2019 Power 100

Power is a fleeting thing. Just ask anyone who has worked for General Electric Co., the cream of the international corporate crop for decades. Now, the struggling organization is valued 30% less than industrial rival Honeywell Corp., which will soon make Charlotte its home base. Likewise, the churn of power is evident in our second annual listing of the state’s most influential leaders.
A year ago, Cary technology executive Tim Sweeney was little known outside the video-game industry. Now, his company’s Fortnite game is an international phenomenon that could morph into a major social-media network. Epic Games, which had revenue topping $3 billion according to press reports, raised another $1.25 billion in capital in October.
Sweeney was an easy addition to the Power 100, compiled after securing ideas from dozens of N.C. businesspeople and our staff’s multiyear experience of tracking the state’s economy. We didn’t include those who spend little time here or political leaders. Other newcomers include Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison and Duke University President Vincent Price.
A majority of the Power 100 are holdovers from last year. Influential people are rarely in a hurry to hand over their reins. But there is an inevitable changing of the guard, particularly as North Carolina’s technology industry blossoms with promising companies led by Michael Chasen, Abhishek Mehta, Todd Olson and others. Leaders of traditional industries that built North Carolina in the 20th century exert a fraction of their previous influence.
It’s a subjective list, and we know that some deserving folks aren’t on it. In addition to corporate power, we looked for those making an impact on the broader community, including behind-the-scenes operators. No doubt some of the missing are glad to remain under the radar, while others would love to be cited. Just tell us who they are — we are all ears. If we are doing our job, that’s never going to change.

JENNIFER APPLEBY
Market maker
55, President and Chief Creative Officer, Wray Ward
Charlotte

CARL ARMATO
Novant savant
54, CEO, Novant Health
Winston-Salem

LEAH ASHBURN
Crafty player
48, President and CEO, Highland Brewing
Asheville

ROB BARNHILL III
Family tradition
47, CEO, Barnhill Contracting
Rocky Mount

STEVE BERLIN
Holding onto his marbles
59, Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Winston-Salem

CATHY BESSANT
Tech ambassador
58, Chief Operations and Technology Officer, Bank of America
Charlotte

EDWARD BROWN III
Wheeler dealer
69, CEO, Hendrick Automotive Group
Charlotte

JEFFREY BROWN
Online by design
45, CEO, Ally Financial
Charlotte

HAROLD BRUBAKER
Power politico
72, Founder, Brubaker & Associates
Raleigh

ROY CARROLL II
Publix shopper
56, President, CEO, The Carroll Cos.
Greensboro

WILLIAM “BILL” A.V. CECIL JR.
Mansion master
60, President, CEO, The Biltmore Co.
Asheville

JACK CECIL
Mountain climber
62, President, Biltmore Farms
Asheville

MICHAEL CHASEN
Drone zone
46, CEO, PrecisionHawk
Raleigh

ADRIENNE COLE
Craven success
47, President and CEO, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce
Raleigh

JOE COLOPY
Startup sponsor
48, Founder, Colopy Ventures
Durham

DAVID CONGDON
Trucks trader
62, Executive Chairman, Old Dominion Freight Line
Thomasville

PATRICK CONWAY
Cross Bearer
40, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Durham

KIT CRAMER
Mountain maven
58, President and CEO, Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Asheville

PAUL COZZA
Ship shape
57, Executive Director, North Carolina State Ports Authority
Wilmington

SUSAN DEVORE
Health care honcho
60, President and CEO, Premier
Charlotte

DARRYL DEWBERRY
Tower titan
57, CEO, Spectrum Cos.
Charlotte

FRANK DOWD IV
Pipe dreamer
63, Chairman, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry
Charlotte

RODDEY DOWD JR.
Bonus backer
63, CEO, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry
Charlotte

PHILIP DUBOIS
49ers’ gold miner
68, Chancellor, UNC Charlotte
Charlotte

EDDIE EDWARDS
Connector-in-chief
69, President and CEO, CommScope
Hickory

RIC ELIAS
Red hot
51, CEO, Red Ventures
Indian Land, S.C.

MARVIN ELLISON
Fixer-upper
53, CEO and President, Lowe’s
Mooresville

FRANK EMORY JR.
Industry hunter
61, Chief Legal Officer, Novant Health
Charlotte

FRED ESHELMAN
Connector-in-chief
70, Founder, Eshelman Ventures
Wilmington

DON FLOW
Winston warrior
62, CEO, Flow Automotive
Winston-Salem

JULIE ANN FREISCHLAG
Making her point
64, CEO, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
Winston-Salem

ED FRITSCH
Taking the high road
60, CEO, Highwoods Properties
Raleigh

MICHIMASA FUJINO
Jet setter
58, President, CEO, Honda Aircraft
Greensboro

DAN GERLACH
Smoking steward
51, President, Golden Leaf Foundation
Rocky Mount

LYNN GOOD
Good works
59, President and CEO, Duke Energy
Charlotte

JAMES “JIMMY” GOODMON JR.
Capitol captain
42, President and Chief Operating Officer, Capitol Broadcasting
Raleigh

JIM GOODNIGHT
Data dynasty
76, CEO, SAS Institute
Cary

MAURICE “MO” GREEN
Spreading some green
51, Executive Director, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Winston-Salem

PETER HANS
Handy man
48, President, N.C. Community College System
Raleigh

JIM HANSEN
Chamber champ
40, Regional President, Eastern Carolinas market,
PNC Financial Services
Raleigh

JOHN “JOHNO” HARRIS III
Here’s Johno
40, President and Chief Operating Officer, Lincoln Harris
Charlotte

