Shattering the glass ceiling
30 women leaders who stand out in Virginia’s corporate world
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been unusually difficult for professional women, especially those with young children or other responsibilities, such as caring for older family members. Many had to leave work entirely or put pursuing their career goals on the back burner during the past year while handling personal duties at home. The pandemic’s future impact
The best of times?
Year of pandemic and civil strife also saw transformative giving
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The past year or so in America has often seemed a dark time, with headlines dominated by COVID-19, the tumult surrounding social justice issues and our deeply politically divided nation. Yet, it also has been a time of breathtaking generosity, as uber-wealthy philanthropists and well-heeled corporations have opened their wallets to fund groundbreaking initiatives, especially
Eight over 80
These proven business leaders are still going strong
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What keeps a person working at an age when most of us are happy to let others take care of business? These overachieving Virginians, all over age 80, have remained hard at work mostly for one or more of three reasons. The first is being able to continue work with family. Retirement is rarely mandatory
Heavy hitters
The 2021 list of business leaders shaping Virginia
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Just as Zoom conferences and cloud computing have transformed our pandemic-era work lives, so too is technology changing the nature of influence. That evolution is perhaps best evidenced by the addition of Reston-based MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor to Virginia Business’ 2021 list of the 50 most influential Virginians. Saylor may not spend his time huddled
Off and running
An updated look at this year’s gubernatorial race
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Updated Jan. 29, 2021 Conventional wisdom used to hold that all politics is local, but that’s not really the case anymore. The extreme polarization on display during the recent presidential and U.S. Senate and House races has infected state and local politics, and Virginia’s November 2021 gubernatorial election promises no respite from that. “The broad
Thicker than water
Family-run businesses focus on longevity, legacy and loyalty
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“It isn’t personal. It’s just business.” Those phrases are too often used in the commercial world, but they just don’t apply when talking about most family-run enterprises. The business of running these companies is deeply personal. The priorities of family businesses “go well beyond financial concerns,” says Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia
The mentor
New Mason president hopes to inspire students, faculty
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Gregory Washington, the new president of George Mason, “embodies our university,” says Thomas M. Davis, rector of the school’s governing Board of Visitors. How? In just about every way possible, both personally and professionally, say Davis and others. Mason’s stated mission is to provide “equal opportunity and an educational and work environment free from any
High-rise horizon
Arlington readies for birth of National Landing
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The numbers are mind-boggling. During the next decade, Amazon.com Inc. plans to develop about 6 million square feet of office space in Arlington County’s Crystal City, Pentagon City and Potomac Yard areas to accommodate the mammoth e-tailer’s new HQ2 East Coast headquarters. That’s almost as large as the biggest office building in the world, the
Planting the flag
As a new decade dawns, Amazon scales up for HQ2
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• Amazon’s twin towers coming in 2023 • HQ2 “base camp” office opened in September • 400+ workers hired; 24,500+ to go In November 2018, Virginia won big — really big — when Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. chose Arlington County as one of two locations where it would build operations for its planned East Coast
Approaching equality
2020 marks a record year for female legislators in Virginia
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Women may make up more than half of Virginia’s population, but their presence in the statehouse has always fallen far short of parity. This year’s election brought a seismic change, however. Rachel Bitecofer, assistant director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, says that women now hold 41 of the General