Thompson Hospitality Corp. President and Chairman Warren Thompson encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to work for a company in a particular sector before trying to make it on their own in that industry. Photo by Stephen Gosling
Warren Thompson got his start as an entrepreneur at age 16, buying out his family’s hog business. It was a sideline enterprise his father had started at their home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to supplement his income as a teacher.
Today, Thompson is the president and chairman of Reston-based Thompson Hospitality Corp., the nation’s largest minority-owned food and facilities management company.
He’s one of 13 Black business and nonprofit executives in Virginia who spoke to Virginia Business to offer insight into their own paths to success as well as advice for future Black business leaders — and people of all races who want to make their workplaces more inclusive, equitable and welcoming to employees of all backgrounds. Many spoke about the impact of the social justice protests that began in late May and early June 2020, after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
