OC LEADER BOARD

 Editor’s Note: Top OC execs contributed 51 back-page Leader Boards to the Business Journal in 2021. Here’s a look at some of their more notable contributions.

A $30 million gift for a concert hall is not philanthropy—it is a Napoleonic coronation … Trust me, I don’t (donate) for the adoration or to get invited to fancy soirees. Attending parties and enduring small talk is a form of torture for me, death by hors d’oeuvres.

—Bill Gross, aka “Bond King,” Pimco’s director emeritus

We at Cal State Fullerton constantly and consistently evolved to better serve the growth and changing face of Orange County. So much so that, in February 2020, just one month before the pandemic touched down, our graduation rates were at all-time highs, our opportunity gaps were at all-time lows, and we were ranked No. 3 in the nation for conferring bachelor’s degrees to historically underrepresented students.

—Fram Virjee, president, Cal State University, Fullerton

The New England Journal of Medicine article, “Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement,” is correct that Black patients have been a challenge for conventional pulse oximetry, resulting in the overestimation of arterial blood oxygen saturation … (However) the New England Journal of Medicine published their findings without asking for the kind of data that you’d expect in a scientific journal. The Boston Review and the New York Times rushed to give the purported bias in a pulse oximeter a racist narrative.

—Masimo founder and CEO Joe Kiani explaining that pulse oximeters are not racist

This drive to be a business owner—I didn’t know it was called entrepreneurship at the time—directed the course of my academic career. I was always good at math. At one point, I pondered being a mathematician or an engineer but quickly chose engineering because engineers got to build things. People may not realize this, but engineers have contributed to almost every company in existence worldwide in some form or fashion.

—Derreck Ford, founder, Jet Equipment Corp. 

What’s really going into commercial dog food? The answer is horrifying … Dog food is gathered from “4 D” meat, as in animals that are dead, dying, destroyed, or diseased. Another “D” word is “deadstock,” which means products removed from the sales chain of meat for humans.

—Shawn Buckley,  founder, JustFoodforDogs;and Dr. Oscar Chavez, Chief Medical Officer, JustFoodforDogs

Solving the problems of healthcare are infinitely more complicated than making a driver-less car not run into things.

—Jeff Margolis, chairman, NextGen Healthcare Inc.

In Sacramento, the feeling is that the wealthy can afford the highest personal income tax rates in the nation, affectionately referred to as the “weather tax.”  

—John Moorlach, former California State Senator 

In 1982, sales went through the roof with the release of the hit movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High … Sean Penn played Jeff Spicoli, a lovable stoner character who always wore Vans. If there was ever a character custom-made to wear our shoes, it was Spicoli. Not only did he skate and surf, but he was also in a band. He epitomized everything that was cool about Vans. He was young, fun, and super likeable—an off-the-wall individual who was always his own man, much to the frustration of his teachers … When audiences saw the movie, orders for the checkerboard style exploded. The film launched Vans nationwide.

—Paul Van Doren, founder, Vans (died May 2021)

When Warren Buffett expressed an interest in RSI, he was cordial, to the point, and absolutely devoid of politics. The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway was exactly as I had imagined him to be.

The same day that he received my executive summary, he called me. “Ron, you’ve got a great company. I am so impressed. How in the hell do you make these kinds of margins, despite the tough business environment you’re in?” When one of the greatest investors in history gives you a sincere compliment, you take a second to let the message settle in. Especially because you know he’s a zero-percent bullsh*tter.

—Ron Simon, founder, RSI Home Products 

A competitor from L.A. called to use our facility for hosting one of the organizations that provided continuing education. I said, “You are welcome to use the facility, but I am not quite sure that we will be around at that time. I need $100,000 just to keep going.” Her reply stunned me. She said, “Come up and get a check.” It was just another instance where a business owner went out of her way to help another business owner, and I learned that it was the way of hard-working, business owners.

—Jean Gonzalez, owner, South Coast College 

In the middle of the Transpac race, when things started going wrong, I had the realization that we were closer to the Space Station than to the safety of land. Our small boat, provisions and teammates were the most important things in our lives.

—David Dahl, CEO, Whittier Trust, on his first Long Beach to Hawaii Transpac race 

We are extremely disappointed with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’s proposed 2022 rates for (our products) … (The rates) are well below our expectations and the ranges that were contemplated in our internal and external generated analyses. Clearly, these proposals are unexpected, unwelcome, and are the latest example of a current system that often seems to devalue and discourage innovation.

—Thomas Burns, CEO, Glaukos, on a conference call with analysts

There are sharks out there just waiting to buy a business, and they can detect in a matter of minutes who is a sophisticated seller and who is not … Over the course of my career, I’ve learned that no matter how much money I make, I can’t buy time. It’s the one element that is critical but can’t be purchased.

—Adam Coffey, former CEO, CoolSys 

The most important quality in a salesperson is personality. Either you got it or you don’t. I’m talking about drive, optimism and the ability to improvise. We’re looking for people who won’t take no for an answer. I don’t believe a salesperson can thrive without these attributes.

—Tony Assali, owner, EscrowQuick

We lost 22.4 million jobs in a period of six weeks. We only lost 15 million jobs in The Great Depression. But five months after the lockdowns, we had half of them back. That’s abnormal … We see GDP that goes down 31% in a quarter, then up 33% the next. That’s abnormal. The data is going to be crazy for a little while and few of the numbers or comparisons are going to make sense until about 2024. The Next Normal is Abnormal. We’ve not been here before.

—Dryden Pence, co-founder, Pence Wealth 

Harry Rinker called me on his 100th birthday this year to tell me that his 95-year-old friend, Paul Musco, said, “Happy Birthday, Mr. Rinker.” Harry then told Paul that he didn’t have to call him “Mr.”

Paul responded by saying, “But my mom and dad always told me to treat my elders with respect.”

—Jim Doti, President Emeritus, Chapman University

The pandemic has tested our world, our country, and our community in ways unseen in more than a century. Through it all, Orange County has risen to the challenge. Nonprofits moved critical services online, and individuals and businesses gave generously to help our most vulnerable neighbors. A collective effort between the Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) and local funders rapidly deployed nearly $4.8 million to 180 Orange County organizations serving on the front lines of need through the OC Community Resilience Fund.

—Shelley Hoss, CEO, Orange County Community Foundation