Cover Story
Virginia 500
The 2020 Power List
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Virginia 500 — The 2020 Power List. Read more about the power list and how we assembled the Virginia 500. Below you will find links to each of the 20 categories featuring the state’s top business leaders. Living Legends Agriculture Arts | Entertainment | Sports Economic Development Education
From This Issue
Transportation
Maritime | Ports | Logistics
Published
ED ALDRIDGE PRESIDENT, CMA CGM AMERICA LLP AND APL NORTH AMERICA, NORFOLK The CMA CGM Group serves 80% of the world’s commercial ports with a 502-vessel fleet and 110,000 employees. The American arm of its shipping and logistics company, based in Norfolk, has a workforce of more than 11,000 employees and serves 18 ports. In
Media
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FRANK BATTEN JR. CHAIRMAN, DOMINION ENTERPRISES INC., CHAIRMAN, LANDMARK MEDIA ENTERPRISES INC., NORFOLK A storied Virginia media family, the Battens struck gold by selling The Weather Channel, co-founded by Frank Batten Jr.’s late father, for nearly $3.5 billion in 2008. Since 1998, Batten has served as chairman of Landmark, the private media company his family
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Retail | Wholesale
Food | Beverage
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ROBERT A. ‘BOB’ ARCHER CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BLUE RIDGE BEVERAGE CO., SALEM Robert Archer runs the wholesale beverage retailer his parents bought in 1959 after moving to Salem. When his father, James Archer, died in 1972, his mother, Regine Archer, became president and forged ahead on decades of growth and acquisitions. Blue Ridge distributes a
Finance | Insurance
Banking | Financial Planning | Venture Capital | Investments
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JOHN ASBURY PRESIDENT AND CEO, ATLANTIC UNION BANKSHARES, RICHMOND A Radford native, Asbury transitioned from a career with large financial institutions to help build a regional bank. After successful mergers in 2018 and 2019, Atlantic Union expanded its footprint in Northern Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, making it the largest regional bank headquartered in Virginia.
Health Care
Biotech | Pharmaceuticals
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NANCY HOWELL AGEE PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARILION CLINIC, ROANOKE With 13,000-plus health care employees, Carilion Clinic is the largest Roanoke Valley employer, and Agee was born to lead the health system. The Emory University and University of Virginia graduate was delivered at Roanoke Memorial, now one of Carilion’s seven hospitals. She also was a surgical
Living Legends
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GIUSEPPE CECCHI CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, THE IDI GROUP COS., MCLEAN The Washington Post once dubbed Cecchi “the condo king.” He is perhaps most famous for his role in the creation of the iconic Watergate complex, but he also has left his mark on Northern Virginia, where his family-owned company is headquartered in an office
Professional Services
Accounting | Advertising | Consulting | Security
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MAHFUZ AHMED CHAIRMAN AND CEO, DIGITAL INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMS LLC (DISYS), MCLEAN After earning his bachelor’s degree in engineering from George Mason University, Ahmed worked with Northrop Grumman Corp. and Mobil Oil Corp. before founding information technology staffing and consulting services company DISYS in 1998. Today, as CEO and chairman of the board of directors, Ahmed
The power list
Published
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Virginia 500 — The 2020 Power List. This project has taken more than a year from concept to completion. Our hope is that you will find it to be an insightful and helpful resource on leadership in Virginia. Five hundred is a big number. Just who should be
Federal Contractors | Technology
Aerospace
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CRAIG P. ABOD FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, CARAHSOFT TECHNOLOGY CORP., RESTON The former president of Herndon-based DLT Solutions Inc., Abod founded Carahsoft in 2004. With roughly $5 billion in annual revenue, the defense contractor offers software, hardware and IT consulting services in the fields of cybersecurity, accounting, business intelligence and data analysis and storage. This year
Hospitality | Tourism
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NEIL P. AMIN CEO, SHAMIN HOTELS, RICHMOND Like other hoteliers, Shamin Hotels has been hit by the near evaporation of business travel. Amin is CEO of the company, which owns some five dozen properties and is the largest hotel operator in the Richmond region. Amin graduated The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where
