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2008 Hall of Fame
Marilyn Lewis, Kate Mantilini & Gardens on Glendon
A true original and free spirit, Marilyn Lewis brings color, creativity and vision into the boardrooms she inhabits. From groundbreaking restaurateur to professor to dress designer to motion picture and television producer to author and more, her accomplishments are remarkable – and her life journey is filled with a never-ending commitment to teach and pass on the lessons she’s learned to the next generation, creating a legacy for those who will follow in her footsteps. Along with her husband of 57 years, Harry (a well-known actor in the 1940s), Lewis founded and built the extraordinarily successful Hamburger Hamlet chain, starting in 1950 with the first site on the Sunset Strip just west of the Whiskey A Go-Go. They sold all of the Hamburger Hamlets in 1987, but have since opened
two Kate Mantilini restaurants (in Beverly Hills and Woodland Hills),
as well as Gardens on Glendon in Westwood.
MaryAnn Mitchell, CC-OPS, Inc.
Mary Ann Mitchell’s challenges in starting her own business more than 20 years ago continue to shape her passion to mentor and provide opportunities for budding women and minority entrepreneurs. Armed with a degree in business administration/finance, she still had
difficulty landing a job in male-dominated firms. She tried her hand at
running cosmetology and catering businesses, but they didn’t prove a good fit. She then accepted a job at Hughes Aircraft Company, where she rose to operations manager. Still feeling the entrepreneurial spirit, she decided to launch her own technology business. The results? Today her company, Computer Consulting Operations
Specialists, Inc. (CC-OPS), is a $40 million-plus business with 325
employees and a stellar reputation among its commercial and government
sector clients.
Valerie Red-Horse, Red-Horse Financial Group & Red-Horse Native Productions
When Valerie Red-Horse, an acclaimed actress and filmmaker, didn’t see films and TV shows that accurately portrayed Native Americans, she started a production company and made her own. When, as an investment professional, she didn’t feel Native American tribes were getting the financial advice and services they required, she launched a securities firm and brought the concept of a tribal financial specialty to Western International Securities. Today, when she sees an unfulfilled need, she continues to look for a way to rise to the occasion and meet it. Though she didn’t begin her career thinking she wanted to own multiple businesses, her drive and ambition – and desire to give back to the Native American community – led her to take risks and follow a path that few before her had traveled. The results speak to her entrepreneurial talent and her ongoing commitment to create a positive future for not only herself, but for those who will follow in her footsteps.
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