Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis no doubt can command the troops. The Marine general also has a good command of the business community. That was seen a few weeks ago during a meeting with the California Coast YPO’s graduate chapter, a group of execs that was challenged by Sweet Life Enterprises founder and local YPO leader Mike Gray to pitch in to Mattis’ favorite charity.
The result: 100% participation, and nearly $125,000 raised—a figure that more than doubled to about $270,000, after American Career College’s David Pyle announced plans to match that initial amount.
Pyle told the Business Journal last week that he was struck by Mattis’ demeanor, leadership and insistence the U.S. will overcome whatever hurdles are placed in front of it by the ongoing political soap operas in Washington, D.C., and that the country and its military, while not perfect, are ultimately a force of good in the world.
One Mattis saying that stuck with him: “the troops are better than the politics.”
Mattis’ preferred charity: the Semper Fi Fund, which provides financial assistance and lifetime support to post 9/11 combat wounded soldiers. Semperfifund.org.
Virtual reality goggles, augmented reality applications, and a focus on work to make the U.S. safer and its military stronger.
That’s the business of Avatar Partners’ Marlo Brooke; the CEO of the defense-focused tech firm is one of five Business Journal Women in Business award winners profiled in this edition.
Avatar’s business goals aren’t too far from that of new OC 50 member Palmer Luckey and his Anduril Industries; Luckey spoke last week at UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business (now seeking a new dean, see page 89) as part of its distinguished speaker series.
Luckey told the UCI crowd that Anduril had a valuation of about $240 million last year, following a reported $41million funding led by Peter Thiel’s VC firm Founders Fund.
Anyone thinking Luckey and Thiel had just bonded over similar right-leaning politics and stories of leaving Silicon Valley would be wrong, Luckey noted: Thiel was also the first outside investor in Luckey’s last gig, Oculus, he said.
Switching to gridiron warriors—Josh Rosen was among the most hit and sacked NFL QBs last season while playing for Arizona, noted his dad, Chuck Rosen.
“I look at it and start thinking about the injuries,” said Chuck, a Laguna Beach resident, medical data specialist and a spine surgeon by trade (see story, page 1). Chuck’s hopeful that the former UCLA star will take less hits this season when he plays for the Miami Dolphins.
