The San Diego Business Journal on Aug. 14 will recognize San Diego’s Next 40 Top Business Leaders Under 40. The event will be from 4-7 p.m. at the Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. Here are some of the 150 finalists, listed alphabetically. Ten names will be released each day for 10 days starting July 30, 2018. LIST TO DATE
Aly Jamison Owner Jamison PR Jamison in the past six months has helped the Rain Group secure numerous business awards, increase media exposure and increased the company’s social media presence. Jamison has surpassed her goals for new leads on social media, website visits and new followers and earned Accreditation in Public Relations.
Sara Jensen Vice President of Business Development Innovative Employee Solutions Jensen works at one of San Diego’s largest women-owned businesses and is responsible for developing the company’s strategic vision and sales plan. The company provides outsourced payroll and human resource services. Jensen joined the company in 2011 and has been promoted twice. Prior to joining Innovative Employee Solutions, she worked for the American Cancer Society. Jensen is a graduate of Western Washington University.
Keith Jones Managing Partner Ace Parking Management Inc. Jones is the third-generation managing partner of his family’s homegrown business. Ace has more than doubled its business in the past 10 years with gross revenues growing to more than $700 million. Jones, who studied business and philosophy at New York University, has been in his current role since 2004. He has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization since 2010 and also serves in director roles at CalPrivate Bank, Sharp HealthCare and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.
Dan Kagan COO Scientist.com Kagan has played a pivotal role in building and leading Scientist.com. Under his leadership, Scientist.com has grown from 10 to 60 employees, has partnered with 30 large pharma and biotech companies and has seen its revenue skyrocket from $300,000 in 2014 to $50 million in 2017. Scientist.com was named the No. 2 Fastest-Growing Private Company in San Diego County by the San Diego Business Journal. Dan is a strong advocate for healthy living and endurance activities. He has completed six marathons, several triathlons and two full-length Ironman competitions.
Ashok Kamal Executive Director Tech Coast Angels-San Diego Kamal has spent the past two years leading Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investing group in the country, and invested in nine startups including three in San Diego. He has helped galvanize and grow the local startup scene, especially in collaboration with Startup San Diego and the San Diego Venture Group and donates time mentoring young entrepreneurs and underprivileged youth. Plus he can rap – he found of The School of Rap, which he launched at the UCSD Ignite 2018 conference.
Leonid Kandinov Lead Business Development Attorney Robbins Arroyo LLP Kandinov is a first generation American who emigrated from Uzbekistan at age 6. He earned 45 units of college credit while in high school, paving the way for his full scholarship to San Diego State University as a recipient of the first President’s Diversity Scholarship. He graduated as valedictorian in just 2.5 years. Since joining Robbins Arroyo LLP in 2011, Kandinov has served in various capacities, most recently within the Business Development Department. He is among the top three generators of new business for the firm.
Suman Kanuganti Co-founder and CEO Aira Tech Corp Kanuganti has spent the past four years with Aira Tech Corp – a startup he co-founded – but his footprint on San Diego’s technology sector is much larger. Kanuganti arrived in San Diego in 2007, working as a product development consultant for Qualcomm. A little more than a year later, he joined Intuit as its chief technology officer, working on the ongoing development of products such as Mint, Turbo Tax and QuickBooks. At Aira, he is developing technology that connects blind and visually impaired people with a sighted agent to assist them with common activities. The users wear specially designed glasses equipped with a camera that provide a feed from which a sighted agent can assist the user in real time, from reading a restaurant menu to filling in an application.
Leigh Keith Co-founder and President Perfect Bar LLC Keith is co-founder and president of Perfect Bar LLC, a brand of energy bars created by her nutritionist father, Bud Keith. She is one of 13 siblings to launch the company in 2005. In her role, Leigh is responsible for steering her family’s business operations. This includes sales management, product development, distribution channel management, marketing communications, pricing, market research and customer service. Last year, the family made the hard decision to sell a minority stake in the company to San Francisco-based private equity firm, VMG Partners. The undisclosed investment was quickly put to work, with Leigh and the rest of her family increasing the number of bars made per shift from 20,000 to more than 100,000.
Alex Klingensmith Senior Wealth Advisor/COO Labrum Wealth Management Klingensmith’s leadership and strategic hand has enabled the firm to more clearly see its future. He launched the Financial Detox program, which has opened up opportunities to explore beyond the traditional methods for communicating with customers. He has also been instrumental in partnering with Charles Schwab’s advisor network, leading to additional growth opportunities. Klingensmith believes that both his and the firm’s future are heavily rooted in the development of the best customer experience possible.
Shailendra Kulkarni Shareholder Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engel APLC Kulkarni is the youngest shareholder at Sullivan, Hill, Lewin, Rez & Engel, a full-service business law firm based in San Diego. Recently “Shay” successfully prepared, filed, and argued a motion on behalf of a real estate developer client to invalidate a mechanic’s lien in excess of $800,000. He recently attained the rating of AV Preeminent from Martindale Hubbell, the leading attorney rating service in the industry and also for four consecutive years has been named a Rising Star by the Super Lawyers organization.
Victoria Lakers CEO Frank Management Consulting Lakers is responsible for building and selling a signage and graphics company that developed and executed visual communications solutions for more than 500 clients, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Since then, she has focused her attention on helping small to medium businesses, social enterprises and impact investment funds create and carry out strategies pertaining to finance, capital raising, marketing and sales. Lakers also serves as CFO for Three Squared, Inc., driving its financial strategies and oversight for the company that deals in construction management. She also serves as director of Changemaker Chats, a woman-focused educational series.
Cameron Lamming President and COO RAR Hospitality Lamming has led RAR Hospitality during a pivotal two-year growth period and in June was promoted to COO and president. Lamming helped The Lafayette Hotel become a pioneer in business space in North Park, while preserving its history and bringing in tourism dollars into the neighborhood. He leads RAR Hospitality’s consulting division, which includes clients such as Beijing-based Wanda Group, a Fortune global 500 company and China’s largest commercial property company. He is serving as the Managing Partner over several hotel developments in Southern California.
Dr. Samuel Lance Fresh Start Surgical Gifts Lance is the Assistant Clinical Professor of Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery at UC San Diego and a volunteer surgeon at Fresh Start Surgical Gifts. He serves on the Rady Children’s Hospital Complex Sleep Apnea Program, helping children who have difficulties with breathing during sleep. Additionally, Dr. Lance serves in the UC San Diego Burn Clinic treating burn victims. He hasn’t missed a Surgery Weekend since he began volunteering with Fresh Start in 2014, which takes place approximately every six weeks as plastic surgeons donate their time to provide free surgery to kids with facial deformities.
Jeff Lerner Head of Marketing DMV.ORG Lerner launched the first email marketing campaigns for the organization, highlighting the benefits and services that DMV.ORG has to offer users. Additionally, Lerner has revamped the social media offering for the organization, including its first Instagram account He also is leading the re-branding and expansion of the DMV.ORG Impact program, which is focused on giveback to the local community and driver safety organizations.
John Lincoln CEO Ignite Visibility Lincoln has become a high-profile leader in the SEO and digital marketing space while growing Ignite Visibility to revenue of more than $6.3 million and a place among the San Diego Business Journal’s 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies. The company has received numerous honors from trade groups in SEO and PPC. Lincoln has taught digital marketing at UC San Diego since 2010 and is a corporate trainer and a writer for Inc., Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Search Engine Land and more. Lincoln recently published Digital Influencer, a best-selling book on Amazon and created a documentary called “SEO: The Movie.”