In March, McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor James Dyke was quoted in Northern Virginia Magazine, discussing the impact of business leader Warren Thompson.
Thompson is the founder of Thompson Hospitality, which employs more than 6,000 people. He owns and operates more than 70 restaurants across Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Dyke, who served as the former Virginia secretary of education from 1990 to 1994, noted Thompson’s significant work in building a leading business in the area. “I’ve always admired the strategic way Warren formed partnerships and alliances to expand his businesses into new areas,” Dyke said. “He and his family have been excellent role models of business success and community involvement.”
Dyke has been working on a new exhibit on free African Americans in Virginia’s Antebellum Period and noted that Thompson has been an important supporter of the effort. “Warren is a major donor for a historical exhibit I’m developing in collaboration with the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, exploring the untold story of free blacks in Virginia before the Civil War,” Dyke said.
