Cover Story
Making strides
17 execs setting a high bar for success
Black History Month traces its origins to an annual weeklong observance started in 1926 by historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson, a Virginia native. And since then, the February celebration
Opinion
Business climate change
Published
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a revolution in how workers and businesses think about where, when and how we work. And that change is fully reflected
From This Issue
Magical moments
Vaco Richmond prioritizes employee autonomy
Published
2023 BEST PLACES TO WORK — LARGE EMPLOYERS WINNER The pandemic put a damper on workplace culture, which was particularly difficult for service-oriented organizations like Vaco, a Tennessee-based national staffing
13th annual Best Places to Work
2023 winners of small, midsize and large categories
Published
This is the 13th year that Virginia Business has compiled the Best Places to Work in Virginia list in collaboration with Pennsylvania-based Best Companies Group. More than 200 companies applied
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Health first
SmartEdge IT prioritizes employee health and well-being
Published
2023 BEST PLACES TO WORK — SMALL EMPLOYERS WINNER SmartEdge IT LLC, a Herndon-based business software development company, places a high premium on employee health and well-being. SmartEdge pays 100%
A balancing act
Best workplaces grapple with hybrid challenges
Published
While there was no way to predict that a global pandemic would disrupt office life as we knew it, one Virginia-based company already had a grip on one trend impacting
A challenging year
Patriot Group International weathers Afghanistan pullout
Published
2023 BEST PLACES TO WORK — MIDSIZE EMPLOYERS WINNER The last couple years have been a trying time for many businesses, but probably not for the same reasons as Patriot
Head of the class
Virginia HBCUs’ enrollment outpaces peers
Published
Donald Alexander Jr. considered multiple schools, as well as the Air Force, before he landed at Norfolk State University in 2019. The Chesapeake native grew up with strong ties to
FRED THOMPSON JR.
Chief administrative officer, Thompson Hospitality Corp.; co-founder, Opportunity Scholars and the Global Good Fund, Reston
Published
Thompson is partially retired as Thompson Hospitality’s CAO, but he’s stayed busy by starting two nonprofits: Opportunity Scholars, a Winchester-based organization that provides mentorship opportunities to underserved middle and high
RICHMOND VINCENT JR.
President and CEO, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, Roanoke
Published
“Being a CEO is attainable,” Vincent says. “You just have to have the confidence of knowing that you can do it.” That can-do attitude has taken Vincent steadily up the
GILBERT BLAND
President, chairman and CEO, Urban League of Hampton Roads; founder and chairman, The GilJoy Group, Norfolk
Published
Hall of Fame member Born in Jim Crow-era Harrisonburg, Bland launched his career in Chicago as a commercial lending officer before becoming a vice president for the largest Black-owned bank
VICTOR BRANCH
Richmond market president, Bank of America, Richmond
Published
Hall of Fame member The first African American president of Bank of America’s Richmond region oversees almost 2,000 employees at 25 locations, but Branch began his career as a sociology
