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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Third Annual 40 Under 40 Award Winners

This is the third year that the Business Journal has searched the greater Valley area for 40 people that it could highlight as illustrative of the talented younger generations of business professionals who are making their mark in the area in several different industries. It’s not just a middle-aged business community anymore. Younger people are everywhere and rising quickly. This is the first year that no baby boomer was eligible for our 40 Under 40 list. The baby boom generation is considered people born from 1946 through 1964. The younger generations expect to rise quickly in their professions these days. The old “pay your dues” attitude of older generations is gone and the baby-boom managers must deal with this thinking by many of their subordinates. Some of these younger workers, even though they think they are, aren’t qualified enough to deserve this rapid rise through the ranks but this crop of under-40 professionals highlighted in this special report is different. These people have risen quickly, yes, but their accomplishments are great. They haven’t just been handed their success or come by it accidentally. They are exceptional individuals. There are entrepreneurs in this group who took a chance and a great idea to the limit and have created successful companies at a young age. There are high-level managers of large companies in this group of 40 as well as public policy professionals who are making decisions that affect all our lives on a daily basis. There’s a wide variety of industries represented in our list of 40, the most diverse in our three years doing this. — Jason Schaff, editor Judy Anzaldo Executive Director/Founder ARCH-i-TECH Age 39 Judy Anzaldo founded Van Nuys-based staffing firm ARCH-i-TECH at the end of 2000 with only her final paycheck from her previous employer, a computer and a small stack of company letterheads. In just under five years, she has grown the company’s revenue from $360,000 in 2001 to $1.6 million last year. “It wasn’t very planned out or pre-meditated,” Anzaldo said of starting the company. “I didn’t think about failing. I said this is what I’m going to do and here I am today. Soon, I’d bitten off more than I could chew and was giving it 1,000 percent. I remember working late at night and my four year old would say to me ‘Can I go to bed now, and it would be 10:30 p.m.” Before starting ARCH-i-TECH, Anzaldo had been in the staffing industry for almost a decade. According to Anzaldo, the biggest reward about running the staffing firm isn’t the financial benefit, but rather the satisfaction of placing a previously unemployed person into a good job. “My biggest reward isn’t being wealthy. It’s the satisfaction that I give both to my clients and my employees when I put the two of them together into a mutually beneficial relationship. It solves both of their problems,” Anzaldo said. As an active member of the Renaissance Executive Forum, Anzaldo also credits the organization for improving her business acumen. Ken Keller, the president of Renaissance Executive Forums of North Los Angeles returned the compliment. “Judy is a fanatic about taking care of her clients. She is very driven to be successful. The more time you spend with her, the more special and unique you realize she is. She’s a real relationship builder,” Keller said. Jeff Weiss Fred Arnold President, Southern California American Family Funding Age 36 If Fred Arnold sends you an e-mail blast, he just may be asking for blood. The mortgage broker worked tirelessly recently to help raise financial and blood donations for an employee’s daughter who is stricken with cancer. He is chairman of the National Multiple Sclerosis Southern California Golf Tournament and has helped to raise close to $1 million for the group over the last 11 years. He donates to over 25 charities and his company provides employees with time off to volunteer. “I realize that business is not just about funding home loans and helping people get houses,” Arnold said. “When you own a business there’s a tremendous amount of satisfaction you get when you help other people.” Arnold’s charitable work has been a natural outgrowth of his business. “I have this philosophy that if you help people achieve their goals in life, you’re always going to achieve your goals in life,” he said. That philosophy has led not only to his charitable involvement but also to his work with the California Association of Mortgage Brokers where he currently serves as vice president. Arnold said he began working with the group as a speaker, hoping to help other brokers better ply their trade. This year the CAMB nominated him for recognition as Broker of the Year. Arnold also sits on the board of Matadors Community Credit Union. A biology major at Cal State Northridge who ran his own pool company to put himself through school, Arnold gravitated to the mortgage industry because he said he was always fascinated with the construction of homes and the making of property. “And I was very good at finance,” he added. After working as a loan officer, he launched his own mortgage company, California First Financial, during the devastating real estate market downturn that followed the Northridge Earthquake. “In about 2000 I realized that I was really good at originating loans and motivating employees, but I wanted the backing of a big company that could fund loans in their own name,” Arnold said. He merged his company with American Family Funding essentially continuing to run his own company under the larger company’s umbrella. The Southern California division funds about $20 million in loans a month and Arnold personally funds another $7 million monthly. “I’ve had a lot of clients who have been victimized and a lot of it had to do with lenders that were just not being ethical and forthright in the way they structure loans,” said Dennis DeYoung, a real estate broker and branch manager of Brookstreet Securities Corp., a financial planning company. “If I refer a client to Fred, I know he and his team will not promise the sun and the stars and not be able to deliver. Fred is a straight shooter, and in this business, it’s refreshing.” Arnold actively works with clients to help educate them on structuring their credit and managing their finances. He has also become involved in helping to promote legislation that would raise conforming loan limits, allowing homeowners to qualify for larger homes without the high interest charges now attached to those loans. It is a solution the CAMB hopes will address the lack of affordability for home ownership in Southern California. By the end of the year, Arnold hopes to launch a children’s foundation that would provide scholarships to those who could not otherwise afford to go to college, funded through the fees he gets for speaking engagements. DeYoung, who has served with Arnold on the Matadors board and done his own share of charitable work, points out that these efforts rarely pay off in additional business. “But on the other hand, you can sleep at night,” DeYoung said. “That’s what Fred brings to the table. He delivers on his volunteer service, and he does it because it’s the right thing to do.” Shelly Garcia Louis Ashamallah Staff Vice President WellPoint Inc. Age 38 Louis Ashamallah may seem to have an unenviable task as a staff vice president of the largest health insurance company in the nation he’s charged with increasing membership for WellPoint beyond its current 28.8 million members. He’s well suited for the role however, combining skills he developed studying computer engineering at UCLA with his MBA earned at USC and his extensive business experience to make it easier for insurance brokers and individuals to sell and purchase health insurance through the Internet, respectively. His department is responsible for 90,000 new member sales per year through the Internet and other strategic partnerships, these sales generate over $100 million in annual revenue WellPoint. His team created, among other programs, PlanFinder, the company’s online sales and enrollment process, which allows consumers to search through and purchase plans from their computers. He’s also brokered strategic partnerships with several companies across the country to get WellPoint plans in front of more individuals and small business owners. “I joined the company in 1998 and I was actually working in more of a planning and analysis role, similar to what I had done at Atlantic Richfield (his previous employer, purchased by British Petroleum),” said Ashamallah. “Over time, I started supporting a lot of sales initiatives and e-business initiatives and ended up assuming more project management and program management roles. I transitioned full-time into that role in 1999.” He’s also one of the youngest people in the company to be named a staff vice president, and said his relative youth compared to his colleagues makes it easier to manage a division for which computer technology is so critical. “Most of our officers are comfortable with technology, but because I grew up with it I’m probably more accustomed to it than those who haven’t used it throughout their lives,” said Ashamallah. In the last few years, Ashamallah has also developed a standup comedy act. Ten years ago, he says, he started developing an act based on his experiences growing up in Los Angeles as the child of two Middle Eastern immigrants and his early corporate experiences. Recently, the birth of twins has given him even more material. “It’s just something I was interested in, some people play the guitar, other play tennis, some people write poetry. I started doing some Improv shows or working at the Icehouse (in Pasadena),” Ashamallah said. “Eventually I got the idea to arrange a show in the Icehouse’s smaller room and donate the proceeds to the Los Angeles free clinic.” Ashamallah doesn’t have much time to book club shows, but he tries to organize his fundraiser show annually, and always makes sure that his comedy work doesn’t interfere with his professional life. “I don’t make any jokes about my current employer,” said Ashamallah. Jonathan D. Colburn Jason Bender President In Focus Advertising Age 36 Jason Bender was just 26, working for a large ad agency, when he decided to open his own shop. It wasn’t part of a grand scheme, just an opportunity presented by a former client that made sense at the time. Besides, he remembers, he had little to lose. “Back then I didn’t have kids. I wasn’t married,” he recalled. “So they wanted to pay me the same I was making and I said, ‘sounds good.’ I’ll take it for a year, help them out and then go find another job.” From that serendipitous event has emerged a full service ad agency employing 10 people and billing some $14 million a year. Bender’s background working for a division of Grey Advertising taught him about advertising, branding, strategic marketing and the whole gamut of disciplines full service agencies employ to service their clients. But as a small shop, he was able to bring those skills at affordable prices to smaller clients who could not afford the price of a big-name ad agency. “He’s able to handle all aspects of our advertising,” said Susan Chicas, director of marketing for Fazio Cleaners, an In Focus client. “I’ve worked with ad agencies that bill you for every minute they’re on the phone. With Jason, he’ll pick up the phone at any time. It’s that personal touch they offer but with the capability of the kinds of things big agencies do.” Agoura Hills-based In Focus counts among its clients American Vision Windows, IS West, Kevin Jewelers, Northridge Toyota, Caruso Properties and Big Brand Tire, among many others. The company recently negotiated an endorsement deal with KIIS-102.7 FM morning deejay and host of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest, with Kevin Jewelers. And In Focus has evolved with the times, providing such direct response services as delivering coupons to customers via e-mail blasts for Fazio to tracking services that can pinpoint the location of customers buying the services and products. Bender, who graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in marketing, says he could not have built his company to its current stature had he stayed on the West Side of L.A. where he began. “We were just a small, small fish in a huge pond, and then we moved out to Agoura Hills because the commute was killing me and instantly, we were more than just a rinky dink agency,” he said. “We had know-how. We had solid relationship skills. We had solid creative skills, and there aren’t many companies like us around anywhere close in the Valley and Ventura County. So it’s a nice, solid niche and we ran with it.” Shelly