It’s no overstatement to say that Bob Haskell made a “whale” of a contribution to Pacific Life during his 30 years there. Or that he’ll leave behind two big pairs of shoes to fill. This week is expected to bring word that Haskell is retiring from his post of senior vice president of brand management and public affairs. He proved to be a top-shelf brand builder as the champion of the PacLife whale—about as good a brand logo as any insurance company could hope to claim. Haskell also has been the only president of the Pacific Life Foundation, which has given about $78 million in grants to community nonprofits since it started in 1984. Look for Tennyson Oyler to lead PacLife’s public affairs efforts, reporting to Carol Sudbeck, who also will add oversight of brand management to her duties … Carpenter & Co. Chairman Ed Carpenter—a longtime supporter of nonprofit International Medical Corp., which gets doctors into disaster and strife-ridden areas—didn’t have much time to soak up the 2016 buzz about Hillary Clinton, who headlined a Nov. 8 fundraiser for the organization at the Beverly Wilshire. Also in the air was concern for the Philippines, where the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan had just begun. Carpenter got regular updates on the situation there during the fundraiser and followed the gala event by taking part in planning sessions that helped get aid workers to the Philippines by the following morning …
A much lighter moment came during last week’s Family Owned Business Awards presented by the Business Journal and Cal State Fullerton. Keynoter Alan Gladstone gave an insightful and touching talk on his experience building Anna’s Linens into a 315-store retail chain. He was funny, too, especially when he recalled a standoff with son, Scott, and daughter, Carie, both of whom are in the family business. “Let’s pretend I’m the boss,” the elder Gladstone recalled suggesting. “I don’t want to play that game,” shot back Carie …
FivePoint Communities’ boss Emile Haddad and his wife, Dina, apparently like to string big moments together. A couple of months ago, they marked the grand opening of the initial phase of FivePoint’s Great Park Neighborhoods just a few days before serving as co-chairs of the annual UCI Medal gala. Now they plan to host the MIND Research Institute’s Breaking the Barrier! awards this Saturday at Island Hotel, where pioneering female politician and former state education secretary Marian Bergeson will be among the honorees. A few days later will bring an Irvine City Council meeting on FivePoint’s proposal to pay for a sports complex and other amenities on the publicly owned portion of the Great Park in return for the right to develop additional housing units on its own land at the former Marine base …
Folks attending the Breaking the Barrier! event will have to pass through a gingerbread shipyard otherwise known as the lobby at Island Hotel, where a crew ought to be about halfway done with a life-sized Sabot sailboat it will build of homemade gingerbread, frosting and candies. Construction of the S.S. Island Club starts on Friday, with christening via a chocolate champagne bottle at 12:30 p.m. next Monday, when a Toys for Tots toy drive kicks off.
