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In San Diego, business is booming. In health care, finance, law, wellness, tech, and more, the region’s business leaders are turning dreams into reality and bringing ideas to life.
In San Diego, business is booming. The people behind the city’s businesses use their expertise to elevate their respective fields and drive their industries forward. In health care, finance, law, wellness, tech, and more, the region’s business leaders are turning dreams into reality and bringing ideas to life. They’re influencers, strategists, entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators, and, above all, they’re invaluable assets to San Diego. Professionals like the ones features in the following pages are core to the business community. They are San Diego Magazine’s 2023 Icons of Business—and business is good.
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President/CEO, Copia Wealth Management and Insurance Services
Highlight: Named Financial Adviser of the Year twice; recently published her second book, Retirement By Design.
Elisabeth Dawson’s mission, passion, and purpose is helping people discover financial freedom and confidence. As a comprehensive financial advisor for 24 years, she is the founder of Copia Wealth Management and Insurance Services. Dawson is known for creating personalized solutions that bring lasting results, and one of her unique and powerful tools is a “Retirement Income for Life Blueprint,” which clearly outlines your income for the rest of your life. This blueprint pinpoints potential problems and illustrates how certain decisions today can impact your finances for years to come. “We help our clients understand possibilities they never knew could be within reach. By building a plan around their wish list, they can live their ‘dream financial life’ and protect their families without the fear of running out of money.”
Copia Wealth Management and Insurance Services
2333 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 240 San Diego, CA 92108
619-640-2622
CA LIC #0C72164, #0G81294
Investment advice offered through Copia Wealth Management Advisors, Inc.
Copia Wealth Management Advisors, Inc. is a registered investment adviser.
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Highlight: Chosen by his peers as one of San Diego Magazine’s Top Lawyers for over 10 years
Eric Gritz has earned a reputation for aggressive advocacy on behalf of injured workers as well as victims of negligence and their families. He has been the lead counsel in over 500 trials before the Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board, Social Security Administration, and Superior Courts and has recovered millions in workers’ compensation, social security, and personal injury cases. Mr. Gritz successfully defended the case of Brown v. Qualcomm before the California Supreme Court. He’s a guest speaker at local and regional workers’ compensation conventions and routinely speaks at seminars for attorneys earning continuing education credits. He has also acted as a judge pro tem with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board and has achieved the Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer review rating of AV—preeminent, distinguished, and notable with very high legal ability and ethical standards.
Eric Gritz Law
7777 Alvarado Road Suite 720 La Mesa, CA 91942
619-826-8701
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Medical Director/Owner of Eros Beauty and Wellness
Highlight: Co-owner of Metro Family Physicians, a member of the SHARP Community Medical Group
Eros Beauty and Wellness offers a full scope of aesthetic services, ranging from skin rejuvenation to individually catered weight loss programs. Trained at the UCSD School of Medicine, founder Dr. Christine Eros is a practicing family physician who integrates innovative aesthetic medicine into her practice. With over 23 years of experience, Dr. Eros understands that just like medicine, cosmetic wellness requires deeply individualized care; she takes pride in treating the whole person. EBW’s list of services is extensive and includes laser therapies, Botox, fillers, permanent hair removal, and body contouring from EMSculpt. An active part of the Point Loma community, Dr. Eros cares deeply about her neighbors, and the prices offered at Eros Beauty and Wellness reflect her desire to make cosmetic treatments as widely available as possible.
Eros Beauty and Wellness
3689 Midway Drive #E, San Diego, CA 92110
619-481-4651
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Sunnen Law
Highlight: Since its inception, Sunnen Law has felt that every Family Law problem has a solution, and always works to find the right solution for each client.
Since dispute resolution rarely happens overnight, Certified Family Law Specialist Christopher J. Sunnen, founder of Sunnen Law knows that his clients need a trust and zealous advocate to help them navigate the complex and emotional process of family law issues. With over fifteen years of experience, Mr. Sunnen is first a specialist in Family Law, as well as a party who has taken many high conflict matters through trial. In addition, all of the attorneys at Sunnen Law also serve as “Minor’s Counsel” for the Court, which provides them with added perspective in complicated child custody matters. The entire staff at Sunnen Law know firsthand how complicated and emotionally traumatizing divorce and family law matters can be and are always present to support their clients throughout the process. Similarly, when not working for their clients, the staff of Sunnen Law is active in the community working to assist the public.
