OC 50: The Roster

RAJ BHATHAL

Co-Founder

Raj Swim

Tustin

Co-Owner

Sacramento Basketball

Holdings LLC

Born in India

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Patriarch of family-run operations with a variety of business interests, including swimwear apparel maker Raj Swim, and a significant ownership stake in the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, as well as the team’s new Golden 1 Center and other real estate in the revitalized downtown area of the city. Started Raj Swim with his wife, Marta Bhathal, couple active in OC arts and philanthropic circles.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Raj Swim, among the country’s largest swimsuit manufacturers, was one of first OC companies that helped plug supply gaps in personal protective equipment (PPE) and help flatten the coronavirus infection curve, through face mask manufacturing. More than a million orders made within weeks of pivot to the new product line in late March; tens of thousands of masks donated to healthcare workers in Sacramento.

NOTABLE: Apparel business operations have changed during pandemic, some of its staff in departments such as sales, marketing and design work from home. Other workers in production, the warehouse and its SwimSpot online shop have been placed on a staggered schedule and adhere to social distancing guidelines while at headquarters. No job cuts have been made, according to company officials.

QUOTABLE: Raj Swim plans to remain involved in PPE manufacturing post-pandemic. “Through this exercise, we discovered another viable channel of business for us and have decided to continue manufacturing PPE right here in California, along with our core business of swimwear. Maillots (one-piece swimsuits) and masks,” Raj Chief Operating Officer Bira Bhathal told the Business Journal in April.

FAST FACTS: Raj and Marta Bhathal started the swimwear maker in 1967 and went in with a group in 2013 to buy the Kings. Children Alex Bhathal and Lisa Bhathal Merage handle day-to-day operations for much of family’s operations, including real estate investments, through Newport Beach-based Raj Capital LLC.

BARRY ARBUCKLE

Chief Executive, President

MemorialCare Health System

Fountain Valley

Born in Kansas City, Mo.

Age: 57

Lives in Laguna Beach

DAY JOB: Head of Fountain Valley-based health system with five area hospitals that bring in close to $3 billion in revenue. 200-plus care locations in Orange County and Los Angeles. Built an organization that emphasizes more than 200 locations for outpatient care, while leaving its four hospitals to concentrate on the critically ill. Largest nonprofit healthcare system based in OC.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: System’s MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, Fountain Valley-based MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center are among busier area hospitals during coronavirus pandemic. Four of MemorialCare’s Southland hospitals are participating in a program studying the potential medicinal benefits of using plasma from recovered COVID-19 victims on other critically ill coronavirus patients. Opened a drive-thru coronavirus testing station for its members at a shuttered San Clemente hospital.

NOTABLE: Joe Kiani’s Patient Safety Movement Foundation in February presented MemorialCare with its highest honor, the 5-Star Hospital Award, in recognition of its “steadfast commitment to patient safety and quality of care.” It’s one of only six health systems in the U.S. to receive the award.

QUOTABLE: Speaking to Business Journal in late March, allayed fears of surge in local cases. “We live in a community that offers exceptional healthcare close to home. Whether you seek care at MemorialCare or another health system, you are getting among the best the world has to offer.”

FAST FACT: MemorialCare Health System has its own private equity fund with about $80 million. “We invest in companies that we believe can contribute value in healthcare,” said Arbuckle, who is chairman of the equity fund. “It either reduces cost, improves the quality of the patient experience or ideally does both.”

BERNADETTE BODEN-ALBALA

Founder, Chairman

Director, Program in Public Health

Founding Dean, School of Population Health

University of California-Irvine

Born in Long Island

Age: 59

Lives in Irvine

DAY JOB: Tapped last year to head the start of a new public health school at UCI. Will lead the transition and combination of the current Program in Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, and Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine into one new cohesive school that will have north of 1,400 students. The public health school will be one part of the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Joined a task force organized by Chancellor Howard Gillman in January to help educate and support the school’s some 37,600 students, and work with the Orange County Health Care Agency in its efforts of tracking and analyzing the looming spread of COVID-19 in Orange County. Recently launched large-scale, population-based study that will generate a more accurate estimate of the true prevalence of the pandemic in OC.

NOTABLE: The survey will involve serological testing of a representative sample of 5,000 Orange County residents to determine if they have COVID-19 antibodies, according to UCI. It will “help guide local health officials as they ease social distancing requirements and gradually reopen the economy—while also allowing them to better identify at-risk populations and understand how long immunity to the virus lasts,” it said. See page 22 for more.

QUOTABLE: “Testing that is scientifically and statistically sound is absolutely critical to getting people all over Orange County back to work and back to their lives in a safe way,” said Boden-Albala mid-month. “What we’ve seen so far is that low-income and minority communities are experiencing the most severe symptoms and death rates. It’s tragic, and we have to know why this is happening and what we can do to prevent it. By partnering across Orange County, from Irvine and Newport Beach to Santa Ana and Anaheim, we can do this.”

FAST FACT: In a slightly unusual move for a university dean, Boden-Albala, known for her research in preventative healthcare and how social factors affect health conditions, chose to teach a class of her own at start of year in order to “get a better understanding of the students.” The class of about 150 pupils began in January. The topic? Infectious diseases, featuring a curious one that was rapidly spreading throughout parts of China.

BILL BRACKEN

Founder, Culinary Director

Bracken’s Kitchen

Garden Grove

Grew up in Wathena, Kan.

Lives in Fountain Valley

Donate at brackenskitchen.com

DAY JOB: Face of charity that feeds OC’s needy. Since Chef Bill Bracken launched the nonprofit in 2013, he has combined food recovery with culinary training to feed those in the community who are in need. Fast-grower: in 2017 prepared just under 80,000 “hot, tasty” meals. By 2019, some 350,000 meals were served.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Has upped production and food recovery during coronavirus pandemic. Industrial kitchen now making well over 30,000 meals a week, and 5,000 meals a day, to give to local charities that in turn distribute those meals to those they serve. Through grants from Wells Fargo, the OC Community Foundation and others, as well as private donations, Bracken has been able to hire additional staff to help prepare meals. Bracken previously depended on recovered food from restaurants and grocery stores, but many of those sources have dried up.

NOTABLE: 35-year career in food industry. Served as executive chef at Island Hotel in Newport Beach (now Fashion Island Hotel), other local work has included creating the culinary vision for the Oak Creek Golf Club’s food and beverage operations, and helped to open DivBar Smokehouse BBQ in Newport Beach.

QUOTABLE: “I’ve been up since 3 a.m.,” Bracken told Business Journal in late April. “I have (a) lot of people helping or else we couldn’t do it.”

FAST FACT: His bio notes that “one of his most popular dishes is his inventive take on traditional macaroni and cheese, made with elbow macaroni pasta, Taleggio cheese and crushed truffles.”

Robert Braithwaite

Chief Executive, President

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Newport Beach

Born in Orange County

Age: 53

Lives in San Clemente

DAY JOB: Head of Hoag’s entire healthcare network, including two hospitals and Hoag Orthopedic Institute, some 600 beds. Ranks the second largest on the Business Journal’s annual list of hospitals, reporting $1.1 billion in annual revenue, nearly 6,300 employees.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: The hospital said it has “a world-class infection prevention team leading our efforts” treating coronavirus. This effort includes education, training and drills to properly screen and isolate patients for infectious conditions. Told Business Journal that it was “prepared to protect our patients, physicians, clinical care providers and all employees from the spread of infectious disease. Like many other hospitals, we care for patients with infectious diseases as a matter of course.”

NOTABLE: Making plans to expand Irvine hospital campus, through $226 million buy of existing facilities and excess land next to 405 freeway. Also making plans to go it alone; looking to end affiliation with Providence, lawsuit filed in early May argues that Hoag needs more local autonomy.

QUOTABLE: Slowly reopening hospitals to allow for non-emergency procedures. “We are starting to see a few individuals that are delaying their [emergency] care needs because of concerns around contracting COVID, where we’ve had some individuals actually have more serious conditions like a stroke or heart attacks, and they just delay.”

DONALD BREN

Owner, Chairman

Irvine Co.

Newport Beach

Born in Los Angeles

Age: 88

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: County’s dominant landowner, landlord, with estimated 120 million total square feet in companywide portfolio, including more than 500 offices, over 40 retail centers, 160 apartment communities with nearly 50,000 units, three golf clubs, five marinas, and three resorts. Sole shareholder of company. Wealthiest U.S. real estate developer. Business Journal estimates fortune at more than $17 billion.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Sole OC representative of President Donald Trump’s “Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups,” group of 200 execs expected to provide guidance on how best—and when—to reopen the country’s economy again. Serving on nine-person real estate group, alongside L.A.’s Rick Caruso, a longtime friend of Bren and Irvine Co. board member. Irvine Co. remains main source of commercial construction, and construction jobs, in OC during pandemic, with office development in full force—while maintaining social distancing measures—at Spectrum Terrace and Innovation Park office sites in Irvine. Adjusted its business model for residential and commercial properties in response to coronavirus concerns. In addition to upping cleaning efforts like other local landlords, Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. has offered rent payment flexibility for retail and apartment tenants.

NOTABLE: Most active commercial developer in California in recent years, with bulk of new construction taking place in the Irvine Spectrum area. Mid-rise buildings a focus, new development, Spectrum Terrace, getting close to opening to Alteryx Inc., others. Homebuilding on Irvine Ranch ongoing during pandemic; has been the best-selling master-planned community on West Coast several years running.

QUOTABLE: “We understand these are unprecedented times for our country and the world,” Butch Knerr, president of Irvine Company Retail Properties, said in a March letter to retail tenants. “Working together, we will move forward and emerge stronger than ever.”

BRIAN CHRISTENSON,
ROBIN CHRISTENSON

Founders, Owners

Blinking Owl Distillery LLC

Santa Ana

Born in Salt Lake City (Brian); Van Nuys (Robin)

Ages: Brian: 44; Robin: 45

The couple lives in Santa Ana

DAY JOB: Operates the Blinking Owl Distillery in Santa Ana, with a tasting room. Business also has license to sell its bottles of vodka, gin, whiskey and other items to restaurants and bars. Counted about 400 wholesale accounts in California pre-pandemic and had begun servicing orders internationally just before the coronavirus hit.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Company sought FDA approval as a drugmaker and began making hand sanitizer to address country-wide shortage. Orders came in quickly from the county and hospitals, among other places. Produced thousands of bottles on-site at their facility.

