Please allow us to introduce you to 100 interesting, innovative and vital Virginians who make the Old Dominion a more vibrant place to live, work and play.

Some of the people you’ll meet in the following pages are folks we’ve reported on over the last year who left lasting impressions, like Suffolk restaurateur and community arts advocate Ed Beardsley. Others, like Block.one co-founder Daniel Larimer, have us intrigued to see what they’ll do next and how big their companies will grow. And then there are newsmakers like Amazon.com Inc.’s Ardine Williams who we expect will be key players to know going into the new decade.

This list is by no means meant to be comprehensive or exhaustive. These aren’t necessarily the most influential people in the commonwealth — although some absolutely are — but all are worthy of your time and attention and we encourage you to get out there and introduce yourselves to them.

“I saw you in Virginia Business!” is a good place to start.

• Angels
• Builders
• Educators
• Hosts
• Impact makers
• Innovators
• Navigators
• New folks
• Public faces
• Rainmakers

Through their outreach, marketing and incentives, these are people who attract and grow businesses, making the commonwealth wealthier.

 

 

Keith Boswell, President and CEO, Virginia’s Gateway Region, Colonial Heights

When Keith Boswell started in May 2018, there was no need to rebrand the Gateway Region. He found a region comfortable with its identity. It knew what it was, where it wanted to go and em­braced its strengths in manu­­­­­facturing, logistics and dis­tribution, and food and bev­erage. “We really are authentic down here,” says Boswell, who spent 21 years at the Virginia Economic Development Part­nership. His team works to strengthen and expand business in the Tri-Cities of Petersburg, Hope­­well and Colonial Heights, and the counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George, Surry and Sussex. Plus, there’s the secret sauce, he says: “We’ve got Fort Lee.” •

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Eva Doss, President and CEO, The Launch Place, Danville

Eva Doss heads an entrepreneurial development organization that is working toward a technology-based transformation of the Dan River Region economy. The Launch Place grew out of Southside Business Technology Center, which Doss, who has international business consulting experience, helped to establish. With funding from the Danville Regional Foundation, the organization provides support services to startup companies as well as investment capital. This year it held pitch competitions that awarded $30,000 to five companies. Doss and her team also are investing in an “idea-based entrepreneurship ecosystem” with new pre-seed and seed funds totaling $11 million.  •

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Alexis Ehrhardt, President and CEO, Danville Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce, Blairs

Alexis Ehrhardt was leading the community engagement and career center at Averett University when she was tapped nearly two years ago to head the chamber. It’s been a far different experience. She went from the large and complex world of higher education to a regional leadership organization with only three employees serving 600 members. “My experience at the chamber has been similar to an entrepreneurial venture,” she says. It’s required being “highly focused on our mission of energizing the region with an innovative, profitable business community.” Her organization champions Danville and Pittsylvania County at the state level, while remaining hyper-focused on the needs of members to build a stronger Dan River Region. •

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Lara Fritts, President and CEO, Greater Richmond Partnership, Richmond

Lara Fritts arrived in August to lead the Greater Richmond Partnership. So far, the Wisconsin native has announced new businesses coming to the region from Germany, Ireland and India. With experience in Fairfax County, Salt Lake City and Annapolis, Maryland, Fritts has her eye on recruiting new companies, using technology in economic development and providing more office space, creating a strong business culture and building reliable transportation. “If we don’t have the right culture in which talent wants to locate, we won’t win those projects of tomorrow,” she says. •

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Donna Gambrell, President and CEO, Appalachian Community Capital, Christiansburg

Finding capital can be difficult for businesses in Appalachia. But the organization that Donna Gambrell leads is filling that void by bringing affordable credit and capital to low-wealth communities — including minority- and women-owned businesses. A regional community development lender, ACC makes loans to support the growth of small businesses, such as a solar-powered hospital project in Virginia and a brewery in Southeast Georg

ia. Next year ACC will work with local leaders in Southwest Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio to identify investable real estate and business projects eligible for tax incentives as federally designated Opportunity Zones.  •

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Mike Grundmann, Senior vice president of workplace solutions,  Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Richmond

For years, Virginia Economic Development Partnership President and CEO Stephen Moret has raved about a quick-launch workforce development program in Georgia. He used it as a model for  program in Louisiana and now is launching a similar initiative in Virginia. To make it happen, he’s tapped Mike Grundmann. The partnership’s new senior vice president of workforce solutions needs no catching up on the concept. He was with the Georgia program for 20 years. It’s all about speed, he says, delivering customized workforce solutions to companies — for free. If you’re bringing the jobs, Grundmann will make sure you get recruitment and training services. •

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Victor Hoskins, President and CEO, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Tysons

He could have gone out on top after helping land one of the nation’s most-sought-after deals — Amazon.com Inc.’s $2.5 billion East Coast headquarters in Crystal City. That’s a big boom. But for Victor Hoskins, there are more deals ahead. He left Arlington Economic Development to become chief of the Fairfax EDA in August. He told The Washington Post that a focus will be to attract younger workers and create destination developments near Metro stations in Fairfax: “You have to think about how they’re designed, how people interact with them, how they differentiate themselves from other markets.”  •

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Jay A. Langston, Executive director, Shenandoah Valley Partnership, Harrisonburg

“We’ve certainly had a banner calendar year in terms of investment: $1.25 billion and still counting,” says Jay Langston of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership. “And Colliers International named [the Valley] as one of the top emerging markets in the U.S.” Named executive director last fall, Langston works with public and private interests to develop a favorable economic climate for business in 12 localities. The job includes “working with tourism, community development and workforce partners as part of our economic development strategy.” It seems to be working. •

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Lauren Mathena, Director of economic development and community engagement, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp., South Boston

