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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Hoff joined Hooker in 2017, serving as president of the upholstery, case goods and legacy brands divisions before being named its first nonfamily CEO in 2021.

The 101-year-old company employs more than 1,000 people and has corporate offices and upholstery manufacturing facilities in Virginia, North Carolina and California, with showrooms in High Point, North Carolina; Las Vegas and Vietnam.

For 2024, Hooker Furnishing’s consolidated net sales were $397.5 million, down 8.3% from the previous year. Tariff uncertainty, lower consumer confidence and a weakened housing market are all reasons for the decline, Hoff said in April. This year, Hooker closed its warehouse in Savannah, Georgia, and launched restructuring that aims to cut $25 million in annual fixed costs by fiscal 2027.

Hoff serves as vice chair of the High Point Market board and is a member of the American Home Furnishings Alliance board.

ON INTEGRATING AI: AI is a powerful tool, but it’s just that — a tool. We use it to enhance our customer experience by delivering faster, more accurate information and freeing up our team to focus on high-value, human-centered work. It should elevate people, not replace them.

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Culbreth joined American Woodmark in 2014 as its senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was promoted to president and CEO and joined its board of directors in 2020.

American Woodmark’s cabinet brands include its namesake, as well as Shenandoah Cabinetry, Timberlake Cabinetry and Waypoint Living Spaces. It has more than 7,800 employees and bills itself as one of the East Coast’s largest kitchen and bathroom cabinet suppliers. In January, the company informed the state that it would be closing its manufacturing facility in Orange County and laying off
131 employees by late March.

The cuts were made, Culbreth explained during a May earnings call, to “streamline operations and improve responsiveness” amid increasing tariffs. American Woodmark reported $1.71 billion in net sales for its fiscal 2025, down 7.5% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the company launched its 2030 business plan this year, as well as launching a cloud-based strategy at its Anaheim, California, manufacturing facility in May.

Culbreth has a MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Virginia Tech, where he serves on the Pamplin College of Business’ finance department advisory board.

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Greene has led Delta Star, a manufacturer of power transformers and mobile substations, since 2016.

In June, Greene welcomed state and local officials, including Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the company’s Delta Iron Works, an 80,000-square-foot facility that will serve as a hub for steel fabrication, allowing the company to boost its production capabilities.

That wasn’t the only major company news this year. In April, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Delta Star has planned an additional expansion of its Lynchburg operations — a $35 million investment expected to create 300 jobs.

Greene came aboard Delta Star back in 2003 as a controller. In 2010, he took a pause from the company while working for a multistate ministry. He was back at Delta Star by 2011, however, and quickly rose, including serving as chief operating officer.

A graduate of the accounting program at Virginia Tech, Greene also completed a leadership development program at Harvard Business School. Greene serves on the boards of Freedom Word Church in Appomattox County and the Central Virginia Community College Educational Foundation.

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Keogh leads German parent company Volkswagen’s electric truck and sport utility vehicle division, a job he took in 2022 after serving as president and CEO for Volkswagen of America for four years.

Scout is a revamp of the iconic Scout all-terrain vehicle brand produced by International Harvester from 1961 to 1980. In 2021, Volkswagen acquired the rights to Scout’s name after buying Navistar International, which succeeded International Harvester, for $3.7 billion.

Volkswagen announced in 2023 plans to build a $2 billion Scout manufacturing plant near Columbia, South Carolina, bringing at least 4,000 jobs. In 2024, Scout broke ground on the plant, and initial production is targeted to begin in 2027.

Although headquartered in Tysons, Scout is looking to move its U.S. headquarters soon, with rumors swirling that South Carolina may be its new home. In June, Keogh said in an interview with the Carolina Business Review that the headquarters will employ about 1,000 people.

“We’re going to have to convince an awful lot of people to say, ‘This is going to be a great place to raise your family,’” he said.

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