NOTABLE: Filed an application for an on-site kitchen originally slated to open in April. Plans still call for eventual opening. Distillery was temporarily shut down in November following issues with state’s Department of Alcoholic and Beverage Control. After pivot to sanitizer, government was among first to purchase their products, with county making initial 7,000-unit order.

QUOTABLE: “You can’t even—no writer could write this story. You can’t make it up,” Robin Christenson said. “It’s just so crazy the path everybody’s going to be on. This is at least giving us an opportunity to actually be able to support the community. It’s really nice to be needed. It’s a good feeling,” she told the Business Journal in March at the time of the company’s pivot to hand sanitizer production.

FAST FACTS: Founder Brian Christenson’s great-grandfather, Fred P. Armbrust was a bootlegger, selling spirits hidden away in the basement of his dairy farm. Couple breathed new life into the midcentury Blinking Owl Bar with the opening of their distillery in 2016.

ADAM COFFEY

Chief Executive

Coolsys

Brea

Born in Chicago

Age: 55

Lives in Yorba Linda

DAY JOB: Runs country’s largest commercial refrigeration and air conditioning services business; major clients include Target and Starbucks, and the country’s largest grocery and drug store chains. Among Orange County’s fastest-growing private firms the past few years, looking to boost annual sales past the $1 billion mark through acquisitions and organic growth. Since Coffey became CEO in 2016, Coolsys has made 12 buys, half of them over last year or so.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Providing ongoing service to “mission critical” refrigeration and HVAC systems at businesses designated as essential services amid pandemic. Serves “grocery retailers, mass merchants, drug stores, telecom, blood banks” and other businesses, he says. Other new lines of work: CoolSys has provided installation of plexiglass protective panels (aka sneeze guards) at checkout counters in grocery stores, restaurants, and other essential retail stores.

NOTABLE: Company said it is operating at near full-strength with over 1,850 field technicians serving customers during crisis. Expects surge in demand for service and maintenance this summer, as well as boost in work as more businesses open again and tackle energy projects they’ve put off in recent months.

QUOTABLE: “We keep grocery stores’ frozen food and fresh food sections cold. We keep blood banks refrigerated, food storage further up the distribution chain (warehouse) refrigeration cold. We keep pharmaceuticals refrigerated,” he says.

FAST FACT: A business writer; Coffey’s last book, “The Private Equity Handbook,” has held the No. 1 Amazon Best Seller spot “in multiple business categories” at various times this year. Says he has another book in the works.

ERAN COHEN

Chief Executive

St. John Knits International Inc.

Irvine

Born in San Tomé, Venezuela

Lives in Venice Beach

DAY JOB: Leader of OC luxury apparel maker founded in 1962 by Bob and Marie Gray. Company has more than 1,500 workers and 37 company-owned stores.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: St. John’s factory was reworked to accommodate the production of face masks and gowns. Company is able to produce as many as 85,000 masks or 11,000 gowns weekly. A good portion of what’s been produced has been donated, alongside medical grade masks, to essential workers. See page 1 for more.

NOTABLE: Corporate employees transitioned to working from home. Some factory workers were brought back to sew masks and the company’s Baja facility recently reopened with St. John having implemented a number of measures including social distancing and temperature checks. Business also made good use of digital tools, channels to stay in touch with consumers—efforts that will continue post-pandemic.

QUOTABLE: “It’s really impossible to have been closed for two months and not have some sort of negative impact, and the impact is not simply our business-to-consumer business, but we have [retail] partners out there who we’ve been working with for many years and their challenges become our challenges. There will be a shifting of consumer values and needs,” Cohen told the Business Journal this month.

FAST FACTS: Tapped in 2018 to lead St. John. Previously served as executive vice president of customer experience for PetSmart Inc. Before that, held several positions in the fashion, retail world including New York & Co., Payless Shoesource Inc. and Esprit de Corp.

MARK COSTA

Executive Director, Orange County service area

Kaiser Permanente

Anaheim

Born in Patterson

Age: 63

Lives in Palos Verdes Estates

DAY JOB: Helms Oakland-based nonprofit health enterprise with hospitals in Anaheim, Irvine, medical offices around county that serves nearly 600,000 members. Employs close to 8,000 full and part-time workers in Orange County, easily tops among OC hospitals.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Was in active planning for potential surge in COVID-19 cases nearly a month prior to OC getting its first batch of infected patients. Opened “command centers” at the local, regional and national levels to monitor changing conditions. Drive-thru testing at Anaheim hospital was among first in region.

NOTABLE: Kaiser’s emergency departments at both its medical centers have special units that are solely used for Patients Under Investigation, or PUIs. In each pod it has 12 beds for a total of 24.

QUOTABLE: “We are prepared,” Costa told Business Journal in March. “Kaiser Permanente is fortunate that we have national resources that we can call upon should we need them. Locally, we continue to monitor our supplies on a daily basis and currently have an adequate quantity to continue our healthcare delivery and protect our staff.”

FAST FACT: Part of consortium of healthcare agencies building first-of-its-kind mental health center; Be Well Orange County Regional Mental Health and Wellness Campus opening in Orange.

STEVE GARDNER

Chairman, Chief Executive, President

Pacific Premier Bancorp

Irvine

Born in Burbank

Age: 59

Lives in Tustin

DAY JOB: Runs one of the largest banks headquartered in Southern California and the largest based in OC, with nearly $12 billion in assets. Gardner in 2000 took over a failing Riverside-based bank and moved it to Irvine. He grew both organically and through acquisitions and avoided disasters such as the subprime mortgage meltdown of 2007-08. One of best-performing stocks of any OC company over past decade. Preparing to get larger; $1 billion buy of Opus Bank on track to close June 1.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Pacific Premier was by far the largest OC-based bank issuer of PPP loans—approximately 3,750 loans for $1.12 billion. Moved about three-quarters of its 1,000 employees to work remotely. Temporarily closed the lobbies at branch locations that are equipped with drive-thru capabilities. Ended share buyback program to conserve cash. Re-examined loan workout strategy; saying “we typically do not do loan modifications or loan workouts—as the crisis unfolded, we understood that approach would need to change.”

NOTABLE: Not the first downturn Gardner has navigated—says he was preparing for a recession. “While the emergence of a global pandemic to this extent has little precedence and is truly a black swan event, recessions are not,” he said late last month. “They are a normal part of the business cycle, and we have been expressing our concern about the length of the economic expansion for the past two years.

QUOTABLE: Loan modifications come with a caveat. “We are sharing our expectation that our full banking relationship needs to be with Pacific Premier so that we can better help them in the future,” he told analysts late last month.

FAST FACT: Opus buy will boost assets to nearly $20 billion.

HOWARD GILLMAN

Chancellor

University of California-Irvine

Irvine

Born in Los Angeles

Age: 61

Lives in University Hills, Irvine in Tierney University House

DAY JOB: Oversees 55-year-old public university with more than 37,600-plus students, over 25,800 employees including medical center staff. Estimated $45.2 million in student refunds for housing and dinning, and costs associated with remote learning in spring quarter.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Campus busy with activity, despite move to online instruction and social distancing measures. Coronavirus-related research at school spans antibody tests and convalescent plasma therapy at its Vaccine R&D Center. Antibody tests have since been translated into commercial product through Irvine-based Nanommune Inc. On the tech side, UCI researchers developing app to trace exposure to virus. Held numerous PPE drives and 3D printed more than 5,000 face shields for front-line workers. Regarding virtual instruction, recently inked licensing agreement with enterprise software platform Yuja Inc. for sitewide, multiyear implementation following an extensive pilot program. See page 1 story for more.

NOTABLE: UCI ranks No. 9 among public universities by U.S. News & World Report, No. 36 among all schools. No. 1 in nation among public universities for “best value,” according to Forbes. Moving ahead with construction on 9-acre Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences complex; to include new schools for pharmaceutical studies and population health. Continues efforts for $2 billion capital campaign.

QUOTABLE: “UCI is Orange County’s only academic medical center and only major research university. We were built to address challenges such as the one presented by this pandemic, by offering advanced treatment, urgently needed world-class research, innovative interventions, public service, and information you can rely on,” Gillman told the Business Journal in April. “The entire university has mobilized in service of our community at this moment of great need.”

FAST FACTS: Appointed as sixth chancellor in 2014. Increased annual research support by more than $100 million, setting university record. Holds faculty appointments in political science, history, criminology, law and society. Came on as provost, executive vice chancellor in 2013 after over 20 years at University of Southern California. Married to Ellen Ruskin-Gillman, two children.

KIMBERLY CHAVALAS CRIPE

Chief Executive, President

Children’s Hospital of Orange County

Orange

Born in Spokane, Wash.

Age: 65

Lives in San Juan Capistrano

DAY JOB: Runs county’s only dedicated pediatric hospital. Hospital has 333 licensed beds, including 54-bed satellite facility in Mission Hospital and 3,600-plus workers. Led early 2000s financial turnaround allowing CHOC to regain control of operation, which was temporarily managed by what’s now St. Joseph Health. Previously with Columbia HCA Holdings Inc.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: During pandemic, has provided additional resources to staff, including free on-site childcare, food, and access to telehealth consultation with psychologists. Working with Irvine-based WytCote Technologies to provide antibody testing for the clinicians and staff. Extensive online resources for parents on how to educate and protect children during crisis. Offering telehealth appointments for patients and families.

NOTABLE: In January, named chair of the board of trustees of the Children’s Hospital Association, which is considered the national voice of more than 220 children’s hospitals and works to advance child health. In March, appointed Dr. Terence Sanger vice president for research and chief scientific officer, to accelerate CHOC’s research efforts.

QUOTABLE: “Like many other communities across the country, one in five children living in Orange County suffers from a serious mental health condition. As children’s hospital leaders, we are committed to caring for the whole child.”

RECENT: New autism center opened last year. The William and Nancy Thompson Family Foundation provided a $10 million founding gift. Opened 18-bed mental health inpatient center a year ago, first psychiatric inpatient beds for children under 12. Project started with $5 million lead gift from Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, has raised over $18 million.

