Tim Ryan being named to the Inside Business Power List is not just a personal recognition. It is a signal that the work of telling Hampton Roads’ business and innovation story matters.

Inside Business named Ryan, executive director of Innovate Hampton Roads, to its annual Power List, recognizing him among the region’s Top 75 Power Players. The annual list highlights people influencing the Hampton Roads economy, including decision-makers, public and private sector leaders, nonprofit executives, and behind-the-scenes builders helping shape the region’s future. Ryan was included in the Entrepreneur/innovation/startups category.

For Ryan, the recognition is less about one name on a list and more about what that name represents: the founders, businesses, builders, and regional storytellers shaping Hampton Roads who are becoming harder to ignore.

As executive director of Innovate Hampton Roads, Ryan has helped elevate the people and companies building the future of the 757. Through storytelling, events, founder support, regional connectivity, and ecosystem-focused initiatives, Innovate Hampton Roads has worked to make sure the region’s entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders are seen, heard, and understood.

“Being on this list isn’t about me,” Ryan said. “It is a representation of the founders and businesses we get to showcase right here in Hampton Roads. Without them, this recognition would not be a reality. Entrepreneurship is at the forefront of our nation and our region, and while many of these founders and business leaders are not on this list, I take my nomination and give it to them. Thank you for telling your stories, having the courage to change the world, and building something right here in the 757.”

Ryan was also not the only Innovate Hampton Roads board member recognized by Inside Business. Nancy Grden, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, serves on the Innovate Hampton Roads board and was named in the Regional leadership category. Blair Durham, co-founder and president of Black BRAND, Hampton Roads’ regional Black chamber of commerce, and Paul Nolde, president and CEO of 757 Collab and executive director of 757 Angels, also serve on the Innovate Hampton Roads board and were recognized in the Entrepreneur/innovation/startups category.

Their inclusion makes the recognition bigger than one name. With multiple Innovate Hampton Roads board members appearing across the Power List, the story becomes clearer: the people helping connect, support, and elevate Hampton Roads’ business and innovation ecosystem are being recognized as influential voices in the region’s future.

Together, their recognition points to a broader shift. Hampton Roads’ business and innovation ecosystem is becoming more visible, more organized, and more influential. The founders, operators, investors, executives, and community leaders building here are helping change how the region sees itself and how others see the region.

For Innovate Hampton Roads, that visibility matters.

The organization exists to shine a light on what is being built across the 757 and to help connect the people, companies, and institutions moving the region forward. Recognition on the Inside Business Power List reinforces that entrepreneurship and innovation are not side conversations in Hampton Roads. They are central to the region’s economic future.

The Power List includes leaders across industries including finance, education, energy, health care, maritime, tourism, workforce development, regional leadership, and entrepreneurship. For Ryan and Innovate Hampton Roads, appearing alongside those sectors is another reminder that the region’s startup and business-building community belongs in the larger conversation about power, influence, and economic growth.

The future of Hampton Roads will be shaped not only by its legacy industries, but by the people willing to create something new. That includes the founders taking risks, the business leaders opening doors, the investors backing ideas, and the connectors making sure more of those stories are told.

Ryan’s recognition may have one name attached to it, but the message behind it is much bigger.

Hampton Roads is building. And more people are starting to notice.

 

 

Check out each IHR board Members talk on the Fervent Four Show:

Nancy Grden: https://youtube.com/live/USNWg6NTFps?feature=share

Paul Nolde: https://www.youtube.com/live/DFjfNBE1cek?si=f2a3NQCVWijJznKT

Blair Durham: https://youtu.be/JwUSp44DqAE?si=yIk_7BCXjLNTlPlR