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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 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 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 , 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 Alliance’s board of directors and the Peninsula Airport Commission.

WILLIAM B. ‘BILL’ HOLTZMAN

Bill Holtzman came close to spending his career in the apple industry. After earning a degree in horticulture from , the Shenandoah County native attended Cornell University for a master’s degree in pomology, the science of growing fruit. For more than a decade, he worked for Turkey Knob Orchards in .

Instead, Holtzman purchased Nelson Co. in 1972. According to the company’s history, he had $5,000 in cash and borrowed $37,000 from First Virginia Bank, using his Thunderbird as collateral. He continued working at the orchard for months while getting off the ground at night and on the weekends.

Today’s Holtzman Corp. supplies gas and diesel to more than 150 stations and commercial pump facilities throughout the , Northern Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. The company includes divisions in industries ranging from propane to bagged ice distribution.

Holtzman is equally known for his civic engagement, and in July 2024, the town of Mount Jackson declared July 9 “Bill Holtzman Day.” Among his numerous community efforts, Holtzman has served on the Shenandoah County School Board, the Mount Jackson Town Council and as a past president of the Mount Jackson Chamber of Commerce.

Holtzman sat from 2010 to 2014 on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, and Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed him to the board again in 2023. The Holtzman Alumni Center at Virginia Tech is named in his honor.

DANIEL A. HOFFLER

One of the region’s real estate giants, Daniel Hoffler founded in 1979. Partnering with Divaris Real Estate, the real estate company launched Town Center in 2000. Hoffler was named “Outstanding Citizen of Hampton Roads” in 1987.

Today, his company develops, builds, acquires and manages office, and properties, and after going public in 2013, Armada Hoffler is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Hoffler, who served on the ‘s board of visitors and chaired the Hampton Roads Partnership, retired as Armada Hoffler’s executive chairman in 2024.

However, he’s still active with the company’s strategic operations, as it has expanded to seven states. As of March 31, Armada Hoffler had an estimated $80.4 million third-party contract backlog, and it reported $708 million in revenue in 2024.

Hoffler also was on the corporate board of Shaw Group, a Fortune 500 pipe and steel fabrication company, as well as serving on the state’s racing commission and advisory groups for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Virginia Department of Transportation.

THOMAS R. FRANTZ

Thomas Frantz has repeatedly received accolades from peer lawyers. He is among a small group of attorneys who have made Virginia Business’ Elite list for all 25 years it has run.

Frantz holds three degrees from : a bachelor’s in accounting, a degree and a master’s in law and taxation. He served on the university’s board of visitors from 2011 to 2019 and is a past board member of William & Mary’s Mason School of Business. He’s also a certified public accountant and served as a U.S. Army captain.

Frantz has spent 50-plus years in law, starting at Clark & Stant, where he was an original principal. In 1999, Clark & Stant merged with , which Frantz led as president and CEO from 2010 to 2015. He specializes in corporate and tax law, advising and representing corporations and handling mergers and acquisitions.

Frantz is heavily involved in the community. A former King Neptune, he chairs the GO Virginia Region 5 Regional Council and serves on the board of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, which supports the GO Virginia Region 5 program. Additionally, he is co-chair of RVA757 Connects, an economic booster group promoting cooperation between the Richmond and Hampton Roads regions.

Among other honors, Frantz has received Volunteer Hampton Roads’ Lenora Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his legacy of community service. In 2022, the Hampton Roads Chamber honored him with the First Citizen of Hampton Roads Award.

GERALD S. DIVARIS

A native of South Africa, Gerald Divaris co-founded his real estate firm, Divaris Real Estate, more than five decades ago in his home country, where he earned degrees in accounting and real estate marketing from the University of Cape Town. In 1981, he brought the business to Virginia.

The real estate company is now under the umbrella, of which Divaris is also the founder and CEO, along with Divaris Property Management, Creative Development Partners, The McGarey Group, S.T. Burke Partners, Ingenuity Development and KLNB Asset Services.

Headquartered in , Divaris Group has offices in , Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, as well as North Carolina, California and Washington, D.C. The firm manages or leases more than 40 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space nationwide, and it’s continued to grow. Last year, the company purchased S.T. Burke in Philadelphia, and in March, the Virginia Beach Town Center, a property Divaris and started building in 2000, was officially 99% occupied.

Gerald Divaris has long been considered one of the region’s most influential people, reflected by his inclusion on regional business lists and other honors. In 2024, Divaris was inducted into the Hampton Roads Business Hall of Fame.