Garcia Vilma Bernal Dean of Academic Affairs Los Angeles Mission College Age 34 When Vilma Bernal was a student at Los Angeles Mission College 15 years ago, her dream was to be teaching at the head of the class one day. Before she got her wish in 2002, Bernal received degrees from two more universities and worked for two banks and as a customer service manager for a cigar company. Now, she says she’ll spend the rest of her career at Mission shaping the city’s future leaders, if she gets the chance. Bernal, a lifelong resident of the Valley, graduated from Mission in 1991 with her A.A. degree, received a B.S. in management from Pepperdine University in 1993 and got her MBA from Woodbury University in 1998. She worked as sales associate for First Interstate Bank, which was eventually acquired by Wells Fargo and then as a customer service manager for Cigar America. In 2000, she was hired at Mission as director of specially funded programs, and wrote grant proposals to get federal, state and local funding for training programs for low-income workers. She became a professor in 2002, and now teaches classes in management, marketing and entrepreneurship. “The fulfillment that one receives by opening the eyes of these students is incredible,” said Bernal. “You’re not exactly opening their eyes, but you’re facilitating it, but to be there when it clicks and to have them say ‘Oh, I get it,” that is such a fulfillment. To hear someone finally ‘I know what I want to do,’ and see them walk the path to graduation. . .I feel like I’m contributing to society overall because I see them as my future leaders.” Adriana Barrera, president of Mission College, said that Bernal is known for going beyond the requirements of her position. “She’s the kind of person who volunteers for extra assignments and goes beyond her job duties and responsibilities, she’s been active on a number of committees at the college,” Barrera said. Bernal participates in the annual spring festival sponsored by the college’s foundation, and has been a member of the resource analysis committee as well. Bernal appreciates that her job provides a constant challenge, she said. “I’m always hard at work learning (what businesses) are out there, and whether we’re meeting those needs so that we make certain that when a student comes and gets a degree, they’re ready to get a job.” Bernal lives in Sylmar with her husband and two children. They spend their free time going boating and participating in church activities. Living in the Valley, she said, offers the best of both worlds for people who enjoy open space but need to work near the city. “We have a big home with a nice piece of land, it really feels like we’re not in the city, but we are a part of it, so we don’t miss out on things,” Bernal said. Jonathan D. Colburn Marc Bishara Partner Venbrook Insurance and Risk Services Age 38 Over the last three years, Marc Bishara has turned a small insurance company into a leading, full-service insurance and financial services business with clients ranging from real estate firms to retail operations throughout the city. Bishara, like most people in his industry, never imagined himself in his present career while he was growing up. “Like everybody in the business, I kind of just fell into it. I had an opportunity early in my career to join MB Insurance and I basically stayed in the business because of the opportunities,” said Bishara. “It’s not the sexiest of careers, but once you’re in it, it provides you the opportunity to learn about a lot of different industries. To become a valued advisor of all different industries, you have to be well-versed.” Business at Venbrook has quadrupled since he and his partner Jason Turner combined their businesses to form the company. Venbrook has grown from an insurance company to a full financial services firm offering employee benefits, 401(k) and other client services, as well as risk management consulting. The business expansion has been rapid, but Bishara says it’s all according to plan. “In all humility, I can’t say I was certain it was going to happen, but we certainly worked very hard,” said Bishara. “It helped finding a partner with a similar vision and values.” Bishara, who grew up the Valley and graduated from CSUN in 1989 with a degree in marketing, said he didn’t necessarily plan to build his career in the Valley. “It had an appeal certainly, because I had an information network of people I knew in the area, through involvement in school and so forth, but it didn’t necessarily have to be that way.” Bishara worked in Woodland Hills for 12 years before moving out to Agoura Hills for five years and finally heading back to Warner Center a few years ago. He’s made an impact on his community in the years he’s worked here, however. Venbrook is an active supporter of the Woodland Hills Fire Department, and Bishara sits on the board of the Dubnoff Center for Child Development, a school for children with developmental challenges. Jonathan D. Colburn Victoria Bourdas Director of Finance Fleming Entertainment Centers Age 31 For Victoria Bourdas, spending a year working in different parts of the country was all it took to convince her that she wanted to spend her career at home in the San Fernando Valley. After graduating from CSUN in 1998 she spent time working for her national sorority Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity, visiting chapters nationwide. “I was an educational leadership consultant and I traveled to campuses around the country in maybe 18 to 20 different states. I would stay anywhere from a day to a week, but it really gave me the chance to see different climates and cultures,” Bourdas said. “It made me realize what California and the Valley have to offer and how many things I have at my fingertips. When I got I home I said ‘this is where I want to live,’ all of my family and friends are here and the network I’ve worked to establish over so many years is here.” Upon returning home to Northridge, Bourdas took a job at Morgan Stanley, but decided that the corporate atmosphere didn’t suit her. Her sister Courtney was working at Fleming Entertainment Centers, which owns Skateland in Northridge and Mountasia in Santa Clarita. Each sister had a long history with the company, having worked at Skateland from their early teens, and Bourdas decided she missed working in a small, friendly business, and took a job as Fleming’s director of finance. “It’s a family atmosphere, it definitely has the feel of a mom and pop environment,” said Bourdas. “I did the corporate thing for a while, and as rewarding as that was, you kind of get lost in the names and faces, you’re more of a number.” Bourdas has also become actively involved in the North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce as chair of the ambassador committee and chamber board member. She’s been instrumental in planning several of the chamber events like the recent installation luncheon and has even worked behind the scenes to help rewrite the chamber bylaws. She was recently given an outstanding service award from the chamber. Bourdas credits CSUN with giving her the confidence to become so outgoing in her community. While in college she was chapter president of her sorority’s marketing committee and held positions with the school’s accounting society and several other groups “CSUN was a wonderful experience for me because it made me break out of my shell,” Bourdas said. “I had to learn how to become a public speaker. . .I had missed that.” Jonathan D. Colburn Andy Carrasco Account Executive The Gas Co. Age 39 Andy Carrasco doesn’t want to be CEO. His joy comes from the long-term relationships he establishes with his clients and helping them to keep their businesses thriving and from the work he does in the community. “My goal really is to make long-lasting relationships,” he said. “Being connected to people is what makes things happen, whether it’s networking or keeping in contact with folks regardless of what’s going on in the business field. If you don’t keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on with your customers and the pulse of the community, you might lose those opportunities.” An engineer by training, Carrasco worked in that field for the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power and initially when he went to work for The Gas Co. in 2001. But he soon realized that he preferred working directly with customers and became an account executive about four years ago. He currently works with large commercial and industrial customers in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura County where, among other things, he helps them to reduce their reliance on the grid and tap into alternative sources of energy. For the last two years, he has managed to achieve 150 percent of his goals for added gas therm usage. Carrasco doesn’t actually sell The Gas Co. services. He works with companies who want to save money or reduce their reliance on electric energy, a job that takes familiarity with each customer’s business and needs. “He’s very honest with people,” said Mark Riffey, an account executive in the Santa Clarita Valley who met Carrasco when the two went through training together for The Gas Co. “He doesn’t believe in telling you what you want to hear.” The turns his professional life has taken led Carrasco to the Valley Leadership Institute where, as part of the curriculum, he spent a day with MEND, a Pacoima-based not for profit that provides, food clothing, medical, job training and other assistance in the San Fernando Valley. “Going through that program and looking at what that non-profit had to offer really touched my heart,” said Carrasco, who grew up in East L.A. Since then he has been volunteering there as an English-as-a-second-language instructor. Carrasco also works with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers to promote the sciences and engineering fields to young Latinos. Carrasco, a first-generation Chicano who was a student of Jaime Escalante, the math teacher whose life was memorialized in the movie, “Stand and Deliver,” said that experience has led him to try and do the same for students today. “If I share that perspective and be a live icon, I think I can turn a few to look at sciences and technology as a career,” he said. Shelly Garcia Tina Choi Owner TChoi & Associates Age 35 Most college students consider themselves lucky to handle part-time jobs while struggling through term papers and final exams, but Tina Choi had more on her mind than that. Choi, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea with her parents when she was six years old, had always been conscious of the sometimes difficult relations in Los Angeles. The 1992 riots set off incredible tension throughout the city which captivated the country, and Choi flew back from UC Berkeley in order to help put together a race relations panel for the Oprah Winfrey Show in order to strengthen communications between the African American and Korean American communities. Once she was finished with school, Choi retuned home to Los Angeles for good, continuing to work for civic improvements in the mayor’s office. As an advocate for the city, Choi worked to attract the attention of commercial and trade delegation groups visiting from across the world. She finished her time in the mayor’s office as an economic development deputy, working on the Harbor Gateway project and helping to convert some former military property into commercial and industrial businesses. After her time in the public sector, she worked for Playa Vista and recently she started her own business. Her clients are developers that have designs for Los Angeles but need help navigating through the city’s approval process. “I’ve been doing community mediating for a long time, so development strategy just seemed like a natural segue for me,” Choi said. “I’ve done public service and I served in an executive capacity for Playa Vista but I never had the opportunity to try running my own business.” Many of Choi’s clients are working on build-to-suit condominium projects she’s also worked with architect and designer Philippe Starck, hotel development companies, and several South Korean businesses interested in investing in the United States. She also saves some time to continue working in the public sector, serving as a commissioner on the South Valley Planning Commission at the urging of Councilwoman Wendy Greuel and Controller Laura Chick. “It was very important for them to have not only minority representation but gender representation, which was sorely lacking,” Choi said. “They were looking for much more diverse participation in civic volunteer group.” Jonathan D. Colburn Paul De La Cerda Major Grants and Gifts Officer Providence Holy Cross Foundation Age 30 Paul De La Cerda was