City & State Pennsylvania
May 24, 2017
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Chris Gheysens
William Demchak
Jeffrey Lurie
Chris Gheysens has overseen the rapid expansion of everyone’s favorite hoagie and coffee stop not just into neighboring states below the Mason-Dixon line and Washington, D.C., but throughout Florida as well. He also spearheaded the revitalization of many legacy locations into super Wawas, which feature greatly expanded floorplans and gas. The opening of new storefronts in Center City Philadelphia that offer seating for patrons received predictably frenzied press coverage and gleeful reactions from many who work downtown.
William Demchak joined PNC in 2002 and was elected president of the company 10 years later (he was named company CEO the following year). Demchak started his career on Wall Street, but eventually made his way back to his hometown of Pittsburgh to join the financial services company at its headquarters. He’s among the 10 highest-paid CEOs in the banking industry, with a total annual compensation of $12 million.
Under outspoken billionaire Jeffrey Lurie’s ownership, the Philadelphia Eagles have made a number of moves in recent years fit to splash across newspaper front pages in large type – the hiring and firing of polarizing head coach Chip Kelly chief among them. With Doug Pederson as coach and Carson Wentz at quarterback, There’s a sense that Lurie has been increasingly active in team decisions, no doubt in response to fan unrest at decades of playoff futility for this billion-dollar franchise.
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President and CEO Wawa Inc.
Chairman, President and CEO PNC Financial Services Group
Owner Philadelphia Eagles
David Fillman
Valerie Arkoosh
Patrick Gallagher
As the head of AFSCME Council 13, David Fillman represents over 65,000 state workers, more than any other public sector union in Pennsylvania. That formidable membership gives him considerable sway at the state level in pension reform and other labor issues. In September, the union voted for a new three-year contract that will incrementally raise the average member’s salary by $6,000 over the course of the contract. The membership and its activism during elections means he and AFSCME are highly sought after by politicians.
Valerie Arkoosh, the former Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania anesthesiologist, took over as chairwoman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners last fall when Josh Shapiro left to become state attorney general, putting her in charge of a $400 million budget and making her the first woman to head the board. Tapping into her medical background, Arkoosh has made tackling the opioid crisis a top priority, signing a standing order to make Naloxone emergency kits available at pharmacies.
In 2014, Patrick Gallagher was elected as the 18th chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, the thirdlargest university in the state, putting the former bureaucrat in charge of an almost $2 billion budget and five campuses. Previously, Gallagher served as the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology under President Barack Obama. Gallagher now heads the university where he earned a doctorate in physics.
Executive Director, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 13
Chairwoman, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners
Chancellor University of Pittsburgh