[caption id="attachment_40425" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="Barry Schuler"][/caption]
SONOMA COUNTY -- Raydiance founder and chairman Barry Schuler will be the keynote speaker at the The Business Journal's upcoming annual Impact Sonoma conference, where he and other key business and government leaders will sound off on their respective visions for Sonoma County.
The speakers range from numerous sectors considered vital to the county's future -- technology, wine and tourism, government and economic development and small business.
From 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20 at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa, Mr. Schuler will be joined by Tom Scott, general manager of Oliver's Market; Efren Carrillo, chairman of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors from the Fifth District; Honore Comfort, executive director of Sonoma County Vintners; John Sawyer, Santa Rosa councilman; and Brian Sobel, principal consultant for Sobel Communications .
Mr. Schuler helped found Raydiance of Petaluma, a leading developer of ultrafast laser technology. Currently, he is the managing director of the Draper, Fisher Jurveston Growth Fund. He spent eight years with America Online, including a stint as its CEO during the height of AOL's early pioneering Internet days. He has helped develop emerging technologies into successful enterprises for 25 years.
Tom Scott became the general manager at Oliver's Market 20 years ago when the company had one store and 30 employees. It now has three stores and more than 500 employees. The market describes itself as a significant contributor to the growth the local food movement in Sonoma County, and Mr. Scott serves on the board of the Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative.
Honore Comfort joined the Sonoma County Vintners as Executive Director in 2006. Formerly with Foster’s Wine Estates, Ms. Comfort brings an extensive background in wine marketing, consumer marketing, and not-for profit management. She and the association play a vital role in bolstering two key sectors for the county -- wine and tourism -- with events like Taste of Sonoma.
Efren Carrillo, one of the youngest members of the Board of Supervisors, is in his third year of a four-year term and is currently chair of the board for 2011. He is active in water and climate protection issues. He serves on the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) as Chair of the Housing, Land Use, and Transportation Committee, and is appointed to the Department of Fish and Game’s Fisheries Restoration Grant Peer Review Committee.
John Sawyer, the former proprietor of Sawyer's News Inc. in Santa Rosa was first elected to the Santa Rosa City Council in 2004 and served as its vice mayor and then mayor in 2008. He is co-chair of the Mayor’s Economic Competiveness Task Force, a Sonoma County Airport Land Use commissioner, an executive committee member of the City/County Solid Waste Advisory Group, and a City Council appointee to the Sonoma County Economic Innovation Action Council.Brian Sobel is the principal consultant for Sobel Communications, located in Petaluma. He spent several years working for a major corporation as a writer, training consultant and video producer. He has been the principal consultant for Sobel Communications for over 20 years. In the public sector, he has served as a planning commissioner and vice mayor of Petaluma and has been a candidate for the California State Assembly.
To register online, go to www.northbaybusinessjournal.com or call 707-521-5264. Cost is $49 per person or $510 for a table of 10.
