Area List Contains Major Leaders in Their Industries

While the San Fernando Valley’s 50 largest companies are not the largest in the state, the roster includes some of the most influential businesses in their industries. Walt Disney Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Amgen Inc. are among the top five largest public companies in the region when ranked by both market capitalization and revenues. Burbank-based Walt Disney Company took the lead on both lists, with its market capitalization valued at $63.4 billion on Oct. 1 and its revenues valued at $36.1 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, the state’s largest public company in terms of market capitalization is Cupertino-based Apple Inc. with a value of $262.5 billion. Its largest company in terms of revenues is San Ramon-based Chevron Corporation with $171.6 billion. Other statewide top performers in terms of market capitalization and revenues included Mountain View-based Google Inc., San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Company and San Francisco-based McKesson Corp. While Walt Disney Company’s numbers pale in financial comparison to the state’s largest public companies, the long-established animation giant is known around the world. Meanwhile, other high-profile public companies based in the Valley region also have major leverage over their industries. Health Net Inc., based in Woodland Hills, was the fifth largest health insurer regulated by the California Department of Insurance in 2009, according to the California HealthCare Foundation. The insurer also provides managed health care programs for government agencies, including the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. is a Glendale-based animation company that produced the Shrek films and others such as “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Monsters vs. Aliens.” Harvey Berg, interim president and CEO of the Valley Economic Alliance, said the companies have a major presence in the region. “They’re very important anchors for the Valley and for the Los Angeles area in general,” he said, adding that they create jobs. “From a Valley standpoint, we’ve got a very qualified workforce, certainly capable of meeting the needs of those kinds of companies.” Industry impact The San Fernando Valley region also has smaller companies that are impacting their industries. Sport Chalet, La Canada-based sporting goods retailer, has a market capitalization value of $28.2 million with revenues of $353.7 million in 2009. It ranks 42nd in the region for market capitalization and 21st for revenues. “We are the largest scuba retailer in North America,” said Craig Levra, the company’s CEO and board chairman. The company has 33 stores with scuba training pools and are certified to train by the PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. The company is also often among the first sports retailers to market many new products, Levra added. “Sport Chalet was the first U.S. retailer to import Ugg boots,” he said. Sport Chalet, which was founded in 1959, has 55 stores in California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. IPC The Hospitalist Company ranks 23rd among Valley-area public companies for both market capitalization and revenues. Dr. Adam Singer, CEO of the North Hollywood-based company, said he was one of the medical professionals to pioneer the hospitalist services field when he started his practice in 1991 and started the company in 1995. “We’re the largest in that market and we’re still three to four times bigger than our next-size competitor,” Singer said. Board size The Valley-region’s 50 largest public companies have boards of director that range in size from three to 13 board members. Meanwhile, the state’s largest public companies have boards that generally range from five to 19 members, although Irvine-based Broadcom Corporation breaks the norm with 87 members. Companies vary in how they choose their boards, with some primarily looking at the board members’ previous executive experience and others primarily looking at which industries they come from. Sport Chalet has seven board members. Their backgrounds are in consumer product marketing, e-commerce, finance, accounting, sporting goods retail, general retail, real estate, and business consulting. “Everybody brings a different skill and a different background, which is fantastic,” Levra said.