RICHMOND, VA – Yesterday, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce elected Robert Duvall to serve as the 2024 Chair of the Board of Directors during the Chamber’s Annual Meeting held in Richmond, Virginia. Duvall joined the Chamber’s Board of Directors in 2016 and has served as a member of the Chamber’s Executive Committee since 2020.  He has also served in several other leadership roles including an At Large Officer position on the Executive Committee and First Vice Chair.

Robert Duvall succeeds 2023 Chair, Lakshmi Williams who serves as General Counsel, North America at Transurban.

In his role as President at Virginia Natural Gas, he is responsible for the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas to over 300,000 customers in southeastern Virginia and the company’s system growth and expansion and community involvement. In addition, Robert serves as Senior Vice President of Southern Company Gas and is a member of the Southern Company Gas Management Council.

“I look forward to working with Robert this year and am thankful for his commitment to the implementation of Blueprint Virginia 2030,” said Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber. “Robert has been a vital member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee for many years and is a valued member of the business community in the Commonwealth.”

“I am honored to embark on this journey with the Virginia Chamber and its over 30,000 members,” said Robert Duvall, Chair of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. “Over the coming year, I look forward to prioritizing the key focus areas of progress: energy, infrastructure, and the workforce. Together, we can build resilient foundations and cultivate a workforce to shape a thriving Commonwealth for generations to come.”

In addition to Chair Robert Duvall and First Vice Chair Linda Stanley, Managing Director, First Citizens Bank, the 2024 Executive Committee will be represented by the following individuals:

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR     

Lakshmi Williams, General Counsel, North America, Transurban

TREASURER    

Chris Kyle, Vice President, Shenandoah Telecommunications

AT LARGE OFFICER POSITIONS:          

Gilbert Bland, CEO, Urban League of Hampton Roads

Janice Crawford, Director, Safety, Security & Loss Prevention, Framatome Inc.

Ben Davenport, Chairman, First Piedmont Corporation

Stewart Leeth, Chief Sustainability Officer, Smithfield Foods, Inc.

Mike Melo, CEO, ITA International, LLC

Jennifer Siciliano, Chief External Affairs Officer, UVA Health

Eric Sisco, Chairman, Virginia International Gateway, Inc.

NEW MEMBERS TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE INCLUDE:

Katharine Bond, Vice President for Public Policy, Alternative Energy and Economic Development Strategy, Dominion Energy

Brad Hall, Vice President External Affairs, Appalachian Power Company

Thomas Ransom, Executive Vice President, Virginia Region, Truist

NEW MEMBERS TO THE FULL BOARD OF DIRECTORS INCLUDE:

David B. Armstrong, President and Co-Founder, Monument Wealth Management, Alexandria

Sweeny Bansal, VP/General Manager, Atlantic Division, Virginia Labcorp, Richmond

Jim Bibbs, Chief Human Resource Officer, LifeNet Health, Virginia Beach

Nick Blessing, Director, Public Policy & Economic Development, QTS Data Centers, Ashburn

Jeff Bourne, SVP & General Counsel, The Branch Group, Inc., Glen Allen

Michael J. Dacey, MD, President & CEO, Riverside Health System, Newport News

Eric Deaton, Representing the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association; EVP Chief Operating Officer, Ballad Health, Johnson City

Eric J. Finkbeiner, Director, State & Local Government Affairs, SAIC, Reston

Eric Fletcher, Senior Vice President, Mary Washington Healthcare, Fredericksburg

William A. Hazel, MD, Senior Deputy Executive Director, Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, Fairfax

J.P. Holland, President and CEO, Johns Hopkins Health Plans, Hanover, MD .

Anthony L. Jones, Vice President, External Affairs, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Baltimore, MD.

Mary N. Mannix, FACHE, President & CEO, Augusta Health, Fishersville

Justice (ret.) Elizabeth A. McClanahan, Chief Executive Officer, Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc., Blacksburg

Jennifer Montague, President & COO, Columbia Gas of Virginia, Chester

Patrick Murray, Vice President of Government Affairs, KinderCare Learning Companies, Alexandria

Ian Northrop, Chief Executive Officer, JHNA, Virginia Beach

Beth Rhinehart, Representing the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives; President & CEO, Bristol TN/VA Chamber of Commerce, Bristol

Israel Rocha, Jr., Regional President, Mid-Atlantic States, Kaiser Permanente, Rockville, MD.

Shawn Tibbetts, Chief Operating Officer, Armada Hoffler, Virginia Beach

Jennifer Wold, CPA, Managing Partner – Virginia, FORVIS, Richmond

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 About the Virginia Chamber of Commerce:

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is the largest business advocacy organization in the Commonwealth, with more than 30,000 members. The Chamber is a non-partisan, business advocacy organization that works in the legislative, regulatory, and political arenas to act as the catalyst for positive change in all areas of economic development and competitiveness for Virginia. Learn more at https://vachamber.com/.