It’s one thing, perhaps expected at this point, for Texas to poach local companies looking for cheaper business environments.
But when the Lone Star State got Watty, it seemed a bridge too far.
That nickname belongs to James Watson, managing partner of Newport Beach’s CT Realty, protégé of Don Koll, and long one of OC’s most-connected execs, real estate or otherwise. When I started here more than a decade ago, it was suggested that I immediately connect with him, because as our publisher noted, “Watty knows everyone.”
It was good advice.
It seemed apt that one of my first meetings as Editor was with Watty, who was in town: he’s called the Dallas area his main home for about a year.
That’s largely down to CT’s booming development pipeline in that region; he’s overseeing millions of square feet of mega-sized industrial buildings in that area. But speaking with him, you got the sense that Texas’ laissez-faire regulatory environment was more to his liking, too. CT hasn’t built a new industrial building here in years.
Newport Beach still is a draw for Watty, who has a second home, plenty of friends, and a few boats here. He said his largest yacht recently got bumped from a prime spot on Balboa Island; the slip was taken over by a larger yacht—one owned by Corona del Mar fitness entrepreneur and ALS fighter Augie Nieto.
More importantly for Nieto than a boat parking spot: his Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS just announced the first human was successfully given a dose of AT-1501, “a promising investigative drug” to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2005.
It’s “a huge announcement,” according to Nieto, whose group has helped raise about $150 million the last decade to fight the disease.
$33 billion-valued heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp., OC’s largest public company, bookends this week’s paper. You’ll find a front-page article on Edwards’ efforts to use Big Data to drive growth for a business unit you might not have heard of. On our penultimate page is a first-person account on how Edwards Chief Executive Mike Mussallem was inspired by his brother George. Shelley Hoss of Orange County Community Foundation wrote this article for the Business Journal.
Edwards’ business is thriving: at its annual conference last week the company projected 2019 revenue will rise 9% to 12%, from $3.9 billion to $4.3 billion.
The company is getting plaudits outside our pages. The Wall Street Journal last week profiled “7 Companies That Do Everything Well,” based on a new Drucker Institute ranking of the most effectively run major U.S. companies.
The other six: Apple, Intel, Accenture, 3M, Proctor & Gamble and Nike. Be like Mike, indeed.
