Alan Witt, CEO Emeritus of PBMares, Elected Chair of Virginia Chamber of Commerce

13 New Executives Join Chamber Leadership on the Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

RICHMOND, VA – Moments ago, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) elected Alan Witt to serve as the 2021 Chair of the Board of Directors during the Chamber’s Annual Meeting held virtually today. Alan Witt has served as a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors since 2016 and as a member of the Executive Board since 2017. As a member of the Chamber’s Executive Board, Alan has served in several leadership roles including Vice Chair-Hampton Roads (2017), Vice Chair-Finance (2018 and 2019), and most recently, First Vice Chair (2020).

Witt succeeds 2020 Chair Paige Clay, Mercer Senior Partner.

Under Alan Witt’s leadership, PBMares has strategically expanded to a leading Mid- Atlantic firm, and now one of the top 100 accounting and business consulting firms in the nation, serving clients nationally and internationally. Prior to starting the company with three others in 1979, Alan began his career immediately after graduation from Christopher Newport College in 1976 with the Newport News firm of Eggleston Smith.

In addition to his work as CEO of PBMares, a position he has held since January 1989, and numerous civic leadership roles, Alan served as the managing member of the local development group responsible for the design, construction and management for the commercial project known as City Center in Newport News. Alan also serves as Executive in Residence at the Luter School of Business of Christopher Newport University.

“As businesses continue to recover from the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I look forward to serving as Chair and working closely with Board, Executive Committee, and Chamber team to build on the work of 2020 and continue to support initiatives that will foster long-term recovery and economic resiliency,” said Alan Witt, Chair of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors. “Together, we will continue to lead the charge in promoting policy initiatives that support a competitive pro-business climate that is good not only for Virginia business but for all Virginians.”

“Alan has been a vital member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee for several years and is a valued leader in the business community and the Hampton Roads region,” said Barry DuVal, President and CEO of the Virginia Chamber. “We look forward to having Alan serve in this leadership role as we continue to promote the implementation of the public policy goals outlined in Blueprint Virginia 2025 and work together to develop the Commonwealth’s next long-term strategic plan, Blueprint Virginia 2030.”

The board of directors elected 13 new members at the Annual Meeting, including electing Fred Thompson as First Vice Chair. Fred Thompson is a business partner and the Chief Administrative Officer at Thompson Hospitality.

In addition to Chair Alan Witt and First Vice Chair Fred Thompson, the 2021 Executive Committee will be represented by the following individuals:

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR     

Paige Clay, Senior Partner, Mercer

TREASURER    

Linda Stanley, Market President – Charlottesville, Senior Vice President & Market Executive-Greater Virginia, Bank of America

AT LARGE OFFICER POSITIONS                

Gil Bland, CEO, The GilJoy Group

Ben Davenport, Chairman, First Piedmont Corporation

Robert Duvall, President, Virginia Natural Gas

Tammy Finley, Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Advance Auto Parts, Inc.

Chris Kyle, Vice President, Shentel

Stewart Leeth, Regulatory Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer, Smithfield Foods

Mike Melo, CEO, ITA, LLC.

Jennifer Siciliano, Chief External Affairs and Communications Officer, Inova Health System

Eric Sisco, Chairman, Virginia International Gateway, Inc.

Lakshmi Williams, General Counsel, North America, Transurban

NEW MEMBERS TO THE FULL BOARD OF DIRECTORS INCLUDE:

Nicole Barranco, Sr. Director of Government Relations, Volkswagen Group of America

Susan Dewey, CEO, Virginia Housing

Terry Ellis, Vice President of Government Affairs, Comcast

Teresa Hammond, Executive Director, Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism

Donald “Blue” Jenkins, President & CEO, WGL Holdings, Inc.

Ryan Jensen, Henrico Doctor’s Hospital, Richmond

Jermaine Johnson, Regional President/Greater Washington and Virginia, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

Matthew McQueen, Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, Peraton

Charlene H Mowery, Director, Strategic Initiatives, Red Hat

Matthew Rash, Chief Legal Officer, Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.

Doug Wagoner, President & CEO, LMI

Jack L. White, Partner/Shareholder, FH&H PLLC

Robert “Bob” Wills, Chief Financial Officer, The Branch Group

A full board listing, including those continuing their terms, can be found at www.vachamber.com

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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 27,000 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. In December 2017, the Chamber released an update to its long-term strategic economic development plan, Blueprint Virginia 2025, which engaged over 6,000 business and community leaders to lay out a plan to getting Virginia back to the top of national business climate rankings. In December of 2020, the Virginia Chamber officially announced the next update, Blueprint Virginia 2030, will be developed throughout 2021 and released at the 2021 Virginia Economic Summit. Learn more at