looking for ways to improve life in his community long before it became his career. As a high school student in Santa Clarita he got tired of hearing his friends complain that they had no money to support community programs, so he started to look for it himself. De La Cerda was successful in getting federal money to support programs at his local church and received funding from the National Science Foundation for a program that pairs Hispanic children with mentors. “A lot of students were using the excuse of not having any money as the reason they couldn’t make a difference,” said De La Cerda. “There’s funding out there, you just have to ask for it. That’s a lesson I learned mostly from my parents, they taught me that if you want something, you have to go for it.” A Valley native, De La Cerda graduated form Oklahoma State University with an engineering degree in 1998 and then graduated from the school’s MBA program in 2000. After completing a minority business executive program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business he moved back to Los Angeles and got a job with Mayor James Hahn’s office supervising the administration’s homeland security grant program. From there De La Cerda moved to Councilman Greig Smith’s office where he helped to secure a quarter of million dollars in block grants to assist low- to moderate-income communities. Earlier this year, De La Cerda took his current job, a major gifts and grants officer for Providence Holy Cross Foundation, where he’s been focused most recently on a capital campaign to expand the West Hills hospital’s emergency room and trauma center, which is close to its $7.5 million goal and scheduled to break ground on August 19. De La Cerda, who said his family members have been patients at Providence for as long as the hospital’s been in existence, plans to stay in health care administration. “Hopefully I prove myself so that I can move up in management here and make the next step to a director,” said De La Cerda. “I’ve learned so much in four months that it’s really given me a new passion for health care and the huge need for it in the community.” Jonathan D. Colburn Jason Feld President Zeppelin Investment Opportunities Age 37 You might think someone tackling his first development project would choose something easy, but when Jason Feld decided to strike out on his own, he took on no less than a historic building in an area targeted by the Community Redevelopment Agency and, as if that wasn’t enough, a rather unconventional venue into the bargain. Feld is redeveloping the former Security Pacific Bank building in North Hollywood into a multi-venue entertainment center that will include a casual and a formal restaurant, a lounge, live music, dancing and karaoke. Called The Reserve, the $1 million redevelopment project slated to open on New Year’s Eve, has been more than two years in the making. The building, designed by the same architects who designed Union Station in downtown L.A. and built in 1926, is designated as having significant historical value, and it requires a special historic architect to participate in the redevelopment process. The redevelopment has also involved numerous meetings with city officials and agencies, not to mention an arduous fundraising effort that has included family, friends and industry contacts. “What I was looking for is people who understood and could appreciate not just my vision, but the larger vision of what was developing in Noho,” Feld said. When he began planning the restaurant/club, the renaissance of North Hollywood was little more than a few drawings on paper and the hopes of a couple of developers preparing to build a living and working center for young professionals and families. But Feld, who grew up in the Valley and still lives there, has always been something of an adventurer. He spent much of the 1990s in Jerusalem where he owned and operated an art gallery, bringing together the work of Jewish artists from the four corners of the earth. “Oddly enough, it’s a very similar impulse to what we’re doing in Noho,” Feld said, “the adventure of being part of something that’s still developing. Israel is a young country; Noho is a young neighborhood. When our clients would come into the art gallery it was a complete sensory experience. Being a restaurant coupled with a nightclub, we really have the ability to deliver a complete experience for our customers.” After graduating from the University of Baltimore with a law degree, Feld went to work for a group that was developing restaurants and night clubs in Hollywood. He did a lot of their contract and land use work and he learned the ropes with the idea of striking out on his own. He modeled the idea for The Reserve after his own experiences living in New York while he attended New York University as an undergraduate and his own yearnings as young professional living in the area. “I’m part of a younger generation who has decided to settle in the San Fernando Valley,” said Feld. “Whereas once upon a time it was looked upon as a suburban bedroom community, my generation is looking more for the level of experiences and services that one would find in any major urban setting.” The choice of the old Security Pacific building, vacant for years, has required considerable accommodation to preserve its authenticity, and Feld hopes to apply for historical landmark status when it is completed. “Knowing he has to give a lot of thought to the preservation of the interior and the limitations of the exterior, it takes someone committed to the area,” said Robert Schacht, president and owner of Courtland Development Co., the contractor on the project. “He’s very diligent. He’s got a lot of great ideas. I think he’s somebody who’s poised for success.” Shelly Garcia Yolanda Fuentes Commissioner for Public Works City of Los Angeles Age 30 Yolanda Fuentes has been concerned about improving conditions in the Northeast San Fernando Valley ever since elementary school. Mrs. Zapata, who organized the school lunch program, instilled in all of the students the need to be conscious of their neighborhood. It’s a lesson that stuck with Fuentes. “She would always make sure we cleaned up our school, we had a big clean-up day, and I remember her telling us that if we’re going to live here, we’re going to have to do our part to keep our neighborhoods clean,” Fuentes said. Years later, Fuentes can consider herself a powerful force for change throughout the entire city, serving as a commissioner on the Board of Public Works. The position, which she’s held for a little under a year after being appointed by Mayor Hahn, is one in a long line of public service jobs for Fuentes. After graduating from high school, she took a job as a translator for the Latin American Civic Association. When she turned 18 while attending Mission College, Fuentes took a job as a teacher’s assistant for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In 1997, future Councilman Alex Padilla, who was working for then Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, suggested that she think of a job working in the public sector. She worked on his staff until he was termed out in 2002, and then became Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante’s Valley representative. She came back to work for Cardenas when he was elected a City Councilman, eventually becoming his district director. While she’s proud of the work she’s been able to do at the Department of Public Works, such as arranging paving for roads in Sun Valley that have gone without improvements for over 50 years, she’s most proud of a specific program she started with Cardenas. On August 7, 2002, Fuentes was carjacked and kidnapped by a man after working late for the San Fernando Valley Youth Foundation. She was able to escape and jump out of the car after what she calls “the worst five minutes of (her) life,” and vowed to find a way to make women safer in the Northeast Valley. “We organized a self defense workshop for women in the Northeast Valley with great success,” said Fuentes. “I think we’ve done four of them, the demand was so great after the first one that we knew we had to have another one.” Jonathan D. Colburn Kelly Gamble Co-founder, Vice President, CTO Qsonix Inc. Age 33 Like many inventors, Kelly Gamble’s creation arose from necessity. Frustrated with having no effective way to manage his music collection, the veteran software architect sought out to build a home system to organize the library of CDs he owned. Enter the Qsonix 100, the device that people often refer to as “an iPod on steroids.” “We’d seen the competition and much of the competition was built by techies for techies. We wanted to build an easy to use software program built for humans, not that techies aren’t humans,” Gamble, the Qsonix Inc. co-founder joked. The Qsonix product that Gamble co-designed along with Qsonix Inc. co-founder Mike Weaver, is essentially a digital music server that makes it simple to stream music in all rooms of one’s home. In essence, Gamble fulfilled his original goal, by creating a product that Robb Report Home Entertainment & Design proclaimed to be the “most enjoyable music server ever conceived.” But being a software designer has seemingly been Gamble’s destiny since his days in elementary school, when the future Qsonix CTO displayed an exceptional aptitude or all things technology-related. “Every time, I took a career placement test it would always tell me that I should be a systems analyst. That’s really what I ended up doing. I look at problems and engineer programs around them,” Gamble said. “Designing the architecture of a system is the most important thing to me. Most systems don’t build solutions to make it easy on the customers. People don’t want to punch 400 buttons, they want to play their CDs.” Before designing the Qsonix 100, Gamble had over a decade’s experience in software, database, and graphics design. Some of his accomplishments included serving as the chief architect and programming manager for DataSite International, where he performed surgical outcome analysis for refractive surgeons and ophthalmologists, as well as managing large scale multi-million dollar development projects and teams for companies such as Need2Buy, Hearthstone, and FotoKem. Additionally, Gamble co-founded Proxylogic, Inc., a successful technology consulting company involved in large-scale software engineering for client companies nationwide. Jeff Weiss Stacy Geere Director of Public Relations Van Nuys Airport Age 38 Some people might feel like moving as far away as possible after living in a flight path, but Stacy Geere didn’t mind. She’s a Valley girl who’s been working as director of public relations for Van Nuys Airport for the last seven years, and with the public relations department since 1992. After graduating from CSUN in 1989 with a B.A. in Speech Communication with special options in Business Administration and Public Relations, Geere took a job with the Department of Water and Power, in community relations before spending a little more than two years as a public relations specialist. She always wanted the chance to come back to the Valley, however, and jumped at the chance to work at the airport, where she says she’s learned more than she ever would have expected. “It didn’t take long at all for me to develop a passion for aviation. I consider myself one of those rare individuals who actually loves what they do,” Geere said. “I think that people have a natural fascination with flight, and there is such a wide variety of aircraft people and businesses based at Van Nuys so there’s always something interesting happening each day. Geere has had her work cut out for her. She’s responsible for communicating airport policy to residential and business communities, which have been at odds with each other while the city has tried to approve an airport master development plan. Geere said she’s hopeful, however, that both businesses and residents can be satisfied while the airport plans for its future. She has also managed to add to the airport’s educational opportunities, developing guided tours, arranging for airport guides to visit schools and running what’s called the Summer ACE program, in which high school students spend a week at the airport learning about flight careers. She’s moved away from her Northridge home, but still lives close in Stevenson Ranch with her husband Charles and daughters Sarah, 11, and Samantha, 8. Jonathan D. Colburn Zorik Gordon President and CEO ReachLocal Inc. Age 33 Zorik Gordon knew rather early on that dentistry wasn’t for him. Coming from a long family line of dentists, Gordon originally enrolled in dentistry school shortly after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles. Almost immediately, Gordon became supremely bored and