Pimco execs bookended this edition of the Business Journal, with CIO Dan Ivascyn sitting down with our Peter J. Brennan for an exclusive interview starting on the front page.
Ivascyn’s expectations of a looming recession echo the thoughts of many local banking execs highlighted in this week’s Banking Special Report, starting on page 21.
This week’s back-page Leader Board is from Pimco Chairman Emeritus Bill Thompson, who worked with our Editor at Large Rick Reiff to pull some passages from his new autobiography.
Reiff notes that while there’s heavy stuff in “Billy from Affton,” including Thompson’s eventful years as Pimco CEO and emotional counterbalance to the mercurial “bond king” Bill Gross, there’s lighter fare, too.
Thompson—like Gross (and Reiff), a big golfer—recalls the time he got a hole-in-one. But not just any hole-in-one.
It occurred in 2003 before a gallery on the final hole of a shotgun pro-am at Ohio’s Muirfield Village Golf Club. The shot won the tourney for his foursome and was witnessed by golf great and course owner Jack Nicklaus. “The Golden Bear congratulated me, signed my card, and the ball,” he wrote.
The Business Journal’s 28th annual Women in Business Awards ceremony on Oct. 20 brought in over 700 attendees and 200+ nominees, a near record for the event. Profiles on winners are included in this edition.
Outside the event, some local lawyers were making headlines of their own.
Irvine-based Keller/Anderle LLP’s Jennifer Keller, one of the country’s top trial lawyers, on Oct. 20 saw client Kevin Spacey defeat a sexual abuse case against him following a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court. The decision came roughly two hours after jurors began deliberating, according to reports.
The jury “showed it could tune out the rumors and social media gossip and focus on the actual evidence—which all pointed to this having never happened,” Keller told the Business Journal. The actor still faces other charges.
Camille Vasquez, partner at the Irvine office of Brown Rudnick LLP, appeared to be landing another notable client, Kanye West, as of Oct. 21, when TMZ first reported she was being brought on to handle his varied business matters.
Last week came a reported about-face from Brown Rudnick, which dropped West as a client due to his latest antisemitic remarks.
Vasquez rose to fame representing actor Johnny Depp in the Amber Heard trial.
Irvine’ future as a possible life science hub is highlighted on Katie Murar’s front-page exclusive.
Much of the city’s past came under the watch of Al Treviño, one of the original planners for the Irvine Co.
“Simply put, Irvine’s master plan has been a resounding success—and it continues to guide the city’s thoughtful evolution and growth,” he wrote in 2018.
Treviño died Sept. 29 at his Laguna Beach home. He was 90.
“Al’s legacy of master planning at the local and national levels will continue to positively shape millions of lives for generations to come,” said Irvine Co. spokesperson Ryan Lilyengren. “We at Irvine Company are profoundly grateful for his professional contributions and for his friendship over these many years.”
