Hear what Newport News CEO was recognized in the latest Forbes Magazine’s 50 Over 50, alongside Jamie Lee Curtis & others

September 18, 2023

From Forbes, 50 over 50 –

Age can be your superpower. Just ask any of the entrepreneurs, investors, inventors and artists on our third annual 50 Over 50 list. Some, like Patti LaBelle or Caryn Seidman-Becker, are self-made founders of brands used by millions; others, like astronaut Peggy Whitson, are breaking records while forging scientific discoveries; still others, like library leader Tracie D. Hall, are fighting to protect our basic rights. All of them—200 in total, spread across four categories—are changing the world.

Compiling the final list is a daunting process that is only possible through Forbes’ partnership with Mika Brzezinski, cohost of Morning Joe and founder of Know Your Value, who used her platform at MSNBC to discover candidates, publicize the project and solicit nominations. Those names were added to the thousands of others we gathered through Forbes.com, on social media and from our staff journalists.

To cull that huge group down to the final 200 we asked some tough questions: What are your greatest “Over 50” accomplishments? Did you step into a new or more powerful role later in life? Did you make a big pivot? Are you achieving at scale? Once the answer to those questions was “yes,” a group of semifinalists was sent to 12 expert judges—a panel that included entrepreneurs Bobbi Brown and Miyoko Schinner, financiers Suzanne Shank and Anne Finucane and Spelman president Helene Gayle.

The result is a group of people whose collective power—literally—stretches from the deep sea to outer space. We can only hope that you will be as inspired by reading their stories as we are in sharing them.

Lee Ann Fachko
CEO, Burlington Medical

Lee Ann Fachko was appointed CEO of Newport News, Virginia-based Burlington Medical in April 2022, at the age of 59.
Fachko drives the company’s strategic growth through acquisitions of key competitors. One of these acquisitions, in which Burlington merged with Lite Tech, created the world’s largest supplier of radiation protection materials.
Before taking over as CEO, she was previously in charge of Burlington’s manufacturing teams as the senior VP of global operations.
Under Fachko’s leadership, the company pivoted from making radiation protection garments to producing surgical masks, disposable gowns and face shields at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.