Orange County Honorees in September 2025’s Business by LA Times Studios Magazine

Dear Readers,

Orange County, while a part of the greater Southern California business world, is a distinct region with equally distinct companies and workways. In this issue of Business by LA Times Studios, we celebrate those innovative players in the OC business community by recapping our OC Executive Leadership Awards, where leaders from every sector, from nonprofit organizers to tech innovators, were recognized for their dedication not only to their companies but also to Orange County as a whole.

In addition to these individuals, you’ll find a recap of the OC Executive Forum, which offered a fascinating discussion on the future of innovation and capital growth, particularly in a world that now features vastly different ways of working, both in Orange County and beyond.

Then, read on to find the latest insights in the business world at large, including a Southern California company that is reshaping the world of 3-D modeling and how businesses continue to innovate via AI–everything from taking advantage of micro-analytics to discongesting bus lanes in Santa Monica. You will also find all the latest moves, mergers, VC rewards and meaningful commercial real estate deals.

Also, this issue features a list of the fastest growing companies in both L.A. and Orange counties. These inventive businesses have seen profits and growth soar over the last two years and now find themselves becoming new power houses in a region that is famed for creating some of the most memorable brands, services and professional firms in the world.