decided to drop out in order to follow his dreams. “Me and dental school just didn’t work out, we were like oil and water. Once I left dental school, I came back home to L.A. to do what I always wanted to do: become an entrepreneur,” Gordon said. By the age of 25 years old, Gordon had registered his first business success, co-founding Jackpot.com, a company that grew into El Segundo-based Vendare Media, an online marketing company that according to Gordon currently employs between 400 and 500 people. However, after slightly over a year at Jackpot/Vendare, Gordon decided to take a post as the CEO and vice president of corporate development at Boston-based online gaming company, WorldWinner, Inc. At WorldWinner, Gordon signed major partnerships with Yahoo!, Pogo, Lycos, and Shockwave, which positioned WorldWinner as a major provider of cash tournaments on the Internet, with more than five million registered gamers. During Gordon’s three-year stint at the company, he grew revenues from $100 a day, to $100,000 a day, as well as raising over $25 million in venture capital funding. Than in 2004, Gordon decided to return home and found Encino-based ReachLocal, an online local search and advertising firm. In approximately a year of business, Gordon has raised $7.75 million in venture capital funding and has grown the company to 32 employees. “I love getting involved in the early stages of a company and getting excited about an opportunity and getting the chance to turn it into something real,” Gordon said. “There are always lots of problems to solve and challenges you get thrown. I enjoy that a lot more than when the business model solidifies and it becomes a large company. I like building the car more than watching it drive.” Jeff Weiss Betty Gower Vice President of Marketing Telemundo Station Group Age 33 Betty Gower thrives on being challenged. Whereas many people wilt against difficult pressures and obstacles, Gower relishes any daunting task thrown her way. It is this tendency to overcome adversity that has led to her becoming the head of marketing for 14 different Telemundo television stations, winning various marketing awards and completing four marathons. “When you are posed with different challenges, you look at the different ways of climbing the mountain,” Gower said. “I don’t believe in giving up. I feel one of my best attributes is great self-confidence. I know that I can accomplish anything eventually.” Born and raised until the age of 10 in Mexico City, Gower faced language barriers the moment she set foot in America, not knowing a single word of English. Not only did Gower manage to quickly become fluent in English as well as her native Spanish, but she also became fluent in French and Italian. After graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz, Gower broke into the entertainment business working as the creative director and senior manager of corporate branding and marketing for Universal Studios, where she was assigned to manage the global revamp of the Universal Studios corporate brand and logo, among other things. Following her tenure at Universal, Gower started her own consulting company that specialized in all aspects of brand marketing strategy, creative direction and corporate communications for leading media and consulting firms. Than Gower segued into the television business taking posts as the vice-president of marketing for TuTv, where she masterminded the launch of a cable television joint venture between the two largest Latino entertainment conglomerates Televisa and Univision. After leaving TuTv, Gower took a position as the vice-president of marketing and communications for SiTV, the first English-language Latino-themed network in the United States. SiTV ultimately segued to her current position at Telemundo, where she heads all philanthropic, public relations and promotional activities for the stations, and is responsible for all of its marketing campaigns. Additionally, Gower won the 2004 CTAM/NAMIC Fellowship to Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, as well as garnering two Dasker Awards for creative excellence in production and art direction, and most recently two Gold Awards at PROMAX 2005 for the Daypart Packing Promotion Campaign and the SiTV menu, and two Gold Awards at BDA 2005. Jeff Weiss Jason Hall Senior Vice President Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Age 34 Jason Hall is one of the most well-known figures in the video game industry. The head of Warner Bros.’ Interactive Entertainment Unit, Hall has guided the company to massive growth in the video game arena, as it has produced hit games such as “Harry Potter,” and “Enter the Matrix.” But rather than focus on the individual successes that he has helped produce since he started at Warner Bros. at the beginning of last year, Hall believes that his greatest achievements have been in turning the Interactive Entertainment unit into one of the most formidable in the industry today. “Warner Bros. is far more capable today of dealing with the challenges in the video game space. Our ability to auto-generate video game content is greatly enhanced,” Hall said. “We’re in a hit-driven creative business, there will be hits and misses, but when you look at Warner Bros. as a company as a whole, it’s much more competent in the video game space and competency reaches out to the all the divisions inside of Warner Bros.” Since he started last year, the Interactive Entertainment Unit has grown from 12 employees based in Burbank to 40 today, not including 150 other employees based at Monolith Productions, Inc. a Warner Bros. owned development studio in Kirkland, Wash. Before coming to Warner Bros., Hall was in fact the co-founder and CEO of Monolith, the company that he started at the age of 23. Before co-founding Monolith, Halls’ resume included stints as a stockbroker, a marine, a musician/composer, a sound engineer and a game developer. As for the future, Hall’s goals are to continue transforming Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment into a powerhouse video game publisher and developer. “Today when people think of Warner Bros. and think about what they are known for being good at, they generally think of their work in television movies, music, or comic books,” Hall said. “Thinking about them as a video games publisher doesn’t naturally occur. What I hope to accomplish is that people will insert video games into that equation, as though it was always there.” Jeff Weiss Cynthia Ibarra Marketing Manager Valley Economic Development Corp. Age 26 Cynthia Ibarra never imagined when she started working for the Valley Economic Development Corp. as a human resources assistant that she’d be a linchpin of the organization in a few years. Ibarra, now marketing manager for the VEDC, is described as an “incredible hire,” said Roberto Barragan, president of the corporation. “She’s someone who’s really grown into the position, she’s brought a level of professionalism to the marketing post that is unparalleled,” Barragan said. One of her first marketing jobs was planning the organization’s annual “Where’s the Money?” event, and once she proved herself there, she said, Barragan was convinced she could handle the position. Ibarra, who graduated from Cal State Northridge with a B.S. in Health Administration, has brought an unstoppable work ethic to her position within the VEDC, Barragan said. She is responsible for managing marketing activities for VEDC and SBDC in 11 offices across three counties. She manages a staff of three that coordinates all agency events, promotions, public relations, publications and seven Web sites. In addition to those responsibilities, Ibarra is also in charge of developing new marketing strategies, brand and outreach campaigns. Ibarra has created most of the VEDC’s current marketing materials, Barragan said, and has moved onto redesigning the corporation’s Web site. Ibarra will have her hands full for the time being, however. Barragan is considering a revamping of all 11 SBDC and VEDC offices, which would include marketing publications and interior design, all of which would fall into Ibarra’s hands. Ibarra said that she doesn’t plan to spend her career at the VEDC. “I do plan to go back to the health care industry, I don’t know how long I’ll stay here but I told my boss that I’ll stay as long as it takes to make a difference,” Ibarra said. In the meantime, she can see the impact that her work has on the Valley. “I go to all of our events, all of our graduations, so I get to meet the clients that we’ve helped and hear them say ‘thank you,’ and have them tell their story.” Jonathan D. Colburn Chris Jackson Vice President of Industrial Group and Investment Services Grubb & Ellis Age 34 Chris Jackson, the vice president of industrial group and investment services at Grubb & Ellis Company’s North Los Angeles office, attributes his success to his intense focus on his clients. According to the 34-year old, most of his business is repeat business, due to the extraordinary care and dedication he takes with each relationship. “We continuously get repeat business, but we’re constantly going out and finding more business or growing our business through referrals,” Jackson said. “Our clients really appreciate what I show them and they know that I don’t send every investment that I see to every client. I weigh each investment on whether or not that is something that I would buy myself.” Ron Feinstein, president and CEO of Feinstein Investments, uses Jackson for commercial brokerage purchases and has high esteem for his performance. “Besides being very personable, Jackson has genuinely made me feel as though he is working for my best interests. He does the best job for the owner of every property and the tenants,” Feinstein said. “He also is great about following through. He always makes sure that everything is completed.” Jackson’s success has not gone unnoticed by his employers as he has received awards for being one of the top 10 brokers at Grubb & Ellis each year since 2001. Also in 2001, Jackson was named rookie of the year for Grubb and Ellis Co. and was named by the Business Journal as one of the top 30 brokers in the San Fernando Valley. As for the future, Jackson hopes for continuing success and in particular plans to grow the investment side of his business. “I want more of the same, to continue doing brokerage and leasing and sales and investment. I want to help build in the investment arena by working with my clients more on the investment side, which is something that I’m in the process of doing now. We’re trying to get more listings and get our name out there,” Jackson said. In addition to his work with Grubb & Ellis, Jackson is an active member of the American Real Estate Association. His hobbies include basketball, golf and spending time with his 16-month-old daughter. Jeff Weiss Luca Jacobellis Vice President of Professional Services Cal Net Technology Group Age 25 If upward mobility defines the 40 Under 40, Luca Jacobellis typifies the classic nominee. At 25, Jacobellis is vice president of professional services at Cal Net Technology Group. Five years ago, he was bagging groceries at Vons. So far, during his five-year executive career, he has helped to grow an engineering staff from four employees to one that now consists of 20 engineers. Under Jacobellis’ leadership, his division has not lost a single engineer since 2003, an admirable accomplishment in today’s highly fluid tech-job market. But, that doesn’t surprise the man who gave Luca his first job at Cal Net and the one who nominated him for the 40 Under 40. “Luca was nominated because he is a true example of how hard work, ambition, and dedication can lead to success,” said Zachary Schuler, Cal Net’s founder. “I think he is living proof that if you work hard and dedicate yourself to your organization, you can go a long way.” Schuler says that Jacobellis has worked with more than 200 companies in the Valley in his post as a VP. He has been the architect for numerous companies’ network environments, and those companies, says Schuler, have become more efficient and profitable as a result. “I’m not sure that this fact is industry-changing,” said Schuler. “But, Luca has definitely raised the bar when it comes to communicating technical solutions to his clientele in a way in which they can understand the value. This is an art form that Luca has mastered.” In addition to managing his team, Jacobellis is responsible for Cal Net’s technical direction. “Much of our success will be dependant upon where he chooses to take us in that regard,” says company president, Schuler. His confidence in delegating part of the responsibility for his company’s future to young Jacobellis is testament to why he is one of our 40 Under 40. But, success is no stranger