Who are the business champions for the Inland Empire?

If a product or a philosophy is going to take off, it needs one or more people to champion it. But this not only applies to products (iPhone) or philosophies (the Tea Party movement), but also locales.

I moved to the Inland Empire over twenty-five years ago, but I have not worked in the Inland Empire in nearly twenty years, having had jobs near downtown Los Angeles and in various locations in Orange County. During that period, the Inland Empire has been poised to take off, only to ebb back again due to September 11 or a housing crisis or some other cause.

I look at other areas, and I find Joan Koerber-Walker championing Phoenix, and Jesse Stay championing Salt Lake City.

So who are the business champions in our area?

You certainly have the organizations, such as the Inland Empire Business Journal, the Business Press, Inland Empire Magazine, and Yahoo's directory for the Inland Empire. There's The Bizz (associated with the Los Angeles Newspaper Group), but it hasn't posted a new article since February 22. (Oh yeah, there's My Local Pledge.)

But who are the PEOPLE who are championing the area? Jack Brown? Jack Dangermond? (Hmm, should I start using the nickname "Jack" when writing about the area?)

So who do YOU look to as a champion out here?