BILL GROSS

Founder

William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation

Laguna Beach

Retired Co-Founder

Pimco

Newport Beach

Born in Middletown, Ohio

Age: 76

Lives in Laguna Beach

DAY JOB: Gross, long OC’s best-known finance executive, used to oversee trillions at Pacific Investment Management Co. Nowadays, the retiree—the Bond King stepped down from his position at Janus Funds last year—is managing $400 million for his family foundation that launched late last year. Separately, he also oversees his own personal wealth, which the Business Journal in July estimated at about $1.2 billion.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Foundation was among first in area to step up with funding efforts at onset of coronavirus crisis; in late March said it had given $1.5 million to charities and organizations providing relief from the effects of coronavirus on Southern California communities. Recipients included OC Food Bank and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Mission Hospital, a longtime recipient of Gross family giving, in April got another donation from the foundation: 40 contact-free respiratory monitors with a real-time data monitoring system. This month gave to the Laguna Food Pantry, which will provide groceries to 3,500 people and their 14,000 family members.

NOTABLE: The foundation has donated more than $60 million to nonprofit organizations since 2017. Giving to “people in need is like a shot of adrenaline to the heart. It makes me feel I’m doing something worthwhile,” he told the Business Journal late last year.

QUOTABLE: Has called on other wealthy residents of OC to follow suit with giving in tough times. “Those with means are obligated to provide assistance to their communities to help alleviate the impact of the crisis and support the basic needs of families and individuals,” he said.

FAST FACT: Gross took the under in a prediction of 2020 GDP (telling the Business Journal he predicted 1% growth for the year) last December, in a friendly bet with Chapman’s Jim Doti (who went higher with a 1.9% prediction, since significantly revised). Doti won prior year’s forecast; with a recession in full swing, Gross will win the bet this time around.

EMILE HADDAD

Chief Executive, President

FivePoint Holdings LLC

Irvine

Born in Beirut, Lebanon

Age: 61

Lives in Laguna Hills (Nellie Gail)

DAY JOB: In charge of developing homes, commercial space at Great Park Neighborhoods at former El Toro Marine base in Irvine. California’s largest master-planned developer, with additional projects at L.A.’s Valencia development and pair of sites in Bay Area.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: One of OC’s most prominent business leaders has upped his game during the pandemic, turning his attention to helping track down, and pay for, protective masks, sanitizer and other needed items for front-line workers in the area. One week’s efforts at end of March brought in some 100,000 N95 grade masks, along with 100,000 pairs of gloves. Along with Chipotle’s Brian Niccol, one of two OC representatives on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state task force addressing economic impact of the coronavirus. Spot at Great Park will be site of free COVID-19 testing for Irvine residents, program is first of its type in OC, according to the city.

NOTABLE: Home development remains ongoing in Irvine, with sales holding up during pandemic. Recently closed a large land deal with an unnamed builder, developer says. “We don’t have any concern yet on pricing discounts. The biggest issue we are hearing from builders is the lack of financing available for buyers,” Haddad said in late April.

QUOTABLE: “I want to help the medical community, the police, and the firefighters. I also want to help my residents (at Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods),” said Haddad of newfound side job tracking down supplies. “You work where you can make the biggest impact.” As to what others in community can do to help, he says: “This is an area of means. If everyone can adopt three, four, or five families and look after them. If they can help the police, the firefighters, the medical staff. If they can look after their own universe, then we can help a lot of people. In my case, I’m just trying to give people a path on how they can help.”

FAST FACT: Left troubled Lebanon with fiancée, now wife, Dina. Daughter, son both work at FivePoint. Says days as a teenager in Beirut during the start of the Lebanese Civil War gave him skills to navigate current events.

HARALD HERRMANN

Chief Executive

Second Harvest Food Bank, Orange County

Irvine

Born in Johannesburg,

South Africa

Age: 54

Lives in Santa Ana

feedoc.org

DAY JOB: Runs one of OC’s largest nonprofits, which annually receives services and food donations worth tens of millions of dollars. Reported cash contributions approaches $10 million annually; serves some 750,000 people annually.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Hired 120 nonprofit and restaurant workers who were hit by furloughs and layoffs in COVID-19 crisis, for part-time work. Organized a pop-up, drive-thru food bank at the Honda Center on March 21 in response to the pandemic. Fed 2,728 households from 7:45 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Effort accomplished with 30 volunteers and 15 staff. Anaheim police officers, traffic control supported. Now serving an average of 4,500 households (cars) each weekend, scheduled to continue at the Honda Center until June 27th and possibly longer if needed. Since that first distribution, Second Harvest has distributed 824,688 pounds of food.

NOTABLE: Working to translate grocery rescue program to the restaurant industry. Last year, Second Harvest picked up and distributed about 15 million pounds of food, that five or 10 years ago would have ended up in a landfill. Almost half the food Second Harvest provided to those in need last year came from its grocery rescue program. Hopes to translate the program to restaurants in the future to further reduce food waste. Told OC Register in April that Second Harvest was looking for about $500,000 more a week in donations, to cover the cost of not only maintaining its current efforts but to fund more staffers, while servicing thousands of critical needs households affected by the virus, including seniors.

QUOTABLE: “If there were ever an industry on the front lines of every emergency—a hurricane, a flood, a fire—it’s the food community. When the American Red Cross shows up at the site of a disaster, the food industry comes together as a community, feeding first responders and those who need support,” Herrmann told the Business Journal in March.

FAST FACTS: In 1995, Herrmann helped launch the flagship Yard House, which was bought by Darden Restaurants Inc. where he became president of its Specialty Group (Seasons 52, Capital Grille and others). Herrmann joined Second Harvest Food Bank in 2019 as CEO. Of the opportunity to serve, he said “If not now, when?”

ANTHONY HSIEH

Founder, Chief Executive

loanDepot

Foothill Ranch

Born in Taiwan

Age: 55

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Runs country’s second-largest non-bank mortgage lender. Made $45 billion in loans last year, has originated nearly $200 billion in loans since 2010 founding, mostly mortgages.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Among OC firms ramping up job hiring during crisis. Held series of virtual job fairs to help fill a 3,000-worker expansion. Company currently employs some 7,000 workers at Foothill Ranch and other area locations, all of whom are working remotely. Hiring push due to low mortgage rates and loan activity rising, as well to move to more online lending services. Firm says it is working with borrowers who have lost jobs during the crisis.

NOTABLE: Job openings at loanDepot range from sales and operations to marketing and information technology at all skill levels. “We’re in a new norm, but it’s a norm that we were prepared for,” Hsieh said of virtual job fairs. “Our team has created a process by which candidates can apply, on-board and train in an entirely virtual way.”

QUOTABLE: “Today was very important to us for two reasons,” Hsieh said after first job fair. “First, we want prospective candidates to know that there are outstanding job opportunities available with us. And, second, we want people to have greater awareness of the significant work we are doing to make a difference in the lives of people nationwide.”

FAST FACTS: LoanDepot in April announced a $1 million donation to support 20,000 COVID-19-impacted individuals. Company is also serving OC community by providing meals, masks, hand sanitizers, computers and Wi-Fi connectivity to enable children to continue their schoolwork.

TOM HERZOG

Chief Executive

Healthpeak Properties Inc.

Irvine

Age: 57

Lives in Newport Coast

DAY JOB: Runs healthcare and medical property-focused real estate investment trust valued at about $13 billion; one of five Orange County public companies valued at $10 billion or more. Chief executive since the start of 2017, previously with apartment investor UDR. Healthpeak, previously known as HCP, has owned over $20 billion of real estate.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Portfolio it oversees feeling effects of coronavirus numerous ways. Its senior housing segment has seen its share of cases and properties have reported more than 30 deaths as of late April; the pandemic has driven down occupancy for those buildings, while increasing expenses, as operators have stocked up equipment and supplies, spent more on labor, and incurred other unusual costs. Working with operators of those facilities to limit exposure of virus to residents. Offering two-month deferral of rent from May and June to Healthpeak’s non-hospital and non-health system medical office tenants, subject to certain conditions.

NOTABLE: 61% of REIT’s net operating income is concentrated in life science and medical office, with an additional 5% in hospitals. Those subsectors will be less severely impacted by COVID-19 than senior housing, which comprises the remaining 34% of its officials believe.

QUOTABLE: “When we come out the other side of this crisis, we believe there will be pent-up demand that will increase move-ins beyond the average historical levels,” he said in early May, speaking of senior housing. “We have a number of adult children that are home right now from work that are taking to take care of the parents, what we have heard from numerous operators is it’s much, much harder than they had expected.”

FAST FACT: Plans to sell Hoag’s Irvine hospital campus to the tenant, for $226 million.

KIRK INOUE

Chairman, Chief Executive

eVent Medical

Lake Forest

Born in Japan

Age: 72

Lives in Corona del Mar

DAY JOB: Runs 40-person company in the foothills of Lake Forest that makes ventilators for intensive care units at hospitals. The price for the company’s product: about $15,000.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Firm typically makes about 1,000 ventilators a year, or fewer than 100 a month. Not a typical year, as product has become one of most sought-after items in the world amid pandemic. Demand has caused production to rise to 200 a month as of May. While their business is considered essential, those of its suppliers may not fit the list as determined by the state government.

NOTABLE: “We are one of the few companies that can make ICU ventilators in the U.S.,” Inoue told Business Journal, noting his company’s competitive advantage is that his machines are “more state of the art” compared to competitors and he prices it about half that of the competition. Another advantage is that he makes the machines user friendly so someone using it can adjust it as needed without the help of an aide. “Many caretakers where we sell are not educated like in the U.S.,” Inoue said. “We make it intuitive for users.”

QUOTABLE: Once the coronavirus began, the company saw demand from China explode to about 300 to 400 orders in the first 10 weeks this year alone. “We’ve been working on weekends,” Inoue said at end of March. “We have to crank up until we use up all the parts.”

FAST FACT: Inoue founded another ventilator maker, Newport Medical, in 1981; left in 2000. In 2006, he joined eVent Medical and bought it in 2012. Costa Mesa’s Newport Medical was bought by device giant Covidien in 2012, reportedly in the range of $100 million.

