2018 Recap
The 2018 Select LA Investment Summit was the 4th time domestic leaders and international businesses gathered together for two-days of learning and establishing deep connections. As the most successful summit to date, over 550 registered guests hailed from 25 countries, with three large delegations from Guangzhou, China, Auckland, New Zealand and Taiwan. The lineup of more than 40 speakers – the most to date - covered topics ranging from venture capital, mobility, bioscience, eSports, industry 4.0, among others. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Mayor Eric Garcetti provided the luncheon and summit keynotes, respectively.
In addition, the new WTCLA report on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Southern California was presented to increase awareness of the success foreign-owned enterprises are having in the region, and the related jobs created by those operations.
The inaugural Select LA Award was presented to BYD Motors, to celebrate the hundreds of well-paying jobs that the company’s electric bus manufacturing operations have created in LA County.
Opening remarks
A list of notable federal and local government speakers included SelectUSA Investment Specialist Seth Isenberg, California Go-Biz’s Deputy Director for International Affairs and Business Development Awinash Bawle and LA City Councilmember David Ryu.
Councilmember David Ryu: City of Los Angeles, District 4
Awinash Bawle: Deputy Director International Affairs and Business Development
The Waking of a Tech Giant
How investors are working with tech companies to fuel and transform LA’s tech industry.
Last November, Southern California tech companies set a new monthly record by collectively raising $2.6B in funding. It’s now well understood internationally that Los Angeles is becoming a major tech influencer. Whether businesses were looking to invest like a venture capital (VC) firm or trying to understand how to secure funding for their project, this expert panel of tech industry investors provided valuable insights on practices surrounding investment criteria and changes in business operations post investment. Upfront Ventures, Crosscut Ventures and Bam ventures rounded out the morning plenary.
From Left: Eric Zabinski: Partner at O’Melveny/Panel Moderator, Richard Jun: Co-Founder & Managing Director at BAM Ventures, Rick Smith: Co-Founder & Managing Director at Crosscut Ventures, Chang Xu: Principal at Upfront Ventures
Industry 4.0: Robotics, Automation and Data
The intersection of IoT and manufacturing is transforming entire industries and their supply chains.
The fourth revolution in production illuminates the deep connections between machine and computer in the form of robotics and automation. In this new era, “smart factories” are born in which cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes and can make simple, autonomous decisions. This panel explored the increasing number of technologies being integrated into all facets of the value chain. IBM, Amazon, Los Angeles Blockchain Lab, and Make in LA lead this forward-thinking discussion.
From Left: Jasson Crockett: Manager of Economic Policy: City of LA/Panel Moderator, Keith Hoffman: Vice President: Business Development & Technology Transfer at LA BioMed, Maureen Klewicki: Director at Cedars-Sinai Accelerator Powered by Techstar, Yiwen Li: Director, Strategy and Business Development at NantHealth
Inaugural Select LA Foreign Direct Investment Award
The inaugural Select LA Foreign Direct Investment Award was presented to Chinese electric bus and auto manufacturer BYD (Build Your Dreams) to celebrate the hundreds of well-paying jobs that the company’s operations have created in LA County.
Luncheon Session
Spencer Levy provided the first luncheon presentation on the attractiveness of the LA real estate market, especially with industrial and retail property. Suzanne Boda described the exciting investment and commitment American Airlines is making to the region through its more than $1B investment at LAX to augment LA’s connectivity to the world.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong stunned the crowd with his presentation surrounding the life-changing projects NantWorks has undertaken and its positive impact on local and national communities. The conclusion of his speech was met with raucous applause and a standing ovation.
Suzanne Boda: Senior Vice President at American Airlines
Spencer Levy: Americas Head of Research and Senior Economic Advisor for CBRE
WTCLA President Stephen Cheung, CBRE Southern California President Lew Horne, O’Melveny Partner Steve Olson, Gensler Co-Managing Principal Rob Jernigan, American Airlines Senior Vice President Suzanne Boda, Cathay Bank Senior Vice President Rex Hong, Nantworks Chairman & CEO Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, LAEDC CEO Bill Allen, City National Bank Senior Vice President Steve Bash, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Market Executive Maggie O’Sullivan, East West Bank Senior Vice President Andrew Pan, CBRE Americas Head of Research Spencer Levy, ICBC USA Senior Vice President Alice Gao.
