The Orange County Business Journal's OC 500 is an annual list of the 500 most influential people in Orange County — one of the most significant regional business recognition programs in Southern California. Stuart McClure's inclusion in the 2018 list recognized his standing as one of the leading figures in technology and business leadership in a region that has produced a remarkable concentration of technology companies and innovation.
2018 was a pivotal year for Cylance. The company was in the final stages of its growth as an independent company — it would be acquired by BlackBerry in November 2018 in a transaction valued at approximately $1.4 billion. The OC 500 recognition came at the moment when Cylance's impact on the security industry was undeniable: it had proven that AI-based endpoint prevention could outperform incumbent signature-based tools, had grown to hundreds of enterprise customers, and had established Orange County as an unlikely hub for cutting-edge AI security development.
Stuart's influence in Orange County's business community extended beyond Cylance itself. As a significant employer, a frequent speaker at regional business events, and an active participant in the technology and startup ecosystem that was developing in the region, he had helped put Orange County on the map as a place where serious technology companies could be built and where talent could find world-class opportunities without relocating to Silicon Valley.
The 2018 OC 500 recognition was the first of what would become a pattern of inclusion in subsequent years, reflecting Stuart's sustained influence in the regional business community through multiple subsequent ventures.