Since joining the San Diego Business Journal editorial team in 2022, there is one question that people from the community of business most often ask me: “How do I submit a guest editorial/commentary piece?” My response, for a long time, has been that we do not print guest commentaries – until now.
This week marks the return of the SDBJ Guest Commentary section, found at the back of the paper on page 35. This commentary from San Diego Regional EDC Senior Research & Economic Development Director Eduardo Velasquez and EDC Board Chair Jennie Brooks urges more participation from and access for San Diego’s small businesses in government contracts.
The EDC piece is very emblematic of the type of business-positive, forward-thinking opinions that our editorial board would be looking for in discerning which submissions to publish. All submissions for future guest commentaries will be considered, however, weight is given to constructive commentaries over ones that are overtly negative or political in nature.
So, we are happy to join our sister publications the Los Angeles Business Journal and Orange County Business Journal in offering our readers the opportunity to share their thoughts on the issues of the day affecting the community of business. If you are interested in submitting a guest commentary, send inquiries to businessnews@sdbj.com.
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Recruitment advertising agency JobElephant was recognized last week with the “Best Predictive Analytics Solution” award at the 2024 MarTech Breakthrough Awards. The 24-year-old, San Diego-based JobElephant specializes in technologies that optimize recruitment advertisement placements.
Founder and CEO Michael Ang describes the company’s platform as “a predictive analytics solution that truly transforms how businesses approach their recruitment strategies.”
JobElephant was honored by Martech alongside industry leaders, including publisher monetization company 33Across, cross channel marketing platform Iterable and CRM solution company HubSpot, which has an enterprise valuation north of $24 billion.
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This week’s issue of the Business Journal features a special report on local hospitality businesses. San Diego’s contributions to the hospitality industry were highlighted late last week when the California Restaurant Association announced that San Diegan and Urban Plates President Joe O’Donnell will lead the association as Chairman of the Board, effective Sept. 1.
O’Donnell immigrated from Ireland 40 years ago and worked his way up in the restaurant industry from the position of busboy. Before Urban Plates, he was Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s VP of operations for the Western U.S. Early career restaurants he worked at include Harbor House, Kenny’s Steak House, and Reidy O’Neil’s.
In a statement announcing his new position as CRA chairman, O’Donnell praised the association’s “great progress” for the state’s restaurant industry, including the “major legislative successes” of reforming the Private Attorneys General Act and passing SB 1524, which requires mandatory fees and charges to be clearly displayed, with an explanation of their purpose, on any advertisement, menu, or other display that contains the price of the food or beverage item.
“The industry will continue to confront many policy challenges, and I am committed to being a leader that unites us to achieve a better business environment,” he said.