FRANK HARRISON III
The real thing
63, CEO, Coca-Cola Consolidated
Charlotte

NATHAN HATCH
Wake-up call
72, President, Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem

GREG HATEM
Empire builder
58, Executive Officer, Empire Properties
Raleigh

WAYNE HOLDEN
Good works guy
62, President, CEO, RTI International
Research Triangle Park

FRANK HOLDING JR.
Holding pattern
57, Chairman and CEO, First Citizens Bancshares
Raleigh

VIVIAN HOWARD
Kinston kingpin
40, Restaurant owner, cookbook author and TV personality
Kinston

DALE JENKINS
Bridge gapper
62, CEO, Medical Mutual Holdings
Raleigh

MICHAEL JORDAN
Hoops honcho
55, Majority owner, Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte

JOHN KANE
Raising Raleigh
65, Founder and CEO, Kane Realty
Raleigh

GREG KEITH
Shooting star
63, President and CEO, The Keith Corp.
Charlotte

STAN KELLY
Core player
61, CEO, Piedmont Triad Partnership
Greensboro

DAVID KING
Test taker
62, CEO, Labcorp
Burlington

KELLY KING
Leadership leader
70, CEO, BB&T
Winston-Salem

CLARK KINLIN
Good optics
59, Executive Vice President, Corning
Charlotte

FRED KLEIN
Queen City kingpin
72, Senior Managing Partner, Childress Klein
Charlotte

DOUG LEBDA
Web wizard
48, Chairman and CEO, LendingTree
Charlotte

TOM LOONEY
School boss
66, Retired technology executive
Cary

MARY MACK
Hot seat
56, Senior Executive Vice President, Wells Fargo
Charlotte

JAMES “CHIP” MAHAN III
Holding pattern
67, CEO and Chairman, Live Oak Banchares
Wilmington

TODD MANSFIELD
Fertile crescent
60, CEO, Crescent Communities
Charlotte

MICHAEL MARSICANO
Strong foundation
62, President and CEO, Foundation for the Carolinas
Charlotte

JOHN MCCONNELL
Hot seat
69, President and CEO, McConnell Golf
Raleigh

MIKE MCGUIRE
Mike’s magic
59, CEO, Grant Thornton International
Charlotte

ABHISHEK MEHTA
Data denizen
41, CEO, Tresata
Charlotte

RICHARD MOORE
Century marker
58, CEO, First Bancorp
Southern Pines

DAVID MORKEN
Band leader
49, CEO, Bandwidth
Raleigh

PIERRE NAUDÉ
Coastal climber
60, CEO, nCino
Wilmington

TOM NELSON
Walled in
56, Chairman and CEO, National Gypsum
Charlotte

WARD NYE
Rock star
56, CEO, Martin Marietta Materials
Raleigh

TODD OLSON
Software savant
43, CEO, Pendo
Raleigh

TOM PASHLEY
Pining for success
49, President, Pinehurst Resort
Pinehurst

RON PAULUS
Going public
56, CEO, Mission Health
Asheville

ART POPE
“Art” of the deal
62, Chairman and CEO, Variety Wholesalers
Henderson

MICHAEL PRAEGER
Making his payment
53, CEO, AvidXchange
Charlotte

VINCENT E. PRICE
Blue devil boss
61, President, Duke University
Durham

NIDO QUBEIN
Can-do king
70, President, High Point University
High Point

JULIAN RAWL
Cary captain
66, co-Owner, Preston Development
Cary

ERNIE REIGEL
Chamber chooser
61, Partner, Moore & Van Allen
Charlotte

PAT RILEY
Real-estate royalty
67, CEO, Allen Tate
Charlotte

GERALD ROACH
Wake runner
60, Managing Partner, Smith Anderson
Raleigh

PAT RODGERS
Not standing pat
71, CEO, Rodgers Builders
Charlotte

BILL ROPER
Filling the void
70, Interim President, UNC System
Chapel Hill

SEPIDEH SAIDI
Project manager
56, CEO and President, Sepi Engineering and Construction
Raleigh

JUDE SAMULSKI
Genetic condition
65, Director, Gene Therapy Center, UNC Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill

STEVE SHOWFETY
High flyer
71, President, Koury Corp.
Greensboro

JIM SHUFORD
Tape titan
52, CEO, STM Industries
Hickory

STEPHEN SHUFORD
Sticking with it
50, CEO, Shurtape Technologies
Hickory

ANDREA SMITH
Efficiency czar
51, Chief Administrative Officer, Bank of America
Charlotte

HARRY SMITH JR.
Board gamer
48, Real-estate investor
Greenville

MICHAEL SMITH
Tower power
50, President & CEO, Charlotte Center City Partners
Charlotte

TIM SMITH
Chatham chief
69, co-Owner, Preston Development
Cary

DAVID STEVENS
Sunny outlook
60, Mid-South Division President, SunTrust Banks
Durham

BEN SUTTON JR.
Athletic supporter
60, Founder and Chairman, Teall Capital
Winston-Salem

TIM SWEENEY
Epic success
48, CEO, Epic Games
Cary

STEVEN TANGER
He’s dealin’
70, CEO, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers
Greensboro

DAVID TEPPER
The new big cat
61, Owner, Carolina Panthers
Charlotte

MIKE WALDRUM
Critical caretaker
56, CEO, Vidant Health
Greenville

ANDY WARLICK
Textile titan
61, CEO, Parkdale
Gastonia

JIM WHITEHURST
Mixing red and blue
51, President and CEO, Red Hat
Raleigh

FRED WHITFIELD
Getting buzzed
60, President, Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte

EUGENE WOODS
Ward dealer
54, CEO, Atrium Health
Charlotte
