Newport Beach Magazine | Movers and Shakers

Meet Larry Stofko, One of Newport Beach Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2015

By Kirsti Correa, Allison Hata, Kristin Lee Jensen and Sharon Stello | Photos by Jody Tiongco

By definition, “to influence” has a few nuanced meanings—for our purposes, it’s the power to affect someone or something. The nine people selected this year by Newport Beach Magazine as the city’s Most Influential People have harnessed that power and used it to create positive change. Each person selected has made a marked difference in the community over the last 12 months: Some are raising critical funds to fight for the needs of those less fortunate, while others are helping to raise the city’s stature as a culinary and retail destination.

As always, this year’s list is by no means exhaustive. In a city filled with talented people, these individuals have set themselves apart from the crowd by taking their passion projects to new, unprecedented heights. From youth advocates to health care innovators to entrepreneurs and beyond, turn the page to meet Newport Beach Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2015.

Larry Stofko

Executive Vice President of The Innovation Institute and Innovation Lab

With Stofko at the helm, the Innovation Lab—opened in fall 2014 in Newport Beach—helps medical workers and the general public bring to fruition their ideas for improving patient care. “To be able to … unleash the creativity of the physicians and employees who see these problems on a daily basis is really what inspires me,” Stofko says.

The lab was established by The Innovation Institute and works with both local and national providers like Mission Hospital, Hoag, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and Bon Secours, as well as partners such as Cleveland Clinic, Boston Scientific, Deloitte and Dell to bring these inventions to market through the research and development process. More…