The OC50—the Business Journal’s annual inventory of influence of the prominent and powerful—owes its 10% turnover rate to factors ranging from the end of an era at a longtime pillar of the local tech industry to the emergence of a startup specialist in San Juan Capistrano.
Some of the change owes to the recent sales of two large local companies—Broadcom Corp. and Allergan Inc., both in Irvine—to owners based outside of OC.
The recent sale of Santa Ana-based Freedom Communications Inc. and its Orange County Register also had an effect—as did the continued growth of local residential development, whether at Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine or in luxury communities along the coast.
And this list year’s list also shows that education and philanthropy are vital elements of influence within the business community in Orange County.
Five Arrive
The five new members of the OC50 are:
• Stuart Frost, managing partner of Frost Data Capital in San Juan Capistrano.
• Mike Harrah, president of Caribou Industries Inc. in Santa Ana.
• Paul Musco, founder and chairman of Gemini Industries Inc. in Santa Ana.
• Larry Webb, chairman and chief executive of New Home Co. Inc. in Aliso Viejo.
• Mark Wetterau, chairman and chief executive of Golden State Foods Corp. in Irvine.
The newcomers reflect a loamy local landscape—fertile ground when prowling for power.
Frost comes to the list by way of a quasi-incubator he founded in 2011 with $55 million in funding. It’s launched more than a dozen companies, becoming a major spur to a startup environment that’s garnering growing attention from universities and OC companies. Frost Data Capital starts companies from scratch and hangs onto them throughout their existences. It’s created 24, with 18 still in operation.
Harrah has been a key figure in the Orange County Register lately. He already had bought the daily’s building in Santa Ana when he joined with Freedom Communications’ management team on what turned out to be a losing bid for the company in a bankruptcy auction. Then he struck a deal to buy the land around the building to go with the chunks of downtown Santa Ana in the portfolio of his Caribou Industries.
Musco turned a better catalytic converter into a fortune that, among other largesse, funded an eponymous center for the arts at Chapman University.
Webb has in seven years built New Home into the most active new-home builder in Orange County and the largest here at the luxury level.
Wetterau’s Golden State Foods Corp. took in $7.3 billion in revenue last year distributing food to famous restaurant chains while adding several acquisitions, ensuring it will remain near the top of the heap among privately held companies based in OC.
Mainstays
The new entries join a number of perennial members in finance, real estate, technology, healthcare, education, retail and other sectors.
Money men Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian return to the list, as do real estate powerhouses Donald Bren and Anthony Moiso.
Tech titans include Henry Samueli, David Sun, John Tu and William Wang, while healthcare is represented by the likes of Kimberly Chavalas Cripe, Joe Kiani and Mike Mussallem.
The list includes 55 individuals altogether—a circumstance that owes to several entries that include more than one person.
An example: Real estate magnate George Argyros and his wife, Julia, are listed in a single entry, reflecting their shared commitment to philanthropy and education, among other matters.
Another dual entry has been instituted for Chapman University, where successor-in-waiting Daniele Struppa has joined President James Doti.
Retail is represented by three Segerstrom family members, grocery boss Miguel González Reynoso, and developer Shaheen Sadeghi, among others.
