In this issue Peter J. Brennan’s visit with PAAMCO’s Jane Buchan—going back to her roots not only in investing, but also track and field. While a Bulldog at Yale, Jane was a nationally recognized high jumper and competed in the U.S. trials for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. Nowadays, she’s getting back into track workouts, which she said is “like comfort food.” It doesn’t include a return to high jumping as the 53 year old quipped, “There’s a point when you shouldn’t leave the ground!” For more on Jane’s new venture, see the ‘rest of the story’ (this issue, Page 1).
Buchan’s high-level sports background not unusual for C-suites here, everywhere. Find me a high-achieving CEO, and still, I often find military or competitive-level sports on the resume. How many? A sampling: Henry Nicholas, (crew, UCLA); Parker Kennedy, Chairman, First American Financial Corp. (NYSE: FAF) – USC track-and-field – and dad Don a better-than-scratch golfer at Tiger Woods’ alma mater, Stanford University; Marcellous Mark Reed, OC 500, President, “Chapter of the Year” – 100 Black Men of Orange County, Inc., 4-year track scholar, Tennessee; software exec turned P/E and VC investor Jim Madden, Carrick Capital, champion sailor; is it fair to include Oscar winner and would-be media baron Kobe Bryant?
How’ bout them Apples? So Apple hit $1 trillion in market value this week, first U.S., first anywhere company. Got us to thinking, most valuable company here now, and in OC history? Okay, the privates a little too nebulous to peg, especially real estate. Let’s go with the efficient–market hypothesis and public cos. Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW) $30B at the end of the week, has touched $35B…but all-time?
Top of mind is Irvine’s Allergan –I know, Parsippany, NJ or somewhere in Ireland for tax purposes now, but founded and grown and still significant here –reached $73 billion in 2015 when it was sold.
Allergan, which also kept the same name in the merged company that is now based in New Jersey, like every big drug company has ever been, reached a market cap high was $84 billion in 2017.
Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq; AVGO) should get a special mention. It reached $33.3 billion before it was sold in 2016, about $70B in the dot-com era, and since then the new company, Hock Tan’s Avago, which took the Broadcom name and is now based in San Jose, reached its cap high of $117 billion in June…
Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC) in March reached its all-time high market cap of $31.7 billion. Not today, 52-week low, and $20 billion at press time. But in perspective, not bad for the long time OC-based computer-storage leader that had a $58 million market cap in 1991, traded around $1; last year designated HQs as San Jose…
Musco Center for the Arts nabs Architizer Competition for architecture just two years out of the gate. Placido Domingo returns October 1…opened OC’s No. 2 performance stage as a favor to the sponsors’ and opera lovers, Paul and Marybelle Musco.
