Return to Virginia Business - January 2003

People

Mr. Snow goes to Washington
Virginia’s business community got a boost in mid-December when President George W. Bush nominated John W. Snow, chairman of Rich-mond-based CSX Corp., to be Treasury Secretary, replacing Paul O’Neill.

Ohio-born Snow, 63, became chief executive of CSX in 1989 bringing technical innovations. But he’s also been blamed for the botched merger, with Norfolk Southern of Conrail in the late 1990s. After CSX’s stock lost half of its value, Snow took operational control of the railroad and fixed many problems. His departure from CSX, however, could mean that the firm might move its headquarters to Jacksonville, Fla.

Joseph Ukrop
He started with one grocery store on South Richmond’s Hull Street in 1937 and watched it grow into a 27-store chain with loyal customers who wouldn’t shop anywhere else. Joseph Ukrop, who died in November at age 88, was an icon in the grocery business and one of Virginia’s most successful business leaders. He and his wife, Jacquelin, were inducted into the Richmond Business Hall of Fame in 1988, and the firm has repeatedly been on Fortune magazine’s best companies to work for list. The Ukrop’s Super Markets business has stayed a family affair: elder son James Ukrop is the company’s chairman of the board; his brother Robert is CEO.

Virginia Business - January 2003