Governor’s non-profit gives 15 companies award for innovation

The California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, a non-profit group started by Governor Schwarzenegger and his business associates, has recognized 15 large companies it says are the most innovative in the State:

The award recipients include Autobytel, Inc. in Irvine, DJO Inc. in Vista, FormFactor, Inc. in Livermore, Symantec in Cupertino, QAD in Carpinteria, Kintera, Inc. and QUALCOMM in San Diego, IXYS Corporation and NETGEAR in Santa Clara, and Callidus Software and Covad Communications Group, Inc. in San Jose. The City of Sunnyvale was the big winner though with four local companies winning the award: Kyphon, Juniper Networks, Network Appliance, Inc., and Trimble.

The awards cap off the California Tech 100 event—the “first-of-its-kind” statewide conference that has brought together a unique ensemble of angel investors, venture capitalists, CEOs, educators, and workforce talent professionals focused on celebrating the Golden State’s success as an innovation hotbed. California State Secretaries Victoria Bradshaw of the Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) and Dale Bonner of Business, Transportation and Housing (BTH) both spoke before enthusiastic audiences yesterday.

The California Innovation Corridor partners, managed by the California Space Authority (CSA), a statewide nonprofit organization, and administered through the Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), chose the final recipients based on market leadership within their industry, employment figures, continuous innovation of products and services, contribution to the California economy, and significant accomplishments in 2006.

“These innovative companies” added CSA Executive Director Andrea Seastrand, “give people hope and dreams. They make us globally competitive and proud of our heritage as a nation of inventors, creators, and thinkers.” The California Innovation Corridor is a region spanning the length of the state from Alameda county in the north to San Diego county in the south, and eastward into the Inland Empire.