to Jacobellis, in spite of the youthfulness of his business career. He grew up with a tradition where hard work bears fruit or rather, sausages. His family owns Jacobellis Sausage Company in Burbank. And, considering the state of the housing market in the Valley especially for young homebuyers the fact that Luca Jacobellis just purchased a home in the exclusive Porter Ranch community, that tradition of success is alive and well. Thom Senzee Jenny Ketchepaw Branch Manager, Santa Clarita Telesis Community Credit Union Age 25 It all started when folks began coming into Jenny Ketchepaw’s office to ask for credit advice. The advice she gave generously was taking a bite out of her workday. “I said there’s got to be a better way,” said Ketchepaw. So began Single Mothers University, a financial literacy program that Ketchepaw developed and that she herself delivers through Santa Clarita-based Single Mothers Outreach. Now Ketchepaw sits on the group’s board of directors. Perhaps it is the result of her psychology major at UCLA. Or maybe it is her training as a personal business officer. Ketchepaw has combined the personal and professional aspects of her life in a way that seems almost seamless. She is state chair of the California Youth Involvement Board, an organization of credit unions that provides financial literacy training through schools. She is executive vice president of the Santa Clarita Valley Jaycees, a Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and a member of the business development committee of the Valley Industrial Association. “There’s a lot of overlap,” Ketchepaw said. “If there’s something going on with the Jaycees, Telesis may be involved in it. The same with Youth Involvement. I never take my work home with me because that’s my time. With the Jaycees, they’re all my friends. It’s not even work anymore.” Ketchepaw can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to work for a credit union. Her dad, Michael Maestro, is the CEO of the Los Angeles Fireman’s Credit Union, and she began working as a credit union teller when she started college. One day he brought home a flier for the California Youth Involvement Board, an organization that he thought was geared to young professionals. Ketchepaw was 18 at the time and, when she went to her first meeting, she found herself surrounded by 40-year olds. Undaunted, she wrote a proposal outlining how the credit union could interest kids in developing financial skills. The group asked her to run for an officer’s position. Ketchepaw joined Telesis as a part-time teller while she was still in school, and after graduating college in 2003, was appointed a personal business officer. A year later she was promoted to senior personal business officer, and two months later, she was elevated again to her current post, managing two Santa Clarita branches with about 11 employees. “To me, credit unions were all about family and the international philosophy of people helping people,” Ketchepaw said. “My dad started at his credit union the day I was born. I remember going as a kid. I knew all the kids there. It was all about helping people.” Shelly Garcia Brian Koegle Associate Attorney Poole & Shaffery LLP Age 31 Brian Koegle is a self-described ham. He loves to talk, has a real hankering for the dramatic and craves an audience. “If I had any skills of acting or if I had a beautiful face, I probably would have become an actor,” Koegle said. As it was, he became a lawyer. Koegle, an associate at Poole & Shaffery LLP, specializes in business, employment and intellectual property litigation. Litigation, Koegle figures, is the next best thing to acting, providing an outlet for what comes naturally. “I grew up in a family where debate was always welcome and the free expression of thought was encouraged,” Koegle said. “Going into law school, I thought, what a better place to be, you’re in court five days a week and you get to play the dramatic role of attorney.” Koegle expected to join the district attorney’s office following graduation from Southwestern University School of Law in an accelerated two-year program that is the only accredited one of its kind in the country, but the office wasn’t hiring. He worked briefly for a small Pasadena firm, but, disappointed with the atmosphere, soon joined with several classmates and hung out his own shingle in Encino. “We took on everything, criminal, business law, employment litigation, whatever walked in the door we were glad to take,” Koegle recalled. The business was going well, but when his baby daughter came along, Koegle figured he needed more stability. Last year he joined Poole & Shaffery in Valencia. “Brian has got confidence and charisma that is beyond where most young attorneys are at his age,” said David Poole, one of the firm’s partners. “He is generally fearless and willing and capable of taking on pretty much anything we ask him to take on.” Koegle has already logged a number of successes in his short career, including a case where he helped to get a lawsuit against his insurance company client dismissed. His client, one of about 35 defendants named in the suit, was the only one that did not have to settle with the plaintiff. But while his role as a litigator satisfies his flair for the dramatic, his commitment to his community has taken Koegle in another direction. He is an active member of the Santa Clarita Valley Jaycees and the Santa Clarita Valley Bar Association where he has taken on duties as co-chair of the public relations committee. Koegle is also part of a small team developing the Leadership Institute of Santa Clarita, a chamber of commerce-sponsored program that will provide mentoring for the next generation of leaders of the Santa Clarita Valley, where he was raised and now lives. “There is a gap in leadership right now in this Valley,” said Koegle. “Myself and the three others (forming the Institute) are greatly concerned by that.” Like the rest of his generation, Koegle grew up with the collapse of the savings & loan industry, Iran Contra, the Clinton scandals and Enron, events that have called into question the integrity of leaders at all levels. “I worry that integrity is going to be compromised unless a strong enough contingent of this generation steps up,” Koegle said. “In public service or in the business community, integrity is the cornerstone to being a success.” Shelly Garcia Benjamin Kuo Founder Socaltech.com Age 33 Most tech entrepreneurs assemble management teams, arrange funding, and have a business plan before starting up their companies. Not Ben Kuo. In fact, the 33 year-old founder of socaltech.com, started his company by accident. “It all came out of a personal webpage that I had in 1998. I was commuting from Thousand Oaks to Pasadena for work and my wife was expecting our first child. I told myself, this isn’t going to work,” Kuo said. “I started putting together a list of companies in the area around the 101 corridor to see if I could get a job with a different company. Soon I had a pretty sizable list and I decided to put it up on my webpage because I figured other people might find it useful.” Soon the page started getting hits from interested parties. Eventually, Kuo’s ISP forced him to remove the page from its server because it was attracting too much traffic. Establishing the new webpage, socaltech.com, Kuo began distributing an e-mail newsletter about the local tech industry to a small audience. But the site seemed to have a life of its own, and without any publicity other than referrals and word of mouth, it managed to become a major “go to” resource for anyone involved in the Southern California tech industry. Based out of Westlake Village, Kuo has managed to add and expand on his site’s initial offerings, with its newest development being a venture capital database for all of Southern California. Without being focused on profits or on rapidly growing the website, Kuo single-handedly managed to turn the site into a profitable and growing enterprise. Even more miraculously, he managed to do so as a sideline from his day job, senior product manager at Westlake Village-based Troika Networks, Inc. “It’s definitely challenging. The hardest part of all of this has been doing this late at night and early in the morning, after my two kids go to sleep and before they wake up. But I’ve been successful in spite of that,” Kuo said. “But I’m one of those type A-type people. I don’t spent my free time watching TV.” Somehow in the modicum of free time that remains, Kuo is actively involved with the California Rare Fruit Growers Association, and operates a national restaurant review website, Realeats.com. Jeff Weiss Vince Liuzzi Regional President San Fernando Valley Community Bank Wells Fargo Bank N.A. Age 39 Sr. Carmel Somers described Vince Liuzzi as “ordinary. “I think that’s one of the things that is so attractive about him,” said the sister, who runs the Valley Family Center, where Liuzzi sits on the board of directors. “He doesn’t stand on ceremonies.” You might think a guy who runs a $4 billion division of Wells Fargo Bank with 34 stores and some 680 employees would be an imposing presence, but to those who know him, Liuzzi is just a regular guy. He doesn’t just sit on the boards of about a half-dozen community and charitable organizations, he rolls up his sleeves and helps out. He spends most of his time visiting the bank branches under his purview, and when he does, he greets each of the staffers personally with a handshake, whether it’s a teller or a branch manager. Liuzzi is flattered by Somers’s description. “I would say I’m not the typical senior executive,” he said. “I much prefer visiting branches and team members than sitting in an office. The thing is I get my results by being that kind of a leader rather than a hands-off manager.” Since taking over the San Fernando Valley Community Bank division, Liuzzi has increased Wells’ market share to become the third ranking bank in the region from number four previously. He has opened four new banking stores in the past two years with an additional three stores slated to open later this year. And he has doubled the sales force over that time. “Just by the nature of having more sales people to provide solutions for clients is one of the reasons we have moved share,” Liuzzi said. Besides adding branches, Liuzzi led the way to a bank-wide practice of housing a full complement of specialty bankers, from mortgage bankers to private bankers, in each of the branches. That way, customers can transact all of their business in-person locally instead of being referred to other remote locations or 800-numbers for many services. “Everyone is doing it (now) but we were really the first,” Liuzzi said. A native of the Valley, Liuzzi graduated from Canoga Park High School and attended classes at Los Angeles Pierce College and Los Angeles Valley College as well as Cal State Northridge. He got his first taste of banking while in high school, where he was enrolled in a banker training program through now defunct Security Pacific Bank, and continued working at the bank while completing his associate’s degree at junior college. “It wasn’t like I said I wanted to be a banker when I grow up,” Liuzzi said. “But the analytical side of banking meshed with the people side of it, and I could see how what I was doing was helping people succeed financially.” Liuzzi spends about two nights a week and two weekends a month working with a number of community and charitable organizations including the boards of the Los Angeles Children’s Museum, Sherman Oaks Hospital Foundation and the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, as well as serving on a number of bank initiatives like Wells Fargo’s Corporate Diversity Council and the Northeast Valley Emerging Markets Steering Committee. It is time that he has had to carefully monitor and balance with his duties as a husband and the father of three children. “I’ve got to be present for them as well,” Liuzzi said. “That’s why I do things that are important to me personally and that I have passion about.” Shelly Garcia Sanjay Madhav Marketing Director Micro Solutions Enterprises Age 34 If the big buzz-phrase in business during the 1990s was “out-of-the-box,” during the first decade of the 21st century, it must be “the next level.” Enter Sanjay “Jay” Madhav; he’s the go-to guy for small companies who want to take their business to the next level and become medium-sized companies, as well as those who want to make larger enterprises of their mediums. Recently he took his gift for notching things up, to the task of helping his company, Micro Solutions Enterprises (MSE) of Chatsworth facilitate a smooth OEM partnership transaction with whopper client HP during its controversial merger with Compaq. Now, he heads marketing and