Excellence in Service:
Visiting Nurse
and Hospice Care
www.vnhcsb.org
Founded in 1908 “for the good of the community and out of compassion for those less fortunate”, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care (VNHC) has grown and changed along with Santa Barbara over the last 100 years.
VNHC has a tradition of responding to the needs of our community. In the early days, that included opening the first clinics for dental care, heart support, tuberculosis treatment, infant welfare and women’s health. As the needs of our community have changed, our services have also changed. Today they are the leader in home health, hospice and personal care services providing high quality and compassionate care to more than 3,000 patients and their families through our offices in Santa Barbara and Solvang.
Entrepreneur of the Year:
Bruce Willard
www.quickfeat.com
Bruce Willard is founder and chairman of Blue Highways, a Santa Barbara-based company which creates, acquires and operates lifestyle apparel businesses in the direct marketing – catalog & internet - category. Founder of Santa Barbara’s The Territory Ahead in 1989, he was CEO and owner of the business from until 1998 when sales approached $100M and he sold the business to Cornerstone Brands.
In 2002 he partnered with Robert Redford on the Sundance Catalog, strengthening the business and growing it to sales of approximately $75MM before selling it to ACI Capital in 2004. That fall he acquired Athleta, a women’s sports lifestyle catalog based in Northern California, re-branded the business and quadrupled its sales to just under $100MM. In 2008 he sold the company to The Gap, Inc., It was The Gap’s first acquisition since the purchase of Banana Republic in the 1980’s.
In the last 2 years Blue Highways has focused its energy back on the men’s clothing business. In 2009 Blue Highways invested in local Santa Barbara start-up, Carbon 2 Cobalt founded by Matt Cooper. In 2010 Blue Highways acquired Michigan-based direct marketer, JL Powell.
Company of the Year:
Green Hills Software: www.ghs.com
Green Hills Software is a world-renowned, market leading provider of high-performance software tools for developers of embedded systems (combinations of microprocessors and components used in diverse products including disk drives, mobile devices, video games, braking, and avionics systems). Green Hills' products include real-time operating systems (INTEGRITY), development environments (MULTI2000), debugging devices, and optimizing compilers, as well as custom software development services. Green Hills Software was founded in 1982 by Dan O'Dowd and Carl Rosenberg, is privately held, and has been profitable since its inception. Green Hills Software has averaged nearly 30% per year revenue growth and is now the world's largest independent RTOS company.
Executive of the Year:
Michael Mayfield
www.nuveen.com/santabarbara
Michael Mayfield is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Santa Barbara Asset Management (SBAM). Prior to joining SBAM in 1995 he was in New York with NatWest Markets, the investment banking arm of National Westminster Bank, Plc. While at NatWest, he led the structuring and initial funding for The Scudder Latin American Trust for Independent Power, which financed independent electric power generating facilities in Latin America. Michael was also with Drexel Burnham Lambert where he founded and managed Drexel's Special Equity Transaction Department.
After becoming the President, CEO and CIO of Santa Barbara Asset Management in 2001, Michael directed the firm’s growth in assets under management from approximately $300 million to $3.2 billion by 2005, at which time he negotiated the sale of SBAM to Nuveen Investments.
Over the past five years the firm has expanded its investment solutions to include Dividend, Global and International Growth offerings to complement its historic domestically focused Stable Growth approach. The firm currently has $3.4 billion under management.
Pioneer Award:
Fred Kavli
http://www.kavlifoundation.org/
Fred Kavli is a Norwegian-born physicist, entrepreneur, business leader, innovator and philanthropist. Kavli received his education in physics at the Norwegian Institute of Technology, financing his studies with proceeds from a business venture he and his brother ran as teenagers during World War II. Immediately upon completing his studies in 1955, he left for Canada and one year later came to the United States. After two years in California, he founded the Kavlico Corporation. Under his leadership, the company became one of the world's largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautic, automotive and industrial applications. The company received many distinguished awards and Kavli patented numerous technological breakthroughs. He remained CEO and sole shareholder of the company until he divested his interest in 2000. He subsequently established The Kavli Foundation to support scientific research aimed at improving the quality of life for people around the world. The Foundation has established 15 research institutes at leading universities worldwide, sponsored science symposia and workshops, and partnered to establish international prizes recognizing research excellence in astrophysics, neuroscience, and nanoscience. Kavli has endowed two chairs in engineering at UCSB, as well as chairs in neuroscience, nanoscience, earth systems, and theoretical physics at other major universities. In addition to supporting scientific research and education, Kavli’s philanthropic activities include the Fred Kavli Theatre for Performing Arts at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, as well as other projects.
