Press Release

Business Journal Honors OC Innovators

Around 400 people praised creativity at the Business Journal’s Third Annual Innovator of the Year Awards luncheon at Hotel Irvine on Tuesday.
Stuart McClure, chief executive and president of Irvine-based Cylance Inc., delivered the keynote address. In his speech, he discussed the specific formula for producing innovators: a combination of fixing the core of a problem, passion for what you do, and persistence. Cylance Inc. is a cybersecurity firm that develops software using artificial intelligence and algorithms to predict and prevent malware and other computer threats. He was a 2016 IOTY honoree.
The 2017 honorees are:
• Joe Kiani, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board, Masimo Corp. in Irvine.
• Shaheen Sadeghi, Founder and CEO of Lab Holdings LLC in Costa Mesa.
• Lori Torres, Founder and CEO of Parcel Pending Inc. in Irvine.
• Phu Hoang, Founder and CEO of Virtium Technology Inc. in Rancho Santa Margarita.
• Andre Vovan, Executive Medical Director of the Acute Care Institute at St. Joseph Hoag Health in Irvine.
The future looks bright for OC Innovators. 12-year-old Carson Kropfl of San Clemente got a shout out from Masimo’s Kiani and was the youngest nominee.
The Business Journal reported on Carson and his reshaped skateboard decks in February; he will be on the Oct. 1 season premiere of Shark Tank.
OCBJ will profile the 2017 Innovator of the Year Award winners in the Sept, 25 print edition.
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