advertising for MSE, one of the fastest growing companies in the Valley and the nation. Company officials credit much of their recent growth to Madhav’s marketing prowess. Known not only in the San Fernando Valley as a leader in the business of integration and brand management, but also nationally, Jay Madhav is a somewhat reluctant role model. Nevertheless, he doesn’t mind that title; as long as it can help young professionals have better careers,and better lives. “Mr. Madhav is philosophical about life and business,” said colleague and friend Elda Erika Fernandez. “He maintains a healthy work/life balance making ample time for himself and his loved ones. He makes ample time to help others and to contribute to causes that are important to him.” Fernandez says that communicating the need for a balanced life is as important to Madhav as any other aspect of mentoring young people in business. In addition to being able to see a big picture perspective, Madhav is also known to colleagues and clients as a hands-on tactician, ” not afraid to roll up his sleeves and help others.” That is how he led the integration teams through the difficult Compaq/HP merger, and how he created and launched HP’s Original Equipment Manufacturer Partner Program, covering 20 partners in the U.S. a move that generated $22 million in 2003. In fact, Madhav went on to become the top authority of HP’s OEM activity in North America. However, his continental influence has not pre-empted Madhav from thinking locally. “Focusing on strengthening partnerships with many other local Valley businesses has certainly been a contribution to the local economy,” said Fernandez. “He is always interested in mutually beneficial relationships whereby his company and vendors and supplier flourish together.” Born in England, raised in Canada, Madhav moved to the Valley from Houston two years ago. He lives with his wife and two dogs, which he rescued from local animal shelters. According to friends, he has a soft spot for animals, and is active in promoting their well being. He is a member of AFTRA’s Equal Employment Opportunity Task Force, which aims to enlighten the general public and the entertainment community as to the under-representation, misrepresentation, and exclusion of minority, elderly, and handicapped performers. Thom Senzee Khaim Morton Field Deputy Councilman Alex Padilla’s Office Age 32 Earlier this year, the intense rainstorms that hit Los Angeles managed to wash out a bridge that connected the Northeast Valley to the Santa Clarita Valley. It’s not a very well-known landmark, but the bridge is critically important to the thousands of commuters who use it everyday getting to work. Without it, they were forced to bypass the area by driving up the Golden State Freeway and across State Route 14. The bridge was located in Councilman Alex Padilla’s district, but it was nearby what looks like the nexus of Valley politics, since the land is close to Cindy Montanez’s Assembly district, as well as Michael Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavky’s county territory and Wendy Greuel’s county district. Each of them would naturally be anxious to see the bridge be rebuilt, but since it was near the Tujunga Wash, any construction projects need to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers. Khaim Morton, district director for Padilla in the area in which the bridge was located, has to juggle all of these competing interests while he tries to get the bridge rebuilt, but for him, the challenge is just one more thing that makes his job interesting. “It was a real challenge getting the Army planning process down from six months to 90 days to two months,” said Morton. “Basically, I’ve still got a stack of phone messages that’s about an inch thick from people who live and work in the area.” The experience has been a learning experience for Morton, who said that he prefers to think of his work as a series of obstacles that need only be overcome, rather than intractable problems. Morton is a Los Angeles native who went to Wesleyan University in Connecticut before heading back to Los Angeles to finish his undergraduate degree at Cal State Los Angeles. In 2000, he joined Mayor James Hahn’s campaign and stayed after the election to supervise Hahn’s Constituent Services department. He eventually got a job with the Department of Neighborhood Environment where Deputy Mayor Felipe Fuentes was his supervisor. When Fuentes left to join Alex Padilla’s office as chief of staff, he encouraged Morton to apply for a job in the office. Morton said he’s still undecided about his future working with Padilla has made him think about running for elected office one day, but with a wife and two young boys, he’s unsure he can commit the time. For now, however, he’s happy to keep learning on the job. Jonathan D. Colburn Diane Nelson Executive Vice President, Global Brand Management Warner Bros. Entertainment Age 38 A willingness to listen and a passion for collaboration are two of the attributes that Diane Nelson credits for her success at Warner Bros. Entertainment. As the studio’s senior-most executive in brand management, Nelson’s responsibilities include working with all Warner Bros. divisions in stewarding the studio’s signature franchises, brands, and event properties. “I’m most proud of having the opportunity in the last year to build an amazing team of people who are passionate about our event properties,” Nelson said. “Our team collaborates extremely well with the people in the various business units who we are dependant upon, and works well beyond the various event properties.” Nelson moved into her current post in May of 2004, after previously having served as executive vice president, domestic marketing for Warner Bros., where she played an essential role in the strategic development and management of marketing campaigns for Warner Bros. campaigns for Warner Bros. Pictures, with an emphasis on cross-studio marketing activities. Additionally, she oversaw the management of the “Harry Potter” franchise. Prior to this position, Nelson had worked at various posts within Warner Bros., being promoted rapidly at each stop along the way. Before coming to Warner Bros., Nelson broke into the entertainment industry at Walt Disney Records, where she served as the director of national promotions. As for the future, Nelson aspires to continue working at Warner Bros., the company which she had always wanted to work for. “I’d love to see the group of people that I work with to continue to build creditability. My primary goal is to stay with Warner Bros. as long as they’ll have me. I want to stay challenged and to continue working with creative people,” Nelson said. Jeff Weiss Mishawn Nolan Associate Law Offices of Greenberg & Bass Age 33 Ironically, the attorneys at Greenberg & Bass only decided to interview Mishawn Nolan when the Pepperdine law school grad was looking for a job as a favor to a friend. “We hired her on a contract basis because we weren’t sure we had the spot, and we weren’t sure she had the right amount of experience,” recalled Andy Goodman, a partner at the Encino-based law firm. “It’s probably one of the best hires we made.” Nolan whose specialty is intellectual property, has distinguished herself, not just as an attorney, but as an activist for the law and the community. She hopes to create an intellectual property practice that establishes the firm as the go-to place for such work in the Valley. She is co-chair of the intellectual property, entertainment and new media section of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association. And she is a founder of The Grid, a group she started about four years ago to help young professionals network for business and develop contacts and mentors. “When I go to a networking group, someone who is over 40 years old would look at me and there’s no way I would get a business lunch or a referral from that person,” Nolan said. “There are plenty of people like me who are young and aggressive and want to start developing those business relationships and there’s nowhere for us to go. So I created a place for us.” The Internet has provided access to creative product that has never before existed, and who owns music, films and other creative works is a question playing out in courts across the country. But none of that was on Nolan’s mind when she decided to specialize in intellectual property law. Nolan had been a dancer throughout her youth and years in law school she even had her own company, Aftershock, based in Encino. And she thought that intellectual property law would keep her connected to the creative community she grew up in and loved. Besides, she worried about being taken seriously as a young woman entering the profession. “Working in intellectual property allows you, as a younger attorney, to seem knowledgeable because intellectual property and the computer seem like young, new things,” Nolan said. “The older attorneys are not up to date on the newest stuff and people don’t expect them to be. E-commerce and that whole area, I’ve sort of found a niche in being young in that area.” Nolan is currently working on a range of complex projects including structuring a company whose business involves taking over the production of films if something happens to the original producer and another that is using clips from films and television shows to develop interactive games. “She instills tremendous confidence in her clients doing transactional work,” said Goodman. “She’s incredibly detail-oriented, has great follow-through and makes clients feel very comfortable. Those aren’t traits that come naturally to young lawyers. But from day one she’s had the ability to make clients feel like each one is the only thing on her desk.” Shelly Garcia Jesus Ochoa Company Representative Tekwerks Age 36 Jesus Ochoa first realized his passion for community activism when he became involved with the local Kiwanis Club as a student at Mission College. “Joining the Kiwanis became my driving force. It was amazing to get to see accomplished professionals in their fields, giving their time out to give back to the community. They have been my inspiration and role models,” Ochoa said. The relationships that Ochoa built in the Kiwanis helped spark Ochoa’s decision to run and win in the election to become the student body president at Mission. Nearly two decades later, Ochoa’s sense of community involvement has yet to diminish. After graduating from Mission, the Mexico-born Ochoa joined the Navy as a way to better assimilate himself into American culture. “I wanted to do my part for the country,” Ochoa said. “I didn’t even receive my citizenship until two years after I left the Navy. When I was in the service, I received several awards including the Navy Achievement Medal, one of the highest peacetime awards that the Navy gives out.” After leaving the service he has thrown himself into community service in the Valley, serving as the president of Holidays in the Park, a charity organization that hands out toys to disadvantaged families during the holiday season. Ochoa remains an active member of the Kiwanis, as well as serving on the governance council for the Metropolitan Transit Authority in the Valley. Professionally, Ochoa runs Teconectamos, a branch of San Fernando-based IT support firm, Tekwerks. As the founder of this branch of the company, Ochoa had the onerous task of organizing its basic infrastructure, establishing a client base and ensuring continued customer support. As for the future, Ochoa plans to grow with the company and help make it a force in the Valley. “I want to ensure that our company’s name will be recognized in the area. But I don’t want people just to know the name. I want them to know that we stand for quality.” Jeff Weiss Kelly Patchett Corporate Director, Consultant Development DLC Inc. Age 34 When Kelly Patchett joined DLC Inc. her job was to recruit not just any consultants, but consultants from the Big Four accounting firms or MBAs from the country’s top 25 schools and, oh yes, financial professionals with experience working at Fortune 1,000 companies. “When you’re a company nobody’s ever heard of and you’re looking to hire people from companies like that it’s a hard sell,” Patchett said flatly. Despite the challenges, Patchett has practically single-handedly brought some 130 consultants to the company since it launched in 2001. “She’s been very effective at translating the message in a way that resonates with the people we want to attract,” said David Lewis, CEO of DLC. “If you believe people are your most important asset, then she’s been a key driver in helping us get to where we are today.” Patchett, who began her career working as a retail manager for The Limited and Ann Taylor, was working for Lewis’s dad, Richard E. Lewis, as