Recognizing the area's Most Admired CEOs

Cheers to Friday, LinkedIn community. Still recovering from last night's excitement? Same here.

The Sacramento Business Journal held its Most Admired CEOs Awards on Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento.

If you missed the big party, don't worry. We'll be posting profiles of the honorees over the next several days. You can already learn more about three of these outstanding CEOs, including:

• Preet Kuar , Pacific Staffing and ExecSearch , whose life changed after a conversation at Safeway. Read more
• Ron Fong , who learned the grocery business from the ground up. Read more
• Allison ("Ali") M. Wing , who entered the biotech realm fueled by a passion for health and how it’s changing in the modern age. Read more

Stay tuned for more stories soon. In the meantime, here's what else you need to know this week.

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Celebrating International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day, a global effort to raise awareness of topics such as women's achievement, discrimination and gender parity.

This seems like the perfect time to read our latest opinion piece by Holly Martinez , executive director of?the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls . Martinez emphasizes the importance of eliminating the gender wage gap.

"In the state of California, where innovation thrives and diversity is generally celebrated, closing the wage gap isn't just a matter of fairness; it's also about increasing profits, employee retention and productivity," Martinez writes. Read more

Delta Dental plans Rancho Cordova layoffs

Dental insurance company Delta Dental Plan of California is laying off 137 workers at its offices in Rancho Cordova in May.

In its letter to California employment officials, Delta Dental said the layoffs are a result of the loss of a state contract. The company didn’t provide more details on the lost contract.

Delta Dental has operations in two local office parks across the street from each other on Kilgore Road. They are at 11185 International Drive and 3241 Kilgore Road.

Learn more in this article by reporter Mark Anderson .

New plan for former Mary Ann's Bakery site in East Sac

Big scoop from Senior Reporter Ben van der Meer : After years of being on the market and speculation about its future, a potential proposal has emerged for the former Mary Ann's Bakery site in East Sacramento.

A new proposal filed with the city in the last week would redevelop the industrial property at 324 Alhambra Blvd. with a six-story, 302-apartment project with some ground-floor retail space. Read more

Sutter Health names new CEO for Sacramento hospital

Sutter Health has brought on a new chief executive to take over leadership of its flagship hospital from Rachael McKinney, MHA, FACHE , who was promoted to market president a few months ago.

The Sacramento-based health system announced Thursday that Hollie Seeley would step into the role of CEO of Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento.

“Hollie’s extensive experience and proven success in health care leadership make her an ideal fit for this role,” McKinney said, in a statement. Read more

Brown Construction transitions to employee ownership

One of the Sacramento region’s largest construction companies is now owned by its 130 employees.

Late last month, West Sacramento-based Brown Construction, Inc. completed transitioning majority ownership of the company from CEO Ron Brown to a trust held on behalf of its employees.

“I no longer own the shares of Brown Construction. It was converted to the employees,” Brown said. "That’s pretty emotional. It’s a pretty big event in my life, and my family’s life."

Learn more in this article by reporter Emily Hamann .

International fashion retailer joining Arden Fair

A popular fast-fashion retailer is planning to fill multiple spaces inside Arden Fair mall later this year, which will be its only location in Sacramento and third around the area.

H&M offers men's, women's and children's apparel and accessories, home decor and beauty products. As of last May, the Sweden-based company operated 3,893 stores in nearly 80 different markets, according to its website.

The company filed plans in the city of Sacramento this week seeking approvals to remodel and combine three existing spaces in Arden Fair mall at 1689 Arden Way in Sacramento. Read more

Your weekly restaurant roundup

From pizza to sushi, here are some of this week's biggest headlines from food and drink reporter Jacob Abbott .

First: Pizza eatery Hot Italian, which previously operated restaurants in Midtown Sacramento and Davis, is returning to the area with some changes to its format. Read more

Also: Gold River Distillery, an original member of the Rancho Cordova Barrel District, has announced it's planning to end operations. Read more

Also: Sushi will once again be on the menu of a restaurant planned for a space in Roseville, but the incoming operators say the latest iteration will be different from its predecessor. Read more

Thanks for reading our Weekly Edition, which was compiled by Managing Editor Sonya Sorich. Send feedback and news tips to [email protected].