Best, brightest of L.A. business turn out to fete former mayor.More than 500 people gathered Tuesday at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel The Biltmore Hotel is a hotel located in downtown Los Angeles, California. Built by John McEntee Bowman, it opened in 1923. At the time, it was the largest hotel west of Chicago and designed by architects Schultze and Weaver. It is now named the Millennium Biltmore. as the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Business Journal honored Richard Riordan Richard J. Riordan (born May 1, 1930) is a Republican politician from California, U.S. who served as the California Secretary of Education from 2003–2005 and as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993–2001. Riordan ran for Governor of California unsuccessfully in 2002. as its Business Person of the Year. The annual Business Hall of Fame luncheon also honored top companies across an array of industries in Los Angeles. Praised as a man committed to Los Angeles, the former mayor was recognized for his leadership, business record and his commitment to education. Following a video presentation that chronicled the major events in Riordan's life, Riordan was introduced by Matt Toledo, publisher of the Business Journal, as the fifth inductee to the Business Journal's Business Hall of Fame. "Dick Riordan is an icon of the business community," Toledo said. "More than his business success as a lawyer and venture capitalist Venture Capitalist An investor who provides capital to either start-up ventures or support small companies who wish to expand but do not have access to public funding. Notes: Venture capitalists usually expect higher returns for the additional risks taken. , Riordan made himself a public figure, which distinguishes him from some past honorees." Previous inductees were former Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. Corp. chairman Kent Kresa, biotech entrepreneur Alfred Mann, billionaire John Anderson John Anderson may be: Science:
Broad is well known for his philanthropy and extensive art collection. . In accepting the award, Riordan spoke of his love for Los Angeles and talked about his leadership philosophy. "I hire the best and brightest people and delegate to them," he said, adding he empowered his employees to make decisions and take action. The event also honored more than 50 of L.A.'s top companies in the areas of finance, professional services, business services, hospitality and travel, among others. Each was honored for landing No. 1 on The List during 2005. The List is published each week by the Business Journal. "It was very impressive to see the people in the business community coming together to recognize the accomplishments of the mayor and the companies recognized," said Ron Gastelum, executive vice president of the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce. Still recovering from heart bypass surgery Bypass surgery A surgical procedure that grafts blood vessels onto arteries to reroute the blood flow around blockages in the arteries (arteriosclerosis). several weeks ago, Riordan thanked his wife, Nancy Daly Riordan, for staying with him 24 hours a day while he was in the hospital. But he focused most of his remarks on his tenure as mayor. Riordan, who was elected in 1993, spoke of his experience leading the city following the riots. He cited the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 as the defining moment of his leadership. "The earthquake is the perfect example of delegation," he said. Since inception, Riordan's foundation helped purchase computers and 145,000 books for elementary school libraries. |
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