DOMINIC IVANKOVICH

President

Advanced Sterilization Products

Irvine

DAY JOB: Exec tasked with growth at ASP, a maker of sterilization and disinfection products for healthcare uses, following its sale last year to a $20 billion-valued industrial technology conglomerate, Everett, Wash.-based Fortive Corp. Was previously with Fortive.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Saw its products generate national headlines as a potential solution to a lack of medical-grade masks for doctors and nurses. ASP, which employs some 700 people with the bulk at its home base in Irvine, in April got FDA approval under its Emergency Use Authorization to use its sterilization systems to decontaminate N95 respirator masks. The system, called Sterrad, uses vaporized hydrogen peroxide gas to clean products. The FDA said ASP has installed 9,930 Sterrad systems in 6,300 hospitals across the U.S. The machines in total have the capability to sterilize per day about 4 million N95 masks that provide more effective respiratory protections to their users than typical surgical masks.

NOTABLE: It takes between about 24 minutes to 55 minutes for the disinfecting process to take place, depending on the model of the product. By using ASP’s products, the company thinks it can at least triple the lifespan of the hard-to-find N95 masks.

QUOTABLE: ASP thinks its products can help more than just hospital workers during the pandemic, according to Ivankovich. “It’s not just healthcare professionals that are exposed to the limitations of the supply chains around personal protective equipment—it’s a lot of markets as well,” he told the Business Journal after getting the FDA nod. “Our goal is to make sure we get the equipment to the places where it can make the most difference.”

FAST FACT: Expanding its local base, which included a pair of buildings long used by its former owner, Johnson & Johnson, sitting alongside the Santa Ana (5) Freeway, across from the Spectrum shopping center. It recently inked a lease to take over part of a floor at Broadcom’s campus at the Five Point Gateway campus. The roughly 30,000-square-foot sublease pushes ASP’s area footprint to nearly 150,000 square feet.

STEVE JONES

Chief Executive

Allied Universal

Santa Ana

Born in Orange County

Age: 51

Lives in Coto de Caza

DAY JOB: Took a company that generated $12 million in 1996 to $8.5 billion. Runs the nation’s largest private security force. Built Allied Universal into a firm with 235,000 employees securing 42,000 sites; provides security for about a quarter of the Fortune 500 companies, CEOs and their families.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Allied at the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus. Its guards are at hospitals in hard-hit cities like New York and New Orleans, where they help ensure the people with symptoms are screened and given the right instructions before healthcare workers take over. One of biggest employment pushes in the country underway. Looking to add an additional 30,000 workers by end of June—roughly the number of workers at Disneyland, OC’s largest employer. Late May “drive-by” open house in Orange aims to find 100 new hires.

NOTABLE: Jones keeps abreast of the pandemic’s status by reading reports from his company executives and from Homeland Security. He’s following leading metrics such as the number of people entering hospitals with the virus. “New York is starting to bend the curve,” he said on April 10, a few days before it became public news.

QUOTABLE: “Before you get into (the) hospital, a security officer is asking you questions, sometimes taking temperatures,” Jones said in the Business Journal interview. “It’s been [incredibly] challenging for us because our employees are on the front lines.”

FAST FACT: Allied, which has made dozens of acquisitions in the past decade, has put on hold three pending acquisitions. “We’re conserving all of our cash to make sure our business stays stable,” Jones said.

JOE KIANI

Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive

Masimo Corp.

Irvine

Born in Shiraz, Iran

Age: 55

Lives in Laguna Niguel

DAY JOB: Founded Irvine patient monitoring company in 1989, built firm into OC’s fourth-largest public company. Products help doctors and nurses remotely monitor the blood, oxygen and other key metrics of patients. Primarily used for hospital work, but company had been developing less expensive products for home monitoring, initially with idea to prevent opioid deaths.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Products have never been in demand more than during pandemic, as they allowing healthcare workers to track COVID-19 patients remotely. Products like its Radius PPG tetherless sensor proved popular when hospitals lacked adequate protective gear. “Many hospitals moved their patient monitoring equipment outside of the patient’s room and into the hallway, avoiding the need for caregivers to enter a patient’s room to read the values on the monitor,” Kiani said.

NOTABLE: Stock has exploded, up some 50% in 2020, far and away best performer of any large OC public company this year. Q1 sales of nearly $270 million up 16% year-over-year, topping its typical gains in the 12% range. New products initially developed for opioid-related uses now used in fight against COVID-19; monitors allow physicians to direct patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms to return home.

QUOTABLE: “Thirty-one years of inventing and improving SET pulse oximetry and making systems for remote monitoring affordable and easily deployable prepared us for this moment in history,” Kiani told analysts at end of April.

FAST FACT: In April, Masimo announced a $5 million gift, via its Foundation for Ethics, to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, a Kiani-created organization dedicated to achieving zero preventable hospital deaths worldwide.

MARK KING

Chief Executive

Taco Bell Corp.

Irvine

Born in Green Bay, Wis.

Age: 60

Lives in Carlsbad

DAY JOB: Head of OC’s largest restaurant operator with systemwide sales of $11.7 billion and a local workforce of 4,000. Chain counts 7,000 restaurants in OC alone and is part of fast-food conglomerate Yum Brands Inc.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Ran free Doritos Locos Tacos giveaways for the public that was one-part charity, one-part major marketing blitz during the stay-at-home orders. Extra food went to food banks and $1 million donation was sent to No Kid Hungry. Food trucks were deployed to service essential workers. Taco Bell Foundation this month said that it is awarding $3 million in Live Más Scholarships to its workers and fans of the brand, and also said it would provide $8 million in grants to local nonprofit organizations, “empowering youth across the country, during a time when access to educational resources is more essential than ever.” Company said last week it aims to hire about 30,000 workers, in a move responding to the new guidelines and safety measures restaurants must adhere to. Hires will fill new and existing positions at Taco Bell restaurants, including drive-thru, curbside pick-up and mobile orders and ensuring restaurants remain properly sanitized.

NOTABLE: Rolled out safety efforts that ensured food safety, including sealed food orders given to drive-thru customers via a tray. Began dabbling with make-your-own meal kits, following other restaurant operators, with the launch of taco bar kits. Says operator will be prepared for changes in operations at U.S. locations as restaurants open doors again for in-person dining, thanks to brand’s experiences with customers in China, where restaurants have reopened under social distance protocols.

QUOTABLE: “There’s a distinct group of brave people—from healthcare workers, to teachers, to grocery store employees— who are making sure the world keeps running, and we need to make sure we all do our part to take care of them,” King said in late March when Taco Bell’s food truck fleet was converted to serve essential workers.

FAST FACTS: Joined Taco Bell in July 2019, succeeding Greg Creed as CEO. Previously clocked time at TaylorMade and Adidas. Optimistic about re-opening; recently told Forbes that “our insights group tells us customers want it to be safe to buy their food and [they want] value. The top word to describe Taco Bell is ‘value.’”

Wing Lam

Co-Founder, Vice President of Marketing

Wahoo’s Fish Taco

Tustin

Born in São Paulo, Brazil

DAY JOB: Long-time face of $64 million business he runs with brothers Renato Lee, CEO/president, and Ed Lee, head of forward planning. Company counts 418 workers across 19 locations locally. Has 61 total restaurants.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Always a fixture in OC’s charitable scene, has increased workload during pandemic. Teamed with Anaheim Ducks and Honda Center to bring meals to healthcare workers. Company had already been doing deliveries to local hospital, grocery stores and other businesses with essential workers. Recent sightings at St. Francis Medical Center, CHOC, College Medical Center, while also giving food to families in need.

NOTABLE: Kept some restaurants open to serve takeout and delivery orders. Began offering family meals for $35. Brothers rolled up their own sleeves often pitching in with some food deliveries themselves via the Wahoo’s delivery truck. Operating on the fly: “we’re using duct tape and rope and zip ties” to install “open for takeout” signs at restaurants, he told Business Journal at end of March.

QUOTABLE: When restaurants re-open, expect to see servers wearing clear plastic face shields. Don’t expect the salsa bar to be open though, due to state rules pertaining to self-serve stations. “Yeah, no more salsa bars for a while,” Ed Lee told OC Register this month.

FAST FACTS: Avid surfer who launched Wahoo’s with brothers as casual chain with ties to surfing and skating and food drawing influences from China, Brazil, Baja and Greece. Concept celebrated 30 years in business in 2018. Brothers grew up in São Paulo and learned cooking from father, a chef who later opened Shanghai Pine Gardens on Balboa Island.

CHAD LEFTERIS

Chief Executive

UCI Health

Orange

Born in North Carolina

Age: 46

Lives in Orange

DAY JOB: Newly appointed head of UCI Health, oversees OC’s only academic medical center and all clinical and patient-serving operations. Oversees the overall UCI Health system, which includes UCI Medical Center, the area’s largest hospital, and more than a dozen outpatient research and specialty care centers throughout Orange County and portions of Riverside County.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: UCI Health has infectious disease experts, public health researchers and world-class clinicians working to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Among other works, UCI Health’s medical complex in Orange is the site of a therapeutic clinical trial for a drug that can treat the coronavirus. Foster City-based Gilead Sciences Inc. said at the end of April that early studies indicate its drug remdesivir showed promise for this purpose; the U.S. FDA could authorize the drug’s use for coronavirus treatment if further clinical tries show effects on recovery time. See page 11 for more.

NOTABLE: Said at time of appointment: “UCI Health plays a unique role in meeting the health needs of our region’s residents: While we’re at the forefront of providing complex care and cutting-edge research, we also have a prominent role in providing primary and specialty care in all corners of the community. With the vast spread of COVID-19, this is a pivotal time for healthcare in our state and nation. I will prioritize the health of our community and the safety and well-being of our physicians, nurses and staff as we work together to get through this pandemic.”

QUOTABLE: “Chad Lefteris is the ideal person to lead UCI Health. Coming from one of the most competitive and complex healthcare markets in the U.S., he embraces collaboration. That openness, combined with a keen understanding of strategy, will drive growth so all the people of Orange County can enjoy ready access to the innovative expertise and cutting-edge care of the region’s only academic medical center,” said Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor of health affairs at UCI.

FAST FACT: Named to post at start of April, had been COO since December 2018.

JIM MAZZO

Chairman

Octane

Aliso Viejo

Board Member

Avellino Labs USA

Menlo Park

Born in Oak Park, Ill.

