This last look back at 2011 adds perspective to a mixed-up year.
It also offers plenty to like about the outlook for this year.
Above you will see a story about Hyundai Motor America Inc.’s John Krafcik and Kia Motors America Inc.’s Byung Mo Ahn. Both oversaw record years for sales and market share from their respective Orange County headquarters. Put the two together and they surpass Japanese forerunner Honda and approach an 86-year-old American brand called Chrysler in the U.S. auto market.
They weren’t the only ones who forged success out of uncertainty.
Inside this edition you’ll find reports on executives and entrepreneurs in various other industries that amount to a counter-intuitive compendium of Orange County achievement. Yes, 2011 had its ups and downs, with traction in the early part of the year yielding to summer shock waves for the stock market followed by a financial mess in Europe that hung over the U.S. economy. Political bickering in Washington didn’t help.
Here’s some of what went on in Orange County as all that played out.
Opus Bank completed two acquisitions, tripled its assets, officially moved its headquarters to Irvine, took the mantle as largest locally based bank—and made good on Chief Executive Stephen Gordon’s commitment to increasing business lending.
William Wang pursued the transformation of Irvine-based Vizio Inc. from a flat-screen TV specialist to a diversified consumer electronics company. He continued a push into accessories such as Blu-ray players, brought a tablet to market, and laid plans for LED light bulbs. Wang is wading into crowded fields at every turn–but that’s what he did when he started with flat-screen TVs, and now he counts $3 billion in annual sales and a market-share lead in North America.
$608M Deal
Richard Woolcott saw his Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc. through a $608 million sale to Paris-based luxury house PPR SA. Volcom’s action-sports inspired clothes, shoes and accessories now joins brands such as Balenciaga, Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent in PPR’s stable, and Woolcott remains in charge of the brand he and cofounder Tucker Hall started 20 years ago.
Michael Mussallem of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. in Irvine finished 2011 with a Food and Drug Administration approval for a new heart valve that’s seen as a medical and medical device industry breakthrough. His efforts to prepare the company for the approval—including training standards for surgeons and hospitals—were just as impressive. The company enters 2012 with its Edwards Sapien in the lead when it comes to non-invasive heart procedures.
Casanova Accounts
Ingrid Otero-Smart faced a dour 2011 when the year began. The economic recovery remained spotty and got downright shaky around midyear. She managed to guide Costa Mesa-based advertising agency Casanova Pendrill Inc. through a year of growth, with a couple of prominent new accounts, successful defenses of two others, and increased duties for other clients. Casanova Pendrill finished the year with a search for new hires.
Jim Jannard continued to make things that people want, a basic approach that was central to his success in growing Oakley Inc. from a peddler of motorcycle hand-grips to a leading brand for sunglasses and apparel. He became a billionaire when Italian luxury house Luxottica Group SPA bought Oakley in 2007. Now, he’s making something new, with his Red Digital Cinema Co. in Irvine reshaping the ways movies are shot.
Then there’s Winston Chung, who earned notice for stirring the Orange County real estate market just when it looked like a summer stall would grab all the attention. Chung made headlines by announcing plans to buy the Balboa Bay Club and Newport Beach County Club, and followed up with word that he’s looking for a site in Southern California to build an electric-battery factor. He’s got an operating base in China, a billionaire’s reputation, and interests in various Orange County companies based on deals that have gone through. His pending deals here are less than certain these days, but he merits mention for the boldness he brought to a marketplace where uncertainty was gaining the upper hand.
Our Business People of the Year are a varied bunch, from automakers to valve image makers and one who might even turn out to be a mythmaker.
All of them kept a focus on moving forward through the uncertainty of 2011.
Give them all a place on the leading edge of growing sense of confidence about 2012 (see related story, “Big Rebound in Outlook for Q1,” page 1).
