As a “family friend” of Pervez Musharraf, tech entrepreneur Safi Qureshey says he gets accosted by anyone with a gripe about the Pakistani strongman: “Even my mother complains to me, and she knows him better than I do!” Qureshey credits Musharraf for permitting an apparently fair election that could be his own political downfall. Qureshey says he is encouraged that “some of the keys of democracy” are taking hold in his native land,the judiciary, parliament and the media …
Meanwhile, Qureshey, cofounder of former PC maker AST Research, predicts a breakthrough deal soon for his current venture, Quartics Inc. The company has a chip that links computers to digital TVs; Qureshey is trying to get the chip into PCs, flat panels and/or set-top boxes. In an example of OC networking, William Wang recently made the five-minute trip from his Irvine Spectrum office to Quartics to meet Qureshey and check out the company. Wang, CEO of flat TV seller Vizio Inc., earlier this month won an OCBJ Excellence in Entrepreneurship award; Qureshey is the OCBJ’s 1993 Businessperson of the Year. The matchmaker was Ron Shiroke, CEO of digital display company CVD Inc. in Santa Ana, who has worked for both men …
In the scramble among OC law offices to add talent, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has landed a big one (literally and figuratively),veteran, tight-end-sized real estate lawyer Steve Edwards, who moves from O’Melveny & Myers …
The “Foreclosure Bus Tour” has been spotted in Orange County … Gwen Stefani outfits and set pieces from her 2007 Sweet Escape Tour were drawing thousands of dollars in bids on eBay last week, with the proceeds earmarked for Orangewood Children’s Foundation and Children’s Hospital. The pop star from Anaheim raised close to $200,000 for the two charities last year auctioning off concert tickets …
John McCain comes to The Island Hotel in Newport Beach on March 25, part of a three-day California fundraising swing. Island owner Donald Bren was an early McCain backer; most other OC Republican deep pockets now also have joined the fold …
It’s a sellout: Best-selling author Daniel Pink (“A Whole New Mind”) speaks, then chats with EE RR, at a Wednesday luncheon at the Irvine Marriott sponsored by the OC Board of Education and Arts Orange County …
GOP adviser/chiropractic insurance lawyer Michael Schroeder has done well with his law degree from USC, but daughter Sara is opting for Harvard Law School (over USC or Yale).