MBC has built a fiber-optic network of more than 1,900 miles in Southern Virginia and works with public-private partnerships to operate area networks. Last year, Microsoft agreed to partner with MBC to build South Boston’s new SOVA Innovation Hub. Mathena’s role is to oversee community programs at the new venture. She also is also directly involved with the overhaul of the Danville Science Center through its “ReImagine” campaign that will bring new educational programs, exhibits and partnerships. In addition, Mathena is working with Longwood University on an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Investment Strategy report. “I want to lead and participate in collaborative efforts that improve the wealth and health of Southern Virginia,” she says. •

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Douglas Parsons, Executive director, Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority, Front Royal

The circumstances were dire when Douglas Parsons decided to leave the Virginia Economic Development Authority to pick up the pieces in Front Royal and Warren County. The locality has been shaken by a $21 million embezzlement scandal centered around predecessor Jennifer McDonald, who is facing felony embezzlement charges. Parsons is out to restore the community’s faith in the EDA and its business practices. He started in May, working to build a new board and create committees focused on asset management, communication and finance, as well as re-establishing relationships. “Right now, our entire board of directors is very engaged and focused on turning the organization around,” he says. More than half the area’s workforce commutes out of the county, he says. His goal is to get the EDA back to creating new opportunities for them.  •

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Will Payne, Managing partner, Coalfield Strategies LLC, Bristol

Will Payne is spearheading a new initiative called InvestSWVA that will seek to pair energy generation with industrial development projects for Southwest Virginia. The public-private regional mark­eting effort also will work with the Northern Virginia tech community to market remote employment opportunities. InvestSWVA’s team has reached out to Amazon executives to promote the region as a prime location for data centers. The project is the latest venture for Payne, who also runs Coalfield Strategies, an economic development consulting firm, and who recently served as the chief deputy of the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. Payne grew up in Richmond but moved in July to Southwest Virginia. “I saw so much opportunity in this marketing initiative that I committed to packing up my life, moving to Bristol and running the operation from SWVA,” he says. “Turns out that its been absolutely necessary and frankly the only way we can be successful.” •

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Chuck Rigney, Director of economic development, City of Hampton, Hampton

After Leonard Sledge (see next entry) left Hampton’s economic develop­ment office, Chuck Rigney took over in October 2018. He came from Norfolk, where he helped land Ikea’s 50th U.S. store. In his first year in Hampton, Rigney’s team helped secure the Virginia Tech Foundation’s plans to build a new Virginia Seafood Agriculture Research and Extension Center. He calls it a catalyst for the waterfront’s planned improvements. Downtown has a Hilton Tapestry hotel coming and a mixed-use project from the developers of Richmond’s Rocketts Landing. He’s also focused on land around the Hampton Coliseum, where there is potential for a 60-plus-acre mixed-use development, and a former school site that could be repositioned as an industrial park. •

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Leonard Sledge, Director, Richmond Department of Economic Development, Richmond

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney appointed Leonard Sledge to his position in June, assigning him to help push the proposed $1.5 billion Navy Hill downtown redevelopment project closer to approval. Sledge says the massive project will be a key focus through the next year, along with getting to know Richmond and working on its strategic plan. Sledge served as executive director of the Henry County Development Authority in Georgia and before that was Hampton’s director of economic development. Richmond faces unique challenges as a landlocked capital city where chunks of state and federal development take property off the tax rolls. The aim is prioritizing areas that need work, Sledge says, “and aggressively working to see redevelopment occur on them.” •

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Douglas Smith, President and CEO, Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, Norfolk

Norfolk may have lost a city manager, but it gained a strong connection to the region’s economic development alliance. The former city manager, Douglas Smith, was tapped in June for the new position and started in September. It puts him at the helm of an organization designed to help companies expand and relocate in 11 localities, including Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Newport News. The Portsmouth native held executive positions with Virginia Beach and his hometown, and served a stint on Portsmouth City Council. “Attracting investment from outside the region is important,” he says, “but it’s only a piece of what needs to happen.” •

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Ryan Touhill, Chief of staff, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Alexandria

His diplomas were still fresh — an undergraduate degree from George Mason University and a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University — when Ryan Touhill landed a job with the city of Alexandria. After seven years, he left to become chief of staff at the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership. There, he found himself on the team that helped land the $5 billion Amazon HQ2 for the region. He’s active in a number of Northern Virginia organizations, recently becoming board chairman for Rebuilding Together DC/Alexandria, a nonprofit supporting low-income homeowners. •

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Christina Winn, Director of economic development, Prince William County, Gainesville

Another alum of the Amazon win in Northern Virginia, Christina Winn started as executive director of the Prince William County Department of Economic Development in June. In her previous role as director of business development for Arlington County Economic Development, Winn served as Arlington’s lead negotiator on the HQ2 deal, helping finalize the details and millions of dollars in incentives for the company. One of her first moves for Prince William has been to join 10 other areas in September to form the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance.  •

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Linwood Wright, Public and governmental affairs consultant, City of Danville

After working as a research chemist at the Dan River Inc. textile company for 52 years and serving as Danville’s mayor in the 1990s, Linwood Wright wasn’t ready to retire. “I hated retirement,” he says. “I hated sitting down with nothing to do.” At the time, he even felt suicidal, he says, and confided in then-City manager Lyle Lacy about his predicament. That’s how Wright became the city economic development office’s public and governmental affairs consultant. The most fun part of his job is “trying to make a deal come together,” Wright says. With plans for a mixed-use development on the river in the White Mill building and more than 700 new manufacturing jobs on their way next year, Wright seems to be on a roll.  •

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W. Russell Young II, Director of economic development, The Port of Virginia, Norfolk

The Port of Virginia is one of the few enterprises that legit­­imately can claim a founding date of 1607. More than 2.85 million shipping containers came through the port in 2018, setting a record. Expansion on one terminal is completed, another is underway, and road and rail improvements are being made. Work begins next year on a dredging project to create channels that will be 55 feet deep and wider. The project, which will be complete in 2024, will “make Virginia home to the deepest port on the U.S. East Coast,” says Young, a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College. The selling point is that it creates a sense of “comfort and confidence” with prospects as they decide to locate and expand in Virginia. •

From barnstorming with the governor to promote Amazon’s HQ2 to bringing added context to President Trump’s trade war with China, these are people who are adding to the commonwealth’s conversation and giving us a face to associate with huge and ambitious endeavors.