a recruiter for what was then called Accountants Overload, when she joined DLC. The company, which offers financial and accounting consulting services in areas such as financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, systems and others, is unlike many of its rivals in that its consultants do not travel extensively and they are not required to be rainmakers. Patchett quickly figured out that those features and others would be important selling points in the recruiting process. “I tried to learn a lot about the life of the accounting professional,” she recalled. “What kinds of things do they not like about their job? What would they like to have if they could? A lot of people are drawn to consulting but they don’t pursue it because they’re thinking of other definitions of consulting.” By zeroing in on how DLC differed from many other consulting firms and from the Big Four accounting firms, Patchett was able to tap into a group of professionals who met the company’s criteria and offer them an alternative that met the needs that were not being met by their current employers. Since then, the single mom admits, her job has become somewhat easier. Woodland Hills-based DLC has grown in size and stature. The company’s clients include some of the major Hollywood studios, Sunkist, Baxter and Makita. And DLC has been ranked among the fastest growing private companies in Los Angeles, publicity which has also helped her efforts. Still, those who work with her say it is Patchett’s enthusiasm that is among the most important selling tools the company has for acquiring new professionals. Unlike the work recruiters do for recruiting firms, where each client presents new opportunities to talk about, in-house recruiters must continually talk about and sell the same company. Said Lewis, “To represent one client for four years and do it with such enthusiasm is quite an accomplishment.” Shelly Garcia April Price Vice President of Business Development DiFatta Graphics Age 32 It says a lot about April Price that it took her boss 10 years to get her to come to work for his company. “I met her 10 years ago when she was working for the Valencia Chamber of Commerce,” Alan DiFatta, the president of Valencia-based DiFatta Graphics, reminisced. “I tried to get her to come and work for me, but she didn’t want to at the time. For the next decade, every time I ran into her, I’d say ‘when are you going to come work for me.’ Finally, four jobs and 10 years later, she finally agreed.” Price joined the company in 2002 and since then has worked in a position that encompasses working in sales, marketing and conducting community outreach programs. In fact, it is the ability to work in the community that particularly attracted her to work for DiFatta. “I enjoy working here at DiFatta Graphics because I enjoy being in the community a great deal. I’m so involved in the community,” Price said. “I’m not sure what drives me to give back, it’s just that I really enjoy the relationships you build when you’re contributing to the community.” Price certainly has a lengthy list of local civic involvement, working with the Santa Clarita Valley Business Group and the Brenda Mehling Cancer Fund Organization, where she chaired a 5K run that raised $24,000 last May. Additionally, Price serves on the board of the Repertory East Theater, and also serves on the marketing committee for the Santa Clarita Valley Industrial Association, where she is currently nominated for their “Volunteer of the Year” award. She is a recent graduate of Leadership SCV, a leadership program conducted by the College of the Canyons and the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce, and somehow also finds the time to work as a volunteer coordinator for the Loose Goose Wine Festival, which will be making its debut this year. Jeff Weiss Kenneth Sampson Sr. Vice President of Operations Coldwell Banker, Porter Ranch Age 38 Burned out on the 70-hour work weeks he experienced in the restaurant industry, Kenneth Sampson got into the real estate business as a way to spend more time with his family. This heavy emphasis on family has carried over into his work life, as Sampson attributes much of his success running the Porter Ranch Coldwell Banker office to creating a familiar atmosphere around the office. “We’ve grown a great deal since I’ve been here, but I wouldn’t want to grow the office any larger, because we’d lose that family feel that we have here,” Sampson said. “We want to be a personable company rather than a revenue center. I don’t want us to necessarily be the biggest office. I’d rather us be the best, offering unparalleled customer satisfaction and making sure that we give back to the community.” Though real estate might not have been his first profession, it certainly came natural to Sampson. When Sampson established his Coldwell Banker office in 2000, it consisted of himself and his father. Only five years later, Sampson had grown the office to 75 agents/brokers. During the past few years, Sampson has also organized and formed Impact Escrow located in Woodland Hills. The escrow company currently employs five people. Currently, he is working toward establishing a second Coldwell Banker office in the Valley. Along with founding the new office, Sampson has begun to form a loan company, First State Lending, which he hopes to see on its feet within the next few months. First State Lending will employ between 10 and 20 people in the financial industry. According to Douglas Cox, who has known Sampson since his days in the restaurant business, his success in real estate comes as little surprise. “No matter how frantic things get, (Sampson) always had an air of calm and cool. He knows and does what needs to get to get done,” Cox, the regional sales manager for Encino-based Business Technologies, said. “He always goes above and beyond what you would expect from a manager.” Jeff Weiss John Savage President GigaPix Studios Inc. Age 38 At every company that John Savage had worked at he found himself drifting into managerial positions. Despite the fact that he had wanted to be an artist since an early age, Savage’s inherent aptitude for business leadership moved him up in the ranks of the animation industry at companies like Netter Digital, Prolific Publishing, Foundation Imaging and Savage Frog. But by the age of 34, this knack for being a successful manager led him to co-found GigaPix Studios Inc. an independent animation house in Chatsworth. “I’d been working in the computer animation field since college and I wanted to build a studio of my own,” Savage said. “Sometimes you look at it and think that you’re just being na & #271;ve, but it’s that dream of building things from scratch that drives you forward. I consider myself very fortunate to have had all this come together.” Since the beginning of the year, GigaPix’s growth has rapidly accelerated as the company moved into a sprawling 32,000 square foot studio. The 30-plus employee firm has hired approximately a dozen people over the past few months and has plans to rapidly increase its hiring. Savage claims that when at full capacity, the company will employ between 120 and 160 people, making it the Valley’s biggest “Indie” animation house. Chris Blauvelt, Savage’s partner and the CEO of the company, has great faith in Savage’s abilities. “As far as computer generated imagery goes, I believe that John Savage is one of the top five people in the world,” Blauvelt said. “I believe that he can be the next John Lasseter (the famed Pixar artist/director). He has tremendous savvy As far as technology and innovation goes, he’s a genius.” As for the future, Savage and GigaPix are in talks with several major studios to develop feature film projects, as well as developing several projects of their own. Three or four years, down the road, Savage and GigaPix hope to launch an I.P.O. Jeff Weiss Daniel Scalisi Vice President of Business and Product Development Telecast Mobile Age 39 With so much entertainment industry business happening here, one thing that makes the San Fernando Valley unique is the fact that, here, entertainment is business. Daniel Scalisi is an important one of those people in the chain that makes music, acting and other talent profitable for his clients. Today, his clients are studios and distributors who want to find wireless ways of making money. In his position as vice president of business and product development at Telecast Mobile, 39-year-old Scalisi helps to lead a company in the frontier of invention that is wireless entertainment. Think, cell phone ring tones by Snoop, revenue for Geffen/Doggystyle Records. Now, think bigger. “The advantage I have,” explains Scalisi. ” Is that I have the advantage of having seen the future of mobile while working in Europe.” He says that like Asia, Europe has been further ahead in terms of mobile technology usage for entertainment. He says, to a large extent, the future for wireless interactivity in North America will be in form of Mobile Participation TV. “We will develop that by way of technology platforms we have,” he further explains. “But, even more so with the many partnerships we have made with well-established brands in music, sports and entertainment.” He points out that his company, Telecast Mobile, has already delivered millions of individual units of wireless content. Scalisi is one of those increasingly rare people whose degree directly matches their career. He graduated from City University of New York with a bachelor’s in Media Communications. Earlier, Scalisi founded ShowStyle, Inc., a marketing company for electronic media, with big-name clients like AOL/Time Warner, and Gemstar. And, before that he created and sold a company with sales that added up to more than $20 million. Today, Scalisi’s accomplishments rack up in the form of a client and partner list that reads like a “Who’s Who” of the entertainment industry, with names like Jamba, MTV, Universal Music, Limp Bizkit, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg and Nickelback. As the future of the music industry continues to unfold like a Shakespearian melodrama, one thing seems certain: Wireless will play a pivotal role in its survival. And, if it is to survive, the foreseeable future includes a role for Daniel Scalisi. Thom Senzee Stella Schwartz Program Director and Music Director KOST 103.5 FM Age 33 Stella Schwartz makes no secret that KOST 103.5 FM is her life. After all, KOST-FM isn’t just the place where she has worked since she was 18 years old. It isn’t just the place where she climbed the ranks from an intern to becoming the station’s program and music director. But KOST is also the place where she met her future husband, who actually proposed to her live on-air on the KOST morning show. “Working as the program director at KOST has been a dream come true. I’m very proud to work for the company and to work at KOST. I consider myself very lucky,” Schwartz said. Schwartz’s saga with KOST began when she interviewed KOST “Lovesongs” host Karen Sharp for a college class project and immediately fell in love with the radio station. Schwartz begged Sharp to allow her to come back and work as an intern. Even though the station didn’t accept interns at the time, Schwartz received an unpaid intern position working under Sharp. For the next five years, Schwartz went to college, worked another job, and spent four to five nights a week working unpaid at the station. However, once Schwartz came onto the company’s payroll, her ascension up the station’s ranks was swift, as she eventually became an assistant producer and then the producer of “The Mark & Kim Show.” After that, she became the music director and assistant program director, before she was named program director at KOST at the age of 30. Later that year, she received the “Program Director of the Year,” award from Radio and Records magazine. Under her programming leadership, KOST has not only maintained its position as one of the major Los Angeles radio stations, but has grown its audience in spite of the inroads currently being made by digital music players and satellite radio stations. Mike Nelson, the director of communications for KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV, believes that there are many reasons for Schwartz’s success. “While [Schwartz] possesses a number of wonderful qualities, I believe her greatest assets are her people skills. She takes an optimistic, energetic approach to everything she does,” Nelson said. “She is a great consensus builder who truly cares about her teammates, business partners and the people who listen to KOST.” Jeff Weiss Gisho Tatsutani Director of Imaging Services Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Age 35 Every hospital, especially one lucky enough to be able to afford any kind of expansion