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JAN PERRY

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DYetlooks Silicon
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ment trust fund that w1ll be used to provide loans

to small and mediumsize manufacturers, and
technical support to emerging industries, with a
large portion devoted to biosc ence. It calls for
investments incrementally increasing to $15
million by 2021.
The Garcetti administration has promoted
efforts to ensure that the benefits of LA's
economic growth are shared among all the city's
residents. The mayor backed an increase in the
minimum wage that passed last year; it will rise
to $15 an hour by 2020. He believes it makes
good business sense. "Most economists have said
the recovery, while strong, has lagged because
there's not a lot of strength at the bottom of the
economic spectrum-people don't have money to
spend," he says. "While some businesses say that
raising wages hurts them, every time it's been

56

General Manager, Economic and Workforce

Development Department

done it attracts the best workers and results in

less turnover and fewer sick days- and custom
ers come back because they don't have to choose
between something like paying their phone bill
and having a meal out."
Workforce training and assistance to small
businesses are the focus of the city's Economic
and Workforce Development Department (EWDD),
with an emphasis on preparing youth, veterans,
and hardtoreach populattons with skills es
sential to emergent industries, In partnership
with L.A. Trade Tech College and Community
Career Development, Inc., it is dep oying a federal
transportation grant to train and expand L.A.'s
publictransit workforce. EWDD is also aiming to
generate employment related to the rehabilitation
of the Los Angeles River.
~we have a workforce coming up behind us who will have
to be much more techmcally
skilled, and trained to adapt to
shtfts in the economy, with the
ability to communicate in more
than one language, includ
ing coding," says Jan Perry,
EWDD's general manager.
"We're preparing them for what
lies ahead in sectorbased
initiatives hke health care,
green jobs, transportation and
logistics, and other growth
industries.''
The booming tech sector
has certainly boosted em
ployment-L.A. is the coun
try's fastest-growing area for
startups and a top producer of
engineers and Ph.D.s. There
are more tech jobs in L.A.
County than in any other in the
country. But not all those are
engineering jobs, nor are they
~
~
hmited to Silicon Beach; large
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TQ ENYIRQNMENTAL CHALLENGES,
tech clusters have emerged downtown and in
Pasadena as well.
As Perry notes, green tech is an especially
promising area for employment growth. As of
April 2015, when Garcetti released L.A.'s first
ever Sustainable City Plan, 4,800 green jobs
had been created since he took office. L.A. is
indisputably the green jobs capital of the world,~
he says.
There are a lot of newer jobs in green tech and
clean tech," says BAE's Rudnak. rhey demand a
wide range of educational levels and skill sets, so
bringing in disadvantaged communities to train
for those jobs makes for a more robust economy
and enhances L.A.'s competitive advantage."
Los Angeles is not only ranked second on the
Environmental Protection Agency's list of the top
25 U.S. cities with the most energy-efficient build
lngs in the nation, it's also an outsize player in
the development of clean technology and cutting
edge responses to environmental challenges.

Because the L.A. economy is so significantthe county's gross domestic produc t of more
than $640 billion makes It the largest economy in
the U.S., and the thirdlargest among the world's
metropolitan centers-what happens here Ia
cally can drive international markets," says David
Abel, who's been described as the Kevin Bacon
of the green world." He's the founder of public
policy consulting firm ABL Inc. and the Verd
eXchange Conference, an annual forum in Los
Angeles where market-makers, thought leaders,
and executives from all sectors of the economy
gather to discuss sustainable economic growth.
The 2016 conference, held in January, included
topics such as battery power storage, innovations
In water technologies and management (spurred
by California's drought), and waste conversion.
Also a focus was sustainable transport, including
L.A.'s alternatively fueled bus fl~et~the largest in
North America-and the electric-powered future
of global auto design, which is centered in met
ropolitan L.A. The event drew almost
800 attendees from Asia, Europe,
and Canada.
"They all came because our mar
ket ripples through thei rs," says Abel.
"In business terms, we're getting
huge investments in technology and
how to deal with climate changes."
In other words, what happens in L.A.
matters everywhere else.
The growing muscularity of Los
Angeles can be seen in its changing
skyline and infrastructure. In Febru
ary, demolition began on the historic
6th Street Viaduct, a 1932 landmark
spanning the L.A. River downtown
that has appeared in dozens of films
and TV shows. Though beloved,
it was declared too vulnerable to
earthquakes and will be replaced by
a swooping, futuristic bri dge dubbed
the Ribbon of Light, a $449 million
project due for completion in 2019.
Not far from the new bridge, the

