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Irvine Nonprofit Octane Adds Three Women to Its Board

Octane, the Irvine nonprofit organization that connects technology executives and companies with sources of capital and other resources, has diversified its board with the addition of three female executives.

The new directors are Kim Kovacs, who sold her Mission Viejo-based business software maker OptionEase Inc. in 2012 to Solium Capital Inc. on disclosed terms; Christine McCauley, corporate vice president of human resources at Irvine-based heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp.; and Juli Stone Moran, director for Deloitte Services LP in Orange County.

Octane’s 43-member board now includes four women, which should help female entrepreneurs in the region access funding, one of the more prevalent roadblocks in the male-dominated technology sector.

“Kim, Christine, and Juli bring new diverse insights and backgrounds to the mix, which will bring new dimension to our program and help us grow the Orange County innovation ecosystem,” said Octane Chief Executive Matthew Jenusaitis.

Male-owned companies raise about 80% more capital in their first year than female-owned counterparts, according to “A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Firms,” a 2012 book funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The book also says women rely more heavily on personal financing than do men.

Octane also added Marc Samuels to its board. The chief executive of Washington, D.C.-based healthcare consultancy ADVI was a healthcare adviser to President George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush during his Texas governorship.

High-Def Soccer Play

Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. has partnered with the largest satellite cable provider in Brazil and a Portland software company to deliver ultra high-definition broadcasts of the World Cup.

Globosat is relying on the chipmaker’s encoding and decoding technology and on video software from Elemental Technologies Inc. for multiscreen content delivery for the final three matches on the network’s SPORTV channel and for 4K resolution of live-stream feeds played in the host country.

The special broadcast is the first to support ultra HD to selected subscribers and Pay-TV operators in Brazil. The technology is essentially four times the resolution of the current HD format and doubles traditional display speeds for improved picture quality and color clarity.

Broadcom’s ultra HD system-on-a-chip is in volume production.

Rio de Janeiro-based Globosat operates 29 channels and reaches more than 45 million viewers in Brazil.

Mobile Tech Survey

An overwhelming majority of U.S. small- and medium-sized businesses won’t invest in mobile technology this year, despite its positive effect on customer service and other areas, according to Sage North America’s annual SMB Survey on Mobile Devices.

About 77% of 1,090 businesses surveyed said they don’t plan to invest in or budget for smartphones, tablets and related gear.

Other findings from the survey taken April 18 and May 4:

• 70% of respondents said mobile technology has had the most positive effect on customer service;

• 54% supply employees with mobile devices, down 14% from last year;

• 68% said smartphones had a positive effect on company productivity, equal to that of laptops.

Sage, a unit of U.K.-based Sage Group PLC, makes software that streamlines accounting, purchasing, payroll processing and other day-to-day tasks.

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