LAURALEE E. MARTIN
Chief Executive
HCP Inc., Irvine
Born in Minnesota
Age: 64
WHY: Newcomer to OC 50. Runs one of the largest real estate investment trusts devoted to healthcare, including senior housing, nursing homes. HCP, founded in 1985, has $1.3 billion in annual funds from operations and a recent market value of $19.5 billion.
HOW: Came to HCP in October 2013 from Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., a real estate service and money management firm where she headed Americas division after stints as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Chief financial officer for Heller Financial Inc.’s real estate finance division before JLL.
RECENT: HCP returned to Orange County last year after roughly 10 years in Long Beach. Had been based in Newport Beach before. Recently agreed to lower rents for its largest tenant, nursing home operator HCR Manor Care Inc., by $68 million a year to offset a cut in Medicare reimbursements, as well as sell 50 HCR Manor Care-operated properties. Teamed up with Brookdale Senior Living Inc. on an $849 million deal for market-rate senior housing. Working on Cove at Oyster Point mixed-use development with focus on medical offices, device makers as potential tenants in South San Francisco.
PERSONAL: Board member, Kaiser Aluminum Corp. Previously on board of KeyCorp. Trustee, Urban Land Institute; previously trustee with International Council of Shopping Centers. Bachelor’s degree in English, Oregon State University. Master’s of business administration, University of Connecticut. Husband, Andrew; two adult children. Known as advocate for sustainability and energy conservation in commercial real estate development.
—Vita Reed
SCOTT A. MCGREGOR
Chief Executive, President
Broadcom Corp., Irvine
Born in St. Louis
Age: 59
Lives in San Juan Capistrano
WHY: Third leader in history of company, world’s eighth largest chipmaker. Leads 10,000-plus workers. Positioned Broadcom to greatly benefit from ongoing smartphone war between Samsung and Apple, company’s largest customers, as well as booming Internet of Things market. Brought in hand-picked execs, standardized accounting, settled stock options litigation, took aggressive legal stance to protect patents from competitors. Expanded company from 13 countries in 2005 to 26 today, growing patent portfolio from 4,800 U.S. and foreign patents and applications to more than 20,650 in 2015.
HOW: Formerly headed Philips Semiconductors, now NXP Semiconductors. Stints with Santa Cruz Operation Inc., Microsoft, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Digital Equipment. Solidified partnership with Apple in recent years with design wins on iPhones, iPods, iPads and computers. Boosted ties to Samsung’s Android devices, including the world’s top-selling Galaxy smartphone line.
RECENT: Delivered record revenue of $8.4 billion in 2014. Broke ground on 1.1-million-square-foot Irvine corporate headquarters at Great Park Neighborhoods. Exited baseband chip business after pouring billions into smartphone segment, included 20% cut in global workforce; closure or consolidation of 18 locations in restructuring. Published first Global Reporting Initiative on employment demographics in Corporate Sustainability Report. Broadcom Foundation completed fourth Broadcom Masters and third Masters International competitions, encourages middle school students to study science, technology, engineering and math courses throughout high school.
PERSONAL: Likes spending time outdoors with family. Board member of Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro, run by fellow OC 50 member Alain Monie. Appointed vice chairman of Global Semiconductor Alliance board of directors. Bachelor’s in psychology, master’s in computer science and computer engineering from Stanford University. Wife, Laurie; three children.
—Chris Casacchia
PAUL MERAGE
Chairman
MIG Management Services LLC,
Newport Beach
Born in Iran
WHY: Longtime venture investor, entrepreneur, active philanthropist, among OC’s wealthiest.
HOW: Got bachelor’s in economics and MBA from UC Berkeley. Founded Chef America Inc. with brother, David, in 1975. Grew it to leading manufacturer of frozen food products, including Hot Pockets. Company had $750 million in annual sales and 1,800 workers by 2002, when Nestlé acquired it for $2.6 billion. Merage went on to start Merage Investment Group, or MIG, whose affiliates include MIG Capital and MIG Real Estate. Merage donated $30 million in 2005 to UC Irvine’s business school, which bears his name.