 

 

Kevin Anderson, Director of compliance, Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment, Richmond

As a Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority special agent, Kevin Anderson was on the lookout for illegal gambling, underage drinking and other vices. Today, he has switched to the business side of gaming — navigating the legal gray area that has resulted in the installation of 6,000 Queen of Virginia “games of skill” machines in 2,500 businesses across the state and watching out that no one confuses them with still-illegal-here slot machines. Anderson’s side business as a consultant, equally interesting for a former ABC agent, is helping distilleries, breweries, cannabis and hemp businesses meet licensing requirements in about 20 states. •

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Michael Cooper, Marketing director, TMEIC Inc., Roanoke

The trade war between the United States and China intensified last year, and Virginia’s Michael Cooper brings unique insight to the situation. He speaks Mandarin and has been doing business for 40 years in China, where his employer, TMEIC Corp., continues to operate factories. Cooper is the marketing director for the Roanoke-based, Japanese-owned company, which manufactures automation control systems. He spoke with Virginia Business earlier this year about the challenges that the U.S.-China trade war poses to companies such as TMEIC. “My anticipation is that there are going to be some wounds that have been opened in this fight that are not going to close,” Cooper said. “And the long-term or even medium-term ramifications for U.S. companies is not good.” •

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Jeff Kelley, Principal, Kelley Communications, Richmond

Jeff Kelley’s name has been in the papers lately for not exactly the right reasons, but the Richmond public relations pro still has a great sense of humor. After working as a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Kelley started his communications firm in 2015. He’s now best known as the spokesman for Richmond’s massive, proposed $1.4 billion Navy Hill downtown redevelopment project. Local media revealed in September that he ghostwrote VCU President Michael Rao’s January op-ed column in the Times-Dispatch praising the project. Kelley said he drafted the column based on views Rao expressed in an interview. Kelley’s other clients include VCU Health and Virginia Community Capital, and his Instagram account — @jephkelley — is worth checking out for its stunning architectural and river photos. •

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Mark Mitchell, Vice president, generation construction,Dominion Energy, Richmond

Dominion Energy is in the news for many reasons, but increasingly the utility giant is making headlines with its alternative energy projects and Mark Mitchell is the executive overseeing these ambitious plans. Top on his list is the offshore wind project near Virginia Beach, which is currently in the pilot stage but has been proposed to expand into the nation’s largest wind development project. It could eventually feature 220 wind turbines — each 600 feet tall — producing a collective 2,600 megawatts of energy — enough to power 650,000 homes. In late 2020, Mitchell says, Dominion expects to finish its ocean-floor survey and present its findings to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Mitchell began working at a large startup company at a nuclear plant after finishing college, and since then, he’s been fascinated by big projects. “That’s how I got the bug.” Other major priorities on his horizon, he says, include expanding Dominion’s solar portfolio and shepherding its $3 billion coal-ash cleanup project. •

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Ardine Williams, Head of workforce development for HQ2,  Amazon.com Inc., Arlington

Ardine Williams is the face of Amazon HQ2 in Virginia. Shes been touring the state on listening tours with Gov. Ralph Northam and is in charge of recruitment for the company’s upcoming $2.5 billion East Coast headquarters in Arlington’s Crystal City area. Thousands of hopeful job applicants turned up to hear her give advice (“Read [Amazon’s] leadership principles”) during a career day event in September. Williams started recruiting workers for Amazon Cloud Services in 2014, bringing expertise in logistics, data and technical know-how from her stint as a captain in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Williams’ recruiting prowess will be on full display over the next decade as she’ll be adding 25,000 employees to the e-tail goliath’s company roster. •

Trailblazers and leaders, these captains are taking the helm and steering forward, with some guiding their organizations into prosperous new waters.

 

 

Kristen Cavallo, CEO, The Martin Agency, Richmond

The Martin Agency’s first female chief, Kristen Cavallo was named AdAge’s executive of the year this spring and just a couple months later Adweek named her to its list of Women Trailblazers. Known for its venerable Geico ads, Martin has added accounts with UPS, Virginia Tourism, CarMax and Buffalo Wild Wings and others under her watch. But perhaps the bolder makeover was internal, with Cavallo overseeing a cultural shift that has focused on diversity, inclusion, closing the wage gap and doubling the company’s female representation. •

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Bryan Hill, County executive, Fairfax County, Fairfax

When Fairfax County hired Bryan Hill away from James City County in 2018, Supervisor Penelope Gross acknowledged in The Washington Post, “We may have to rein him in a bit.” Sure enough, Hill has had some clashes as he innovates and implements changes he deems necessary for the county’s future success. “I’m trying to get these people to understand: What the county did 30 years ago was great,” he told the Post, “but what do you want to do in the next 30 years?” •

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Alison McKee, President-elect, Virginia Bar Association; of counsel, Kaufman & Canoles PC, Virginia Beach

In January, Alison McKee will become president of the Virginia Bar Association, which focuses on lobbying, helping new attorneys network and leading public service initiatives. (The VBA is a separate body from the Virginia State Bar, which licenses attorneys.) A Long Island native who specializes in commercial law, McKee took time off from her practice while raising her four children but now advises lawyers to “keep their hand in and not take a total break.” •

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Jennifer Minear, Partner, McCandlish Holton, Richmond

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses is the increase in “inconsistent and arbitrary” visa application delays, says Jennifer Minear, who will become president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association in June. The Cornell alumna leads the immigration group at Richmond-based McCandlish Holton — Sen. Tim Kaine’s old stomping grounds, where she has his old phone extension. Immigration will continue to face restrictions, she says, as the Trump administration “pushes the envelope of what’s legally possible.” •

They might be new to their positions, but they bring decades of experience and expertise to the table. Here’s a sampling of folks — some fresh faces, some familiar — who recently have taken on new leadership roles.