Age: 63

Lives in Laguna Beach

DAY JOB: Most prominent executive in Orange County’s ophthalmic industry, retired from position as global president of ophthalmic devices at Carl Zeiss Meditec at the end of April, remains an adviser. Also remains a board member and on CEO committee of Avellino Labs, and chair of local tech and medtech accelerator Octane, which he helped found.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Helped launch a new COVID-19 testing network for the Orange County Health Care Agency, via his work at Avellino Labs. Network offers testing to area residents who are experiencing coronavirus symptoms, but are unable to receive testing through a healthcare provider. Avellino expects to offer up to 5,000 tests per day by end of May, with much of the work being done for those who are uninsured or underinsured.

NOTABLE: Avellino had been focused on gene-based diagnostics, data and therapy to treat eye disorders. Created the world’s first DNA test to confirm the presence of genetic indicators that are positively associated with corneal dystrophies and keratoconus genetic risk factors. 12-year-old firm pivoted to coronavirus work earlier this year, using practices and technology from its eye work.

QUOTABLE: “The eyecare community, of which Orange County is a major hub, can take great pride in knowing that work done over the past decade was able to be quickly translated to help with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

FAST FACTS: Avellino has been expected to go public this year on Korea’s stock exchange. Along with the U.S., it has operations in China, Japan and Korea. Octane’s Ophthalmology Technology Summit has been rescheduled for early August, to include virtual components.

JOSÉ MUÑOZ

Chief Executive

Hyundai Motor America Inc.

Fountain Valley

Global Chief Operating Officer

Hyundai Motor Co.

Seoul, South Korea

DAY JOB: Duties include oversight of Hyundai’s Americas region, including the U.S., which saw some 688,771 vehicles sold in 2019. Exec is also charged with strategies for global operations of Hyundai Motor Co.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Company’s Hyundai Hope On Wheels donated $4.3 million for COVID-19 drive-thru testing across 22 hospitals, aimed at cities hit hard by the coronavirus, in addition to the development of 65,000 COVID-19 tests developed by South Korea-based Seegene Inc. Brought back the Assurance Job Loss Protection program for vehicle owners and lessees and extended Hyundai Blue Link Connected Care service—with features such as roadside and emergency assistance—for additional three months.

NOTABLE: Closed company headquarters with all employees working from home. Hyundai’s workforce was briefed on CDC guidelines. Company stopped all travel and training sessions. Offered additional paid time off for workers directly affected by the virus. Short-term vehicle leases were made available to workers with college-age children. Stopped production at its Alabama plant from March 18 through May 4. Reopened Alabama plant with safety procedures; it takes body temperatures of employees entering the plant, and is changing procedures to allow for social distancing and implementing extensive sanitation measures.

QUOTABLE: “The key to control the pandemic, not only through the pandemic time but also after, is testing,” he told CNBC in late April.

FAST FACTS: Joined Hyundai in 2019 from Nissan Motor Co., where he was most recently chief performance officer and chair of Nissan China. Held several positions at Nissan since his start in 2004. Also worked at Toyota and Daewoo.

MIKE MUSSALLEM

Chief Executive

Edwards Lifesciences Corp.

Irvine

Born in Gary, Ind.

Age: 67

Lives in Laguna Beach

DAY JOB: Runs Orange County’s largest medtech employer—about 4,500 workers here, and 14,000 worldwide. Maker of heart valves and related products, as well as critical care monitoring equipment. By far OC’s most valuable public company, sporting a $45 billion market cap.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Fighting the worldwide pandemic on many fronts, owing to its life-saving products and global reach—plants and labs in seven countries, offices in 35 and patients in more than 100. Edwards’ field clinicians have been taking the same safety risks as other front-line healthcare workers as they assist with heart surgeries, and sometimes join in to help with COVID-19 patients. The company has reworked its supply channels to maintain stocks of everything from animal tissues for heart valves to face masks for employees.

NOTABLE: Edwards has given $3 million worth of its critical care monitors to the relief group MAP International and increased by $1 million its safety net grants in Orange County and other places where it has facilities. In late January, when COVID-19 was still an abstraction for most Americans, Edwards’ China team donated surgical gloves and masks to overwhelmed hospitals in Wuhan.

QUOTABLE: “I’ve had a 40-year career in medical technology and dealt with a lot of issues, but never anything like this—the sheer global scale, the fact that it has touched so many people in such profound ways and with so many unknowns,” Mussallem told the Business Journal’s Rick Reiff at end of April.

FAST FACT: Business as usual in the company’s cleanrooms, where workers making heart valves sit next to each other as they painstakingly sew and assemble the marshmallow-sized valves. The company said strict social distancing isn’t necessary because the rooms are kept sterilized. Workers have always worn masks, gloves and gowns, washed their hands regularly and practiced other hygiene. A filtration system removes contaminants from the air and rooms are scrubbed with strong solutions.

BRIAN NICCOL

Chairman, Chief Executive

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

Newport Beach

Age: 46

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Running the $5.6 billion Chipotle enterprise, which has more than 2,600 locations, through a pandemic that forced the chain to implement health and safety practices as it focused on how to leverage takeout and delivery through its digital and brick-and-mortar infrastructures. Capped the first quarter with revenue up 7.8% to $1.4 billion and net income up 5.4% to $76.4 million.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Amped up its efforts to support front-line workers throughout the pandemic. Celebrated National Burrito Day with free burrito boxes sent to healthcare facilities, enlisted consumers’ help with a buy-one-give-one food donation program in April, waived delivery fees for consumers and launched an e-gift card program that sent donations to Direct Relief for PPE and other items for healthcare workers domestically and internationally. Chipotle acted as virtual chaperone for online prom event it sponsored in early May.

NOTABLE: The company’s locations have mostly remained open throughout the pandemic, allowing guests to order or pickup mobile orders. Hand sanitizer and PPE became the norm in restaurants. Niccol firmed 2-minute video on company’s website to explain company’s safety efforts, dubbed “The Chipotle Way.”

QUOTABLE: “Investing in digital over the last several years has allowed us to quickly pivot our business with Q1 digital sales reaching our highest ever quarterly level of $372 million. Our strong brand, business model and balance sheet give us the confidence to not only weather this downturn but continue to judiciously invest in key areas so that when we come out the other side, we will emerge even stronger,” Niccol said in April with the company’s delivery of its March quarter results.

FAST FACTS: Niccol, named a Businessperson of the Year for 2020 by the Business Journal, stepped into the top spot in 2018 helping reverse a downward slide in the company’s stock. He’s focused on digital efforts, a rewards program, refreshed restaurant designs and improved customer ordering and pick-up processes, such as with the Chipotlanes (Chipotle’s answer to drive-thrus to speed up mobile order pickups).

DOUG PALLADINI

Global Brand President

Vans Inc.

Costa Mesa

Born in 1966, in

Bloomington, Ill.

DAY JOB: Runs footwear and apparel company that ended 2019 with $4.2 billion in sales and some 15,000 workers companywide, 650 of which are in OC. Costa Mesa brand is one of the darlings of parent VF Corp.’s portfolio, seeing big growth that’s come in faster than expectations. OC’s best-performing large retail or apparel company for several years running.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Launched “Foot The Bill” program aimed to help some 160 small business owners impacted by COVID-19, says it will commit at least $4 million to program. Company produced limited edition footwear, designed by each small business partner, with proceeds (minus the cost to produce and ship) going directly to the program partner. As many as 500 pairs of shoes for each design were produced for sale at a retail price of $90. Worked with Hedley & Bennett on production of more than 250,000 face coverings, using canvas typically found on Vans shoes, to be donated to front-line workers. Donated 40,000 Vans shoelaces to designer Michael Schmidt for production of 20,000 face shields for healthcare workers.

NOTABLE: Moved corporate to work-from-home and shuttered U.S. and Canada stores in March. Parent company continued to pay store employees and distribution center workers throughout pandemic across its brands.

QUOTABLE: “We have all lived through the evolution of COVID-19 and continue to personally experience its drastic impact and disruption on our work and home lives. While the lasting impact of this global pandemic is unclear, I am overwhelmingly proud of what Vans is doing to support those in need as our global communities continue to grapple with the realities of COVID-19,” Palladini said in a letter to consumers.

FAST FACTS: Longtime Vans exec who joined the company in 2004. Has worn many hats, some of which have overlapped. Headed global marketing for business between 2004 to 2014, helping solidify brand’s relevance among the youth and growing sales. Took on additional duties in 2013 with appointment to vice president general manager of North America for Vans up until 2016. Has also spent time on action sports publishing side.

ABDUL RASHID

Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer

AST Sportswear Inc.

Brea

DAY JOB: Largest vertical apparel manufacturer domestically, handling everything from knitting, cutting and sewing at its facility. Company is estimated to have 250 workers locally producing product under the company’s Bayside, Union Made brands.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Switched up its manufacturing plant to begin producing face masks very early on into the pandemic. Was the only local apparel manufacturer tapped to be part of a consortium of companies throughout the country working with the federal government to produce face masks for front-line workers. Held a donation drive for locals at its Brea headquarters, promising free masks to the first 5,000 cars.

NOTABLE: Counts some 500 hands in the U.S. touching one of its finished garments across the entire production chain, from the cotton farmers to the completed product.

QUOTABLE: “I have to do something. I have a big factory. I can do something,” he told news outlets at time of pivot. “All across the nation, whoever needs it, we’re going to send it to them.”

FAST FACTS: AST started in 1995 by four brothers. Moved headquarters from Anaheim to 115,000-square-foot Brea facility with growth spurt in 2013. Added the former American Apparel facilities in Carson and Hawthorne to its footprint in 2016 with that company’s bankruptcy and subsequent sale.

DAVID PYLE

Chief Executive

American Career College

Irvine

Executive Chairman

West Coast University

Irvine

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Founder of a vocational college and a for-profit university that specialize in healthcare training programs. Has five SoCal campuses and some 5,000 students. Also has locations in Florida and Texas. Longtime area philanthropist.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Pyle and his family had given some $450,000 in gift cards, at $1,000 per employee, to those at some of their favorite area restaurants to help them during the pandemic, as of late April. Recipients have included Avila’s El Ranchito Mexican Restaurant, Sapori Ristorante, CdM Restaurant, Plums Café and A Restaurant. It’s a project of the OneRoot Foundation, founded by the Pyle family as a “philanthropy established in education and fortified in the calling of service and support.”

