A crowd approaching 630 gathered at the Irvine Marriott on Thursday evening for the 19th annual Business Journal CFO of the Year Awards to highlight the work of local financial executives.
The five recipients were selected from a total of 75 nominees that serve many of Orange County’s best-known companies and nonprofits. Three of the winners were women, reflecting the broader increase of women in top fiancial leadership roles.
Murray Rudin, managing director of Irvine-based RLH Equity Partners, returned as the event’s master of ceremonies. Founded in 1982, RLH’s client portfolio includes mostly technology-based service firms such as Keystone Strategy, Astound Digital, MCA Connect and Red Clay Consulting.
Rudin has spent more than 20 years in private equity and has served as master of ceremonies at the Business Journal’s CFO ceremony for the past several years.
5 Honorees
The event’s five honorees were:
• Jim Watkins of Irvine-based Boot Barn in the Public Company category.
• Anna Ricardo of Anaheim-based MeriCal LLC in the Private Company category.
• Larry Gwilt of Tustin-based Hurtt Family Health Clinic/OC Rescue Mission in the Not-for-Profit Organization category.
• Kate Nguyen of Onterris Inc., formerly known as Montrose Environmental Group, in the Rising Star category.
• Ann Fong of Costa Mesa-based Z Supply earned the Lifetime Achievement Award.
For more details on these winners, see the May 25 issue of the Business Journal.
Upcoming Events
The Business Journal’s next two events are the 27th annual Family-Owned Business Awards on June 11, followed by the 32nd annual Women in Business Awards on Sept. 17. The deadline to nominate individuals for the latter event is May 20.
Costa Mesa-based LAB Holding LLC founder and CEO Shaheen Sadhegi, along with his sons Sebastian, Dominic and Nikolai, will deliver the keynote for the Family-Owned Business Awards.
Charlene Reynolds, director of John Wayne Airport, will be the keynote speaker at the Women in Business Awards ceremony.
