Geography Lesson
A recent issue of Fortune magazine included a list of the 15 cities with the most Fortune 500 company headquarters. But while Stamford, Conn., and Richmond, Va., made the list each with six L.A. was nowhere to be found. Is L.A. really so devoid of blue-chip company headquarters?
Nope. In fact, nine Fortune 500 companies are headquartered here, putting L.A. in line with Dallas, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. But because three of them Wellpoint Health Networks, Litton Industries and Health Systems International are located in Woodland Hills, and one, Great Western Financial Corp., is located in Chatsworth, they didn’t make the list.
Although the New York-based magazine may be more familiar with the borough system than L.A.’s urban sprawl, Fortune should take note: Woodland Hills and Chatsworth are both communities within the city of L.A.
How to Succeed in Business
Employers beware. A new survey says 1997 college graduates are hitting the job market armed with resumes, ambition and lies.
Yes, it’s true. A whopping 95 percent of college students surveyed said they were willing to make at least one false statement to get a job, and 41 percent already had, according to Reid Psychological Systems. The study found graduates were more likely to lie about things an employer could not readily disprove. Some of the most likely fibs were: exaggerating interpersonal skills, experience, cheerfulness and the amount that they were respected by previous employers.
Creativity, at least, did not appear to be in short supply.
Riordan Tees Off
Fortunately, Richard Riordan doesn’t represent the city of Los Angeles on the golf course.
As mayor of L.A., Riordan co-chaired the Mayor’s Cup golf tournament last week along with co-chairs Pat Haden and former football-kicker-turned-venture-capitalist Danny Villanueva. Other business luminaries at the tournament at Braemar Country Club in Encino included Steve Soboroff and Sheldon Ausman.
The event raised over $100,000 for the Puente Learning Center, despite a less-than-stellar performance from Riordan and his team, according to Villanueva.
“Riordan played his usual horrid golf,” said Villanueva, whose own team finished second in the event. “(Riordan) said, ‘The course really beat me up,’ just like Tiger Woods.”
No Sense of Humor
A recent commercial for L.A.-based Atlantic Richfield Co. invites customers who feel they’re paying too little for their gasoline at Arco stations to send donations to the company’s bowling team. It was a joke, of course, but who knew anyone would take them up on the offer?
Company officials were surprised to receive actual donations, albeit just a couple dollars here and there. Arco officials were forced to return the money to customers with letters suggesting they donate the money to their favorite charity. Besides, said company spokesman Scott Loll, while there are probably Atlantic Richfield employees who bowl together, the Arco bowling team was the figment of an ad executive’s imagination.
“No, there is no official Arco bowling team,” he said.
