Orange County Business Journal

Aerospace company Ducommun will present its new 5-year “road map” Vision 2032 at an investor conference on Sept. 17 in New York, CEO Stephen Oswald said in a news release today. “The new Vision 2032 Strategy will include key focus areas for growth, investment, and capital allocation strategies that are intended to strengthen Ducommun and add shareholder value over the years ahead,” said Oswald, who is also the Costa Mesa-based company’s president and chairman.

Taylor Montgomery, Taco Bell’s global chief brand officer, has been named president of San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc., effective Sept. 14. Montgomery is expected to become chief executive of the San Diego-based burger chain within the next 12 months (Nasdaq: JACK). He will work alongside interim CEO Mark King, who led Taco Bell for four years before retiring at the end of 2023. King later took the helm of Irvine-based Xponential Fitness Inc., leaving the company last year.

Also, an electric bicycle company spun out of Irvine-based Rivian Automotive Inc., said it has closed a $150 million Series D financing round led by Prysm Capital, with participation from Eclipse, Greenoaks and MVP Ventures. The new capital will support accelerating the development of Also’s autonomous vehicle platform and the simultaneous progression of multiple autonomous form factors — spanning the movement of both goods and passengers across urban environments, the company said.

Aeon Biopharma Inc. today announced data supporting the molecular similarity of its ABP-450 treatment to Botox. It expects to meet with the FDA for a Biosimilar Biological Product Development (BPD) Type 2b meeting before the end of the year. The biopharmaceutical company moved its headquarters from Irvine to Aliso Viejo some time in June, according to recent regulatory filings.

Renata Medical, a Newport Beach startup focused on improving treatment for children with congenital heart defects, today announced the closing of a $25 million Series D round. Proceeds from the round, led by healthcare investment firm Archimed, will support expanded U.S. commercialization of the company’s Mimina Stent System, an expandable heart valve stent specifically tailored for neonates, infants and young children.

Irvine-based Alliant Insurance Services, Orange County’s largest insurance broker, has agreed to acquire Nava Benefits, an employee benefits brokerage with an artificial intelligence-powered platform. Terms of the transaction, announced Aug. 18, were not disclosed. Together, Alliant and Nava are “creating an AI-native, human-backed, and advisor-led benefits model,” Alliant said.

A family-owned retail property on Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar sold for $13.7 million, $700,000 over asking. Shops at CDM LLC, led by local broker and investor Phil Berry, bought the 13,883-square-foot multi-tenant property at 2515 E. Coast Highway, near The Bungalow steakhouse,  from Poole Properties Inc.

Anduril Industries said it and the U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit (EOU) completed the second exercise with the company’s unmanned fighter jet Fury. “The exercise increased the task complexity and expanded the responsibilities owned by Air Force personnel. EOU operators tasked the aircraft throughout the various stages of mission execution from multiple locations,” Anduril said in a statement on its website yesterday.

Irvine Company announced that its Orange County office portfolio is 90% occupied, even as the broader office market faces challenges. Over the 12 months ending June 30, the company leased 11 million square feet across its national portfolio, which is almost 10% more than last year, the Newport Beach-based real estate giant said. Company officials said this included 4.4 million square feet of new leases and 6.7 million square feet of renewals.

Anduril Industries says it’s launched its first satellite as it aims to conquer “the next battlefield: Space.” “The first calibrated images are in from all three payloads onboard the spacecraft: one long-wave infrared, two electro-optical,” Anduril said in a posting on X on Aug. 13. The Costa Mesa-based company co-founded by OC entrepreneur Palmer Luckey added: “We bet our own money to rapidly design, build, test, and fly a fully integrated satellite.”