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Virginia 500 Spotlight: JONATHAN S. BELCHER

TRAITS I ADMIRE: Loyalty, honesty and integrity

FIRST JOB: Law clerk for the county attorney’s office in York County

HOW I DEFINE SUCCESS: I define success not so much by what I have accomplished myself, but by how I have been able to help others. As an economic developer in a very economically distressed area, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing people obtain new jobs that you have had some small role in helping to create so that those individuals can provide for themselves and their families.

ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE GRADS: Finding your ideal career path sometimes requires patience. Although you may not always find your dream job immediately, one thing can lead to another, and if you are willing to put in the work and be persistent, you can realize your dreams.

DID YOU KNOW? Belcher owns 14 vehicles — some he inherited; some he bought. Here, Belcher sits at the wheel of his 1985 Pontiac Fiero, which, he points out, was the United States’ first mass-produced mid-engine sports car. “Some of them are more collectible than others. None of them are particularly valuable,” Belcher says of his collection. “I like to work on them to take my mind off of things.”

Top Five: October 2025

1 | Eli Lilly to invest $5 billion in Goochland plant
The manufacturer plans to hire 650 workers for the 200,000-plus-square-foot facility at West Creek Business Park. (Sept. 16)

2 | Democrats tie $6 billion Nexstar-Tegna deal to Kimmel’s suspension
Congressional Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, tied ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension to the sale of Tysons-based TV broadcaster Tegna, which is pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission. (Sept. 18)

3 | 15 Virginia schools make U.S. News’ 2026 universities list
The led Virginia schools on U.S. News & World Report’s list for at least the sixth consecutive year. (Sept. 24)

4 | Owens & Minor to sell largest business segment for $375 million
-based Fortune 500 company Owens & Minor plans to sell its Products & Services segment to Platinum Equity, a California private equity firm. (Oct. 8)

5 | AstraZeneca to invest $4.5 billion in Albemarle manufacturing plants
The pharma company plans to hire 600 workers for the manufacturing plant, to be located at the Rivanna Futures Site in the northern portion of the county. (Oct. 9)

JOHN F. REINHART

John Reinhart is credited with transforming the from a financial liability to a key economic driver for the state. Prior to his leadership from 2014 to 2021, the state was considering selling the port after it lost $120 million between 2009 and 2014.

But Reinhart made the port profitable again, as well as launching the nearly $800 million expansion of its terminals in Hampton Roads and the $450 million dredging project to create the deepest and widest port on the East Coast, which is set to be finished at the end of the year.

Reinhart, a graduate of Ohio University who earned his executive MBA from the University of Michigan, has said the key to his success was building a team aligned by values, listening to the customer and raising awareness of the port statewide.

Before joining the port, he worked for Maersk Line for 23 years and was its CEO from 2000 to 2014. Over the past decade, he was recognized as Virginia Business’ 2016 Business Person of the Year and was inducted into the Hampton Roads Business Hall of Fame in 2017.

After retiring, Reinhart has been active with RVA757 Connects and the American Flood Coalition, among other organizations’ boards.

MICHAEL J. ‘MIKE’ QUILLEN

A former coal magnate, Mike Quillen today serves as an adviser on mining, energy, and transportation issues. He also manages Quillen Properties, which oversees multiple business ventures.

A longtime champion of the western part of the state, Quillen serves on the Energy Research and Development Authority, a body that promotes opportunities for energy development in the region. In 2024, Quillen and his wife, Debbie, gave $1 million to the ‘s College of Wise. He also has been heavily involved at his alma mater, .

Quillen sits on several boards, including the board of , a health system serving the Appalachian Highlands, including parts of Southwest Virginia. Quillen has served on the board of Mountain Mission School, a Grundy nonprofit that provides a home and school to at-risk children, for more than two decades.

At Tech, Quillen was trained as a civil engineer and embarked on a long career in mining, serving as an executive at Paramont Coal, Pittston Coal and other companies before going out on his own. In 2002, he founded , which became one of the country’s largest coal suppliers. Quillen retired as Alpha’s chairman of the board in 2012, after it had become a Fortune 500 company with 13,000 employees.

From 2010 to 2018, Quillen served on Virginia Tech’s board of visitors, including as rector for two years. Additionally, he served on the Virginia Port Authority from 2003 to 2012 and was elected the body’s chair in 2011. That year, he was named the Virginia Business Person of the Year.

TROY PAINO

Since 2016, Troy Paino has served as president of the , where he has overseen major projects and the growth of academic course offerings.

Paino has also raised the university’s profile. This year, the school ranked No. 131 on U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list. Mary Washington also made several 2026 Princeton Review lists, including Best Value Colleges. Additionally, under Paino’s tenure, the university in 2023 received a $30 million bequest from a 1959 alumna — the largest financial gift in its history.

Paino received the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ 2023 President’s Award, recognizing a president or chancellor who has, over a sustained period, advanced the quality of student life on campus.

He was previously president of Truman State University in Missouri and was its vice president of academic affairs beforehand. Prior to joining Truman, he was dean of Minnesota’s Winona State University’s College of Liberal Arts, where he also taught history.

The author of “Social History of the United States: The 1960s,” he holds doctoral and master’s degrees in American studies from Michigan State University, a law degree from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree from Evangel College.

Paino serves on the board of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the Virginia Business Council. He also chairs the Virginia Council of Presidents.

“President Paino is not just a president,” his nominator said. “He is a convener, a collaborator and a catalyst for Virginia higher education.”

