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Shattering the glass ceiling
30 women leaders who stand out in Virginia’s corporate world
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
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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
The Prophet
MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor preaches the bitcoin gospel. Will his $2.2 billion gambit reap a heavenly reward?
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When Michael Saylor was a younger man, his good looks and cocky attitude drew comparisons to Tom Cruise. And like Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Cruise’s flying ace of “Top Gun” fame, Saylor is returning to screens everywhere after a decades long hiatus. Just over 20 years ago, Saylor was Northern Virginia’s premier hotshot tech exec.
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A fair trade?
U.S.-China tensions still impact Va. economy
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While President Joe Biden will likely strike a more diplomatic tone with China than his predecessor, economists and other observers believe the United States’ rocky trade relationship with its biggest economic rival will remain contentious — which will impact Virginia’s economy. Under former President Donald Trump, the U.S. and China were immersed in a grueling
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
The great transformation
After the pandemic, what will Virginia’s economic recovery look like?
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It’s been a year since Virginia recorded its first COVID-19 case, and nearly all of us have embraced new ways of living — and working. But with each passing day, a return to some semblance of normalcy feels closer to our reach. Even in the face of emerging coronavirus variants, there’s reason to be hopeful
Leadership lessons
Black business leaders offer wisdom, advice for next generation
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Warren Thompson got his start as an entrepreneur at age 16, buying out his family’s hog business. It was a sideline enterprise his father had started at their home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to supplement his income as a teacher. Today, Thompson is the president and chairman of Reston-based Thompson Hospitality Corp., the nation’s
Short and … sweet?
A look ahead at the General Assembly’s 2021 session
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Even before the pandemic and ensuing recession took hold in Virginia, 2020 already had the makings for a novel year in the General Assembly. Having won majorities in both houses in the November 2019 elections, Democrats took back full control of the legislature for the first time in a generation. With Gov. Ralph Northam in
War and peace
2020 Virginia Business Person of the Year: Phebe Novakovic leads world’s third-largest defense contractor
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Like a lot of bosses in spring and summer 2020, Phebe Novakovic confronted challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. It threatened lives and economies. Managers weren’t sure when some customers would be able to pay their bills. Employees were anxious; clients were understandably skittish. With travel shutting down, in-person sales demonstrations were curtailed. But unlike most
Viva Virginia
Voters in four cities will decide in November's election whether to allow casinos in the Old Dominion
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Danville once stood tall as a driver of Virginia’s economy, an epicenter both for textile production at Dan River Mills and for tobacco when it was still the commonwealth’s golden leaf. Both industries came crashing down in the 2000s. A rising tide of public sentiment led to tobacco’s decline, and the federal quota system that