Tim Nguyen and Nicolaas Vlok, CEO of MeridianLink TIM NGUYEN CO-FOUNDER / FORMER CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER MERIDIANLINK WHY: Co-founded in 1998 MeridianLink, a software company that provides software for credit unions, small banks and consumer reporting agencies. Raised $343M when company went public in 2021; now sports $1.3B market cap Read More
TAM NGUYEN CHAIRMAN ADVANCE BEAUTY COLLEGE WHY: Chairman of Garden Grove-based Advance Beauty College, which also has campus in Laguna Hills. College has 50K graduates. Founding board member of Newport Beach-based Genesis Bank. NOTABLE: Active in OC community. Serves on the board of the Orange County Community Foundation, was Chairman Read More
FRANCISCO MORALES CO-FOUNDER / EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN 5.11 INC. WHY: Co-founder and executive chairman of tactical apparel and gear maker 5.11 Inc. headquartered in Costa Mesa with $533M in sales in 2024. Appointed CEO in 2018 by parent company Compass Diversified and helped 5.11 expand from 40 to 124 retail stores. Read More
NEWTH MORRIS/JARED SMITH CO-FOUNDERS ANKONA CAPITAL PARTNERS NEWTH MORRIS AND JARED SMITH CO-FOUNDERS / MANAGING DIRECTORS ANKONA CAPITAL PARTNERS WHO: Morris co-founded logistics software maker Telogis, which was sold for $900M to Verizon in 2016; the prior year Morris received Innovator of the Year Award from the Business Journal. Smith Read More
VIC MERJANIAN FOUNDER / CEO TITAN HST WHY: Founded an industry-leading mass communication and incident reporting platform focused on saving lives and reducing response times in various areas including hospitality, municipalities, education, sports and entertainment. Titan HST says it “modernizes your emergency communications and business continuity with industry-leading simplicity & Read More
MATT MCCUE CEO / CO-FOUNDER DZYNE TECHNOLOGIES WHY: Runs Irvine-based company that makes an assortment of long-range unmanned drones and aircraft primarily for military uses, as well as Dronebusters anti-drone devices. Major customers include the U.S. military as well as overseas buyers. IN THE NEWS: Graduated from California Polytechnic State Read More
DONALD MCCLYMONT CO-FOUNDER / CEO INDIE SEMICONDUCTOR WHY: Co-founded chip company uses sensors, semiconductors and software with a goal to enable the “uncrashable” car. The Aliso Viejo-based chip company, which was founded in 2007 and went public in 2021 when it raised $495M through a SPAC. It focuses on technology Read More
Palmer Luckey, co-founder, Anduril and Oculus VR PALMER LUCKEY FOUNDER OCULUS VR CO-FOUNDER ANDURIL INDUSTRIES WHY: At age 21, sold the virtual reality gear maker Oculus VR, which he founded, to Facebook for $2.3B in 2014. After being ousted from Facebook, returned to Orange County and founded Anduril in 2017. Read More
Westcliff University celebrates the grand opening of its College of Nursing in Corona ANTHONY LEE CEO WESTCLIFF UNIVERSITY WHY: Took over Westcliff University from his father who founded the school, growing its student base from 20 to thousands by combining technology-based learning with traditional campus classes. Expanded the school’s academic Read More
Brent Kulp accepts his entrepreneurship award BRENT KULP CEO / PRESIDENT TRAFFIX DEVICES INC WHY: Joined family business year after his parents founded it in 1987 to make products for highway safety, from signs to barricades. In 2020, took over business from parents. What started as a self-storage unit in Read More