New High Score
Why Los Angeles is emerging as the gaming and eSports capital of the world.
The epicenter of eSports, the term for competitive video gaming, is Los Angeles. Moguls from the traditional sports world are purchasing franchise license for tens of millions of dollars, while international players like Tencent are making multibillion dollar investment to grow the sport worldwide. A January 2018 CBRE report found that Los Angeles leads the United States with 331 gaming companies operating in the metropolitan area. LA’s top gaming movers, shakers and investors in eSports, including Gamevice, Tencent, Evolution Media, and Next Generation Esports described the massive opportunity in this burgeoning industry.
From Left: Jason Woo: GM & CSO at Next Generation Esports (NGE) (Panel Moderator), Salim Mitha: Partner at Evolution Media, Phillip Hyun: CEO Founder & Next Generation Esports (NGE), Ramon Hermann: Director of Esports at Tencent America, Vander Woude: CEO & Founder at Next Generation Esports (NGE)
The LA Mobility Revolution
From Hyperloop’s vacuum pods to all-electric semi-trucks, LA is incubating a new mobility and transportation paradigm.
From fully electric semi-trucks and printed cars to enormous public transportation projects and Elon Musk’s mysterious boring machine, Los Angeles is on the cusp of a mobility renaissance. With traffic congestion and its subsequent environmental impact being two issues Angelenos rally around, LA is experiencing a cultural shift that has brought innovative mobility solutions to the forefront. This jam-packed panel featured company leaders from Arrivo, Thor Trucks, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Future Lab, Mercedes-Benz, and UPS – moderated by Forbes Magazine Senior Editor Alan Ohnsman – shared how they are leveraging the advanced transportation momentum throughout their verticals, while postulating about what the future holds for this industry.
From Left: Rachel Nguyen: Director at Nissan Future Labs, Dakota Semler: Co-Founder & CEO at Thor Trucks, Brook Taylor: Senior State Regulatory Affairs at Mercedes Benz, Derrick Waters: Vice President of Engineering at UPS West Region, Alan Ohnsman: Senior Editor at Forbes (Panel Moderator)
Summit Keynote
Eric Garcetti: Mayor of the City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti once again inspired the international delegations and attendees to view Los Angeles as a region open to all types of businesses and LA, “…wants to succeed with you or fail forward with you…” His unifying message encouraged collaboration and diversity as a foundation for economic growth and success.
2018 FDI Report Presentation
Michael Shires: Associate Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University School of Public Policy (left)
The exclusive release and presentation of WTCLA’s third annual report on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Southern California region presented attendees a unique look into the 10,000 foreign companies located in all six counties of Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura), and discussed the future for these international firms under new potential trade scenarios and regimes. Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy Associate Professor Dr. Michael Shires presented this year’s findings.
Navigate LA
Discover the many great cities in Los Angeles and what they are doing to attract FDI.
In this unique afternoon plenary, officials from the LA County cities of El Segundo, Glendale, Long Beach, Santa Clarita, and Torrance presented on their locales’ attractiveness for new investments and businesses. This session provided international attendees the opportunity to understand which cities best fit their business needs, as well as the available resources to make a new venture successful. The panel was moderated by Global Situation Room’s CEO Johanna Maska.
From Left: Fran Fulton: Economic Development Manager at the City of Torrance, Jason Crawford: Economic Development Manager at the City of Santa Clarita, John P. Keisler: Economic Development Director at the City of Long Beach, Darlene Sanchez: Deputy Director Community Development/Economic Development at the City of Glendale, Johanna Maska: CEO at Global Situation Room (Panel Moderator)
Sponsors