 

Brian Anderson, President and CEO, Chamber RVA, Richmond

If history is any indication, it’ll be worth getting to know Brian Anderson. For nearly three decades, Chamber RVA has seen only two chiefs: Jim Dunn, who spent 18 years leading Greater Richmond’s chamber of commerce, and Kim Scheeler, who retired in 2019 after 11 years. Anderson, who took the reins Sept. 30, should have plenty of stories. Strike up a conversation about his native state of South Carolina, his time in the Army or his nearly 20 years in the beverage industry. He arrives in Richmond after four years leading the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce. •

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David E. Bowles, Executive director, Virginia Institute for Spaceflight and Autonomy, Norfolk

After more than 35 years with NASAs Langley Research Center, David Bowles is the first executive director of the Virginia Institute for Spaceflight and Autonomy (VISA), a research enterprise of Old Dominion University that will partner with other universities to commercialize emerging technology. VISA will be based on the Eastern Shore and leverage the state’s expanding space facilities and growing capability to support advances in satellites and autonomous systems, the sensors they carry and the data they produce. Bowles sees similarities in his work at NASA and VISA — he’ll be using the same technology and systems, he says, “but focusing them on utilizing the tremendous ecosystem of capabilities, innovation and entrepreneurship in the commonwealth.” •

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Clark Casteel, President and CEO, Danville Regional Foundation, Danville

The Danville Regional Foundation didn’t have to look far when it hired its new president in May. Floyd native Casteel has been with DRF since 2008, when he started as a senior program officer. Funded by the sale of a public hospital 14 years ago, the foundation encourages revitalization and renewal in the city of Danville and surrounding counties by making long-term investments in, among other things, community wellness, economic opportunity and early childhood education. “Real change takes time,“ he says, “and we’re in the long-term transformation business, not the short-term happiness business.” •

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Elizabeth Cromwell, President and CEO, Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, Charlottesville

Elizabeth Cromwell joined the Charlottesville Regional Chamber as its leader in October 2018, after serving as president and CEO of the chamber in Frederick County, Maryland. Cromwell made a big impression when she brought a group of Frederick leaders to Charlottesville for the Tom Tom Festival in 2018, and in 2020 she plans to take a group of business leaders from Charlottesville to Charleston, South Carolina, as part of its Partners in Trust program. The cohort from Charlottesville will learn about workforce development, regional collaboration and equitable growth. •

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Sunny Kumar, CEO, SummitIG LLC, Dulles

Promoted to CEO of SummitIG in April, Sunny Kumar makes connections. His company, a dark fiber infrastructure provider, has built 550 miles of underground networks connecting to more than 100 data centers and 14 million square feet of space in Northern Virginia. His goal is to construct another 500 miles over the next three years to expand an already dense fiber footprint in a region that has become the world’s leading data center hub. SummitIG specializes in custom connectivity solutions for carriers, cloud providers, data center operators, large enterprises and government agencies. His goal is to offer customers greater flexibility in controlling their bandwidth requirements. •

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Perry J. Miller, President and CEO, Richmond International Airport, Richmond

Perry Miller’s the man to know if you’re going places. A two-time graduate of Texas Southern University who is pursuing a doctorate in management from Walden University, Miller is the new president of Richmond International Airport, which offers nonstop flights from seven major airlines and served 4.27 million passengers in fiscal year 2019. He came from Mississippi, where he served as the interim CEO of the Jackson Municipal Airport but spent his formative years helping to manage the complex Houston Airport System. “What people don’t know is that running an airport is like running a small city,” says Miller. •

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Dr. Andrew Mueller, President and CEO, Centra Health, Lynchburg

More than a half-million Virginians are served by the 70 locations of Lynchburg-based Centra Health. The regional nonprofit health system tapped a family physician, Dr. Andrew Mueller, as its new president and CEO this spring, citing his “health care leadership, deep industry knowledge and his primary care background.” Mueller graduated from medical school at the University of North Carolina and served as a flight surgeon in the Air Force. Before Centra, he led the largest market, in Greater Charlotte, of Novant Health. And he’s still seeing patients. •

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Jeffrey Sadler , Housing and revitalization coordinator, Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., Martinsville

As a housing planner, Jeffrey Sadler stresses quality of life, with dwelling options across age ranges and income levels. The certified economic developer, something of an expert on federal Opportunity Zones, fills a newly created position at the Martinsville-Henry EDC, funded by the housing-focused Harvest Foundation. Sadler was formerly in Richmond at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s Community Revitalization Office. He’s also the principal and lead consultant for Complete Community Economies LLC, which concentrates on revitalization. •

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Sarah Spangler, Vice president, customer success, xTuple, Norfolk

Sarah Spangler joined xTuple (pronounced X-TOOPLE) in May, helping restructure the enterprise resource planning company’s technical support, onboarding and implementation teams. What may surprise you is that she started out as a literature and writing teacher. “When I was teaching and doing coursework, I was always interested in technology,” Spangler says. “Messaging, tone, understanding your audience were all important.” She’s using those skills to work with customers, most of whom work in small and medium-size manufacturing companies. Workforce training also is an important part of Spangler’s job, because their customer service department needs workers with technical skills. •

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Janice Underwood, Director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond

Virginia hired its first diversity chief — apparently the first such state Cabinet-level position in the nation — in September. Gov. Ralph Northam tapped Janice Underwood, who served as diversity director for Old Dominion University, to root out inequities and improve diversity efforts throughout state government. Underwood arrived in the wake of Northam’s much-publicized blackface scandal. But she’s focused on issues that go far beyond that event last February, keeping in mind the “systemic, institutional, baked-in problems that we’ve had for the last 400 years,” Underwood says. She’s putting together a coalition of allies and is beginning to plan a series of regional meetings she calls “working town halls.” •

Virginia has no dearth of creative, visionary entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Representing industries ranging from hemp farming to autonomous vehicles and blockchain, they’re moving the needle.

