Person To Watch – Paul Gigg
SPECIAL REPORT
by Andrew Simons
In October, Paul Gigg took the reins as chief executive of Access360, one of OC’s hottest startups.
While the tech executive has experience running companies larger than Access360’s 200-person group, he’s got the added pressure of overseeing what’s expected to be the county’s next big initial public offering,something,that could happen next year if the market allows.
Investors like Access360 because the company’s software solves a problem for business: making sensitive data available for those who need it while keeping others out.
Gigg, the former chief executive of Santa Monica-based Xdrive Technologies Inc., took over from tech wiz Yuri Pikover, who remains as Access360’s chairman. Gigg has big shoes to fill: Pikover co-founded Calabasas-based Xylan Corp., now part of Alcatel, and has been a key factor in raising Access360’s $82.5 million in venture funding so far. Investors include Oracle Corp. and Verisign Inc.
For now, Gigg will have to guide Access360 through some rough waters. To stay lean, Access360 has laid off a handful of employees after reviewing some of its segments and outsourcing some operations it used to handle itself. The company has kept its headcount to about 200 employees, including contractors, and plans to keep it there until business improves. Gigg will have to balance growth and preservation of resources until the company can pull off a public offering.
,Andrew Simons
Company To Watch – VSk Photonics Inc
SPECIAL REPORT
Lake Forest-based VSK Photonics Inc. is full of intrigue. The company’s plans for a new optical gear plant only make it more so.
VSK recently moved from small digs in the Irvine Spectrum to a larger facility in Lake Forest, where it plans to make the super-secret networking gear it has kept under wraps so far. The Lake Forest plant,including a clean room,should be ready to start producing components in the next several months, VSK executives said. Beyond that, the company isn’t offering up much about its plans.
While most optical gear companies have their products assembled overseas, VSK is opting to build its own, presumably because contractors can’t make products as advanced as VSK plans to. The company designs optical components that can transfer data at 40 gigabits per second. The fastest data transfer rate today is about 2 gigabits per second. The company is betting that the appetite for faster access to data will drive adoption of its components.
VSK founder Donald Ackley has worked at Motorola Inc.’s operation in Tempe, Ariz., and at Epitaxx Inc., now part of JDS Uniphase Corp. The company has a couple of key names in its investor lineup: In April, VSK received a big vote of support with $18 million in financing from Intel Corp.’s venture arm and Morgenthaler Ventures of Menlo Park.
,Andrew Simons
