Change as Constant; Code as Culture

Check the front-page story on the biggest publicly traded companies based in OC, and you’ll get in sync with Catherine Wood, founder, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest, which specializes in active ETFs that aim to get their arms around the much-ballyhooed, often-misunderstood “disruptors” of today’s business world. Wood told wealth managers gathered for lunch and a fascinating presentation at Fleming’s last week that the average tenure of an S&P 500 company that was on the index in the 1930s was about 100 years. The average these days: about 12 years. OC has lost some big public companies recently—but it also has maintained a pipeline of potential that seems well in line with the modern-day curve, which arcs toward change as a constant … The brisk pace of change among public companies contrasts with many privately held ventures, perhaps none so much as Rancho Mission Viejo LLC, where Tony Moiso can be just as deliberate as the Code of the West. Moiso waited seven years before taking the chairman’s position previously held by his uncle, the late Richard J. O’Neil. Another change came last week when Don Vodra—with more than 20 years on the ranch—assumed the president’s post from Moiso, who will retain the CEO title and count on Vodra to help “identify, mentor, coach, develop, and empower those men and women who will help guide the Rancho Mission Viejo family in the future.” You can bet those two will teach the new generation to stick to the code and “Ride for the Brand” … Other changes, challenges and travels for local execs, starting with Tallia Hart’s move from CEO of the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce to the same post for the San Francisco Chamber … A culinary challenge adds to the cool vibe Dwight Manley continues to bring to Birch Street in Brea, where Bruxie has gotten back on track by making chicken-and-waffles the star of a newly focused menu … Laila Pence traveled far and came away with something heartening from Washington, D.C., where the co-founder of Pence Wealth Management was one of about 50 leaders from Egyptian-American communities across the U.S. invited to exchange views with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on his state visit last week. Pence said the Egyptian president went out of his way to offer assurances that his government is committed to the rights and security of two groups that count Pence as a member: women and the Coptic community of Christians, which is a significant minority in the largely Muslim nation—and growing briskly in OC, by the way … Gen. Michael Hayden— former director of the National Security Agency and author of the newly published “Playing to the Edge”—recently traveled from D.C. to the World Affairs Council of OC. Call it a bargain for the crowd at the Westin South Coast Plaza, which got Hayden’s informative overview, piercing insights, and entertaining spiels hours before he took them to L.A. for a sparring match with Bill Maher on HBO … PIMCO went to Blackstone Group to get Gregory Hall, who is set for a May 1 arrival as managing director and head of private strategies, which appear set to get more attention on his watch … Sullivan Says: Spade is easy, but Archer indicates there’s a genuine aficionado of the hard-boiled mystery genre with a sense of fun to complement the energy that’s gathering at the historic Hervey Finley building in downtown Santa Ana.