covers the whole state except for Northern Virginia.

Truist had $531 billion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2024, and $391 billion in deposits. In Virginia, the bank had 260 offices and $48.4 billion in deposits, with 16.38% of the market share, as of June 30, 2024.

In February 2024, Ransom was appointed to the board of his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney College. He sits on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, as well as the board of the Virginia Bankers Association.

Ransom earned an MBA from the University of Baltimore and was a public policy fellow at Princeton University.

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Diana Reid

CEO, Freddie Mac, McLean 

Reid became the CEO and a board member of mortgage financing provider Freddie Mac in September 2024, succeeding interim CEO Michael Hutchins, who remains president.

Reid previously led PNC Financial Service Group’s real estate business division for nearly 12 years. Before joining PNC, she founded Beekman Advisors, and prior to that, spent close to 20 years at what was then Credit Suisse First Boston.

Freddie Mac reported $21.2 billion in 2023 net revenue, down slightly from $21.3 billion in 2022, and a net income of $10.5 billion, up 13% year-over-year. Ranked No. 36 in the 2024 Fortune 500, Freddie Mac is Virginia’s top-ranked company on Fortune’s U.S. and Global 500 lists.

Investors seem to expect the Trump administration to privatize Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which support the United States’ mortgage market, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said in a February interview it is a priority. Under the Biden administration, the Treasury Department and Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a framework for their privatization.

A graduate of California State University and the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, Reid serves on the Pittsburgh Opera’s advisory board.

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Horacio D. Rozanski

Chairman, President and CEO, Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean 

Born in Argentina, Rozanski joined Fortune 500 global management, technology, engineering and consulting firm Booz Allen in 1991 as an intern in Buenos Aires. In 2015, Rozanski was named president and CEO after holding other C-suite positions. He became chairman in 2024.

Booz Allen employs 34,200 people worldwide and reported fiscal 2024 earnings of $10.66 billion, its best revenue year since it went public in 2010. Rozanski has played a major role in Booz Allen’s strategic initiatives, including the formation of its $100 million venture capital arm in 2022.

Rozanski is a vice chair of The Kennedy Center’s Corporate Fund Board and is a member of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience. He was a 2022 recipient of the Horatio Alger Award.  Booz Allen and Amazon Web Services announced in January a strategic collaboration to develop and market tech solutions for federal agencies. In February, Booz Allen reportedly dismissed a subcontractor who wrote a report to the Department of the Treasury warning that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would present an “insider threat risk” to the government.

In August 2023, Booz Allen announced that it would establish a business services center in Norfolk, increasing its 1,000-person workforce in Hampton Roads by 200 jobs.

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James E. Ryan

President, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 

Since becoming president in 2018, Ryan has spearheaded several growth initiatives at the state’s flagship university, including the School of Data Science, a new performing arts center and the Karsh Institute of Democracy.

In December 2023, U.Va. began construction of the $350 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, launched by a $100 million donation from the Mannings. The institute will develop targeted treatments for diseases that either have no cure or involve therapies that make life hard on patients.

In December 2024, U.Va. and Matan Goldstein, a Jewish Israeli student who sued the school alleging he was a victim of antisemitic violence, settled out of court.

Ryan previously served as dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. A first-generation college student who graduated summa cum laude from Yale University and was first in his U.Va. law class, he was a U.Va. law school faculty member for 15 years. His two-year term as chair of the Atlantic Coast Conference board will end this summer.

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Timothy Sands

President, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg 

Sands became the land-grant university’s 16th president in 2014 after serving as interim president at Purdue University. He signed a contract in August 2022 to stay on as president through the 2027 academic year.

He has led the development of Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus, a $1 billion campus in Alexandria for graduate computer science and engineering programs. The campus’s first academic building, costing $302 million, opened for classes in January.

Virginia Tech has received notable donations in recent years, including $50 million from Fortune 500 defense contractor Boeing to foster diversity at the Innovation Campus and two $50 million gifts for the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke.

Sands previously was executive vice president for academic affairs and provost of Purdue University. Trained as a scientist whose research focused on light-emitting diodes, he holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Berkeley.

In August 2024, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors elected Sands its chair for a two-year term.

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Toni Townes-Whitley

CEO, Science Applications International Corp., Reston 

In October 2023, Townes-Whitley took the reins of federal contractor SAIC, becoming one of only two Black female Fortune 500 CEOs and leading a company with approximately 24,000 employees.

SAIC reported fiscal 2024 revenue of $7.44 billion, down 3% from fiscal 2023. The company attributed the decline to the 2023 $350 million sale of its logistics and supply chain management business to ASRC Federal, deconsolidation of its joint venture with Amentum, and five additional working days in 2024.

SAIC announced in May 2024 it’d won a $232 million contract U.S. Army contract to develop signals intelligence and electronic warfare systems. Later in May, SAIC announced the launch of Tenjin GPT, an internal generative AI tool for employees built on OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

A Princeton University alumna, Townes-Whitley volunteered for the Peace Corps after college. Before SAIC, she served as president of Microsoft’s U.S.-regulated industries, as president of CGI Federal and in management roles at Unisys.

Townes-Whitley serves on the boards of Nasdaq, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative.

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Kathy Warden

Chairman, CEO and president, Northrop Grumman, Falls Church 

After previously serving as its president and chief operating officer, Warden in 2019 was named CEO of Northrop Grumman, one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies. No. 25 on Fortune’s 2024 list of the world’s 100 Most Powerful Women, Warden worked for General Dynamics and Veridian before joining Northrop Grumman in 2008.

