More than 170 people gathered Wednesday, Oct. 23, for the day-long 2024 Sunstone Symposium at Sunstone headquarters in Irvine.
Speakers and panelists addressed the power of public-private collaborations and the future of the clean energy economy. Welcomed by John Shen, Sunstone’s and American Lending Center’s founder, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan opened the day with a keynote address about the evolution of the city of Irvine from a planned bedroom community to a vibrant and growing innovation hub.
“We’re here to facilitate collaboration,” Mayor Khan said. “We focus on public-private-education partnerships as we create a sustainable model for growth… It’s an exciting time for us. In a few years, we will be the largest city in Orange County, and that’s due in large part to being the safest city for the last 18 years, along with our highly ranked educational and health institutions.”
Atop that list of educational institutions is the University of California, Irvine, which recently was ranked 31st overall in the country and 13th among public universities by the Wall Street Journal. UCI Professor Larry Wilk took to the Sunstone stage to explain the Stella Zhang New Venture Competition at the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, along with a new Master’s Degree program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Zhang is a founding board member of Sunstone Management and sister company American Lending Center.
Fellow UCI Professor David Ochi then talked about how Gen Z students have changed expectations of higher education, with a strong shift toward entrepreneurship.
“Gen Z is changing everything,” Professor Ochi said. “75% of those students are targeting entrepreneurship; a whopping 93% have taken a step in that direction… They are focused on key competencies, and higher education needs to change to fulfill those needs.”
Locals in attendance seemed to be particularly interested in Irvine Deputy Director, City Manager’s Office, Great Park Steve Torelli’s explanation of how the city of Irvine has leveraged public-private partnerships to develop housing and public-directed projects such as the Great Park.
Afternoon panels delved into the future, focusing on aspects of the new entrepreneurial economy. Not surprisingly, the impact of Artificial Intelligence on startups was up first.
Nikhil Jain, founder of Valdi Labs, compared the AI boom to the California gold rush. John Waller, partner at Okapi Partners, agreed. When moderator Zhen Wang called on OC Startup Council CEO Scott Fox, Fox suggested the analogy of Detroit at the beginning of the auto revolution.
“Cars changed everything in our country, in the world,” Fox said. “They were everywhere, reshaping how we lived. AI is everywhere and is creating change everywhere.”
Sunstone Chief Investment Officer Mike Stone and Scott Thompson, American Lending Center’s Chief Lending Officer, talked about how alternative investments and leveraging government loan guarantees help propel the entrepreneurial economy.
Creation of Sunstone Bank & Trust – a subsidiary of TransPecos Banks — was explained, along with a discussion about the services offered.
The final panel spoke specifically about how the climate tech revolution and clean energy economy will drive the future, particularly in California. Sunstone CEO John Keisler led the discussion with Penn Hill Capital founders Jesse Yanocha and Preston Hayes.
“We need to focus on the infrastructure,” Yanocha said. “Traditional energy has peaked, and the trend now is we need to decarbonize and fast… It isn’t going to happen in two or three years – it’s more like 25 or 30 years. But we need to start now.”
All three agreed that California and Texas lead the nation in clean energy investment. Hayes added that even if the national policy steps back, California will continue to lead the country toward clean energy.
“California incentives have led the way, and that’s not going to change,” he said. “The targets to eliminate vehicles using carbon-based fuel by 2030 and 2035 aren’t likely to change. And since California is the world’s fifth-largest economy, people are going to pay attention.”
Keisler ended the day with a recommendation to look for ways to advance public-private partnerships, particularly in the clean energy economy.
“A lot happens on the state and local levels,” he said. “And the federal government matters. We will continue to see the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and its investments into infrastructure.
“We need to partner with these programs to help make our world, our communities, a better place to live.”
For more information, go to www.sunstoneinvestment.com.
About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital sponsor firm headquartered in Southern California. Identified by Financial Times as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies three years in a row. In the latest Pitchbook rankings, Sunstone Management was #15 in the third quarter of 2023 nationally, and #18 in the fourth quarter.
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