OCBJ Honors Top Local Innovators

Syntiant Corp. CEO Kurt Busch believes today is the best time in human history to ever be alive.

That’s due to the ongoing efforts of innovators across the globe to make game-changing breakthroughs from simplifying the way we do laundry to life-saving technologies.

Orange County has become a hotbed for that innovation, Busch notes, and is evidenced by winners of the ninth annual Business Journal Innovator of the Year Awards.

“Orange County is God’s innovation,” Busch said during the event, held Sept. 7 at the Irvine Marriott. Roughly 300 members of the local business community were in attendance.

Syntiant is one example of a local innovation success story. The Irvine-based upstart chipmaker has raised more than $120 million and delivered more than 20 million chip units since its launch in 2017.

The firm has a track record of surpassing its investment goals in funding rounds, most recently raising $50 million, up from the $30 million expected.

“Innovation is the lifeblood of startups,” Busch said.

5 Honorees

This year’s five honorees, selected from about 60 nominees, were:

•  Ramin Mousavi, chief executive of Irvine-based CathWorks which makes the FFRangio System to help doctors identify coronary issues in a noninvasive manner.
• Alex Parker, the owner of Orange-based Redline Detection, which manufactures award-winning diagnostic leak detection equipment for the automotive industry.
• Rob Phillips, founder and CEO of Phillips Connect, Phillips Industries and Phillips Innovations, an Irvine-based technology supplier to the commercial vehicle industry.
• Jennifer Friend, CEO of Project Hope Alliance, a Costa Mesa-based organization that provides homeless youth with education tools and opportunities.
• Robert Brunswick, CEO of Newport Beach-based Buchanan Street Partners and founder of Hoag Innovators, an investment committee for healthcare ideas from Hoag doctors.
  The five winners will be profiled in the Sept. 18 print edition of the Business Journal.

Upcoming

The Business Journal’s next event is the Women in Business Awards on Oct. 5.
Aimee Weisner, an independent board member with firms such as Glaukos Corp. (NYSE: GKOS) and Staar Surgical Co. (Nasdaq: STAA), and former general counsel of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE:EW) will be the keynote speaker.