Eighteen years inside the organization, nearly every major milestone carrying her fingerprints, and now the title makes it official. Janelle Brunette is the first woman to lead Octane, and Orange County innovation just got a new standard-bearer.
Octane, Orange County’s flagship innovation ecosystem for technology and medical technology companies, announced on July 13, 2026 that Janelle Brunette has been named Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2027, per the organization’s announcement. Bill Carpou, CEO for the past twelve years, becomes Executive Chairman of the Board following a multi-year succession planning process led by the board of directors.
The numbers underneath Carpou’s tenure explain why this handoff matters to the whole region. Under his leadership, companies supported by Octane raised more than $12.1 billion in venture capital and created 45,237 high-paying technology and medtech jobs, including more than 8,300 new high-paying jobs in 2025 alone. Brunette helped architect that growth from the inside, most recently as Chief Operating Officer, with a hand in the accelerator programs, philanthropic initiatives, and investment platforms that turned a respected networking organization into a national innovation platform. She holds an MBA from UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.
“Octane has been my professional home for nearly two decades, and I have never been more excited about what lies ahead. The foundation Bill has built, including the relationships, the programs, the culture of ambition, provides us an extraordinary platform for this next chapter.”
Janelle Brunette, Chief Executive Officer, Octane
Octane co-founder Jim Mazzo said in the announcement that the transition is the result of thoughtful planning and a deep commitment to the organization’s future, adding that the board has complete confidence in Brunette’s ability to carry the legacy forward. Carpou called her an exceptional leader who understands the culture, the mission, and the opportunities better than anyone. Translation for the rest of us: this was not a search, it was a coronation years in the making, and that is exactly how the best successions read.
Here is why this one matters beyond the org chart. Octane is the connective tissue of Orange County’s innovation economy, the room where founders meet capital and talent meets opportunity, a scene we mapped in our look at Orange County’s tech hiring surge. Handing that platform to an operator who spent 18 years building it, rather than importing a name-brand outsider, is a bet on institutional knowledge and relationships, the same insider-succession pattern we keep flagging in our hiring trends coverage. As CEO she will also continue leading the Octane Impact Fund, a transformational initiative designed to accelerate innovation, strengthen the region’s leadership in artificial intelligence, and increase access to capital for women entrepreneurs.
And the 55,000 high-paying jobs target by 2030? That is not Octane’s goal alone. That is the SoCal talent market’s pipeline for the next half decade, and the person now accountable for it has spent her career proving she delivers. Every recruiter, founder, and operator in the county has a stake in her success.
To Janelle Brunette: congratulations on a history-making appointment. Eighteen years of building quietly, and now the whole county gets to watch you lead loudly.
The timing of the handoff also deserves applause. Announcing in July with a January 1 effective date gives Octane a six-month glide path: Carpou transitions relationships, Brunette sets her leadership team, and no partner, founder, or funder experiences a single confusing week. Compare that with the abrupt CEO exits we cover too often on the People Moves Tracker, and the professionalism of this transition looks like a competitive advantage in itself.
What to watch next: the Octane Impact Fund’s expansion into artificial intelligence and capital access for women entrepreneurs, both areas where Orange County can lead nationally rather than follow. And watch the accelerator cohorts, because the companies Octane touches today are the ones writing the offer letters behind the region’s hiring trends three years from now.
One more note for the doubters who think accelerators are soft infrastructure: 45,237 jobs is not a vibe, it is a payroll. Innovation ecosystems are measured in offer letters, and Octane’s output rivals what most cities get from their entire economic development apparatus. Orange County built this engine deliberately, and it just handed the keys to the person who knows every gear by hand.
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Sources & verification
Appointment, quotes & impact figures: Octane announcement, July 13, 2026, per the organization’s news release
Cathy Trinh is the founder of Recruiter Hustle and has worked in executive search since 1998, advising companies and leaders across finance, accounting, operations, manufacturing, logistics, real estate, technology and professional services. Through Recruiter Hustle, she combines executive search, talent intelligence and market media to help companies and people make better decisions about work and leadership. HEART. HUMAN. HUSTLE.