 

 

Steven Critchfield, President and CEO, MOVA Technologies; owner, West Main Development, Pulaski

Entrepreneur Steven Critchfield is still steeped in redevelopment projects to recycle old properties in Pulaski. But his MOVA Technologies is undertaking recycling of a different sort. It’s developing licensed technology from the invention of a late Virginia Tech researcher to capture and recycle particulate matter and gaseous pollutants from power plants and incinerators through a panel-bed filtration system. Isolated pollutants could then be repurposed, such as nitrogen harvested for fertilizer production. The technology, still in the proof of concept phase, is being further developed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. •

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Ali Greenberg, Founder, The Broad, Richmond

Inspired by the energy of Richmond’s creative community — and especially its women — branding entrepreneur and world traveler Ali Greenberg founded The Broad, a downtown workspace, social club and community center designed for women and gender minorities. The Broad, opened last year, is a busy hive, with workshopping, networking and organizing. “We exist to make space for people who haven’t always had space made for them,” is Greenberg’s mantra. •

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Matt Hagan, Owner and farmer, Truharvest Farms, Christiansburg

The 2,000-acre Truharvest Farms, run by Matt Hagan, was once known for raising cattle. Hagan, however, recently invested heavily in growing industrial hemp, a traditional West Coast crop legalized for industrial commercial cultivation in Virginia this year. This farmer is used to taking risks. In his other life, he’s a two-time world champion Mopar Funny Car drag racer. While hemp can be used in such industries as textiles and biodiesel, Hagan’s big investment — at more than 85 acres, the largest plot in Virginia — comes from the perceived benefits of the plant’s oil, a low-THC variant of marijuana that he believes helps patients with joint pain, sleeping disorders, fibromyalgia and other illnesses. •

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Wendy Jiang, CEO, Tablee, Richmond

Wendy Jiang’s startup, Tablee, is based on a simple concept: a restaurant customer’s need to get their server’s attention. The Tablee Tap is a button that sends a signal to a waiter’s smartwatch when customers need water, fresh napkins or anything else. Jiang and her team, based in Richmond, were part of the Lighthouse Labs startup accelerator’s fall 2018 cohort. Tablee has since partnered with Performance Food Group and United Restaurant Group, which owns one of the largest TGI Friday’s franchises in the country. Tablee is in the process of raising seed money. Jiang says her experience as a server while attending William & Mary helped her realize the value of a device like Tap. •

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Rena Johnson, Farmer, Highland Dairy, Glade Spring

When the Swedish company DeLaval, a world leader in dairy farm products, needed to try out its new P-500 system for milking cows, it went to Highland Dairy, a family-owned operation in Washington County overseen by third-generation farmer Rena Johnson. The Scandinavian system replaced Highland’s 1970s-era equipment — housed in a specialized barn built by Rena’s father, Dave Johnson — and so far, so good. The new milking parlor is capable of handling 32 cows at a time, and the bovines have more room to move around. Like they say: happy cow, happy farm. •

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Diane Kees, COO, Micro Harmonics Corp., Fincastle

Diane Kees is quick to say that she’s part of a brother-sister team. She and her sibling, company CEO David Porterfield, co-founded Micro Harmonics, which makes millimeter-wave components for NASA and other customers. Micro Harmonics’ parts are used in automated vehicles, wireless communication and security scanners, among other uses. NASA employs them to help take images of the Earth’s ozone layer. This past year, MH was one of six companies accepted into RAMP, a Roanoke business accelerator that assists STEM-affiliated companies in testing and marketing their products. “Fincastle is very conveniently located just a few miles off of I-81,” she says. “We have access to students from Virginia Tech, Virginia Western Community College and Botetourt Technical Education Center just around the corner.” •

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Dan Larimer, Chief technology officer, Block.one, Blacksburg

Dan Larimer, a Virginia native and graduate of Virginia Tech, is one of the co-founders of the blockchain software company Block.one, along with CEO Brendan Blumer. The startup has captured attention not only for its technology but also its backing by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Its growth has been stunning, as shown in Bloomberg’s running of the numbers this spring: If you’d put an early $100,000 investment into Block.one, founded in 2016, you’d be looking at a $6.6 million return within the next three years, or 6,567%. Block.one announced in September that it would invest $10 million to build its U.S. headquarters in Arlington County while keeping its Blacksburg offices — where Larimer will continue to work. He also shared his knowledge and experience in November as a keynote speaker at Virginia Tech’s first Blocksburg Summit about blockchain technology. •

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Eman Pahlevani, COO and co-founder, Hungry Marketplace, Arlington

Eman Pahlevani’s Hungry Marketplace concept is so simple, it’s beautiful. The marketplace connects the Washington, D.C., region’s best chefs to private event planners and foodie gatherings and even finds a way to feed the hungry. The for-profit service was co-founded by Pahlevani and brother Shy, who also co-own a company, LiveSafe, that develops personal safety software; Hungry Marketplace has attracted celebrity investors like Jay-Z and Usher and is looking to expand into other  cities such as Boston and Philadelphia. And with the same philanthropic concept: Every two meals purchased generates one provided to a local food bank. •

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Paul Perrone, Founder and CEO, Perrone Robotics, Crozet

Earlier this year, Perrone Robotics partnered with regional transportation system JAUNT to place autonomous shuttles on the streets of Crozet as a pilot project. Company founder Paul Perrone expects to expand the shuttle’s footprint next year. Perrone has made agreements with two Fortune 100 companies to provide fleets of self-driving vehicles. The company also is partnering with a large transit authority and placing shuttles in other places across the country and a few areas internationally. “We’ll be transforming into a massive company based in Virginia, given the hot space we’re in,” Perrone says. •

