Thursday was a good day for boosters of the OC startup-growth ecosystem; UCI Applied Innovation CEO Richard Sudek told the luncheon crowd at our 4th annual Innovator of the Year Awards at Hotel Irvine, that The Cove has grown from 15,000 sq. ft. to 100,000 sq. ft. in four years and now hosts 750 annual events in support of the entrepreneurial sector. “My goal [is to] produce the best damn ecosystem in the world, and let the world know about it,” Sudek said. You can read about the five IOTY winners and their young companies in our Oct. 1 issue.
Winners include Lake Forest-based component manufacturer Shark Wheel, where CTO David Patrick and two partners are literally reinventing the wheel. Other honorees include:
• Kyle Kamrooz, co-founder, chief strategy officer, Cloudvirga in Irvine
• Mike Hopkins, chief executive, Ice Energy in Costa Mesa
• Nick Newsom, founder, chief executive, Ytel Inc. in Foothill Ranch
• Michael Seres, co-founder, chief executive, 11 Health and Technologies Inc. in Tustin … Senior Editor and reporter Peter J. Brennan loves architecture—evident when you read Peter’s features on the best and latest in OC designs in this issue’s Special Report on architecture and engineering, which starts on the front page … good timing too, the Brennans are house shopping after 25-years happily ensconced at their current Irvine address …
Follow the patent lawyers … Ken Cheney joined Costa Mesa law offices of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP last week, last of nine partners and a 40-plus member IP team to join from McDermott Will & Emery; Philly-founded Morgan is one of the largest global law firms with a beachhead in OC; its total of 31 attorneys, coincidentally coming in at No. 31 in our March annual ranking of law firms by local-lawyer count, sure to rise as high as Top 10 with the addition of this IP team …
Annual Barron’s rankings of Registered Independent Advisors (RIAs) put Joe Duran’s United Capital Advisors at No. 2, UC Irvine grad Shannon Eusey’s Beacon Pointe Advisors at No. 36 …
Opera legend Placido Domingo returns to Musco Center at Chapman University October 1 as part of cast performing Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” Will surely make OC’s No. 1 opera fan Paul Musco smile, but the industrialist-arts patron is concerned for the future of opera here. But Musco, a salesman and miracle worker who led a $120M campaign to build a new home for the Norbertine priests in Silverado Canyon, has a pitch for his fellows. More next week …