RECENT: MIG Real Estate, headed by nephew Greg, continued to grow investment portfolio—now has about 9 million square feet of property, up about 14% over past year. Assets under management reached $1.5 billion, up 50%. Recent deals: last month acquired 301-unit luxury townhome community in Texas, making ninth multifamily-property investment there. Got Midtown Commons at Crestview Station, a mixed-use property also in Texas. Late last year acquired Viewridge Business Park office complex in San Diego. MIG Real Estate has other investment assets nationwide, including in Nevada and Florida, as well as in Canada. MIG Capital is SEC-registered investment adviser focused on public equity investments. Managed by Merage’s son Richard.
PERSONAL: Emigrated from Iran on own in early 1960s. Among OC’s billionaires, with estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. Big on philanthropy, with focus on education and immigration issues. Paul & Elisabeth Merage Family Foundation gave $1.4 million in 2014. Beneficiaries included UCI Foundation, Orange County Community Foundation and Second Harvest Food Bank. Merage founded and heads Merage Institute to help promote relationship-building between U.S. and Israel.
—Jane Yu
STEVE MILLIGAN
Chief Executive, President
Western Digital Corp., Irvine
Born in Illinois
Age: 51
WHY: Replaced John Coyne, who retired in January 2013, in the top post at world’s largest disk drive maker by units sold, revenue, with $15.1 billion in annual sales. Battles Broadcom for title of OC’s most valued company.
HOW: Rejoined Western Digital as president in March 2012. Previously held president and chief executive titles at San Jose-based Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, which Western Digital acquired in 2012 for $4.8 billion in largest deal to date. First joined Western Digital in 2002 as vice president, finance.
RECENT: Steering HGST subsidiary into higher-margin business with high-capacity corporate drives, including breakthrough helium-based product line that’s lighter, more efficient, and consumes less power than previous standards. Garnered Wall Street kudos for reshaping unprofitable, mismanaged unit of Japan-based parent Hitachi Ltd. into a thriving global competitor and spinoff candidate before sale to WD. Still awaiting approval from China regulators to integrate HGST; would save $400 million in annual costs and add $354 million to bottom line. Led takeovers of Amplidata, a maker of storage software for public and private cloud data centers; and Skyera, which makes solid-state storage systems used in scaling cloud and enterprise data centers.
PERSONAL: Received Distinguished Achievement Award by B’nai B’rith International. Recently joined board of Ross Stores Inc. and Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Bachelor’s in accounting from Ohio State University. Low public profile.
ANTHONY RICHARD MOISO
Chief Executive, President
Rancho Mission Viejo LLC,
San Juan Capistrano
Born in West Los Angeles
Age: 75
Lives in Laguna Beach (Emerald Bay)
WHY: Heads the development and leasing arm of the Moiso, O’Neill, and Avery families; real estate development, leasing, cattle, agricultural operations; OC’s No. 2 landowner after Donald Bren.
HOW: Moiso family traces ties to land back to 1882, ranch once covered 200,000 acres, stretching from El Toro Creek in Lake Forest to Oceanside (including all of Camp Pendleton). Family now owns 23,000 acres in the county’s southeastern corner. Developer behind the creation of Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Las Flores and Ladera Ranch.
RECENT: Last big community for the company, Rancho Mission Viejo, under way. Massive project will total about 14,000 homes, 5 million square feet of commercial space upon build-out. First portion of the development, a 690-acre residential community called Sendero, among the best-selling masterplanned communities in the country last year, with 451 sales in 2014. The 941-home project, just south of Ladera Ranch, nearly sold out. Next stage of development, 860-acre village called Esencia, slated to open later this year. Will hold 2,700 homes and an apartment complex. County recently approved $110 million tax district to help fund infrastructure improvements for new development in the area.
PERSONAL: Longtime supporter of Mission San Juan Capistrano. Well known for his love of horses; hosts annual Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo, which has raised more than $1 million for local charities. Staunch Republican, shared childhood friendship in West Los Angeles with former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis. Served two years in Army as infantry officer. Wife, Melinda. Four daughters (Katrina, Cristy, Anne Marie, Francesca), 13 grandchildren. Devoted family man, loyal to friends. Grooming next generation of leadership.
