Under Thomas’ leadership since 2004, LifeNet Health has continued to grow since its 1982 founding as the Eastern Virginia Tissue Bank.

Today, the nonprofit that provides organ, tissue and cell transplants has approximately 1,500 employees globally. In 2024, the organization worked with a record 299 people donating 857 organs for transplant, a 25% increase from 2023.

While it’s better known for organ transplants, LifeNet Health also distributes nearly 1 million allografts — tissue implanted from one person to another — annually. LifeNet Health LifeSciences provides human primary cells, tissues and 3D models for scientific research, drug discovery and safety testing. In 2023, LifeNet purchased Bioventus’ wound care business for $85 million, including $35 million in cash at the time of purchase.

LifeNet Health announced in October 2024 it would use a lab in Virginia Beach for liver disease research and sports medicine applications. The nonprofit is leasing the 5,700-square-foot facility that housed the VABeachBio Accelerator, with renovations expected to be complete this year.

Previously, Thomas served as CEO at USA Instruments. He has an MBA from Case Western Reserve University and a master’s degree from the University of Akron.

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Pulczinski is corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk’s manufacturing facility in Petersburg. The Danish pharmaceutical company bought the former AMPAC Fine Chemicals facility from Seoul-based manufacturing conglomerate SK Group at the end of 2024.

The maker of Wegovy and Ozempic has more than 10,000 employees in the U.S. across 11 manufacturing, research and development and business locations and produces half the world’s insulin. Novo Nordisk reported 2024 net sales of 290.4 billion in Danish krone, equivalent to approximately

$45.3 billion. Of that, its U.S. sales accounted for 167.4 billion in Danish krone, or about $26 billion.

As of May, Novo Nordisk had about 100 employees at the 600,000-square-foot Petersburg facility and was hiring for new positions. The location will focus on increasing development and production of future Novo Nordisk products.

A former U.S. Navy officer and assistant professor of naval science in George Washington University’s Naval ROTC program, Pulczinski has been with Novo Norwdisk for more than 22 years. He most recently oversaw its Durham, North Carolina, facility, which produces oral finished products.

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Since 2014, Connaughton has led this trade association that represents 26 health systems. The VHHA advocates for health care policies that support the sustainability of Virginia’s health care system, reduce health care costs and improve the health of Virginians. The organization also tracked COVID-related hospitalizations at the height of the pandemic.

Previously a commissioned officer on active duty with the U.S. Coast Guard, Connaughton later joined the Naval Reserve and retired as a commander. Early in his civilian career, Connaughton was an attorney and served twice as chair of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

President George W. Bush tapped Connaughton to be administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration in 2006. Later, Connaughton served as Virginia’s transportation secretary under Gov. Bob McDonnell.

In a July WRVA radio interview, Connaughton said Medicaid cuts at hospitals, part of the Trump administration’s budget reconciliation bill, would shift the cost burden onto people with commercial insurance. He and other Virginia health care officials have frequently sounded the alarm that the state could see some rural hospitals close due to the loss of funding.

A U.S. Naval War College graduate, Connaughton earned degrees from George Mason University, Georgetown University and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

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Frustrated that the U.S. had so many medications on the Food and Drug Administration’s drug-shortage list, Edwards partnered in 2020 with Frank Gupton, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor, to launch Phlow, which develops and domestically manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished pharmaceutical products.

That year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded Phlow a four-year, $354 million contract to create a domestic supply chain for essential drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients in short supply. In July 2024, Phlow’s plant in Petersburg started production.

In March, Phlow announced it had filed a drug master file with the FDA for its epinephrine API production, meaning the API is ready to be converted into a finished drug product. It also selected tech company Apprentice to provide an AI-driven manufacturing system to accelerate production, and Phlow also expanded its Richmond labs.

Edwards co-founded Kaléo, and the VCU triple graduate serves on the boards of Phlow subsidiary MedPhlow (where he’s also CEO), the Food Allergy Science Initiative and BioHealth Innovation.

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: My identical twin is much better looking and is aging slower than me.

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Jones has led Inova Health since 2018. The Northern Virginia health system employs approximately 25,000 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.

Jones previously led Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals and Family Health Centers. The editor of an American Urological Association journal, Jones is immediate past chair of the American Medical Group Association’s board.

In September 2024, Inova launched its first comprehensive campaign, with a goal of raising $500 million by Dec. 31, 2029.

Inova began construction in September 2024 on a Springfield hospital and a new Alexandria hospital at the former Landmark Mall site. They’re expected to cost a combined $2 billion and be completed in 2028.

The first phase of the $161 million Inova Fairfax Hospital emergency department expansion and renovation opened in late 2024, which included an expanded pediatric ER.

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Getting to know some of the early founders of the internet and translating things they did decades ago to our own technology and AI journey at Inova.

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