Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Law
    • Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Startups
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • COVID-19
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • 2022 Virginia Business Political Roundtable
    • Women in Leadership
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read The Issue
    • Power Up Virginia 500
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Suggest execs for 2023

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • Issues
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
    • December 2022
    • November 2022
    • October 2022
    • Issues Archive
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Law
    • Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Startups
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • COVID-19
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • 2022 Virginia Business Political Roundtable
    • Women in Leadership
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read The Issue
    • Power Up Virginia 500
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Suggest execs for 2023

Home Opinion Editor The bigger picture

The bigger picture

Published February 27, 2022 by Richard Foster

Photo by James Lee
Photo by James Lee

Welcome to the 10th edition of The Big Book.

Virginia Business Publisher Bernie Niemeier had the inspiration for this annual issue more than a decade ago when he was retrieving his mail and noted the heft of Vanity Fair’s jam-packed annual Hollywood issue.

“Why can’t we have a big book like this?” he thought to himself.

Why not, indeed?

In March 2013, Virginia Business debuted the first annual installment of The Big Book (“book” being publishing lingo for a magazine issue). It replaced the List of Leaders, a special annual issue that, since the 1990s, had included a series of charts tracking 18 industries.

In the intervening years, The Big Book has evolved into both an economic development yearbook of the past 12 months’ biggest deals across the commonwealth, as well as an indispensable annual business reference tool, providing information about the major corporate players in Virginia.

Whether you’re a company looking to locate in Virginia or you’re an established presence here, it’s an excellent annual deskside resource. Need to know the top law, accounting or commercial real estate firms in Virginia? The Big Book’s got you covered. What are the biggest public and private companies? We’ve got that too. Need to get the lay of the land and know who the commonwealth’s top movers and shakers are? Consult our list of the 50 most influential Virginians.

But The Big Book consists of more than just lists and reference material.

In this year’s issue, you’ll also find a timely feature article from freelance writer Greg Weatherford about how the shortage of available, ready-to-build industrial sites is seriously hampering Virginia’s ability to compete with other states for many of the biggest economic development prizes.

Additionally, longtime Virginia Business writer Gary Robertson brings you an up-to-date report about how Virginia Military Institute, the nation’s oldest state-run military college, is meeting the challenges of one of the most pivotal times in its history, following a state-ordered investigation that found evidence of a “racist and sexist culture” at VMI.

And Virginia Business Associate Editor Robyn Sidersky writes in this issue about how the commercial real estate market for office space may be forever changed by the pandemic.

As you read through this year’s Big Book, themes will emerge. You’ll notice references to the labor crunches of the Great Resignation, the transformative nature of remote work, and the uncertainty that still plagues a business landscape that is grappling with 40-year inflationary highs and ongoing supply chain problems, as well as the potential for more COVID variants.

But what also comes across is the resilience of Virginia’s economy, buoyed by the strength of its many Fortune 1000 companies and the massive federal spending that fuels government contractors in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

There’s also Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters underway in Arlington and four new casinos under development in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Meanwhile, the commonwealth’s higher education institutions are prepping for tomorrow’s workforce and emerging technologies, led by the Virginia Tech Talent Investment Program.

These are some of the many reasons that Virginia in 2021 became the first state to be named CNBC’s Top State for Business twice in a row.

And if it happens for a third time, you’ll read about it in next year’s Big Book. 

  Subscribe to Virginia Business. Get our daily e-newsletter.

Related Stories

​Is the first-family gift saga reshaping Virginia’s image?

A tale of two economies

Trending

Norfolk’s MacArthur Center mall listed for sale

Making strides

It’s back!

Fort Monroe development moving forward

Danville lacks housing options for workforce

Sponsored Stories

What Logistics issues will have the biggest impact on you in 2023?

In the New Year, Aim for Better Cybersecurity

4 innovative ways to create capacity

WHERE IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN WHEN YOU NEED IT?

P.A.I.N.T. Your Financial Mountain

5 Benefits of Treasury Management Services from Atlantic Union Bank

Blazing trails in the digital landscape

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Norfolk’s MacArthur Center mall listed for sale

Making strides

It’s back!

Fort Monroe development moving forward

Danville lacks housing options for workforce

Sponsored Stories

What Logistics issues will have the biggest impact on you in 2023?

In the New Year, Aim for Better Cybersecurity

4 innovative ways to create capacity

WHERE IS THE SUPPLY CHAIN WHEN YOU NEED IT?

P.A.I.N.T. Your Financial Mountain

5 Benefits of Treasury Management Services from Atlantic Union Bank

Blazing trails in the digital landscape

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk

wpDiscuz