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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: PARKER, DREW

Carter Machinery has deep roots in Virginia, tracing back to 1928, when Robert Hill Carter founded Virginia Tractor in Richmond. The company was the state’s first Caterpillar dealership, and it is still going today as an independent dealer with more than 30 locations. It has more than 2,300 employees in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C.

Parker is the eldest son of the dealership’s former owner and CEO, Jim Parker, whom he succeeded as CEO in 2018. In 2020, the company purchased Baltimore-based Alban Tractor, expanding the business into Maryland, Delaware and Washington. In June, the company announced it had entered a multiyear partnership with the Washington Commanders, becoming the team’s official equipment partner. It also sponsored a Ducati bike competing in MotoAmerica Superbikes’ competition at the Virginia International Raceway in August.

Carter Machinery runs an apprenticeship program for technicians that gives participants 400 hours of instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the- job training and mentoring, which started in 2022.

Parker holds an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: MURRELL, JERRY

As a young student in Michigan, Murrell’s academic struggles prompted a warning from a nun at his Catholic school: He would end up flipping burgers.

It took a few years, during which he earned an economics degree from the University of Michigan, worked in life insurance, got married twice and had five sons. But eventually the nun’s premonition came true, and Murrell, wife Janie and their sons opened a carryout burger joint in Arlington in 1986. Murrell used funds meant for his sons’ college tuition to open the first burger stand.

By 2001, the family owned five restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area, and the following year they began marketing Five Guys franchise opportunities.

Today, there are more than 1,700 Five Guys locations across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with 1,500 in development. In July, the London-based Five Guys joint venture closed on a $250 million refinancing deal that’s expected to help it further expand in western Europe.

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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: MURPHY, KEVIN

Murphy got his start in the plumbing industry working summers at his father’s business, Midwest Pipe and Supply, which was purchased by Ferguson in 1999.

A plumbing and heating products distributor with about 35,000 employees, Ferguson reported $29.6 billion in net sales in 2024. The company made its Fortune 500 debut this year at No. 146. Last year, Ferguson’s British holding company merged with its U.S. subsidiary, following a corporate reorganization.

Ferguson has become known as a “serial acquirer” in recent years, having completed more than 50 deals in the past five years. In 2023, the company acquired plumbing distributor Bruce Supply; waterworks distributor The Kennedy Cos.; and HVAC equipment, parts and supplies distributor S. G. Torrice. In 2024, it acquired Yorkwest Plumbing Supply and plumbing and HVAC distributor Grove Supply. In the third quarter of this year alone, it completed three acquisitions.

Murphy sits on Ferguson’s board and the board of Pool Corp., a distributor of swimming pool equipment, parts and supplies.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2025: KEEGAN, MICHAEL

As CEO of TNS since 2013, Keegan is responsible for setting global strategy for the privately held networking, integrated data and voice services provider.

TNS was acquired by a Koch Industries subsidiary in 2021, and in 2022, TNS acquired Agnity Global, a provider of intelligent business communication applications and to organizations in the and health care industries.

In 2023, TNS acquired West Highland Support Services, a Connecticut-based financial market data solutions provider.

In 2024, the company announced the commercial availability of TN Insights, a reporting tool that presents outbound call data metrics, including calls answered, declined, blocked and missed, along with contact rate and duration analysis. In 2024, TNS launched Complete Commerce, an end-to-end payments solutions stack.

TNS also tracks robocall trends and in February reported that robocalls surged in the final 10 days before the 2024 presidential election, targeting American voters in swing states.

Keegan has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from the University of Virginia. He serves on the board of directors for the Competitive Carriers Association.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2025: HALLBACH, MAGGIE

With more than two decades at Verizon, Hallbach served in a number of senior executive positions before being promoted to her current position in 2022.

Verizon Public Sector is the telecommunication company’s government contracting arm and is responsible for Verizon Frontline, a 5G communications service for first responders.

In January, the U.S. Air Force selected Verizon to install 5G and/or 4G LTE network enhancements on 35 Air Force installations throughout the United States. That same month, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded Verizon an eight-year task order worth up to $66 million to provide Wi-Fi, phone, data and other services to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Command, Control, Communication, Computer, Cyber and Intelligence office.

Verizon Frontline announced in June the nationwide availability of the Verizon Frontline Network Slice, which provides first responders in all major metropolitan markets with dedicated 5G Ultra Wideband network capacity.

A graduate of Brown University with an MBA from the University of Maryland, Hallbach serves on the board of directors for the Northern Virginia Technology Council. She also supports various efforts to help youth and adults with special needs.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2025: ANDERSON, WES

After 26 years of working for Microsoft, Anderson began a new venture at AT&T in December 2024.