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ANNuAL WASSENGERS LAX EXPECTS TQ SEE WITHIN THENEXT 2Q YEARS,
$Ll billion dollar Wilshire Grand hotel is under
construction-a glass-walled structure that will
be the city's tallest building when it's completed
next year, Its spire is an aptly soaring symbol of a
new aesthetic in L.A. after 40-year building codes
mandating flat roofs changed last year. The tower
is also being constructed to defy severe earth
quakes, a important feature in seismically chal
lenged Los Angeles, where last October Mayor
Garcetti s1gned into law the nation's toughest
earthquake safety regulations.
The Wilshire Grand is just one of several bil
lion-dollar projec ts taking shape across the L.A.
area, in large part a reflection of capital flowing
into the region from abroad. (It's no wonder that
construction jobs led annual employment gains in
L.A. County last year, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, at 7.8%.)
The core infrastructure in L.A., a global hub
ranked as the top trading center in the U.S., is also
benefiting from the boom. Multiyear, multibillion
dollar expansions and improvements are underway
at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long
Beach, together the western hemisphere's largest
containerport complex (and the world's fifth largest).
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the
nation's secondbusiest airport, has also been

investing heavily in terminal upgrades. LAX saw

record numbers of passengers last year, 74.9
million, up 6% from 2014- a number that's
expected to grow by another 20 million n the
next two decades. Now a new $5 billion infra
structure plan, the Landside Access Moderniza
tion Program (LAMP), is aiming to make it easier
for those passengers to get to the airport by
revamping the areas around it. LAMP will install
an expansive automated people mover, more
accessible parking faclities, and a connection to
the metro regional rail system.
LAMP Is just the newest phase of a major
development program at LAX that has already
seen a complete renovation of the Tom Bradley
International Terminal, opened in 2013, including
new retail, dining, and gate areas.
A key player in the terminal's renovation was
Parsons, a leading global engineering, construe
tion, technical, and management services firm
founded 71 years ago In L.A. Parsons provided
program and construction management services
for several components of the renovation and has
long worked with many of L.A.'s agenc1es and
departments, "resulting in many projects that
are universally viewed as having been essential to
L.A.'s growth," says Parsons chairman and CEO

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Parsons' core values, says chief of staff Virginia
Grebbien, are safety, quality, integrity, diversity, in
novation, and sustainability. Good corporate citizen
ship is also prized: "Being a part of the community
and trying to improve the quality of life i n a large
geographic area like Los Angeles will always provide
opportunities for our business."
Back at the Los Angeles airport, modernization
and makeovers aren't restricted to the Tom Bradley
International Terminal. United Airlines, whose LAX
hub is a centerpiece of its West Coast operations, is
investing more than half a billion dollars to refresh
its customer-facing spaces at the airport, from a
stateoftheart ticketing lobby to a sleeker and
more spacious United Club lounge. The renovations
will be complete by the end of next year. "It's about
giving our customers more of what they wantgreater choice, control, consistency, and comfort,"
says United spokesman Jonathan Guerin. The air
port is a major connector to United's domestic and

Pacific network, with more than 150 daily flights

from LAX to more than 50 destinations across the
globe. United, which employs almost 5,000 people
in the region, has been part of L.A. for more than
half a century, says Guerin: uwe're committed to
making a positive difference in the communities
where our employees and customers live and work.
It's an important part of who we are."
The transportation and logistics sector in Los
Angeles, atways a powerhouse, will continue to be
a jobs engine, projected by the California Em
ployment Development Department to generate
more than 56,000 openings over the next seven
years. Another longstanding centerpiece of L.A.'s
economy is manufacturing; With more jobs in that

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industry than any other U.S. city, Los Angeles is

the country's manufacturing capital.
A pnme example is Reliance Steel & Alu
minum Co. which started as a local outfit in
1939. It has since grown into the largest metals
serv1ce center company in North America and a
global business with more than 300 loc ations.
"But the foundation for Reliance has always
been Southern Calffornia," says Gregg Mollins,
who became the company's president and chief
executive officer last year. uone reason we've
been so successful overall IS the business model
we developed here." While Reliance competitors
have no more than two Los Angeles locations,
Reliance has 15 companies in the greater L.A.

area, providing the

service and just-in-time
turnaround that are the
company's hallmark.
Mollins is a big fan of
Los Angeles as a place
to do business: uvou've
got the finest weather
In the country, a lot of
nice people, and the
diversity- whether it be in terms of industry or
ethnicity. It's got the whole nine yards."
U ke manufacturing, the aerospace industry
in los Angeles has been a mainstay, weathering
some storms but evolving with the times. South
of LAX, El Segundo, long the site of aviationrel ated businesses, is becoming yet another
outpost of Silicon Beach. Last year Paris-based
Starburst Accelerator settled there and has
begun assisting aerospace st artups. Further
1nland, in Hawthorne, Elon Musk has head
quartered SpaceX, h1s next-gen rocket-science
venture. And last year Richard Branson's Virgin
Galactic spa ce company opened a design - an!=~
manufacture facility In Long Beach.

An employee of
Reliance Steel Company
loads a truck with cold
rolled precision custom
blanks In the company's
Vernon location that has
existed since the 1950s.

