Old Dominion University President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D., has been named to Virginia Business magazine's Virginia 500 Power List for 2022-23, marking the third consecutive year that he's earned the distinction.
President Hemphill was listed in the education category. The publication cited the collaborations he's championed, particularly regarding health care.
"Hemphill is no stranger to building partnerships," the publication wrote. "After becoming Old Dominion University's president in summer 2021, he helped forge a partnership between ODU, Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School to create a regional school of public health. Later in the year, ODU, EVMS and Sentara Healthcare entered into an agreement to create a collaborative academic health center. There are also indications that EVMS may merge with ODU in the near future."
Virginia Business categorized the state's "most powerful and influential leaders and executives" across 20 categories. It considered factors such as a person's position, company revenue, how many employees a leader oversees, the scope of their responsibilities, an executive's newsworthiness and prominence within their industry and/or community, board memberships and philanthropy.
"When I give my elevator speech about the Virginia 500, it usually starts this way: It's like the Fortune 500, but instead of focusing on companies, it's about people," Virginia Business Editor Richard Foster wrote.
A number of ODU alumni and people with ties to the University made the list:
- J. Scott Adams, executive managing director, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina, Colliers International Group Inc., member of executive advisory council for Old Dominion University's Strome College of Business
- G. Robert Aston Jr., '05 executive chairman of TowneBank and recipient of an honorary doctorate from ODU
- Stephen B. Ballard, '04, builder of S.B. Ballard Stadium and recipient of an honorary alumni certificate
- Jennifer Boykin, board member of ODU's Women's Initiative Network
- Neel Desai, '02, managing principal, S2K Hospitality; managing principal, LTD Hospitality Group
- Stephen Brich, '92, commissioner for the Virginia Department of Transportation
- George Brown, '85, president and CEO of CP&O and vice president, Virginia Maritime Association
- Lisa Chandler, '76, president and principal broker, Rose & Womble Chandler Property Management LLC
- Deborah DiCroce, president and CEO, Hampton Roads Community Foundation, former instructor at ODU
- Nancy Grden, president and CEO of Reinvent Hampton Roads, former associate vice president of ODU's Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and co-chair of ODU's Economic Development Task Force
- Margaret Hardy, '93, shareholder and president, Sands Anderson PC
- Harvey L. Johnson, '06, partner and CEO of PBMares LLP
- Robert M. "Bob" King, '86, president for retail sales and leasing at Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate; serves on the board of the ODU Educational Foundation
- Aubrey L. Layne Jr., '97, chairman, Virginia Port Authority board of commissioners; senior corporate vice president and chief of staff, Sentara Healthcare
- Winsome Earle-Sears '92, lieutenant governor of Virginia
- Terrie L. Suit, '05, CEO of Virginia Realtors
- Robert M. "Bob" Tata, '86, managing partner of the Norfolk office of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP; former member of the ODU Board of Visitors
- Ting Xu, '88, president, founder and chairman, Evergreen Enterprises; CEO and co-owner, Plow & Hearth LLC