these days, needs employees like Gisho Tatsutani. He’s not setting broken bones or building new wings, but Tatsutani manages one of the most complicated departments in a hospital as Director of Imaging Services. To most people, the term imaging services sounds like an interesting area that the general public knows precious little about. In fact, that’s the thought that Tatsutani had himself as an 18-year-old kid attending Moorpark College. The school was just starting a new program training students to become x-ray technicians. As a student, he worked as an intern for Kaiser Permanente and Simi Valley Hospitals, and the latter recruited him actively upon his graduation from the program in 1992, but Tatsutani chose to work at St. Joseph because it seemed like a larger facility would provide more learning and professional opportunities. He worked his way through a variety of radiologic positions and was promoted several times, eventually becoming a daytime supervisor, manager and eventually become head of the department. “It is a fast pace for a place like this, in a smaller facility or hospital you might have moved up a little bit faster,” said Tatsutani. “For a place like this, considering the size, reputation and the amount of responsibility, it’s pretty fast.” Aside from managing his department, Tatsutani is responsible for making sure that the hospital is outfitted with the right radiology equipment as it continues to expand. “Dealing with radiological equipment is like buying a super-fancy computer, you have to know what you’re requirements are in order to buy the right thing, and what the physical layouts of the room are,” Tatsutani said. Tatsutani said that his time at the hospital has convinced him that hospital administration could be a life-long career, and as Providence is currently planning to build a new $30 million cancer center in the coming months, he’s is likely to find his skills in demand for quite a while. Jonathan D. Colburn Michael Toland President/COO Spragues Ready Mix Co. Age 39 When Michael Toland was growing up he didn’t expect to take over Simi Valley-based Spragues Ready Mix Co., the company that his great-grandfather founded in 1927. In fact, he didn’t expect to work for it at all. “My grandfather had an unwritten rule that you should never hire family members, because if you hire them, you can’t fire them,” Toland said. “It was my understanding the opportunity to work for the family business wouldn’t present itself.” So when Toland’s father asked him to join Spragues 20 years ago, he was surprised, but excited to join the concrete manufacturing firm. But Toland wasn’t exactly groomed for succession from day one; in fact, his first job for the company was sweeping the floors and changing the tires in the Spragues plant. From there, Toland began a slow ascension up the company’s ranks, serving as a dispatcher from 1985 until 1991, in sales from 1991 to 1993, the Spragues Simi Valley plant manager from 1993-2000, until finally getting to run the day-to-day operations in the year 2000. Currently 39 years old and the company’s president and COO (he will be made CEO in September), Toland has managed to grow the company’s revenues and profit margins by 10 percent in each of the last five years. “I look at running the business from the perspective of the employees. I want to make sure that I have their best interests in mind and that we work in a fun atmosphere,” Toland said. “I also try to make sure that the customers feel special and that we do things the way that they want it to be done.” His brother Steve Toland, the company’s general manager and vice-president, agrees that his brother’s managerial style has greatly aided the company. “He’s a successful leader because he asks for input from everybody in the organization. He involves everyone in his decisions. He’s a good coach and he doesn’t run things like a dictator. He runs things like a friend,” Steve Toland said. As for the future, Toland’s goal is to make sure that the company lives on to the fifth generation of being family run. Jeff Weiss Arturo Tresierras Executive Vice President Tresierras Supermarkets Age 32 Every day as Arturo Tresierras visits his family chain of supermarkets, talks to the customers or fiddles with the displays, he can see the faces of his father and of his grandfather before him, who opened the first Tresierras Supermarket in 1944. It is a heritage that makes Tresierras proud, but he isn’t living in that past. Since he took the reins of Tresierras Supermarkets at the age of 25, Arturo Tresierras has worked to transform the chain from a mom-and-pop operation to a professional organization that can compete with the likes of the largest grocery chains. He has expanded the chain to its current size seven markets in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys along with Ventura County with an eighth store due to open early next year. He has installed a gamut of professional systems for distribution, procurement and information technology. And he has expanded the chain’s assortments, products and services to cater not just to first generation immigrants, but to succeeding generations of Latinos. “Art has followed up from his family’s footsteps and been even more aggressive and more dynamic,” said Luis de la Mata, president of the southern California division of the Unified Western Grocers, the largest retailer-owned grocery wholesaler in the Western U.S. “He brought into the picture the modernism of how you do business, paying attention to the latest trends.” His father Richard Tresierras is still active in the business and serves as president. Uncle Daniel serves as senior vice president. But it is Arturo who, at the age of 25, took over the day-to-day operations when the stores were generating $50 million in revenues. Tresierras won’t divulge the current sales, saying only, “it’s a lot more.” Although he worked in the stores from the time he was a kid, bagging groceries, cutting beef, hauling cartons on the loading dock, Tresierras wasn’t sure he wanted to remain in the industry when he went off to college at the University of San Diego. He majored in business, taking courses in marketing, procurement and finance, and for a time, thought he might become an attorney. “I talked to a lot of attorneys and a lot of the people weren’t really happy practicing law,” Tresierras remembered. “I knew I really loved the merchandising and customer interaction. But I did have to get some experience in corporate America just to make sure.” After graduation Tresierras joined TRW as a procurement manager, but found the corporate politics were not to his liking. Then, as the company was getting ready to open its fifth store, a much larger unit than the store operated previously, his father called. “He gave me the call and said we need you,” Tresierras recalled. “So I came.” The days when a grocer could order products and put them out on the shelf were over. Competition was steep and Tresierras Supermarkets would have to keep up. The company began hiring division managers from the largest supermarket chains, putting together a team of experts that rivaled any of the major groceries. And as the chain has expanded, it has also had to broaden its strategy to attract customers who are not the first-generation that built the business. “That’s part of our strategy as well,” said Tresierras. “If anyone is intent on being around for a while, they have to position themselves for their customer base to grow with them.” Still, Tresierras Supermarkets’ competitive edge continues to revolve around what it has been doing since it opened in 1944 catering to Latinos with a first-hand knowledge of their culture and their needs. “The workers in all our stores either speak Spanish or are bilingual,” said Tresierras. “We understand the religious holidays. We understand they want the perfect cut of beef for carne asada. We understand they want pan de muerto for the Day of the Dead. We understand the need for candles. We’ve really been able to give people what they want under one roof.” Shelly Garcia Michael Wissot Vice President of Luntz Research Cos. Professor, Pepperdine University Age 30 At just 30 years of age, Michael Wissot has accomplished more than most people accomplish in a lifetime. When he was just 26 years old, Wissot founded an Internet company called Dentistry.com. The precocious Wissot not only managed to survive the bursting of the Internet bubble, but managed to round up angel investors and turn the company into one of the largest most comprehensive dental referral services in the world. By 28, Wissot had secured a post teaching in Pepperdine University’s Communications department as a professor of speech and rhetorical analysis, as well as running a 2002 campaign for the California State Assembly. “I was always confronted by people telling me what wasn’t possible. However, I think that any young person who is looking to break through in an industry can reverse the stereotypes that people will have about your youth,” Wissot said. “The people who see the glass as half full are the ones that create more within their means because they have an optimistic and positive view of the world.” But Wissot’s resume doesn’t just stop with his stints in the worlds of technology, academia, and public policy. Currently, he serves as a political analyst on KABC-790 talk radio covering a variety of issues state and worldwide in foreign policy. Wissot also serves as a vice president for Luntz Research, a worldwide political polling market research firm. At this post, Wissot works directly with Fortune 100 companies and their CEOs on overall communications messaging and shareholder relations. Somehow in his free time, Wissot finds the hours to serve as a member of the Jewish World Review Committee in Los Angeles, where he helps to analyze and communicate to the Jewish community where human rights violations regularly occur. Furthermore, Wissot also works with the Schwarzenegger administration on plans to attract more small and medium-sized businesses to the state of California. Jeff Weiss Jessica Yasukochi Director of Operations Valley Industry and Commerce Association Age 31 Through the years, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) has made an impact in Southern California and Sacramento even in Washington. And, there’s no denying that the organization’s leaders are some of the most well-known in the area as they continue VICA’s 56-year tradition of impacting legislation by promoting Valley business and overall economic interests. But, just behind the curtain of power at VICA you’ll find Jessica D. Bechtel-Yasukochi, director of operations. With more than 300 corporate members that, as the organization’s Web site notes, represent approximately 250,000 employees, she choreographs a VICA with voluminous internal operations as well as a mass of organizational communications. In so doing, Bechtel-Yasukochi has staked a reputation as a gifted talent in the realm of logistical management. She is the hub at the center of a complex network of policy people and business leaders. According to VICA CEO Bonny Herman she can go to her operations manager with an important assignment, knowing that 31-year-old Bechtel-Yasukochi will effectively integrate and properly prioritize the job, so that it gets done without negatively impacting any other project. That’s no small feat, considering the myriad of position papers, initiatives, and lobbying efforts that VICA coordinates. “She’s like that character on M*A*S*H*,” says Herman, referring to the ever-ready Radar O’Reilly from the 1970s sitcom. “She knows what I’m thinking; she’s always a step ahead of what I’m thinking. We wouldn’t be where we are without her.” In spite of her talent for recognizing what’s ahead, Bechtel-Yasukochi says she didn’t see her nomination for the 40 Under 40 on her radar. Yet, only a year ago, Bechtel-Yasukochi was working at VICA as an executive assistant. It was in that capacity that she impressed Herman with the vast knowledge about VICA’s inner-workings she had amassed. Bechtel-Yasukochi believes that anyone with drive can achieve great things, no matter where they come from even in the nation’s second largest city. “No matter where you come from no matter what you want to do, you can get there,” she said. “I came from a town of 1,200 people of Idaho a far cry from Los Angeles.” Those who have been watching her career thus far say she is already making a mark on the business community of the San Fernando Valley and beyond. According to Herman, wherever the future leads for Bechtel-Yasukochi, those who get to work with her will call her an asset. “I think a bad day for Jessica is when she hasn’t second-guessed me,” says Herman.

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