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St artups and billionaire-funded space

compan es aren't t he only ones t aking
L.A. aerospace to t he next level. "We
are a technology company, says Tom
Vice, president of Northrop Grumman
Aerospace Systems. "We're investing in
the future to ensure we compete with our
aerospace peers as well as established
and startup tech companies." Recently
the Air Force c hose the company to build
the nation's next long-range strike bomber, a cl assified program demanding cutting-edge technology from design through delivery and decades
of service. It's just one reason the company is
standing up a basic research and applied science
facility at its Redondo Beach headquarters. As a
leader in autonomy, Northrop Grumman relies on
world -class coders to write sophisticated software,
and at its manufacturing center in Palmdale, its
Integrated Assembly Line is partially manned by
autonomous machines. The company is also using
data to seamlessiy connect all processes from
design through manufacturing and sustainment to
drive e!ficiency and affordability. Says Vice: "Digital thread will define the factory of the future."

Collaboration between tech -forward compa nies hke Northrop Grumman and L.A.'s academic
institutions isn't uncommon. "When I worked at
Northrop Grumman, UCLA was our No. 1 supply schpo~" ~ays Dwight Streit, director of the
UCLA lnstjtute for l'echnology Advancement. In
fact, thousands of UCLA Her.ry Samuell School
of Engineering and Applied Science alumni .work
at aerospace companies. The university Is also a
leader in bioscience and health, and Its researchers
have made many breakthroughs with commercial
potential, including the nicotine patch and a leading
breast cancer drug.
Although California public univer sities such as
UCLA are known for doing research , "people don't
know there's a lot of applied, hands-on research

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AL OSBORNE

ANASTASIA LOUKAITOU-SIDERIS

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at the state universities-in

eluding here," says Dianne
Harrison, president of
California State University,
Northridge. CSUN received
a 2015 Eddy award from
the LAEDC for playing a
leading role In the county's
economic development and
creating wellpaylng jobs for
Its residents; with a campus
devoted to sustainability, it
also has the distinction of
being the frrst university to
house a satellite of LAC!,
L.A.'s clean-tech incubator.
California's colleges and
universities have traditionally
been praised not just for their
quality but also their afford
ability. However, with tuitions
on the rise, these institutions
now share a renewed effort
to make economic mobility a
priority. This is already at the
top of the agenda at the Los
Angeles Community College
District (LACCD). "We're the
workhorse for the education
system," says LACCD chan
cellar Francisco Rodriguez.
"Two-thirds of California jobs
In 2030 will require at least
some college, and we're
fulfilling those needs through
the latest educational service
strategies that align with
the trends of business and
industry."
Among the private
universities that put L.A.
on the map, Loyola Marymount has evolved with the
city since the university's

515

founding in 1911. "LMU and

Los Angeles share the same
DNA," says LMU president
Timothy Law Snyder. Today,
LMU also shares a symbi
otic creativity with L.A.'s
burgeoning tech industry
centered at Silicon Beach.
"Our campus is an incuba
tor of entrepreneurialism,
where world-changing Ideas
are imagined and formed at
LMU and then brought to life
with our neighbors in Silicon
Beach," he says. As a Jesuit
university, LMU prides itself
on the intellectually rigor
ous experience it provides
students, as well as its
contribution to Los Angeles
and the wider world: LMU
adds $808 million to the
L.A. economy and employs
5,300 people in the coun
ty. "We're also uniquely
positioned by our location
on the West Coast," says
Snyder. "Our horizons are
set not just on L.A. and its
emerging future, but also
on the robust and emerging marketplaces of Latin
America and Asia."
Another L.A. institution
contributing important
work is City of Hope, a
world-renowned research
and treatment center for
cancer, diabetes, and other
life-threatening diseases,
recognized for quickly turn ing research breakthroughs
into lifesavtng treatments.
Its scientiftc achievements

are complemented by a
focus on compassionate,
personalized patient care.
A founding member of the
National Comprehensive
Cancer Network, City of Hope
credits its "science with a
soul" approach for winning
its designation as a Compre
hensive Cancer Center by the
National Cancer Institute.
Bioscience, already
playing a key role in the L.A.
economy, will become more
important. The county has
charged LAEDC with creating
a new implementation plan
to develop and expand the
bioscience cluster. "They
know the value of those
jobs and helping L.A. stand
out as a top destination for
bioscience talent and Invention and innovation," says
LAEDC's Lawren Markle.
A striking feature of L.A.

Is the collaborative effort of

public, private, and nonprofit
entities to make it an everbetter place for businesses
and people to thrive. On Feb.
9 the city and county approved an ambitious plan to
help L.A.'s homeless off the
street. In January, First Lady
Michelle Obama praised
efforts on veteran homelessness, which have assisted
6,000 veterans so far. "One
of the greatest things I can
say about LA. is that nobody
here puts their heads in the
sand," says BAE economist
Rudnak. "They plow forward
Into the biggest challenges."
Mayor Garcetti agrees:
"I always say a great city
adjusts to its great chal
lenges-and reaches for the
great opportunities to do
things that will define
its soul."
-Robin Micheli

EMPOWERING
LEADERS.