—Mark Mueller
ALAIN MONIE
Chief Executive
Ingram Micro Inc., Santa Ana
Born in Marrakech, Morocco
Age: 64
Lives in Newport Beach
WHY: Leads Orange County’s largest public company in terms of sales, with more than $46 billion in revenue in 2014. Tech bellwether biggest distributor of computer, consumer electronics products, software in world with growing business in mobility, cloud and supply chain services. Employs about 1,000 here, more than 26,000 in 39 countries overall, serves customers in more than 160 countries.
HOW: First joined Ingram Micro in 2003 as executive vice president. Appointed president of Asia-Pacific region a year later. Doubled region’s size after acquisition of Tech Pacific, transforming a break-even business into company’s largest growth market. Left in 2010 to head large pulp and paper producer in China; returned in 2011 as president and chief operating officer. Named chief executive in January 2012. Later that year, spearheaded $840 million buy of BrightPoint Inc., largest acquisition in company history. Business Journal 2013 Business Person of the Year.
RECENT: Achieved record revenue for third-straight year while executing key strategic initiatives to grow higher-margin businesses in mobility, supply chain services and cloud computing. Boosted distribution and recycling services through recent buys of Armada and Anovo. Named among Top 25 Most Influential Executives by the Channel Co. trade group. Spearheading headquarters move from Santa Ana to Irvine.
PERSONAL: Likes scuba diving, sports cars, fine wines. Director of Amazon.com Inc. Fluent in English, French and Spanish. Has lived and worked in Europe, Mexico, Japan and Singapore. Big execution guy. Driving aggressive merger and acquisition strategy to promote rapid, more profitable growth. Demands accountability, transparency, open communication. Educated in France. Received high honors in automation engineering studies at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Arts et Metiers. MBA from Institut Supérieur des Affaires in Jouy-en-Josas. Wife, Dominique, from Bordeaux. Couple has moved 16 times, raised three sons. Four grandchildren.
—Chris Casacchia
ARTURO “ARTE” R. MORENO
Owner, Angels Baseball LP, Anaheim
Born in Tucson, Ariz.
Age: 68
Lives in Phoenix, Corona del Mar
WHY: In 13th season as owner of one of OC’s two professional sports teams; also owns KLAA 830 AM, Angels’ flagship radio station.
HOW: Bought then-Anaheim Angels in 2003 from Walt Disney Co. Paid $184 million for team, now valued at $1.3 billion by Forbes, thanks to skyrocketing MLB broadcast deals. Built Outdoor Systems billboard company with partner Bill Levine (minority investor in Angels), sold to Viacom for $8.7 billion in stock in 1999. Forbes puts wealth at $1.5 billion.
RECENT: Negotiations with Anaheim to renew lease on nearly 50-year-old Angel Stadium stalled. Preliminary talks with Tustin officials to explore new stadium at former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station. Opt-out window in Anaheim runs from 2016 to 2019, or lease extends through 2029. Reined in salary spending spree due to pricey, lengthy deals with older players. Team off to slow start after running away with 2014 division title, early exit in playoffs. Unloaded troubled slugger Josh Hamilton but on hook for much of the cost of remaining three years of five-year, $125 million contact. Continues to strive for balance of business operations between product on field and fan experience.
PERSONAL: Started Angels Baseball Foundation with wife, Carole, in 2004; has given more than $4.4 million to various charitable programs in Southern California. Fourth-generation Mexican-American. Oldest of 11 kids. Father ran print shop, grandfather published newspaper. Attended Catholic school. Joined Army in 1965, fought in Vietnam. Graduated University of Arizona in 1973 with marketing degree.
—Chris Casacchia
MICHAEL S. MORHAIME
Cofounder, Chief Executive
Blizzard Entertainment Inc., Irvine
Born in Panorama City
Age: 47
Lives in Newport Coast
WHY: Pioneer of multiplayer online games, big factor in 2008 agreement to combine with Santa Monica-based Activision in $18 billion deal, creating Activision Blizzard, largest and most profitable independent game publisher in world with yearly revenue of more than $4.4 billion.
