Among our P1 stories, Mediha DiMartino found a nondescript Garden Grove co. sitting on new business that could triple sales—a story anytime, more so when the growing concern is part of a 352-year-old French manufacturer. Saint-Gobain S.A. started out melting glass for King Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles in about 1678. This year its GG subsidiary, a pup of 25 years, is gearing up to make windshields for King Elon I …
Moody’s just rated the 200+ Amazon HQ2 aspirants. Austin edged Atlanta and Philly—I know, Philly—Eagles Super Bowl and HQ2? In the same year?
Only two Western cities rated, Salt Lake and Portland. As sharpies have told me, Amazon is global, why have HQs in the same time zone?
Enough cold water … there’s a list where OC did crack Top 10. Business Insider ranked suitors by incentives. When Irvine Co. Chair Donald Bren offered to finance the $5B build-out, that was enough to rate Irvine No. 2 topped only by Newark, N.J. after Gov. Christie’s promise of $7B in tax goodies. Sooo Jersey …
CEO University: Ric Franzi believes in continuing education for CEOs. His Critical Mass for Business is all about peer learning … spent some time this month at one of Franzi’s Executive Conferences at the Center Club with his growing legions of peer learners—middle-market CEOs wedging time into their insane schedules to discover what they might not know, from people they didn’t know. Neat group.
And then there’s Hall-of-Fame career learner Mark Chapin Johnson … Johnson was a healthcare entrepreneur, starting Chapin Medical, one of the first specialty distributors of critical-care products to hospitals. Started it at 23, ran it for 30. Johnson’s resume reads like there’s five of him—chair of the Performing Arts Ctr., co-founder New Majority, Hoover Institution at Stanford …
When I run into Johnson, he’s invariably on his way to school. Just because.
Only five years ago he completed two Ph.D.’s. His new venture is helping to build the Masters Program in War and Society at Chapman.
Among Johnson’s favorite educators … a Harvard C student and a sergeant named Rodriguez from Fort Ord. “Straight out of “Full Metal Jacket,” Johnson recalled … told me ‘I was worthless.’ Then he taught me discipline, respect, camaraderie.” The C student? Johnson just spent a few days with him. Fella named Fred Smith, founder of FedEx.
Benjiversary … Lloyd Weinstein’s Benji’s in Santa Ana outlasted NY’s Stage and Carnegie … the latter shuttered for stealing gas from Con Ed—sooo NY…
Now I want pastrami.