The Fortune Global 500 contractor reported $41 billion in 2024 sales, up 4% from 2023. Northrop Grumman employs some 100,000 workers. It’s building a $200 million-plus electronics facility in Waynesboro that’s expected to create 300 jobs and be operational by 2026.

In January, Herndon contractor Serco Inc. announced plans to acquire Northrop Grumman’s mission training and satellite ground network communications software business for approximately $327 million, bringing nearly 1,000 Northrop Grumman employees.

A James Madison University alumna, Warden also holds an MBA from George Washington University. She is board chair of the Greater Washington Partnership and of global nonprofit Catalyst and serves on Merck’s board. In 2022, Warden received Columbia Business School’s Deming Cup for Operational Excellence.

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C. Lee Warfield

Chairman, president and CEO, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, Henrico County 

First joining Thalhimer as an associate broker in 1995, Warfield now leads the real estate firm’s seven offices and approximately 530 associates in Virginia. In 2016, he became Thalhimer’s fourth CEO since its 1913 founding, adding to the role of president, which he has held since 2011. The James Madison University alumnus has been chairman of Thalhimer’s board since 2017.

In 2024, Thalhimer completed more than 1,800 transactions with a total volume of more than $1.96 billion.   Thalhimer Realty Partners, one of its subsidiaries, is now the sole principal of the team developing some of Richmond’s $2.44 billion Diamond District mixed-use project; Chicago-based Loop Capital is no longer affiliated with the Diamond District Partners, which is leading the first phase of redevelopment for the area surrounding the planned new baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels set to open in spring 2026.

In January, a Richmond Circuit Court judge dismissed a $40 million lawsuit in which Connecticut developer Republic Projects claimed its former partners, Thalhimer and Loop Capital, cut it out of the Diamond District development deal. However, in February, Republic amended the lawsuit.

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Mark Warner

Senator, United States Senate, Alexandria 

The co-founder of Nextel and Capital Cellular, with an estimated net worth of $215 million in 2018, Warner entered politics in the 1990s, when he managed former Gov. Doug Wilder’s gubernatorial campaign. He later chaired the state Democratic Party but lost his first U.S. Senate race in 1996. In 2001, he was elected Virginia’s governor.

The Harvard Law graduate is currently serving his third term as Virginia’s senior senator. He is vice chair of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence and serves on the Finance; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Budget; and Rules and Administration committees.

Warner’s biggest successes in recent years include passage of the CHIPS and Science Act, legislation he helped craft that allocates $280 billion toward domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors. In February, Warner criticized many of the new Trump administration’s actions on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” including saying buyout offers to federal employees who didn’t want to return to the office caused “chaos on steroids.”

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Poul Weihrauch

President and CEO, Mars, McLean 

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&Ms and Snickers, the company’s veterinary care and pet foods branch accounted for about 60% of its 2023 revenue.

In August 2024, Mars announced it planned to purchase Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts maker Kellanova in a $35.9 billion deal expected to close in the first half of 2025.

The company began renovating its McLean headquarters last year, with plans for solar panels and other sustainability measures. It aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Weihrauch has an MBA from Denmark’s Aalborg University and a master’s degree from 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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Lindsay Berry Winter

Head of Virginia public policy, Amazon.com, Virginia Beach 

A Hampton Roads native, Winter is the head of public policy in Virginia for Amazon, overseeing the e-commerce giant’s economic and community investments in Virginia, where it has its East Coast headquarters, HQ2, in Arlington County. Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $109 billion in Virginia through cloud infrastructure, fulfillment centers and compensation for its 39,000 employees in the state.

Since joining Amazon in 2021, Winter has created its Future Engineer Robotics Camp for high school students to explore STEM fields. She leads engagement for childhood-to-career program Amazon Future Engineer and is a conduit for education benefit program Amazon Career Choice. Winter has also been involved with the launch of a new delivery station and a new multistory robotics fulfillment center in Virginia Beach.

Before joining Amazon, Winter worked for Anthem, Amerigroup and law firm Kaufman & Canoles. The James Madison University alumna serves on the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority and the Virginia Telehealth Network boards and is co-chair of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Innovation and Technology Executive Committee.

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Glenn Youngkin

Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond 

Formerly co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, Youngkin won Virginia’s 2021 gubernatorial race to become the commonwealth’s 74th governor. In Virginia’s 2023 elections, Democrats narrowly regained control of the General Assembly, and in early 2025 special elections, maintained control.

As a term-limited governor, Youngkin is entering his final year in office, but with a Democratic-controlled state legislature, he is unlikely to achieve many of his goals. During the General Assembly’s 2025 session, Democrats declined his recommended tax cuts, instead pushing for temporary rebates. However, Youngkin has notched multiple economic development wins.

Last year, Virginia ranked No. 1 in CNBC’s Top States for Business for a record sixth time. The state has secured a $1 billion Lego Group factory and the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant from Commonwealth Fusion Solutions, expected to cost more than $2.5 billion, in Chesterfield County.

After keeping his distance from President Donald Trump in 2021, Youngkin appeared with Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign and has vocally supported the president’s moves to cut federal jobs and spending, even when the White House canceled a federal grant for Youngkin’s VCU x CodeRVA flagship lab school.

After growing up in Richmond and Virginia Beach, Youngkin attended Rice University on a basketball scholarship and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. With a reported net worth of approximately $470 million in 2021, he is the wealthiest governor in state history and donates his state salary to charity.