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Michael Pittman, President and founder, Connected Solutions Group, Mechanicsville

Remember the BlackBerry? That was Michael Pittman’s ticket into the mobile business in the mid-2000s. He bought the phones used and flipped the refurbished devices on eBay for a profit. He recalled that story for Inc. magazine, which  this summer ranked the company he founded in 2015 at No. 8 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies. Why? Connected Solutions Group has grown its revenues 12,701% since its start, hitting more than

$23 million last year. Pittman has found his sweet spot in bundling gadgets, routers, phones and tablets with the software that companies need. •

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Robert Pizzini, CEO and managing partner, iFLY Virginia Beach Indoor Skydiving, Virginia Beach

In 2015, five years after 26-year Navy veteran Pizzini retired with a Bronze Star, he started Virginia Beach’s iFLY, a simulated skydiving experience. The thrill venture was awarded the Virginia Beach 2018 Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year prize. Now Pizzini, who moonlights as a USA Hockey coach, is developing an indoor hockey arena called the Warrior Ice Center. “I’m leading this effort,” he says, “along with Rich Appleby, the president of the Hampton Roads Youth Hockey Association, and Ryan Croley, a retiring Navy SEAL captain who heads up our military connections.” •

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Louise Reed, CEO and founder, Afloat Inc., Richmond

Louise Reed started out at Duke University studying physics and then shifted to accounting, becoming a CPA in 2003. Last year, she started Afloat, a Richmond-based startup seeking to create a blockchain-based online marketplace for transferrable tax credits. The theory is that people who want to restore a farmhouse or start a business in a low-income area often don’t benefit from tax credits; they need cash. Large corporations would benefit from transferrable credits they could purchase. A blockchain database, she explains, creates a secure system for transferring credits. “The same part of me that was drawn to physics is drawn to this,” Reed says. •

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Sonu Singh, CEO, 1901 Group, Reston

Sonu Singh says everything about enterprise IT has changed over the last 30 years  — except how customers consume it. He is working to change that model by serving federal clients while sourcing talent from rural areas with a more affordable cost of living than Northern Virginia, where his 1901 Group is based. His company is expanding with the 45,000-square-foot Enterprise IT Operations Center in Blacksburg, where Singh grew up. Located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, the center will house software engineering, security and operations teams to support cloud services. The facility is scheduled to open next spring. •

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Greg Twitt, Founder and CEO, Globalinx Data Centers, Virginia Beach

The fastest cable in the ocean runs at about 220 terabits a second, starting in Northern Spain and touching base in Virginia Beach, a data off-ramp of sorts, and its traffic engineer is Greg Twitt. He recalls his university days in Australia during the 1970s, when his computer programming was fueled by punched cards fed into machines. Now information flies through the ocean, where Twitt sells server space and access through his recently finished carrier-neutral data center. It’s located next to Texius, which operates the submarine cable from Spain and another from Brazil. Virginia’s data-center industry forms an ecosystem for business and enterprise, he says. As for the limit of what Globalinx can provide, he says, “It’s almost infinite — almost.” •

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Jason Wells, President, KYOCERA SGS Tech Hub LLC, Danville

Jason Wells declared his 30,000-square-foot facility Danville’s newest industrial citizen when it opened last year in Cyber Park. A subsidiary of global Kyocera SGS Precision Tools Inc., the Tech Hub develops tooling and machining solutions for a wide spectrum of industries. The $5 million facility with $4.5 million in initial capital equipment will create 40 jobs over the next five years. Wells, who holds multiple patents within the field of cutting tools, also is on the board of directors for the state’s Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing. •

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Katherine Wintsch, Founder and CEO, The Mom Complex, Richmond

Katherine Wintsch is the guru of motherhood. An adviser to Walmart, Playskool and  Johnson & Johnson who has been featured on NBC’s “Today“ show, she’s devoted herself to helping moms deal with stress. An alum of Richmond’s The Martin Agency, Wintsch launched The Mom Complex, a consulting and networking firm under the ad firm’s umbrella to promote products that help make the lives of mothers easier. In 2017, Wintsch spun off the company and recently wrote a maternal empowerment book, “Slay Like a Mother.” Named as a “Woman of the Decade” by the Women’s Economic Forum, she was tapped to be a guest speaker at the 2019 VA1 Virginia Tourism Summit in November. •

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Bobby Wright, President, Percolator, Norfolk

Norfolk developer Bobby Wright’s creative space venture may need a new name. Percolator is actually spilling out all over the city. Founded in 2017, it recently opened its fourth location in MacArthur Center, joining spaces on Granby Street and Monticello Avenue, all designed to house and nurture startup companies and serve anyone seeking a shared work area. The membership has benefits. Last year, Percolator startups began a partnership with Old Dominion University to help drive projects, some federally funded, to area entrepreneurs. “What really makes this unique is the collaborative environment that encourages small business owners to form relationships,” Wright says. •

Graduating from three leadership organizations in a year? Serving on multiple nonprofit boards? All in a day’s work for these impactful Virginians who use their influence to empower others.

