Connie Nyholm
Majority owner and CEO, Virginia International Raceway, Alton
Nyholm continues to develop the 1,370-acre Virginia Inter- national Raceway (VIR), which she helped reopen in 2000. The property bills itself as a
“motorsport resort,” offering five road courses, onsite lodging, a spa and a res- taurant. Adjacent to VIR is the VIRginia Motorsport Technology Park, home to Vir- ginia Tech’s Global Center for Automotive Performance Simulation. VIR welcomes more than 500,000 visitors a year, and spectator ticket sales were up 48 percent in 2015 from the previous year. “The most challenging part about my job is gaining VIR the recognition it deserves as a driving economic force, especially in the Southern Virginia region,” she says. In 1986, Nyholm was preparing to become a self-employed real estate agent, leaving a career as a senior credit analyst at HBO in New York.
Milt and Jon Peterson Principals, The Peterson Cos., Fairfax
The development company celebrated its 50th
year in Milt Peterson Jon Peterson
2015. Milt Peterson, 79, retains the title of chairman, but his son, Jon, is playing an increasingly prominent role in the company. He’s chairman of the company’s executive committee and is involved in the ongoing development of National Harbor, the com-
pany’s signature mixed-use waterfront desti- nation in Prince George’s County, Md. The Peterson family has been a big supporter of George Mason University, where Jon was recently appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe to serve on the board of visitors. Last year, the Peterson Family Foundation donated $10 million to the school for scholarships in the arts and for completion of a health sci- ences building that will be named in honor of the Peterson family.
C. Michael Petters
President and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Newport News
Petters leads the nation’s largest shipbuilder and Vir- ginia’s largest industrial employer. Its Newport News Shipbuilding division has
more than 20,000 employees. During the past year, the company acquired The Columbia Group’s Engineering Solutions Division to position HII in the growing unmanned underwater vehicle market. HII also delivered two ships: the submarine John Warner and the cutter James. The company opened an employee health
center in Newport News earlier this year. HII, however, is in the midst of cutting more than 1,500 workers at its Newport News shipyard as it completes work on three aircraft carriers (including the con- struction of the Gerald R. Ford, midlife overhaul of the Abraham Lincoln and the inactivation of the Enterprise.) Petters serves on the executive committee of the Aerospace Industries Association, Virgin- ia’s Advisory Council on Revenue Esti- mates and the boards of directors of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation and the National Bureau of Asian Research. He also is on the board of advisers for the Center for a New American Security. In 1986, Petters was a junior officer on the USS George Bancroft, which was home- ported in Charleston, S.C.
Linda Rabbitt
Founder, chairman and CEO, Rand Construction Corp., Washington, D.C.
Rabbitt’s profile continues to rise. As a 2016 recipient of a Horatio Alger Award, she joins an elite group of lead- ers with a commitment to
philanthropy and higher education. The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, which honors 10 to 12 business leaders a year, supports scholarship pro- grams for at-risk students. Rabbitt serves on the board of Willis Towers Watson. She also has funded a program at Harvard Business School to assist women serving on corporate boards. The program, similar to a pilot program Rabbitt funded at George Washington University, is sched- uled to begin in the fourth quarter. In 1986, she left KPMG to start her general con- tracting firm.
John Reinhart
CEO/executive director, Virginia Port Authority, Norfolk
Since Reinhart took the helm of the Port of Virginia two years ago, the state-owned port authority reported in fiscal year 2015 its first profit
($16.1 million) since 2008. After shoring up its finances, the port has had several major announcements. They include extending its leases at the Port of Richmond and the Virginia International Gateway marine ter- minal (although the latter is still being finalized). In 2015, the port’s terminals han- dled a record-setting 2.5 million TEUs, up 6.5 percent over 2014. The port also is slated to receive $350 million from the commonwealth to help expand Norfolk International Terminals. Reinhart serves on the Hampton Roads Accountability Trans- portation Commission, the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable and the
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
Greater Norfolk Corp. In 1986, Reinhart was living in Cincinnati with his pregnant wife and their two children. He worked in the restaurant industry.
Bob Sasser CEO, Dollar Tree Inc., Chesapeake
Sasser guided Dollar Tree, a Fortune 500 company, through its $9.1 billion acqui- sition last year of Family Dol- lar, beating out a competing
bid from rival Dollar General (see story on Page 49). The Family Dollar deal is expected to raise the company’s annual revenue to $19 billion. Dollar Tree sells almost all of its merchandise for $1 or less. Sasser has been CEO of Dollar Tree since 2004. He was the company’s chief operating officer from 1999 to 2004. Before his career with Dollar Tree, he was senior vice presi- dent of merchandise and marketing for Roses Stores Inc. and vice president, gen- eral merchandise manager for Michaels Stores Inc. Before 1994, he held several positions at Roses, ranging from store man- ager to vice president and general mer- chandise manager. Sasser has served on the boards of Dollar Tree since 2004 and The Fresh Market since 2012.
Knox Singleton CEO, Inova Health System, Falls Church
Singleton has led Inova Heath System for more than 30 years, but he’s not planning on easing into retirement. He is the catalyst behind Inova’s
Center for Personalized Health, a campus for researchers, clinicians, educators and patients centered on the growing field of personalized medicine. Last year, Inova made a major step toward achieving its dream, purchasing for $180 million the 117- acre former Exxon Mobil campus across the street from Inova Fairfax Hospital. The health system also has been attracting top researchers to its translational medicine and cancer institutes, which will be housed on the campus. Outside of work, Singleton is on the board of the Global Good Fund and the Community Coalition for Haiti. He was previously president of that organization and still volunteers in Haiti twice a year. Vir- ginia Business named Singleton its Business Person of the Year in 2015 in recognition of his accomplishments.
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