MEETING MINUTES

BUSINESS ATTRACTION & RETENTIONCOMMITTEE

DATE:Tuesday,April 18, 2017

CALLED BY:Brian Andersen

LOCATION:GreaterIrvine Chamber of Commerce

36 Executive Park, Ste. 100

Irvine, CA 92614

I. OPENING

  • Meeting called to Order at 4:06p.m., by Co-chair, Brian Andersen.

II. SELF-INTRODUCTIONS

Brian Andersen, Joe Alvarez, Paul Lee, David Girty, Scott Schultz, Dinh Ta, Chris McCatrey, Sharrod Rao, Julie Cho, John Burns,Linda DiMario,Brenda Callen, Pepper Russell.

III. COMMITTEE MISSION STATEMENT & STRATEGIC PLAN

Brian Andersenreviews the Mission Statement which outlinesthe work to be done by the Committee Task Forces in order to complete the identified goals.

IV. NEW BUSINESS

Linda DiMario says “Thank you” to John Burns and David Girty for their help in finding suitable property sites for a company interested in moving to Irvine.

Linda DiMario reported that she will be providing information to the new Board of Directors Vice President, Jeff Davis for review. This will include ideas on implementation of the “New Member Mentoring” program. We will also identify a program series focused on small and medium sized business owners using “Executive Best Practices.” This will allow us to end the current weekly business webinar series and develop an extended archive of bundled programs which we can use as a further member benefit.

V. TASK FORCE REPORTS

  • Business Outreach – Update provided by Brenda Callen.

Areas have been identified and bags have been stuffed in preparation for next Wednesday’s Rally. We are still recruiting volunteers for the event.

  • Emergency Business Recovery & Preparedness Program –Bill Cunningham provided an update.

This Task Force is currently developing a white paper on the subject. Bill reported that he is working on the format of the program and setting an appointment to meet with contacts in private and public partnership and the Mayor’s office. A morning event is being planned with a panel of speakers and break out sessions.

BUSINESS ATTRACTION & RETENTION COMMITTEE

MEETING MINUTES

April 25, 2017

Page 2

  • Large Company Outreach –Linda DiMario provided an update.

The goal of this Task Force is to identify and address the needs of larger companies in our area. Christina Cala has reported that the next meeting of this Task Force will be Friday, May 12th. The first task of the group is to review a list of 240 companies in the Lifescience, IT, digital arts and media industries and develop a strategy to help them.

  • Start-Up Eco-System – Linda DiMario provided updates.

Currently developing a strategy for “pop-up loft” campaign to help start-ups along. They will be able to use these platforms to utilize services and find resources that will assist their growth. Also being considered is the feasibility of a “plug and play” platform and an FDI component to help establish foreign companies establish themselves in the U.S. to be eligible for capital funding.

Linda DiMario also mentioned that OCTANe’s CEO, Bill Carpou was interviewed on the NASDAQ floor, it was quite exciting.

Other items discussed:

Irvine is now 1 of 5 top metro areas producing patents;

At the first Investor’s Forum, we were able to gather 10 VC’s to come and review the applicants for funding. There was another Forum held just last month that saw 15 VC’s come to the table. The next session will be in September, we are expecting the VC funding pool to grow accordingly. The goal of these sessions is to provide funding for companies in the 3rd or 4th stage of development.

Jeff Davis, of the Irvine Company, may be our best champion to assist with major SWOT issues such as housing.

VI. CHAIRS’ COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION– None.

VI. ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • April 19 – Economic & Workforce Development Meeting -- @ 4:00 PM at the Chamber offices
  • April 22 – Career Edge – Business Etiquette and Effective Workplace Behaviors – 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • April 25 – International Development Committee Meeting – @ 12:00 PM at the Chamber offices
  • April 26 – Business Outreach Rally – 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  • May 18 – World Trade Week Breakfast and Forum, 7:30 a.m. @ Irvine Marriott.

VII. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at5:18p.m.,by Co-Chair Brian Andersen.

Minutes recorded by Pepper Russell.

Next Meeting:

May 16, 2017

4:00pm – 5:00pm

Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce

36 Executive Park, Ste. 100 Irvine, CA 92614