A nun, lawyer, healthy cook and two healthcare executives were honored Thursday at the Business Journal? 15th annual Women in Business luncheon in Irvine.
The five women were honored for their business accomplishments as well as their community service. The winners and keynote speaker Meg Whitman talked about their early days when women in business weren? as common as they are now.
The honorees:
Julie Miller-Phipps, senior vice president and executive director of Orange County for Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente. Since 2002, Miller-Phipps has run Kaiser? local operation, which has 400,000 members. She oversees a $700 million yearly operating budget and is directing the county? largest construction project: The building of a hospital and medical office buildings in Anaheim. Last year, she oversaw the opening of a Kaiser hospital in Irvine?he first built from scratch here since 1990.
Gena Reed, chief executive of Paragon Biomedical Inc. of Irvine. Reed? company has $45 million in yearly sales and some 300 employees. Paragon runs clinical trials for drug and medical device makers. Nearly three-quarters of the company? workers and management are women.
Renee Gabbard, partner at the Costa Mesa office of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Gabbard is an Orange County native who attended Pacifica High School in Cypress. She leads Paul Hastings?West coast private client practice group. She also runs De La Rose Florist in Laguna Beach.
Eileen McNerney, founder and president emeritus of Santa Ana? Taller San Jose. A nun, McNerney started a nonprofit that provides job training for poor kids and those at risk of falling into gang life. ??e always felt live I?e been in business for god?ut it? still business,?she said.
Susan Johnson, chief executive of Irvine-based Susan’s Healthy Gourmet. Johnson? company delivers fresh, healthy meals to customers in their homes across Southern California. Daughter Kerry Johnson works with her mom at the company.
Whitman, eBay Inc.? former chief executive turned California gubernatorial candidate, spoke about her career, politics and her mother? influence on her.
Her mom repaired military vehicles in the South Pacific during World War II and later led trips to China, learning Mandarin in the process.
Whitman said she? routinely asked if she? ?ut of her mind?by running for governor. Whitman said she cares deeply about California and ?efuses to let it fail.?enews_Column=-1