HOW: Started Blizzard with fellow University of California-Los Angeles alum Allen Adham, Frank Pearce in 1991. Borrowed $15,000 from his grandmother—has handwritten loan contract on office wall. Blizzard’s forerunner bought by Torrance educational software publisher Davidson & Associates in 1994, then by predecessor to New Jersey-based Cendant in 1996. Sold to Havas in France in 1998, later bought by Vivendi.
RECENT: Launched company’s first mobile game, “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft” for Android and iOS. WoW expansion set “Warlords of Draenor” attracts 10 million active subscribers. First-person shooter game “Overwatch” in development; first new franchise in 17 years. Free-to-play team brawler, “Heroes of the Storm,” launches June 2, slated to be featured in first live eSports tournament on primetime network cable through partnership with ESPN. “StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void” beta launched.
PERSONAL: San Fernando Valley native. Bachelor’s in electrical engineering from UCLA. Donates to Jewish Federation and Family Services, Daniel Pearl Foundation, University of the People. Follows professional StarCraft II eSports competition. Played in World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Placed second in 2006 celebrity poker tournament hosted by Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Plays bass in Blizzard-themed rock band with other employees. Inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame in 2007.
—Chris Casacchia
JAMES T. MORRIS
Chairman, Chief Executive
Pacific Life Insurance Co., Newport Beach
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Age: 55
Lives in San Juan Capistrano
WHY: Chief executive of biggest OC-based private company and one of top life insurance companies nationwide.
HOW: Graduated from UCLA with bachelor’s degree in math. Started up ranks in 1982 when he joined Pac Life as assistant actuary. Promoted to senior vice president in 1996, executive vice president in 2002. Named chief insurance officer in 2005, chief operating officer in 2006 and chief executive in 2007. Fourteenth CEO in company’s nearly 150-year history.
RECENT: Oversaw continued company growth in 2014. Pac Life assets rose 5% year-over-year to $137 billion, “highest level ever.” Equity also hit highest in company history, topping $8.6 billion. Divisional sales remained on growth path: Life insurance sales totaled $317 million, a 9% increase; retirement solutions saw strong sales of annuities and mutual funds; reinsurance group Pacific Life Re had $1.1 billion in earned premium income. Pac Life assumed $200 billion worth of individual life reinsurance risk from Reinsurance Group of America.Â
PERSONAL: Chairman of Pacific Life Foundation, which gave $6 million last year to 271 nonprofits, including $250,000 to Discovery Cube and $1 million to Conservation International as part of ongoing pledge of $5 million. Served as director of American Council of Life Insurers, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association of life insurance businesses, from 2007 to 2014; chairman during 2012 and 2013. Also was chairman of Junior Achievement of Orange County. Currently serves on board of directors of Hoag Hospital Foundation and on board of visitors of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Fellow of Society of Actuaries. Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Wife, Ann; two children.
—Jane Yu
MICHAEL ALBERT MUSSALLEM
Chairman, Chief Executive
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.
Born in Gary, Ind.
Age: 62
Lives in Laguna Beach
WHY: Leads biggest OC-based medical device maker, with more than $2 billion in annual sales, 3,200 local employees, more than 9,000 worldwide. Recent market value of about $15.2 billion.
HOW: Baxter International Inc. veteran tapped to lead the spinoff of company’s cardiovascular business into Edwards Lifesciences. Only CEO Edwards has had in its 15-year history as an independent company. Company is among leaders in cardiovascular disease treatment. Makes transcatheter heart valves, surgical heart valves and critical-care products.
RECENT: Edwards humming along on Wall Street—stock up 11% since the start of 2015. Got boost in March on positive clinical milestones for its Sapien less-invasive heart valve family, which has more than $940 million in annual sales. Continues his advocacy role, speaking before U.S. Senate earlier this year on the need to preserve medical device innovation. Edwards also added a pair of new company directors, Nicholas Valeriani and Kieran Gallahue.
PERSONAL: Trustee, UCI Foundation. On boards and executive committees of the Advanced Medical Technology Association and Healthcare Leadership Council, both in Washington, D.C. Board member emeritus, Octane. Die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. Wife, Linda. Former Business Journal Businessperson of the Year. Of Lebanese descent. Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, honorary doctorate, from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. Worked summers at steel mill to help pay for college; offered full-time job upon graduation but opted to seek career in newer industry.
