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
