William Wang is dedicated to the proposition of growing Irvine-based Vizio into a fully diversified consumer electronics brand, a goal that explains the recent rollouts of desktop computers, notebooks and other products. Wang’s willingness to charge ahead into new categories is almost enough to overshadow his success as a marketer who has lifted the Vizio brand to the top of the heap when it comes to the high-def TVs that still are the company’s flagship product. Wang has done it with a “go-big-or-go-home approach” that has included sponsorships of the Rose Bowl and big-name endorsers such as basketball star Blake Griffin. The fruits of his brand-building labors are evident in the current issue of The New Yorker, which included an “Annals of Technology” piece that took stock of the global landscape of TV makers and put Vizio as the lone U.S. entry among the biggest names of the industry. “The familiar brands were there at Best Buy: Samsung, LG, Sharp, Sony, Vizio, Insignia, Panasonic,” the piece read …
Looks as though Edwards Lifesciences boss Mike Mussallem is part of the private investment group backing Laguna Beach businessman and bon vivant Mark Christy in the recent $18.75 million purchase of the Aliso Creek Inn. Real estate sources peg Mussallem as a partner with Christy in Laguna Beach Golf & Bungalow Village LLC, the new owner of the 62-room hotel and nine-hole golf course …
Hall of Fame golfer Nick Price says he credits Lake Forest-based medical device maker Tenex Health Inc. for getting his career back on track. Tenex, which got $5 million in private-equity backing from Charlotte, N.C.-based VCI Partners in 2011, makes the Tenex Health TX device that’s used to remove diseased tendon tissues in the elbow, knee, foot and shoulder. “I am a true believer and without question, Tenex Health TX saved my career,” according to a testimonial from Price released by the company last week. Price recently returned to the Champions Tour after a nearly yearlong layoff due to damage to his elbow tendon, finishing the Encompass Championship last month. He was set for the U.S. Senior Open last week before withdrawing due to a family emergency …
Separated at Birth?: Matthew Vellas, newly appointed CEO of Acacia Research Corp. in Newport Beach (top) and Billy Corgan, frontman for Smashing Pumpkins. Separated at Birth Bonus Round: Geoffrey Godet, boss of Irvine-based InfoTrust Group (see photo, right; related story, page 8).