JOSEPH W. ‘JOE’ MONTGOMERY

Joe Montgomery started working at an investment firm in December 1975 — meaning he’s enjoying his 50th year in an industry in which he has received numerous accolades. He is ranked as Virginia’s top adviser on Forbes’ 2025 Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list, with $1.6 billion in assets under management by his team.

Montgomery has repeatedly made Barron’s annual list of top wealth advisers in Virginia. In 2019, he was inducted into Barron’s Advisor Hall of Fame.

A former captain of ‘s football team, Montgomery was invited to the Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp after graduating with a degree in business administration but did not make the NFL team’s final cut.

Instead, he went to Lynchburg to work for an investment advisory firm managed by a fellow William & Mary alum. After a few years, Montgomery was sent to open a branch in that became The Optimal Service Group of . Today, it has 13 associates.

Montgomery has served on multiple boards in Virginia, including those leading William & Mary, Future of Hampton Roads and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. He is a past vice chair of the Virginia Retirement System’s board of trustees and served on VRS’ investment advisory committee.

THOMAS J. McINERNEY

Thomas McInerney began his career as an underwriter at Aetna in 1978.

Since 2013, he has led insurer and served on its board. He has sat on the board of Enact Holdings, Genworth’s majority-owned private mortgage insurance subsidiary, since 2021.

Before joining Genworth, which offers life, mortgage and long-term care insurance products, McInerney was a senior adviser to Boston Consulting Group. He previously held executive roles with the Dutch financial services company ING Group, including as chief operating officer of its insurance and investment management business worldwide.

McInerney earned an economics degree from Colgate University and an MBA from Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.

One of McInerney’s daughters and her husband graduated from , and McInerney hasn’t forgotten it. In 2022, he donated $1.5 million to William & Mary’s Global Research Institute to establish a new postdoctoral fellowship. He now serves on the advisory board for the institute, which is a multidisciplinary hub conducting applied research on global issues.

McInerney is vice chair of United Way Worldwide’s board of trustees and a member of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation’s board of trustees. Closer to home, he sits on the board of Virginia Learns. He also chaired Virginia Ready, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s nonprofit workforce training initiative that ended operations in 2024.

PAUL MANNING

In January 2023, Paul Manning and his wife, Diane, donated $100 million to the to create the $350 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, which will advance research into new medical treatments like cellular and gene therapies, nanotechnology and immunotherapy. U.Va. began on the institute in December 2023; its expected completion is late 2026.

The parents of three U.Va. graduates, the Mannings have contributed more than $6 million toward medical research at U.Va., including a $1 million donation in 2020 to launch a COVID-19 research program.

Manning founded infant formula company PBM Holdings in 1997 and sold it to Perrigo in 2010 for $808 million. He then launched PBM Capital, a biotech-focused private equity firm that invests in early-stage pharmaceutical and life sciences companies developing innovative solutions such as gene therapy, targeted therapeutics and genome engineering.

Manning previously served on the UVA Health Foundation’s board of trustees, the board of the university’s President’s Advisory Committee and U.Va.’s strategic planning commission. He remains an active member of the U.Va. community.

Manning served on the executive committee of the university’s Honor the Future fundraising campaign, which raised more than $6 billion, exceeding its $5 billion target. Additionally, in 2023, Manning was appointed to U.Va.’s board of visitors for a four-year term.

A Massachusetts native, he earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2024.

AUBREY L. LAYNE JR.

Aubrey Layne joined ‘s C-suite in 2021, bringing a heavy-hitting résumé with public and private sector experience. Under Gov. Ralph Northam, Layne was secretary of finance, overseeing the state’s approximately $140 billion biennial budget. Under Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Layne was secretary of transportation and chaired the Commonwealth Transportation Board. Layne also is chair of the Virginia Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners, a duty he assumed in 2021 that will conclude in June 2026.

At Sentara, his responsibilities span legislative affairs, real estate, , supply chain, security, compliance, internal audit and privacy for the 34,000-employee health system.

He is also a member of the TowneBank corporate board and a member of An Achievable Dream’s endowment board. A native of Hampton Roads, Layne was named King Neptune in 2012, First Citizen of in 2014 and was recognized at the 2019 Junior Achievement – Hampton Roads Business Hall of Fame.

Layne graduated from the University of Richmond, earning his MBA from Old Dominion University. In 2024, Layne received UR’s Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Award. He was a member of the university’s baseball team before graduating in 1979.

JOHN R. LAWSON II

Construction is in John R. Lawson II’s blood. His late father co-founded W.M. Jordan; Lawson joined the company as a field engineer in 1975, after graduating from with a degree in geophysics. He has since served on Tech’s board of visitors and as rector. Lawson also helped fund the university’s Myers-Lawson School of and serves on its industry executive board. In 2017, he received the university’s highest honor, the William H. Ruffner Medal, which recognizes those who have performed notable and distinguished service to Virginia Tech.

Lawson became president and CEO of W.M. Jordan in 1985, leading the company’s growth into one of the largest construction managers in Virginia, with $725 million in fiscal 2024 revenue. He transitioned to executive chairman in 2018, after the company played key roles in the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club’s restoration and construction of the Hilton Norfolk The Main hotel, among many other projects.

In addition to his service as a Hokie, Lawson is active in his local community. He serves on Christopher Newport University’s board of visitors, TowneBank’s Peninsula regional board, the Hampton Roads Alliance’s board of directors and the Peninsula Airport Commission.