Page 46 - Delaware 222 - 2025

ENERGY FOOD & BEVERAGE
Dian Taylor
Artesian Resources
Dian Taylor has served as Artesian
Resources’ CEO since 1992, and under
her vision, the company has grown
from serving water to customers
in northern New Castle County to
one of the largest investor-owned
water and wastewater utilities in the
region. Th e company has 300,000
customers throughout the state and in
northern Maryland, through acquiring
municipal water systems in southern
Delaware in recent years. In 2022, the
company added a new elevated storage
tank to add 1 million water storage
for Sussex County and is planning a
second tank for New Castle County.
Th e company supplies 8.7 billion
gallons of water per year through
1,442 miles of main to over a third of
Delawareans.
Javier Acuna
Hakuna Hospitality Group
Overseeing the parent company of
more than half a dozen restaurants and
markets in Newark and Wilmington
is just one of the focuses of Hakuna
Hospitality Group owner Javier Acuna.
He also is the founder of Food First
Delaware, which helped feed fi rst
responders during the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Santa Fe, one
of Hakuna’s restaurants, has earned
Delaware Today’s “Restaurant of
the Year" title multiple times since
opening. Acuna focuses on using
locally grown produce when possible
at his restaurants, which he has been
expanding in northern Delaware. Two
more Del Pez restaurants have opened
in 2024.
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Phillip J. Vavala
Delmarva Power
& Atlantic City Electric
In 1991, Phillip Vavala walked in the
offi ce of Delmarva Power as an intern
while studying engineering. More
than 30 years of working for the same
company, he was tapped to lead the
Delaware and Maryland region for
the Exelon Corporation, which serves
more than 532,000 electric customers
and 138,000 natural gas customers in
northern Delaware. In his role, Vavala
is charged with leading and executing
external aff airs strategies and programs
in support of Atlantic City Electric and
Delmarva Power business goals. He is
responsible for fostering relationships
with state and local offi cials,
community leaders and various
organizations to ensure the delivery of
value to customers and stakeholders.
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Tyler Akin
Le Cavalier
After creating numerous childhood
memories through milestone moments
spent with family in the Hotel du
Pont’s storied Green Room, Tyler Akin
fulfi lled a dream of leading the helm of
that same kitchen when he was named
chef in September 2020. Akin has
played a pivotal role in the restaurant’s
evolution, and views his role there
as “like coming home to cook” in a
place that shaped many of his early
opinions on food. Th is chef and partner
reopened the restaurant in 2020, which
originally opened in 1913, after it had
closed in 2019 for renovations that
were then delayed by the pandemic.
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