Robinson took over in 2024 as the head of Framatome, the Lynchburg-based North American subsidiary of the French nuclear equipment, services and fuel producer.

During more than three decades of experience in the nuclear industry, Robinson has held a series of executive positions. Previously, he was senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of Structural Integrity Associates, a North Carolina company providing engineering services for the energy and process industries. Before that, he had been an executive for BWX Technologies in Lynchburg and worked for about 25 years for Framatome and its predecessor, Areva.

In July, Framatome unveiled part of a $50 million expansion of its operations in Lynchburg, which includes expanding the company’s current footprint to accommodate more than 500 new employees and adding a dedicated nuclear training center to support the next generation of small and advanced reactor technologies.

Framatome has 2,480 employees in North America, with more than 1,500 of those working in Virginia.

ADVICE FOR NEW COLLEGE GRADS: Be assertive, but be patient with your career trajectory. The path to leadership is typically not linear.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Biking, swimming, golf, water skiing, snow skiing and pickleball

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Fairbanks became Trex’s president and CEO after the retirement of James Cline in 2020. Previously, he had been the publicly traded composite decking and railing manufacturer’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Trex products are sold through more than 6,700 retail outlets across six continents. Over the next five years, Trex hopes to double its market share of the $3.3 billion railing market, moving from 6% to 12%.

As of year-end 2024, the company had 1,838 employees and reported $1.2 billion in revenue, an increase of 5% from the previous year. One of the largest recyclers of PE plastic film in North America, Trex upcycles more than 320 million pounds of recycled plastic waste annually in its manufacturing process.

Before joining Trex, Fairbanks held several senior finance roles at Ford Motor. He received a degree in accounting from the University of Dayton and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Fairbanks sits on the Frederick County Economic Development Authority’s board and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates.

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Representing the third generation of the Luck family at the helm, Charlie Luck IV became president of the 102-year-old crushed stone company in 1995 and additionally CEO in 1999.

While studying at Virginia Military Institute, he officially joined the family business as a summer trainee. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering in 1983, Luck was a NASCAR driver before coming home in 1987 to be part of a Luck training program.

Luck’s son, Richard, was named company president in November 2024, carrying on the family legacy.

Employing approximately 1,020 people, Luck Cos. is best known for providing construction aggregates and decorative stone but also has interests in environmental performance products and commercial real estate. The company’s footprint extends across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

In September 2024, the Goochland County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Luck Stone’s expansion of its Rockville quarry operations to include 70 acres bordering Henrico County, despite objections from residents of both counties.

In 2015, Luck launched the InnerWill Leadership Institute, which trains executives in “values-based leadership,” a philosophy launched at Luck Cos.

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In September 2024, Minkkinen succeeded Koen Knippenberg, who managed the plant for more than two years before being promoted to senior vice president of group truck operations for Volvo’s North America branch.

A native of Sweden whose father and grandfather worked for Volvo, Minkkinen joined the company in 2004 as a trainee after receiving a degree in engineering at Lund University in Sweden. During that time, he spent several months working at Volvo’s Hagerstown, Maryland, powertrain facility. He returned to Maryland in 2006 as an industrial engineer and later became an engineering manager at the plant.

In 2010, Minkkinen returned to Sweden to fill a similar role, and after a term as vice president of the Hagerstown plant, he moved to the New River Valley plant. In 2022, Minkkinen hosted President Joe Biden at the Hagerstown plant for National Manufacturing Day.

The Dublin facility experienced two waves of layoffs in the first half of 2025, totaling between 430 and 530 employees, Volvo said, due to reduced demand.

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In 2022, Werge became president and CEO of Cadence, a contract manufacturer of medical and drug delivery devices founded in 1985. He previously held leadership positions at Nypro (now Jabil Healthcare), where he led its consumer and electronics business for the Americas region and oversaw operations in India. He also was vice president and general manager of Phillips-Medisize’s global commercial division.

Cadence employs about 800 people nationwide and in Costa Rica at eight facilities, and is a subsidiary of New York-based private equity firm Kohlberg & Co.

In September 2024, Cadence announced plans to expand its current cleanroom operations in Staunton to 5,000 square feet, and earlier this year, it revealed a brand refresh.

A native of Connecticut, Werge earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Connecticut and completed Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development.

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Smith, the third generation of his family to lead the precast concrete company, became CEO in 2018 and board chairman in 2022. His grandfather, David G. Smith, founded the company in 1960 as Smith-Cattleguard, a nod to the company’s concrete cattleguard innovation.

The publicly traded company now has manufacturing facilities in North and South Carolina. Its subsidiaries include Concrete Safety Systems, which rents concrete highway barriers, and Easi-Set Worldwide, which licenses Smith-Midland products.

In 2024, Smith-Midland opened a $2 million addition to its Reidsville, North Carolina, plant that doubled the size of the facility’s production capacity.

Smith-Midland reported revenue of $78.5 million for 2024, a 32% increase over the previous year. Smith attributed the gains to increased infrastructure spending, and in the first half of 2025, the company’s revenue numbers have increased further, with $22.7 million reported in the second quarter, up 35% from the second quarter of 2024.

A member of Bridgewater College’s board of trustees, Smith is a past board chairman of National Precast Concrete Association.

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In 1950, E. Rhodes Carpenter launched his namesake company as a distributor of Goodyear latex products. A few years later, Carpenter pivoted to pouring flexible polyurethane foam.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Carpenter now has a product portfolio that includes bonded, molded and technical foams, chemicals and chemical systems, expanded polystyrene systems, consumer products, furniture and bedding, polyester fiber and pet bedding.

Now with presences in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Carpenter employs about 7,000 people and reported 2024 revenue of $2.4 billion. Beauchamp joined Carpenter in 2008 as national sales manager of its chemicals division. In 2020, he was appointed CEO.

In October 2024, Carpenter announced it had acquired Casper Sleep, a bed-in-a-box company, from Durational Capital Management, and that has resulted in the addition of 400 employees and 45 Casper stores nationwide.

Beauchamp, a graduate of Bethel University in Minnesota and Southern Methodist University, will serve as vice chair for the steering committee of the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry through 2026.

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: I like to compete, so I play in several sports leagues, which include ice hockey and softball.

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