NOTABLE: Giving was initially done anonymously. Pyle later changed plans, and thought that by putting his name out, “it would inspire others who know him, especially those who also have the means to do the same,” noted recent L.A. Times story. Tells the Business Journal his favorite dish at the Balboa Peninsula outpost of El Ranchito is the chile relleno. Son Henry says his father has been going to that restaurant for 40 years.

QUOTABLE: “We are well aware that that this pandemic is changing daily life for you and your family as it is ours. You are an extended member of our family,” said letter accompanying gift to employees at Sapori. American Career College’s website tells its healthcare students that “we admire your devotion to embracing the adversity we are facing as a nation, college, and community so that you can soon provide patient care to those in need. As we see together what the future holds, you will soon join our alumni, facing the front lines as a healthcare warrior.”

FAST FACTS: David is the son of actor Denver Pyle, who had recurring roles on the “Andy Griffith Show” and “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Recognized by Business Journal in 2008 as an Entrepreneur of the Year.

SUE PARKS

Chief Executive, President

Orange County United Way

Irvine

Born in Rockford, Ill.

Lives in Dana Point

unitedwayoc.org

DAY JOB: Runs one of OC’s largest nonprofits, focus on homelessness and other critical challenges facing local children and families.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: United Way’s Pandemic Relief Fund has raised more than $3 million for vulnerable populations, including low-income individuals, families at imminent risk of homelessness and the current homeless population. Donations from Edwards Lifesciences, Allergan Foundation, City National Bank, Pacific Life Foundation, Insperity, US Bank, St. Jude Medical Center, Ducommun Foundation, SoCalGas and Wells Fargo, among others. Also launched “OC Family to Family” campaign, dedicated completely to homelessness prevention efforts.

NOTABLE: In addition to coronavirus efforts, leading United to End Homelessness initiative; local execs involved with effort include Chairman Larry Armstrong, Karl Kreutziger, Steve Churm, Charles Antis, Ernie Schroeder, more. United Way last week hosted its annual Women’s Philanthropy Fund Breakfast virtually; event featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

QUOTABLE: “As we take steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the dangers posed by COVID-19, it is imperative that we also take immediate steps to protect the livelihood of our Orange County community,” Parks said. “There are many families struggling to make ends meet right now due to job loss or temporary layoffs. Our hope is that this money will help them make monthly rent and utility payments, or buy groceries. We’re grateful for support from the community and know we’ll be able to help many people.”

FAST FACTS: Parks is the founder of OC United Way’s Women’s Philanthropy Fund, which has raised $36 million since its inception in 2002. Parks formerly has served as CEO and co-founder of iCount Wellness at WalkStyles Inc., a leading corporate wellness program that integrates wellness into organizational culture. Prior to this position, Parks held executive roles at Kinkos, Gateway Inc., US West, and Zellerbach Paper.

DAN RODRIGUES

Chief Executive

Kareo Inc.

Irvine

Born in Anaheim

Age: 44

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Runs homegrown software firm that serves about 60,000 independent medical practitioners and providers. Cloud-based provider of electronic healthcare record, billing and marketing software. Also offers telemedicine, payment services and advanced analytics and reporting.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Produced one of the first data sets on the spread of coronavirus in Orange County. After moving its entire workforce to remote operations and providing care packages and meals for employees, Rodrigues decided to try a different type of employee perk: offering serology tests to all employees.

NOTABLE: The results? Out of 415 participants, including employees and family members, the study revealed a contraction rate of about 10% or 40 participants. Out of the 40 participants that tested positive, 25 or 6% tested positive for antibodies with no active infection. The CEO said he’s willing to work with other area companies and business leaders to share notes, with a goal of helping to scale COVID-19 testing in Orange County, as well as in the communities where Kareo’s customers are based.

QUOTABLE: “Our main goal was to show employees that we care,” said Rodrigues, who announced the findings from the testing on April 20. “But there’s also a lot of questions about how we return to work and restart the economy. We’re in this age of big data and analytics, yet we’re facing a crisis with no data or analytics.”

FAST FACT: The company said its telemedicine offering has seen about 50 times higher volume in virtual visits since mid-March, and its mental health segment is experiencing more business. For more on Kareo’s COVID-19 test experience, visit https://bit.ly/3eNjCTs.

JONI ROGERS-KANTE

Founder, Chief Executive

SeneGence International

Foothill Ranch

Born in Sapulpa, Okla.

Age: 61

Lives in Irvine

DAY JOB: Started beauty and skincare company that counts a network of more than 500,000 sellers based out of nearly 20 countries. Company is Orange County’s largest woman-owned business with an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue. Ranked No. 22 last year on OC’s list of the largest private companies locally.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Saw the need for hand sanitizer and stepped up to the plate to produce thousands of bottles in partnership with its manufacturers. Some of those bottles were gifted to consumers with their purchases, while a good chunk also went to organizations it’s worked with in the past: Ronald McDonald House and CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange, in addition to organizations and facilities in Oklahoma, where Rogers-Kante is from.

NOTABLE: Organization moved quickly to adapt to working from home, continuing to rely on the BlueJeans conferencing system for management meetings. Facebook Live was a good way to stay in touch daily with the seller network, with communication across these channels ramped up during the shelter-in-place orders.

QUOTABLE: “Hand sanitizer was not one of our original products, but we saw the need and we stopped doing what we [were] doing, of course, and tried to find a way to pull it all together. So many people had bits and pieces of [the ingredients] but couldn’t do it all because of how difficult it is now to get the raw materials,” Rogers-Kante told the Business Journal in April.

FAST FACTS: Moved to California at 15. Worked at Mary Kay. Rogers-Kante started SeneGence in 1999, linking with chemist to create LipSense liquid lipstick. Company has gone from start in a Newport Beach mobile home to 200,000-square-foot Foothill Ranch campus. Company also has a 255,000-square-foot Corona plant and 744,448-square-foot corporate camps in Sapulpa, Okla.

HENRY SAMUELI

Chairman

Broadcom Inc.

Irvine

Born in Buffalo, N.Y.

Age: 65

SUSAN SAMUELI

Samueli Foundation

Corona del Mar

Born in San Fernando Valley

Age: 69

The couple lives in Corona del Mar

DAY JOB: Owns Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club LLC and company that runs Honda Center. One of OC’s biggest philanthropists, funding huge medical campus expansion at UCI, now under construction. Henry is chairman of the board at Broadcom, world’s fourth-largest chipmaker.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Committed in early April to paying all 2,100 part-time employees of their sports and arena management companies through June 30, though events aren’t being held. Includes all programs at Honda Center, Great Park Ice in Irvine, and eight other ice and inline sports facilities, as well the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls, affiliated with the Ducks, and a JT Schmid’s Restaurant and Brewery across Katella Avenue from the Honda Center.

NOTABLE: Irvine’s Great Park Ice, public ice hockey and skating facility that opened last year at cost of $110 million, largely funded by family, used as a temporary storage facility for Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County (see page 38).

QUOTABLE: Said Tim Ryan, president and chief executive officer of Anaheim Arena Management: “The Samueli family’s primary concern is the welfare of their employees. Today is another example of their kindness, generosity and support for the local community. As a result of their decision, 2,100 dedicated part-time staff members will have one less immediate concern during this significant health crisis.”

FAST FACTS: Family fortune estimated by Business Journal at around $4 billion. Debt levels for Ducks owners runs less than 5% of their overall franchise value, making them one of NHL’s most financially stable franchises despite halt in season, according to Forbes.

RJ Scaringe

Founder, Chief Executive

Rivian Automotive LLC

Plymouth, Mich.

Age: 37

Lives in Irvine area

DAY JOB: Electric-vehicle builder, with nearly $3 billion in funding since 2009, most of it in past two years. Backers include Ford, T. Rowe Price, Cox Automotive and Amazon, the latter of which has plans for some 100,000 of its electric-powered delivery trucks over coming years. First releases, a pickup truck and SUV, could start release around end of year.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Adding to OC’s cluster of automotive firms, and related jobs, in a big way. Plans for the biggest expansion of any local manufacturing company in works in Irvine. Plans to significantly boost its Irvine operations, with a pair of new leases totaling more than 250,000 square feet in the area. Could add hundreds of jobs to OC base.

NOTABLE: Existing Rivian sites in OC, Carson, and Los Angeles, expected to be consolidated in Irvine, currently house Rivian’s integration engineers, battery team, power inverter team, customer experience, concept design, facilities, logistics and other departments, according to the company. “The technology that moves our vehicles, and the experiences that move our customers, are developed here,” it says.

QUOTABLE: “The main asset of any community is its people, and as resources stretch thinner for every community across the world, we want to do whatever is possible for a pre-production company in our position to help,” Scaringe said this month, when declining a previously agreed $1 million grant from a Illinois town where Rivian also has manufacturing operations.

FAST FACTS: The company’s inaugural EV products, the R1T truck and R1S SUVs, are being touted as offering up to 400 miles of range and providing “an unmatched combination of performance, off-road capability and utility,” it says. Recent reports put the expected cost of the R1T in the $70,000 range.

PIERRE-ANDRÉ
SENIZERGUES

Founder, Chief Executive

Sole Technology Inc.

Lake Forest

Born in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, France

DAY JOB: Founded and owns Sole Technology, the parent of the Etnies, eS, Emerica, Altamont and ThirtyTwo brands. Company is largest privately held and still founder-led skate shoe company. Big environmental activist, whose company also lays claim to the biomechanics skate lab Sole Technology Institute. Company has an estimated 200 workers with $150 million in sales.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Senizergues has been a long-time advocate for the homeless, donating Etnies shoes for the past 23 years now. That continued despite the pandemic and cancellation of the Los Angeles Mission Easter Event this year. Etnies still went to L.A. in April, giving shoes to the homeless. The company to date has given away 50,000 pairs of shoes.

NOTABLE: Continued with environmental awareness during pandemic with Earth Day tree drive, promising to donate an extra tree during it’s Buy a Shoe, Plant a Tree campaign for Etnies purchases.

