Dominion CEO to Chair CW Foundation

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Thomas Farrell

Farrell was elected chairman at the board’s annual meeting on Nov. 19, according to a CW press release. He succeeds Richard G. Tilghman, who was elected Chairman Emeritus upon his retirement as a trustee of the foundation. Tilghman first joined the board in 1994, was elected vice chairman in 2000 and chairman in 2008. Farrell is the 11th chairman of the Colonial Williamsburg Board of Trustees.

Farrell became a trustee of CW in 2006. He is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dominion Resources, one of the country’s largest energy companies, with operations in 14 states. He joined the company in 1995, was named president and CEO in 2006 and chairman of the board in 2007. He is considered a leading expert on national energy issues and chaired the Edison Electric Institute in 2011.

He serves on several other boards, including a previous tenure as rector of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia. He currently serves on the boards of Bon Secours Richmond Health System, Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Engineering Foundation, the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. He also chairs Gov. Bob McDonnell’s Commission on Higher Education Reform. He holds both undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.

At the same meeting, the CW Board elected Afsaneh Beschloss a senior trustee, upon her retirement from the board. She was first elected a trustee in 1999. She is president and chief executive officer of Rock Creek Group and previously was treasurer and chief investment officer of the World Bank.