Kathy Albarado, CEO, Helios HR, Reston

Eighteen years after founding human capital management firm Helios HR, Kathy Albarado is working hard to make sure her clients are ready to “attract, retain and engage” employees in a “very, very tight” job market that will soon feel the influence of Amazon HQ2. Last year, Helios started its Human Capital Impact Forum, bringing 100 CEOs and human resources leaders together to discuss employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and other workplace issues. Albarado also is deeply involved in a girls school in Honduras that offers room and board and a full education at no cost. Graduates, she says, “become the change [agents] in their country.” •

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Frazier Millner Armstrong, Executive director, Capital Trees, Richmond

You may recognize Frazier Millner Armstrong’s name from her previous marketing and communications work for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Richmond Symphony, or perhaps from her service with Leadership Metro Richmond, VCU’s Robertson School of Media and Culture and as former chair of the Richmond YWCA board. She is also recipient of the YWCA’s Outstanding Women Award. Today, though, she leads Capital Trees, a Richmond-based urban greening organization that is preparing to launch The Low Line Green, phase two of the Low Line project which will remediate stormwater runoff from I-95 before it goes into the Canal and James River as well as horticulturally restore this historic and important public space.  Armstrong also planned multiple events continuing this spring to celebrate The Woman’s Club’s 125^th anniversary. If you’re a Richmonder, she’s a good person to know. •

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Ashley McLeod, Vice president of communications and membership, Virginia Maritime Association, Norfolk

The Virginia Maritime Association turns 100 on Feb. 13, but Ashley McLeod has many other projects on her agenda: helping with the association’s annual banquet, expanding its international trade symposium and starting a leadership certificate program that graduates its first class in May. McLeod became interested in ports after working for Norfolk’s sister city foundation. Her task now is to expand the group’s membership beyond Hampton Roads to other parts of the state, including new chapters in Southwest and Northern Virginia in 2020. “We want to hear the collective voice of the entire state,” she says. •

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J.D. Myers II, Senior vice president and region manager, Cox Communications Virginia and North Carolina, Chesapeake

For J.D. Myers, who grew up a military brat and became an Army officer, moving to the Hampton Roads area last year was “like having a flashback to my youth.” As the Virginia and North Carolina region manager for Cox, the Atlanta-based cable and telecommunications company, Myers is perpetually on the go, focusing on telehealth, home automation, cable infrastructure and even improving traffic and water management. One situation that he’s seen change lately is increased cooperation among localities in Hampton Roads, which before was “almost like having seven silos. The good news is that collaboration is starting to happen.” •

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Rhodes B. Ritenour, Vice president, external and regulatory affairs, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Richmond

Rhodes Ritenour has an impressive résumé: the state’s deputy attorney general for civil litigation, a policy worker in then-Gov. Mark Warner’s office and a former partner at McGuireWoods. Now, he works with Bon Secours’ mission services division, which is completing consolidation of services after a merger this year with Cincinnati-based Mercy Health. Ritenour was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 5; he and his wife, Alana, co-founded TheDiabetesSupportGroup.org, an online community focused on diabetes management. Next year, he hopes to bring sponsors into the support group, and the Ritenours hope to publish a children’s book series on diabetes, too. •

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Anna-Maria Schneider, Senior vice president, industry-government relations, Volkswagen Group of America, Herndon

Anna-Maria Schneider knows cars. More specifically, the car business — and how manufacturing connects with public policy. She’s spent nearly 27 years working in the industry, including Mitsubishi Motors North America and Toyota Motor North America. And for the past 11 years, she’s been chief lobbyist for Volkswagen Group of America — which includes luxury brands Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini. In her role, she’s also been called to serve on other boards, including the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, Virginia FREE and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. •

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Chris Stuart, Vice president, Top Guard Security, Norfolk

Top Guard Security is the state’s largest woman-owned business, with more than 1,000 people employed in professional security, including more than 300 veterans. Nicole Stuart serves as president, and her husband, Chris, is vice president. He’s proud of the business they founded, which marked “24 straight years of increased revenue and staff size” in 2019. Next year, they expect to add contracts in Philadelphia and San Diego. Aside from work, Chris graduated from Lead Virginia, LEAD Hampton Roads and LEAD Peninsula in 2014 and served on the Hampton City Council from 2010 to 2014. He and Nicole “flunked family planning,” Chris jokes. They have five children between the ages of 7 and 14. •

These are Virginians who feed and delight us, nourishing body and soul through dining, lodging, spirits, tourism and entertainment. 

 

Thomas Arrington, Founder, The Richmond Folk Feast, Richmond

Former French chef Thomas Arrington was delighted by the success of the 15th annual Richmond Folk Festival, held along the city’s waterfront in October. Seven years ago, the Performance Foodservice business development director started the annual Richmond Folk Feast, held a couple days before the festival, to help fund the event and also promote RVA’s thriving food scene. The Feast typically sells out within hours, and no wonder. It features scrumptious fare from the city’s best chefs — 23 in 2019 — and 80% of proceeds go to the Folk Festival. “We’ve raised more than $164,000 since 2012 to keep it a free event,” he says. •

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Paul Beyer, Founder and executive director, Tom Tom Summit & Festival, Charlottesville

Paul Beyer started Charlottesville’s Tom Tom Summit & Festival in 2012, creating an annual event that is a bit like Austin’s South by Southwest. Similar to the Texas festival, Tom Tom attracts prominent musicians, artists and speakers — including John Cleese and Dan Rather — along with thousands of attendees each April. A Charlottesville native, Beyer studied screenwriting and history, worked for his family’s custom homes business and serves on the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce board. Next year’s summit will focus on a theme of “Civic Innovation for 21st Century Cities,” and the Tom Tom Foundation will also host conferences about town and gown relationships, health and education equity and criminal justice reform. •

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Matthew Bousquet, Executive chef, 1799 at The Clifton, Charlottesville

The Michelin-starred 1799 at The Clifton is touted as one of Virginia’s most romantic dining experiences, and chef Matthew Bousquet is serving up food in the newly retooled restaurant that matches the 18th-century ambience, as shown by 1799’s recent Wine Spectator Award for Excellence. The Northern California expat says that he wants to continue to source local ingredients, highlighting the regional cuisine of Virginia’s Piedmont: “These are the types of dishes, flavors and wines served on the estate when it was built for Thomas Jefferson’s daughter and husband, Martha and Thomas Mann Randolph, in 1799.” •

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Kimberly Christner, President and CEO, Cornerstone Hospitality, Williamsburg

