Anne Hoskins

Insights from the C-Suite: California's Business Climate

Kevin Klowden, Anne Hoskins, Jeff Maggioncalda, Mary O'Hara, Sandra Stern, Pete Vlastelica

A panel of senior executives from Sunrun, Coursera, Blue Shield of California, Lions Gate, and Activision Blizzard convened to analyze how California's high cost of living, housing scarcity, and infrastructure inefficiencies are eroding its competitive business climate despite strong regulatory support for emerging industries. Speakers highlighted specific operational challenges, including the exodus of entertainment production due to tax policy gaps and the difficulty of retaining talent in healthcare and tech sectors where local compensation cannot match Silicon Valley giants or out-of-state alternatives. The group concluded that increasing housing density, reforming tax structures, and expanding accessible online education are the critical, bipartisan priorities required to retain the state's middle-class workforce and sustain global innovation leadership.