QUOTABLE: “Doing something meaningful and purposeful for the homeless community has always been very important to me. It means even more right now, knowing the heightened state of vulnerability so many people are living in as the COVID-19 crisis continues. Providing shoes to them is not only a necessity, but a symbol of the kindness and concern we feel for the homeless population each day.”

FAST FACTS: Pro skateboarder who’s been skating since he was a teen. Former engineer at IBM France before moving to California in 1985. Turned pro, went on to win 12 French Championships, nine European Cup Titles, five European Championships, two World Cup titles and one World Championship. Started Sole Technology in 1996.

CHRIS SIMMS

Co-Founder, Chief Executive

Lazy Dog Restaurants LLC

Costa Mesa

Born in Los Angeles

Age: 45

Lives in Manhattan Beach

DAY JOB: Oversees 36-restaurant chain with $213.3 million in sales last year. Company serves American-inspired food in a casual restaurant setting.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Ran Sponsor the Frontline program after receiving a number of guest inquiries about how they could help support healthcare workers. Company set up an option online for consumers to donate money for meals, with the ability of where in their communities they wanted to send the donation.

NOTABLE: Originally had to furlough majority of staff before making the decision to reopen restaurants for takeout and delivery. Company also moved fast to begin offering meal packs starting off with essential goods hard to find at grocery stores at the start of shelter-in-place orders and have gotten more creative with time. A Mother’s Day meal kit and DIY Pop-Tarts are some of the more recent rollouts. See page 3 for more.

QUOTABLE: “It’s been such an interesting time. We thank goodness we’ve spent the last 17 years of our business building a really strong culture that’s focused on our people. So I cannot thank our people who are currently working so hard and helping us survive and our furloughed teammates for all their support. It’s really been an incredible experience and I don’t look forward to ever doing this again,” Simms told the Business Journal in May.

FAST FACTS: Restaurant vet who clocked time at a number of eateries while studying at Loyola High School and later Cornell University. Worked at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro after graduating from Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Began working at Mimi’s Cafe, founded by his father Tom Simms and grandfather Arthur J. Simms. Opened first Lazy Dog in 2003 with his father in Huntington Beach.

DEAN STOECKER

Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive

Alteryx Inc.

Irvine

Born in Denver

Age: 63

Lives in Irvine

DAY JOB: Heads fast-growing analytics software firm, whose product lets companies manipulate huge amounts of data to find insights for business decisions. In less than three years of being a public company, has grown to market value of nearly $10 billion, sixth-largest in OC. Annual growth rate of 50% since 2017 IPO. Evangelist of big data applications, looks to empower people to become “citizen data scientists.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Putting company’s software to use during COVID-19 crisis. Product was used to help hospitals in the Northeast source equipment. It was also used to help medical equipment manufacturers “reimagine” supply chains to find alternative suppliers.

NOTABLE: Alteryx is offering free data training to thousands of unemployed workers to bring them up to speed on analytics. “We want to get them back on their feet as quickly as possible,” Stoecker said this month of the program, called Advancing Data and Analytics Potential Together, or ADAPT. “It is the opportunity for us to give free copies of Alteryx to any unemployed worker anywhere on Earth. We’re going to put them through our learning paths; we’re going to get them certified on our software.”

QUOTABLE: Those who want to continue after using ADAPT can advance to a nanodegree in “predictive analytics” in a program run by the Udacity online learning organization. Says Stoecker, whose firm opted not to lay anyone off during pandemic: “Hopefully a lot of our customers will hire these folks.”

FAST FACT: Still on track for move to 183,000-square-foot new headquarters at Spectrum Terrace late this year. Reached by phone this month, Stoecker was the only Alteryx employee at company’s 80,000-square-foot existing offices at Park Place.

TIM STRAUCH

Chief Executive, President

OneOC

Santa Ana

Born in Laguna Niguel

Age: 53

Lives in Dana Point

oneoc.org

DAY JOB: Runs nonprofit, formed more than 60 years ago, that serves other nonprofits and boosts the social responsibility programs of area businesses. Aims to accelerate nonprofit success via mix of volunteer services, organizational development, back-office support and community engagement. In role since 2008.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Established a centralized portal of resources for nonprofits and the greater community within one week after onset of crisis, in addition to launching a Nonprofit Support Network. Activated an emergency volunteer center to support emergency officials by deploying volunteers to respond to critical needs and long-term recovery plans.

NOTABLE: Strauch has provided strategic leadership and direction to over 950 organizations in the community. He also serves as a coach, consultant and trainer to professional leaders.

QUOTABLE: “OneOC serves as Orange County’s Emergency Volunteer Center and is working diligently to help nonprofits get the urgent volunteer support that they need,” he told Business Journal this month. “We currently have over 2,366 volunteers registered, 1,900+ mobilized, 55 volunteer opportunities posted, and 25 organizations that have been served.”

FAST FACTS: Previously served as executive vice president for YMCA of Orange County for more than 20 years. His wife, Kristen, serves as executive director with the American Cancer Society. Four children. OneOC was founded in 1958 as the Newport Bureau of Volunteerism. In 2015, OneOC’s Center for Business and Community Partnerships was launched to assist companies in building and growing their employee volunteering and charitable giving programs.

DANIELE STRUPPA

President

Chapman University

Orange

Born in Milan, Italy

Age: 64

Lives in Big Canyon, Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Leads OC’s largest private university with 10,000 students, more than 80% receive grants or scholarship aid. About $400 million endowment prior to coronavirus-related expenditures and refunds. Took a $13.5 million hit in refunds this spring; estimates further expenditures in the $60 million to $110 million range, including investments in e-learning tools and technologies.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Transitioned to remote instruction overnight; “faculty didn’t miss a beat,” Struppa said. Remote work followed for most employees; pledged to pay those who could not do their jobs remotely through the semester. Senior staff and deans have voluntarily agreed to take pay cuts as high as 15% and Struppa will be taking a pay cut of 20% beginning June 1. Offered vacated student housing to first responders, working hand-in-hand with city of Orange. Aggressive plans to reopen campus in fall in works; final decision to be made in June. In May, said 14 separate task forces had begun preparation for the “CU Safely Back” initiative. See page 1 story for more.

NOTABLE: Continues to boost programs in STEM and health sciences. Fowler School of Engineering, with $45 million from Chapman alumnus Dale Fowler and his wife, Sarah Ann, opening this fall. Expansion of Rinker Heath Science Campus near Irvine Spectrum continues; to launch master’s degrees in patient safety and regulatory affairs this fall, curriculum developed in partnership with Joe Kiani’s Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

QUOTABLE: Considering a fully online fall semester, Struppa said, “It’s expensive for us, but we have a financial plan for that and we are counting on an enrollment decrease. I know we can weather it, but I hope it won’t come to pass.” The good news: Chapman received over 1,800 deposits, on track for 1,716 undergraduate openings this fall.

FAST FACTS: Joined Chapman in 2006 as provost; appointed first chancellor following year. Credited with recruiting Vernon Smith, Nobel laureate in economics, Yakir Aharonov, National Medal of Science winner in physics. Struppa became Chapman’s 13th president in 2016, succeeding Jim Doti. Avid mountain climber. Wife, Lisa Sparks, founding dean, Chapman School of Communication. Four children.

NICOLE SUYDAM

Chief Executive, President

Goodwill of Orange County

Santa Ana

Born in Santa Maria

Age: 46

Lives in Aliso Viejo

ocgoodwill.org

DAY JOB: Oversees OC’s largest nonprofit, with revenue topping $132 million last year. Counts two dozen Orange County stores, which bring in roughly $5 million a month.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: After crisis forced Goodwill to close its stores in March, and suspend taking in donations at its centers, made a big pivot. Sent its truck drivers to help with distributing food. Lending about 8,000 square feet, in addition to eight trucks and 40 employees to support local operations of Second Harvest Food Bank, extra space allows food bank members to socially distance. Trucks help distribute some 40,000 lbs. of food per day. Also transitioned services for veterans and persons with disabilities online; continues to support Landmark Services, an affiliate organization and essential service that employs about 80 individuals locally with disabilities.

NOTABLE: Previously served as CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, boosting revenue by 55%, also served as Goodwill OC’s VP of development. Provided space to Working Wardrobes after its office burned down earlier this year.

QUOTABLE: Suydam tells the Business Journal her motto of late is: “Our stores and donation centers may be closed, but our mission is still open!” The crisis “only deepens our commitment to Orange County,” she told local media. “Rather than allow our trucks and drivers to sit idle during this time of great need, we found a way to collaborate with our nonprofit peers … and get our employees back to work in a meaningful way.”

FAST FACTS: After graduating from Costa Mesa’s Vanguard University, did initial stint at Second Harvest at 23, in public relations and marketing. Work at Washington, D.C. charity preceded a 10-year first run at Goodwill as director of development.

CAREY TISCHLER

Chief Executive

Just Food for Dogs

Irvine

Born in Potomac, Md.

Age: 39

Lives in Irvine

DAY JOB: Oversees fresh whole food for pets distributor, producer. JFFD has about a dozen local kitchens including its Irvine headquarters and master kitchen, which produces about 30,000 pounds of food daily.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Among area businesses seeing biggest surge in business during crisis. Since February, the company has seen call volume double and a 400% increase in e-commerce orders compared to the same time frame last year. About 75% of the company’s locations, including spots at Petco locations and in veterinary offices, are seeing best-ever levels of sales. Firm has boosted production, added new facilities, ramped sanitation standards and staggered shifts for on-site employees to meet demand.

NOTABLE: Opened a 21,000-square-foot production facility in Delaware, to serve as East Coast hub, on March 23. With increased production capabilities, plans to sell about 100 million meals in 2020. Meals for a healthy 30-pound dog cost around $35 a month more than premium kibble, company officials said. Individuals meals and treats go for $5 and up. Implemented a no-touch policy for pickup and delivery orders. Has offered free same-day delivery for eligible locations on orders over $50.

QUOTABLE: “Just as you and I might be thinking more about our health, I think a lot of people are more in tune to their [pet’s] health,” Tischler told Business Journal, speaking of the company’s rocketing sales in April.

FAST FACTS: Completed bachelor’s, master’s degrees in electrical engineering before transitioning to business. Received master’s in engineering management and MBA from Northwestern University. Formerly senior vice president at Catterton Partners, with large portfolio of consumer-facing businesses and pet-specific ventures. Joined JFFD in 2015.

