Lief Labs celebrated its 15th anniversary in business and shared plans for its future in a special event earlier this month at the company headquarters attended by U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla as well as local leaders.
Padilla, D-California, was in attendance to congratulate his long-time friend Adel Villalobos, founder and CEO of Lief Labs, for his accomplishment in successfully running his business for over a decade and planning on expanding it, creating job opportunities for those in his community.
Villalobos founded Lief Labs in 2008 and ever since has been a “premier formulation and product development innovator and manufacturer of dietary supplements,” stated the news release about the event.
Villalobos thanked his community for constantly supporting his dreams, his wife for supporting him through many failures, and his extended family — Lief Labs employees — for always working hard.
Padilla and Villalobos both had immigrant parents who came to the United States for a better future. They met in little league baseball when they were growing up in Pacoima, said Villalobos.
“It was not a place known for delivering the next generation of leaders,” said Villalobos during his speech. “However, Alex has helped change that and he has set the bar … He’s also an inspiration to me.”
Now decades later, they both have achieved their versions of the American dream.
“Events like this is what makes all the chaos in the Capitol worthwhile,” said Padilla. “It’s a reminder of why I go there in the first place and what I fight for and who I fight for.”
Those in attendance included Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Maria Salinas, Chancellor Dianne Van Hookv of College of the Canyons, and LAMC Biotech Program Director Chander Arora.
Villalobos also discussed his partnerships with local organizations to create an entrepreneurship program that offers mentorship and guidance for individuals to become leaders of tomorrow.
“About three years ago, we started something called the CEO Council and Adel is a founding member of that along with several others,” said Salinas. “The idea of the CEO Council is how can we cultivate CEOs in various industries and bring them into civic life, civic Los Angeles so that we can engage in solving problems, in working on issues of the workforce of the future.”
Lief Labs employees were present during the celebration to congratulate their founder and CEO for his accomplishment on 15 years of success. Guests were then taken on a tour of the headquarters after the ceremony.
