Executive departures, company shake-ups, an acquisition and other moves played out among this year’s OC 50,the Business Journal’s annual yearbook of the most influential people here.
The section, starting on page 27, has 10 new faces. Most joined existing entries alongside other executives, creating two-, three- or even four-way listings.
Some were added after being tapped to run a company, as with St. John Knits International Inc.’s Glenn McMahon and Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.’s Sally Kasaks.
In the case of Boeing Co., Craig Cooning, Richard Baily and Nanette Bouchard were added to the company’s entry to better reflect its leadership here.
In other cases, succession planning, retirement and restructuring brought new faces, as with Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Mohamed El-Erian, First American Corp.’s Frank McMahon and Dennis Gilmore and The Irvine Company’s Dan Young.
A few executives from last year’s group are out after their boards opted for change: Standard Pacific Corp.’s Stephen Scarborough, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International’s Tim Tyson and Freedom Communications Inc.’s Chris Anderson.
Two others,Dan Artusi, formerly of Conexant Systems Inc., and Jeff Benck, who used to be at QLogic Corp.,were set to debut among this year’s group and were cut when they abruptly left in recent weeks.
Conexant’s entry now has Chairman Dwight Decker along with new Chief Executive D. Scott Mercer, who was named earlier this month.
Benck’s departure left QLogic Chief Executive H.K. Desai as the company’s sole representative.
This year’s changes are among the most dramatic for the OC 50, a typically stable group that doesn’t see a lot of shifts from year to year.
As in years past, some of the change comes down to a changing of the guard, as longtime leaders look to pass the reins to successors. That’s the case at bond fund manager Pimco, where Bill Gross and Bill Thompson enlisted El-Erian as the company’s eventual stand-alone leader.
And while a pending spinoff saw the ascendancy of McMahon and Gilmore at title insurer and business information company First American, the move also clears up who’ll run things after company fixture Parker Kennedy steps back.
The cases of Artusi and Benck show how hard the process of passing the baton can be. Both were picked as successors by longtime leaders,Decker and Desai,only to leave before their first-year contracts were up.
Real estate owner and developer The Irvine Co. has been undergoing a steady transition for the past couple years. This year’s change includes Michael McKee adding the post of chief executive, the company’s first in more than 30 years. He’s now a clear No. 2 to Chairman Donald Bren, an OC 50 mainstay.
Young, an eight-year company veteran, replaced community developer Joe Davis, a former OC 50 member who retired last year. Young joins another relatively new face, Richard Gilchrist, head of the company’s investment properties group, who joined the OC 50 last year.
About OC 50
OC 50 is our admittedly subjective roll call of the key players here. In fact, there actually are 66 members this year, accounting for entries with multiple people. There are another 50 or so honorable mentions.
The business, government and educational leaders are selected and screened in a variety of ways: company size, community involvement, political activity and significance within their own industry.
The process is less than scientific. But this year’s OC 50 includes all the names you’d expect, and then some. We look forward to hearing feedback, omissions and candidates for next year.
This year’s OC 50 includes three women, up from two last year. It’s a diverse bunch with people born in China, Taiwan, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, France, Lebanon, Iran and Russia.
A note on the writing style of OC 50: It’s what’s called telegraph style, which Forbes uses for its annual Forbes 400. The sentences are choppy and truncated, with most articles and some verbs dropped. With 50-plus entries, the goal is to provide readers with quick-yet-detailed looks at the most influential people here.
OC 50 TRIVIA
If you’re among the OC 50, chances are you live in Newport Beach.
The city’s various neighborhoods,Corona del Mar, Newport Coast, Balboa and others,are home to 20 OC 50 members (who actually total 66 including multiple entries).
Laguna Beach, including Emerald Bay, is the next most common with 13 of the OC 50. Coto de Caza and Irvine, including Shady Canyon, are next at five each.
From there the list gets pretty dispersed. Orange, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano and Tustin are home to two each.
Cities and neighborhoods that are home to one OC 50 member are Huntington Beach, Lemon Heights, Villa Park, Fullerton, Anaheim and Garden Grove.
Eight people have their primary home outside Orange County. They’re spread out among Los Angeles County, Silicon Valley, Phoenix and Washington state.
The youngest member of OC 50?
J.F. Shea Co.’s Peter Shea at 41. Next is Quest Software Inc.’s Vinny Smith at 44.
Other relative youngsters include Pierre Andr & #233; Senizergues of Sole Technology Inc. (who turns 45 in May), J.F. Shea’s Bert Selva (46) and Oakley Inc.’s Scott Olivet (46).
A couple of real estate veterans are the group’s oldest. The nod goes to Gen. William Lyon, who’s 85. Not far behind is Henry Segerstrom, who’s also 85 but about a month younger than Lyon.
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Michael Lyster
