New industries make Hampton Roads home From olive oil to space rockets, 2022 saw a variety of companies seeking to invest — or reinvest — in the Hampton Roads region and Eastern Virginia. That kind of diversity of industries augurs well for the region’s economy, says Vinod Agarwal, professor of economics at Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business. “In the past, when I looked at many of the announcements, they’re all related to defense, directly or indirectly,” says Agarwal.