He transitioned in February to his current role as president of public sector and corporate officer, where he leads a team of 3,200 employees who deliver advanced communications and technologies including 5G, fiber and professional services to government agencies, colleges and universities, K-12 schools and first responders.

In 2025, Anderson was named to Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 list of the top government contracting executives for the fourth time. In December 2024, Virginia Business listed Anderson among its 100 People to Meet in 2025 for his efforts to bring cloud and artificial intelligence innovations to Microsoft.

In April, the Federal Communications Commission granted AT&T and AST SpaceMobile the ability to test direct-to- connectivity on a spectrum for public safety. The approval will allow the companies to do trials of connections on the FirstNet network’s Band 14 spectrum via AST’s BlueBird satellites orbiting Earth. AT&T is the contractor for FirstNet. The companies expected public safety agencies on the FirstNet network to trial satellite communications this year.

AT&T reported $122.3 billion in 2024 revenues.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2025: MERRITT, JEFF

Merritt is responsible for leading more than 1,000 employees in Hampton Roads, Cox’s largest market in Virginia, representing more than 60% of the home and business and cable TV provider’s customer base in the state. Nationwide, Cox Communications, a division of Cox Enterprises, sees annual revenues of more than $13 billion.

In the role, Merritt focuses on the market’s day-to-day operations, employee engagement, government and community relations, business growth and talent development. He works on building partnerships with charitable, civic and business organizations.

He joined Cox in 2000 and previously served as vice president of residential sales in Virginia and as the market leader for Cox Communications’ Roanoke operation. Merritt serves on the boards of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, the Elizabeth River Project, and the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Old Dominion University and a master’s degree in natural resources and global sustainability from Virginia Tech. He is a native of Hampton Roads, born in Norfolk and raised in Chesapeake.

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Transportation 2025: WOODHOUR, WILLIAM

A University of Delaware alumnus, Woodhour has devoted 33 years to Maersk Line, rising to president and CEO in 2016.

Headquartered in Virginia with offices in Norfolk and Dulles, Maersk is the U.S. arm of Danish giant A.P. Møller-Mærsk and has the largest U.S. flag fleet in commercial service.

Founded in 1983 to support the U.S. Navy, Maersk Line today employs approximately 700 mariners and owns 20 U.S. flag registered container vessels. It provides ocean shipping services from over 300 worldwide.

In July 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that, as part of a settlement with the department, Maersk Line would change its safety reporting policies and compensate a seaman the company had terminated after the seaman reported safety concerns regarding a container ship in 2020 to the U.S. Coast Guard without first notifying Maersk. The changed policy removes any requirement that workers notify the company before contacting the U.S. Coast Guard. It also requires the company to refrain from retaliating against seamen who contact the Coast Guard.

Woodhour serves as vice chairman on the National Defense Association’s board.

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Transportation 2025: YOCHAI, NISSIM

Yochai was tapped as Zim American’s president in 2022. The U.S. company, a subsidiary of Israeli cargo company Zim Integrated Shipping Services, moved to the Hampton Roads region in 2001. Last year, Zim American relocated and expanded its U.S. headquarters, moving from Norfolk to Virginia Beach.

In 2011, Yochai joined Zim’s parent company, which has operations in more than 90 countries, serving over 32,000 customers in approximately 300 worldwide.

Zim Integrated Shipping’s total revenue was $8.43 billion in 2024, compared with $5.16 billion in 2023. In the first quarter of 2025, Zim reported $2.01 billion in revenue, a year- over-year increase of 28%.

Yochai has a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. He previously was executive vice president of Zim’s trans-Pacific trade division based in Hong Kong, and he held executive positions with DHL Express, Fridenson Air & Ocean, and Aviv Shigur.

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Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: WOODFIN, JACK

Woodfin’s parents, John and Anne, started Woodfin Heating in 1977 to sell heating oil, growing it into one of the largest privately held HVAC-related businesses in Virginia. A Virginia Military Institute and University of Virginia Darden School of Business alum, Jack Woodfin began working with his parents in 1995 as a manager. He took over the business in 2010 after his father’s death.

Woodfin Co. provides HVAC installation and servicing, electrical and plumbing services, indoor air solutions, home security and fuel delivery. The company owns a range of other businesses, including EMC Mechanical Services, which Woodfin also leads as CEO, and Capital Heating and Cooling, as well as 20 convenience stores in the greater Richmond area.

Woodfin played on VMI’s varsity tennis team and still plays as a hobby. His other hobbies include watching NASCAR and go-kart racing. To celebrate reaching 10,000 Google reviews in June, Woodfin Co. announced it would donate 10,000 meals across Richmond, in partnership with Shalom Farms.

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