—Vita Reed
IGOR M. OLENICOFF
Owner, President
Olen Properties Corp., Newport Beach
Born in Mazandaran, Iran
Age: 72
Lives in Laguna Beach (Emerald Bay)
WHY: Billionaire real estate developer is county’s second largest office landlord after OC 50er Donald Bren. Estimated fortune of $3.2 billion makes him OC’s second-wealthiest resident, trailing only Bren.
HOW: Started Olen in 1973. Now owns more than 7.5 million square feet of commercial real estate, about 10,000 apartments in California, Nevada, Florida, Georgia and Arizona. Commercial portfolio includes office and industrial buildings, along with marinas, airport hangars, restaurants and a golf course. Trophy property: Chicago’s One S. Dearborn St. tower. Forty-story tower bought in 2006 for reported $362 million. Much of portfolio local. Has close to 2,000 tenants, 380 buildings in OC. Area holdings include low-rise offices, pair of office towers near airport, Olen Pointe office campus in Brea.
RECENT: Olen’s development, lending activities were largely outside OC over past year. In 2014, first-ever acquisition in Georgia, for an apartment complex in the Atlanta area. Also developing rental complexes near Phoenix and the Palm Beach, Fla., area. Biggest source of new business besides apartment development is real estate lending to third parties. Estimated $140 million worth of loan deals in 2014, including an oceanfront ranch in Cambria, a winery, a solar farm, a former Alta Dena dairy farm in L.A. County that’s being turned into a residential development, a resort on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and industrial developments in the Inland Empire. Olenicoff said he’s also made loans for “several large private homes in Orange County.”
PERSONAL: Born in northern Iran, then under Soviet occupation, during WWII. Parents had left Soviet Union for Iran after Russian Revolution, due to ties with Czar Nicholas II. Went to Iranian mining town, then came to U.S. when Olenicoff was 15. Worked way through USC, where he graduated with multiple degrees. Worked for Shell, Touche Ross, Motown Records, where he was bean counter for Berry Gordy. Founding partner in real estate syndicator Gemini Pacific. VP of operations at Dunn Properties before starting Olen. Wife, Jeanne. Daughter Natalia, USC grad, is Olen vice president and plays large role in company. Andrei Olenicoff Memorial Foundation, charity for eye health, blindness cure, set up in honor of late son. Also supports Russian orphans, UC Irvine, Second Harvest Food Bank, CHOC. Recently became a grandfather.
—Mark Mueller
ROBERT D. OLSON
President
R.D. Olson Development
R.D. Olson Construction
Born in Oakland
Age: 58
Lives in Newport Beach (Balboa Island)
WHY: California’s most active hotel developer for several years running. Irvine-based company has built more than 1,000 hotel rooms in the past few years, with construction costs topping $200 million. Notable developments under way in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine Spectrum.
HOW: Founded R.D. Olson Development in 1998 after spending nearly 20 years at the helm of contractor R.D. Olson Construction, which builds hotels, offices, restaurants, apartments and other product types. Wanted to develop hotels for his own portfolio, started with two in the Disneyland Anaheim Resort area that were later sold to Intercontinental Hotels.
RECENT: Remains 100% owner of development business, which has had surge in activity over past five years and has seven projects now on the books in California, Hawaii. Working with Irvine-based Pacific Hospitality Group for 250-room Paséa Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, part of the Pacific City mixed-use development. Planning 14-story, 250-room Irvine Spectrum Marriott on land next to eight-story Courtyard Irvine Spectrum it opened last year. Moving ahead with the Lido House Hotel, a 130-room upscale boutique hotel at the former Newport Beach City Hall site. Named Developer of the Year by Marriott International in 2014. Reached deal to sell a trio of its recently built hotels, including two in Tustin and another in San Juan Capistrano, for $103 million earlier this year.
PERSONAL: Received MBA from the University of Southern California, convinced school to admit him without an undergrad degree. Served on board of directors and executive committee of Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross. Company hosts annual surf camp at San Onofre. Older daughter, Melissa, sales and marketing executive for Marriott. Older son, Bobby, real estate lawyer. He and wife, Christyne, also have daughter, Charlotte, and son, Sutton.
—Mark Mueller
