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Valley 200 – 2024: Scott Mills

By
Kelly Garcia
-

General Manager, The Garland

Mills serves as General Manager of The Garland. A second-generation hotelier with more than 35 years of hospitality experience, Mills oversees all aspects of the iconic North Hollywood hotel. Mills led the rebrand and $28 million renovation of The Garland. Prior to joining The Garland, he held the role of vice president of hospitality operations for The Siegel Group in Las Vegas. He has also served as general manager of the boutique Avalon Beverly Hills. Mills sits on the Board of Directors for the Valley Industry & Commerce Association, the Los Angeles Tourism Marketing District, the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board and the East Valley Family YMCA. Mills was the recipient of VICA’s Harmon Ballin Community Service Award in 2022.

Valley 200 – 2024: Paulette Pantoja

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Chief Executive, Founder, Blu Digital Group

Pantoja is the founder and chief executive of Blu Digital Group Inc., a full-service provider of logistics, distribution, licensing and quality assurance products for content creators and hardware and software developers. Since the Burbank-based company’s founding in 2007, Pantoja has helped Blu play an increasingly influential role within the home entertainment industry. In January 2021, the company closed its multi-million-dollar series A round of funding with the investment led by C. Richard “Dick” Kramlich, co-founder of Green Bay Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. Since then, Blu has continued to accelerate its software development growth and has added additional services.

Valley 200 – 2024: John Payton

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Chief Executive, Dine Brands Global Inc.

Peyton became chief executive of restaurant franchiser Dine Brands in January 2021. The company owns IHOP, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar and Fuzzy’s Taco Shops, acquired in December 2022. Prior to joining Dine Brands, Peyton was chief executive of Realogy Franchise Group. At Realogy, Peyton was responsible for managing a portfolio of real estate franchise brands. Before that he held executive positions, including chief marketing officer, with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Prior to joining Starwood, he had a 10-year career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, serving in both its accounting and management consulting practices. Peyton holds an MBA in accounting and marketing from New York University.

Valley 200 – 2024: Kathryn Purwin

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Chief Executive, Helinet

Purwin is the chief executive of Helinet Aviation Services. She has been involved in the aviation community for over 30 years and flew business jets professionally. She is also a helicopter pilot. Purwin stepped in to lead the company in 2015 after the loss of her husband in an aircraft accident. Purwin oversees its lines of business including patient transport, organ transport, executive charters, package delivery, production equipment rentals and technology integration. Purwin serves on the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Board of Trustees, Van Nuys Airport Association Board of Directors and the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She has worked with the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for 25 years.

Valley 200 – 2024: Seyed Sajjadi

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Chief Executive, Founder, nFlux

Sajjadi is the founder and chief executive of nFlux, an Amazon-funded startup specializing in advanced AI solutions for clients such as NASA. He has led the company from its inception in 2019, raising $12 million in funding and expanding operations globally. nFlux develops innovative technologies to assist astronauts and amplify worker capabilities in various industries. Sajjadi previously told the Business Journal that his company looked to “amplify” human workers rather than replace them with technology. nFlux provides two products to employers: one can train workers to assemble a product and the other observes and analyzes work to identify mistakes and suggest fixes. The tech is mainly used by makers of medical devices, electronics and automotive parts.

Sajjadi’s background includes a tenure as a robotics and systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he contributed to significant projects like the Europa Clipper and CADRE/PUFFER missions. He is recognized for his contributions to the tech industry, including being named in Forbes 30 Under 30 for Manufacturing & Industry in 2023. Sajjadi is a a founding member of the Autonomy Research Center for STEAHM, supporting underrepresented students at CSUN, from which he is a graduate.

Valley 200 – 2024: Rudi Schreiner

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Co-Founder, President, AmaWaterways

River cruise line executive Schreiner is a native of Vienna, Austria. After graduating with his MBA, Schreiner spent seven months doing research on a river raft on the Amazon River in Peru, his first experience with river cruising. Throughout the years, Schreiner has helped shape what is today one of the most thriving segments of travel – river cruising – serving in founding and leadership positions for many river cruise companies. In 2002, he teamed up with Kristin Karst and Jimmy Murphy to found AmaWaterways in Calabasas. Schreiner has been recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Travel Weekly, the Travel Vanguard Award by AFAR Media and the Lifetime Achievement Award by Cruise Lines International Association.

Valley 200 – 2024: Mike Whitmire

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Chief Executive, Co-Founder, FloQast

Whitmire, chief executive at FloQast, co-founded the accounting workflow automation company in 2013. He began his career at Ernst & Young where he performed public company audits, opening balance sheet audits, cash to GAAP restatements, compilation reviews, international reporting and merger and acquisition audits. At Cornerstone OnDemand in Santa Monica, he aided in the company’s IPO. FloQast now has more than 2,600 accounting teams as clients– including Twilio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Zoom and Snowflake.

Valley 200 – 2024: Vince Zampella

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Studio Head, Respawn Entertainment LLC

Zampella is the head of Respawn Entertainment, a studio based in Chatsworth he co-founded in 2010. It was acquired by Electronic Arts Inc. in 2017. Zampella also leads the team at DICE LA, an Electronic Arts studio based in Playa Vista. Zampella oversees the studios’ game teams. He is a key member of the EA Worldwide Studio organization’s senior leadership and the founder of the Creative Counsel. Prior to founding Respawn, Zampella co-created Infinity Ward – a studio specializing in military action shooters. Infinity Ward’s most famous game, “Call of Duty,” was first published in 2003.

Valley 200 – 2024: Sumant Ramachandra

By
Kelly Garcia
-

Chief Executive, ImmPACT Bio

As the chief executive and board director of ImmPACT Bio, Ramachandra leads a team working on developing and commercializing next-generation cell therapies that harness the immune system and address key challenges to current therapeutic approaches in cancer and autoimmune diseases. Prior to joining ImmPACT in November 2021, Ramachandra was the chief science, technology and medical officer for Baxter International, a position he started in June 2017. Ramachandra was also the senior vice president and head of research and development at Pfizer Essential Health.

Valley 200 – 2024: Paul Watkins

By
Kelly Garcia
-

President, Dignity Health – Northridge Hospital Medical Center

Watkins was named president of Dignity Health’s Northridge Hospital Medical Center in 2018. The 394-bed nonprofit hospital serves 2 million residents. Watkins is responsible for the overall direction, strategy and operation of the facility. Prior to Northridge, Watkins was part of the UCLA Health System, most recently serving as chief administrative officer and chief operating officer at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. Watkins has a juris doctor and a bachelor of science in law from Peninsula University in Mountain View.

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