JOHN TU

Chief Executive

Kingston Technology Corp.

Fountain Valley

Born in Chongqing, China

Age: 78

Lives in Rolling Hills

DAY JOB: Along with colleague David Sun, co-leads top memory products maker for computers, consumer electronics. Flash memory used for USB sticks, camera cards and supporting roles in PCs. One of county’s largest private companies. Revenue approached $13 billion last year. Employs about 650 in OC, 3,600 worldwide. Plants in Fountain Valley, Taiwan, mainland China.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: A $2.5 million gift from the John and Mary Tu Foundation to the University of California-Irvine is supporting COVID-19-associated patient care at UCI Health and advance clinical and translational research across campus focused on new ways to test for and treat the viral infection. Some of the funds are being used for UCI Medical Center to expand their personnel and secure needed equipment in order to serve those patients most seriously afflicted with COVID-19. Tu is the primary funder of Irvine’s Fluxergy LLC, a developer of innovative “point-of-care” medical diagnostics systems, which is working with the University of California-San Diego to develop a one-hour COVID-19 diagnostic test. Fluxergy said this month Tu will fund a $30 million push to ramp up its testing efforts, with goal of providing 1 million tests per month. See page 1 for more.

NOTABLE: His son, Jonathan Tu, is chief financial officer at Fluxergy. The company’s point-of-care device can be used at the emergency room or a community center, eliminating the need for central laboratory work, the company says. Co-founder Sun also continues charitable streak, with an education focus. Sun and his wife, Diana, in March pledged $1.75 million in annual contributions to expand the Simon Scholars Program.

QUOTABLE: “John Tu was among the first to come forward and ask how he could help, and he hopes his gift will inspire others to donate to UCI Health as well,” said Dr. Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs. “This gift is helping to save lives, accelerate testing and advance vaccine development.”

FRAM VIRJEE

President

California State

University-Fullerton

Fullerton

Born in London

Age: 59

Lives in Fullerton

DAY JOB: California State University-Fullerton is largest CSU system institution, with over 40,000 students, operating budget of nearly $500 million. Virjee oversees operations and its more than 3,500 educators. Campus lost approximately $18.5 million in coronavirus refunds this spring.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Moved to virtual operations in matter of days. Providing PPE to essential workers who continue on-campus work, telecommuting for non-essential personnel extended through June 30. Established virtual commencement ceremony, plans to hold in-person ceremony at later date. One of the first universities to announce plans for virtual instruction, with some exceptions, in the fall. See page 1 story for more. To distribute north of $30 million in aid to students for coronavirus-related expenses.

NOTABLE: Kicked off $200 million campaign on March 12. “It Takes a Titan” campaign aims to fund campus infrastructure and renovations, student scholarship and aid, more. Initial donation of $10 million from the late Nicholas Begovich, a retired engineering executive, and his wife, Lee.

QUOTABLE: “It’s breathtaking,” Virjee said of the campus’ action in a matter of weeks. “40,000 students going on virtual instruction. 3,500 faculty moving heaven and earth to continue teaching. Nearly 6,000 employees telecommuting. Almost 2,000 students moving out of our dorms … We have done amazing things.”

FAST FACTS: Spent 30 years at Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, one of oldest law firms in U.S. Left retirement in 2014 to join California State University as executive vice chancellor, general counsel, secretary to CSU system board. Replaced Mildred García, starting in early 2018, was under an interim basis. Was named permanent president this March. With wife, Julie, founded Yambi Rwanda nonprofit that offers support, services to Rwandans.

ANNETTE WALKER

President

City of Hope Orange County

Irvine

Born in Pomona

Age: 63

Lives in Coto de Caza

DAY JOB: Healthcare leader tapped to build City of Hope Orange County, to incorporate 21st-century approach to treating and curing cancer. Opened first outpatient facility in Newport Beach at start of year, planning massive hospital and research facility at Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods. Will be most ambitious healthcare development in Orange County in more than a decade.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: City of Hope says it is addressing the coronavirus threat on a number of fronts, including the preclinical development of a coronavirus vaccine. In April, it received a $750,000 grant from a stem cell research funding institute to conduct a clinical study into a COVID-19 treatment. Working with FivePoint Holdings on plan to offer testing options to local residents in Irvine.

NOTABLE: OCBJ’s Businessperson of the Year for 2020 in the healthcare sector, after ramping up expansion plans in Irvine, which will include OC’s only specialty hospital dedicated solely to treating and curing cancer, an outpatient cancer center offering diagnostic imaging and screenings, and much more.

QUOTABLE: “As healthcare workers, we all saw the importance of working together to tackle a pressing medical issue,” Walker said of the coronavirus. “We’d like this spirit of collaboration to continue, because frankly, cancer and other serious issues aren’t going away after COVID-19.”

FAST FACT: Notes that City of Hope was founded more than a century ago when a group of volunteers were spurred by compassion to help those impacted by a tuberculosis outbreak. “That spirit of service has never wavered. Now, more than ever, it’s flourishing among us,” she said in March letter to OC Register.

WILLIAM WANG

Founder, Chief Executive

Vizio Inc.

Irvine

Born in Taipei, Taiwan

Age: 56

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Runs TV titan that battles Samsung for top U.S. market share, leader in 4K ultra-HD TVs. Top sound bar seller. No. 1 American TV brand, and among top private OC-based companies. Moved Vizio into national spotlight with big endorsement deals, sports sponsorships. Expanded offerings into speakers, sound bars, tablets, home theater systems. Employs about 450, 200 of them at Spectrum headquarters. Growing role as media company, offering streaming services, targeted advertising to users. Provides technology behind new consortium of media companies looking to provide TV viewers with targeted ads, called Project OAR.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Added the official U.S. Government app, Slow the Spread (coronavirus.gov) to its SmartCast platform, in an effort to inform users of its TVs about how to help slow the spread of COVID-19. Among most used new apps, Wang says, who notes users have ramped up use of streaming and entertainment services like Hulu, Prime Video, YouTube and Netflix during the quarantine.

NOTABLE: Vizio sales seeing huge pickup in demand during lockdown. When stimulus checks arrived to U.S. consumers during the April 15 week, Vizio sales reached “Black Friday levels,” according to Wang. Company saw 250,000 units sold in a week nationwide. Smart TV sales year-to-date continue to climb: “We are up 30% year over year, and [have] 3x the industry growth rate.”

QUOTABLE: In terms of sales, Wang tells the Business Journal that the stimulus check program was “like Christmas for us, in April.” Recent WSJ article quoted Mike O’Donnell, head of Vizio’s platforms business, who said: “We’re not just seeing more time spent with streaming and TV, which we expect to continue to go up, but we’re also seeing more time spent on search and discovery. With no sports and growing news fatigue, people are starting to search for more content to watch.”

FAST FACT: Among survivors of 2000 Singapore Airlines crash that killed about half of passengers.

MARK WETTERAU

Chairman, Chief Executive

Golden State Foods Corp.

Irvine

Chairman, Chief Executive

Wetterau Associates LLC

St. Louis

Born in St. Louis

Age: 62

Lives in Laguna Niguel

DAY JOB: Runs Orange County’s third-largest private company with $5 billion in annual sales and a workforce of about 6,000. Supplies (makes and distributes) food products for more than 100 leading brands such as McDonald’s, Chipotle, Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Individual divisions of GSF, along with the GSF Foundation, have increased giving efforts during the pandemic. Having raised more than $56 million since inception, the foundation has donated more than $200,000 in additional grants to food banks throughout the U.S. since the pandemic’s start. The foundation’s 25 regional teams have also helped the city of Irvine and City of Industry associates collectively send $20,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County and Quality Custom Distribution Los Angeles giving $25,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

NOTABLE: Company working with customers to keep food supplies ongoing amid disruptions. Moved some of its employees to work-from-home setups while others in food production or other facilities practiced social distancing, conducted temperature checks and followed other CDC protocols and guidelines. Crisis Management Team at Golden State ensured communication on COVID-19 best practices across the workforce, including a hotline fielding employee questions. GSF has also openly shared these effective practices with other organizations throughout the U.S. Events have “certainly turned our world upside down,” he told Business Journal in late April.

QUOTABLE: “While we are tightening our belts and cutting costs to meet the current challenges, our company is solid financially and culturally. Not only will we weather this storm, we will emerge better and stronger as individuals and as an organization,” Wetterau said.

FAST FACTS: Food is in the family. Started off in St. Louis-based Wetterau Inc., a $6 billion food business founded by great-grandfather. Ran Wetterau Inc.-owned retail chain, Shop ‘n Save as CEO in 1987. Served as president and CEO of Wetterau Inc. in 1990 and sold business to SuperValu Stores Inc. the following year. Established Wetterau Associates in 1992, which bought an array of companies including Taunton, Mass.-based Anheuser-Busch distributor, Quality Beverage, in 1994 (where he served as chairman and CEO until 1998); and Golden State in 1998.

Erik Wexler

Executive Vice President,

Chief Executive of Health and Services

Providence

Born in New York

Age: 57

Lives in Newport Beach

DAY JOB: Runs Southern California Region for Providence, the Southland’s largest healthcare system. Leads regional organization anchored by 13 award-winning hospitals, over 90 outpatient centers, and four physician foundations. Local hospitals include St. Joseph Hospital-Orange, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, and Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Set up Providence Express Care Virtual program, to allow patients and providers to meet a nurse practitioner who can screen, access, prescribe and advise next steps in COVID-19 treatment. Landed some 300,000 masks for area workers near start of April, said “we are doing everything in our power to protect our caregivers.”

NOTABLE: Partnered with five other regional healthcare systems, including Kaiser, Keck Medicine of USC, and UCLA, for education program called BetterTogether.Health that addresses growing concerns by health professionals that many people are not seeking needed medical advice and assistance when critical to do so, during the pandemic.

QUOTABLE: “We are grateful to those who did what was asked—stay home, safe and healthy. We are confident these efforts are making a positive difference in the health of Californians.”

FAST FACT: Opposes Hoag’s May lawsuit to end its affiliation with Providence. Said that plan “would negatively impact patient care, diminish resources and medical expertise available to Orange County.”