RETAIL/WHOLESALE
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 broad portfolio of brands,
including Miller Lite, Red Bull and Barboursville wine, to more than 4,200 retail customers across 49 counties, bringing in an estimated $75 million to $100 million in annual revenue. Tese days, Regine Archer serves as chairman
emeritus while son Robert serves as chairman and CEO. An Army veteran and Virginia Tech graduate, Robert Archer recently was named rector of the Radford University board of visitors, to which he was appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2016. Among his other leadership roles, Archer serves
on the Virginia War Memorial Foundation board. He also worked with the Virginia ABC to send expired beer to Vanguard Brewpub and Distillery to be turned into hand sanitizer. Some of it was donated to the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center in Richmond.
GILBERT T. BLAND
CHAIRMAN, THE GILJOY GROUP; PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN, URBAN LEAGUE OF
HAMPTON ROADS, VIRGINIA BEACH
Bland’s leadership extends far beyond the franchise business he founded in 1985, through which he has owned and operated more than 70 Burger King and Pizza Hut restaurants. Troughout Virginia, his voice also is heard amid boardroom discussions and nonprofit initiatives. A native of King George County, Bland gradu-
ated from James Madison University and earned his MBA from Atlanta University. In 2018, Bland became president and chairman of
the Urban League of Hampton Roads, which supports social and economic equality for African Americans and others. Bland serves as a trustee at Randolph- Macon College and serves on the board of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Sentara Healthcare.
WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Persevere — there is always another chance to try it again tomorrow.
MOST RECENT BOOK READ: “Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
PERSON I ADMIRE: My deepest admiration is reserved for my African American ancestry who persevered, sacrificed and continued to contribute to building America under some of history’s most challenging life conditions. Any success I have achieved is wholly attributable to the inspiration and strength from their efforts.
JOHN BOYLE
PRESIDENT, CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR,
MASSIMO ZANETTI BEVERAGE USA, SUFFOLK
By next summer, Massimo Zanetti Beverage plans to have an even bigger presence in Suffolk. In June, it announced plans to build a nearly 356,000-square- foot distribution center in the Virginia Port Logistics Park. Te coffee company’s expansion adds to its corporate headquarters and main roasting operations. Boyle has led Massimo Zanetti since its formation
in December 2005, overseeing its operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Te company, which bags and cans about 150 million pounds of coffee per year at its Suffolk plant, is one of North America’s largest private label coffee providers. Its brands include Chock full o’ Nuts, Hills Bros. and Kauai Coffee. A University of South Carolina graduate, Boyle is
a seasoned food and beverage industry executive who has held leadership positions at Nestlé, Tri Valley Growers and Sara Lee Coffee & Tea. An emeritus member and former chairman of the National Coffee Association board of directors.
PRESIDENT, BROWN DISTRIBUTING, RICHMOND
Brown Distributing and its predecessor have distributed Anheuser-Busch Brown products since the mid-1930s when it became the beer company’s first wholesaler in the Richmond-Petersburg area. One rough annual revenue estimate has the family business bringing in more than $300 million a year. Reid Brown, a graduate of the University of
Colorado at Boulder, presides over Brown’s operations in Virginia and Florida. He’s the great-grandson of Abraham Brown, who started a cherry soda business with his brother in 1919. Abraham and his son, Jacob, eventually formed Brown Distributing in 1951. Te family tree of the business continued with Jacob’s son, Larry, and his sons, Jason and Reid. Jason Brown serves as vice president. One of Brown’s savviest moves came in 2009,
when it observed the rise of craft beer. Instead of considering it a threat, it acquired craft distribution companies in Virginia and Florida. Its “Taste the Local” concept promoted craft beer to customers and festivals while offering mainstream choices. Its Florida operation was named Craft Beer Distributor of the Year in 2012 by the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Brewers Association. Te company recently worked with Anheuser-
Busch to donate and deliver thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer.
REID A. BROWN
MICHAEL BOR
CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, CARLOTZ, RICHMOND
Bor left a career in finance to help launch CarLotz in 2011, taking a leap with an idea that car sellers would pay to place their used cars on consignment. CarLotz also has a commercial side, helping re-market cars for customers such as leasing companies, financial institutions and fleet management companies. CarLotz caught on. It operates three retail
locations in Virginia and five in other states. In June 2019, Bor and co-founders Aaron Montgomery and Will Boland received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the mid-Atlantic from Ernst & Young. Two months later, CarLotz landed on the
Inc. 5000, ranking No. 435 on the list of the country’s fastest-growing private companies. Inc. magazine cited the company’s $38.5 million in annual revenue and three-year revenue growth of more than 1,000%. (It ranked No. 962 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list, with 482% growth.) Bor, who says his dream car is a Bugatti Veyron
Super Sport, graduated from Lehigh University and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2003. Before CarLotz, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Lehman Brothers and Harris Williams & Co. He also co-founded Orange Grove Fleet Solutions, for which he serves as chairman.
RICHARD ‘DEN’
CRALLÉ III
PRESIDENT, GREEN FRONT FURNITURE, FARMVILLE
Te third-generation leader at Green Front Furniture, Crallé took on an official role at the family business after graduating from Southern Methodist University in 2013. His father, Richard “Dickie” Crallé, who remains owner, began the process of transferring the business to his son in October 2014. Founded in 1968, Green Front is ranked as a
Top 100 U.S. Furniture Store by Furniture Today, which estimated the company’s 2019 revenue at $44.3 million. Green Front’s three locations, which include its flagship Farmville store, have 1.15 million square feet of selling space. Named president in October 2018, Crallé
has his eye on marketing, helping expand Green Front’s presence online and on social media. Tis year Green Front launched its online Oriental rug store,
greenfrontrugs.com. Green Front is an economic force in Farmville,
where Crallé serves on the Farmville Downtown Partnership. He also sits on the board of trustees at Hampden-Sydney College, to which he was appointed in 2016.
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