Boutique hotels are having a moment in Virginia, especially in towns with historic properties. Kimberly Christner and Cornerstone Hospitality are behind several projects, including the Sessions Hotel in downtown Bristol, which is expected to open in January or February, and the Western Front Hotel, which opened last year in Saint Paul in Southwest Virginia. Christner, who has worked in the hotel business since 1993, says these projects and others “capitalize on the economic engine that is Southwest Virginia and the mountains, getting off the beaten trail.” In 2020, Christner has several projects in the works: historic hotels in Danville and South Boston, plus plans outside the state. •

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Hal Craddock, Partner, Creative Boutique Hotels, Henrico

Hal Craddock sees hospitality as a tool for community and downtown redevelopment. His latest venture with Creative Boutique Hotels, a partnership with Cornerstone Hospitality, will celebrate the birth of country music in Bristol. The Sessions Hotel, opening early next year, will feature 70 boutique rooms, indoor and outdoor music space and a restaurant in century-old buildings that once housed a grocery store, a candy factory and a mill. Craddock’s also helping renovate the historic John Randolph Hotel in South Boston. He retired in 2015 as a principal with an architectural firm in Lynchburg, where he was honored for his downtown and riverfront projects. •

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Frank Estremera, Executive chef, The National Conference Center, Leesburg

Frank Estremera’s career began when he was 11 working in his family’s restaurant in Peru. Now he serves 1,000 meals daily for The National. Estremera immigrated to the U.S. when he was 18 and is known for his culinary experimentation and his initiatives to expand local farm-to-table programs. The same week he began work as The National’s executive chef, he was named heavyweight champion of DISHED 2018, an annual charity cooking contest sponsored by the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce. But many will know him for providing free meals to furloughed federal workers and their families during the government shutdown last January. It made him proud, he says, “that I was able to give back through food.” •

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Roben Farzad, Host of public radio’s “Full Disclosure,” Richmond

Roben Farzad is one of those folks who has insatiable curiosity; he wants to learn who works in which building and what they’re up to. An Iranian immigrant whose family arrived in Miami in 1978, Farzad let his curiosity about a shuttered hotel — The Mutiny — develop into his first book, “Hotel Scarface,” a nonfiction work tracing the confluence of cocaine dealers, beautiful women and the “Miami Vice” cast, among others. (He says there is a “good chance” that his book will be adapted into a TV series in 2020.) Farzad is also an accomplished business journalist who hosts the “Full Disclosure” VPM radio show and podcast. Focusing on business, policy, media, tech and culture, the show soon will start airing three times a week. •

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Nicholas Jordan, Founder, managing partner, Capitol Bridge Holdings, Arlington

Nicholas Jordan’s advisory and consulting firm offers professional services that range from cybersecurity and data management to independent medical reviews and medical coding. Now he’s branching into a new area: hospitality. His company recently acquired the Delaplane Cellars vineyard in northern Fauquier County. Capitol Bridge is a minority-owned small business with clients including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Jordan previously worked on Wall Street and Capitol Hill and for Deloitte Consulting. In 2012, he launched a holding company with interests in an array of consulting and investment enterprises. •

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Kurt Krause, President and CEO, VisitNorfolk, Norfolk

As the new head of Norfolk’s convention and visitor’s bureau, Krause assumes the role of city hospitality director. The Virginia Tech graduate brings a diverse résumé — he’s worked for his alma mater, as well as Marriott International Hotels, and he was part of the federal team that organized the Transportation Security Administration, an assignment that won him the 9/11 Medal for Service. It was while he was with at Gold Key|PHR Hotels and Resorts, overseeing the opening of Norfolk’s The Main hotel, that he fell in love with Norfolk. Ask him and he’ll tell you all about it. •

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Gareth Moore, CEO, Virginia Distillery Co., Lovingston

With its focus on traditional distilling mixed with innovative blending and finishing methods, Virginia Distillery Co. has helped to lead Virginia’s craft whiskey renaissance. Credit CEO Moore who, with mother Angela, took over his late father George’s distilling dream in 2013, two years before it opened. VDC’s signature Virginia-Highland Malt Whisky copped the World Whiskies Awards’ prestigious “Best American Single Malt” prize in 2017, prompting the Scotch Whisky Association to sue the company over its use of the phrase, “Highland Whisky.” It was all in a day’s work for Moore, no stranger to the politics of drink as the president of the Virginia Distillery Association, which lobbies the General Assembly on behalf of the industry. •

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Kate Pittman, Executive director, ViBe Creative District, Virginia Beach

Kate Pittman’s job is to think outside the boardwalk. As the first executive director of the ViBe Creative District, her role is to promote “a creative industries district” by the oceanfront. She works with 60 members who support the nonprofit’s goal of boosting the local economy through such promotions as First Friday, Second Saturday and other arts-inspired pop-up events. ViBe partnered with music superstar Pharrell Williams’ creative team to plan an Art Walk as part of the Virginia Beach native’s wildly successful Something in the Water festival. “Our nonprofit has been working to revitalize Virginia Beach through the arts for the last four years, and Pharrell’s vision for Something in the Water catapulted us to a new level,” she says. The festival will return next year. Also new in 2020, the district will unveil four large-scale intersection artworks designed by local artists and installed in stone pavers as part of Virginia Beach›s 19th Street infrastructure streetscape project. •

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Marcus Silva, President and CEO, Villagio Hospitality Group, Manassas

The Farm Brew LIVE campus takes up 12 acres in Prince William County’s Innovation Park, and founder Marcus Silva has all your entertainment needs covered. “It’s equal parts premium food place, live music venue, beer garden and craft brewery,” he says. 2 Silos, started with Forrest Morgan, serves the suds, the upcoming Black Sheep restaurant — housed in a converted dairy barn and due to open in December — feeds guests, and the featured musical performers are regional favorites. Silva also owns two Clifton restaurants, Trattoria Village and Little Villagio, and is slated in 2020 to launch Villagio Events, a full-service catering company. •