Call 619-255-9551 or e-mail us at [email protected] to speak with Mr. Sunnen, or one of his associates, and mention San Diego Magazine for a free consultation.
A customized memory-filled explosion gift box is a creative way to show someone you care
Finding a gift that feels truly personal can be surprisingly difficult. In a sea of generic options — flowers, gift cards, candles, and the like — Xplosion Box offers something more lasting: a customized keepsake built around the photos, messages, and memories that matter most.
Founded by Southern California entrepreneur Jay Vijay, Xplosion Box LLC creates fully customized explosion gift boxes that arrive professionally designed, printed, assembled, and ready to gift. Each box opens layer by layer to reveal personal photos, heartfelt messages, pull-out albums, origami-style photo pockets, and hidden notes, turning a simple gift into an emotional reveal.

The brand was built for people who want to give something meaningful without spending hours printing photos, cutting paper, folding cardstock, or assembling a DIY project. Customers simply choose a box, upload their favorite photos, add personal messages, and the Xplosion Box team transforms those details into a polished keepsake that feels thoughtful, personal, and beautifully made.
Xplosion Box offers personalized gift boxes for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, proposals, bridesmaid gifts, long-distance relationships, and thoughtful “just because” moments.

Customers can choose from flexible customization options starting at $27. The Mini Surprise Box includes 10 photos, three message cards, and one hidden secret note, while the Mega Surprise Box offers a fuller keepsake experience with 40 photos, three message cards, and one hidden secret note.
What sets Xplosion Box apart is its high level of customization combined with convenience. Filled with personal photos, custom text, decorative details, and layered surprises, each box gives customers the freedom to create a gift that feels one-of-a-kind — without having to make it themselves.
At its core, Xplosion Box helps people turn favorite photos, stories, and words into something tangible: a keepsake that can be opened, revisited, and remembered long after the occasion has passed. asion has passed.
Innovative treatment could offer cancer patients new options with fewer side effects
Chemotherapy and radiation have long been considered gold standards of cancer treatment, but they can cause severe side effects. A promising new approach called theranostics—a combination of “therapeutics” and “diagnostics”—could offer patients with certain types of metastatic cancers new hope. It’s a two-step process that uses a drug that binds to specific receptors on cancer cells. Advanced imaging detects this radioisotope, allowing doctors to then use a second radioisotope that binds to the cancer cells and destroys them. Click here to learn more about how specialists at Scripps Cancer Center are using theranostics.
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Discover San Diego’s Top Lawyers — the region’s most trusted legal professionals across diverse practice areas.
Daniel A. Kaplan is a founding partner of Panakos LLP with more than three decades of civil litigation experience in both state and federal courts. Mr. Kaplan pursues and defends legal claims on behalf of companies, entrepreneurs, and business owners in high-stakes disputes. He focuses on business disputes including breach of contract, unfair competition, trade secret theft, securities disputes, fraud/misrepresentations, and employment matters.
“The best advocacy combines preparation, perspective, and a client relationship built on trust and candor.” — Daniel A. Kaplan
His clients include real estate investors, private and public corporations, and individuals seeking sophisticated legal counsel. Known for practical judgment and strategic advocacy, he works closely with an experienced and diverse legal team to protect, enforce, and defend his clients’ interests.
555 W. Beech Street, Ste. 500, San Diego, California 92101
619-8000-LAW
Panakos.law
Discover San Diego’s Top Lawyers — the region’s most trusted legal professionals across diverse practice areas.
At Naumann Law Firm, PC, William Naumann and his team have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages litigating construction defects, insurance, and government claims. Mr. Naumann has spent his career fighting for people in their hardest moments, from winning $7 million for homeowners after landslide damage to advocating for victims of 9/11.
“We always believe in working as hard as we can to maximize the recovery for the client.”
— William Naumann, Esq.
Combining a personalized approach with a results-driven strategy, he’s helped homeowners associations, property owners, and individuals win against the largest developers, builders, insurers, and municipalities. His commitment is to secure the best possible results efficiently, whether through settlement or at trial.
10890 Thornmint Road, Suite 200, San Diego, California 92127
858-792-7474
naumannlegal.com
Discover San Diego’s Top Lawyers — the region’s most trusted legal professionals across diverse practice areas.
For nearly two decades, Andrew Hall has helped clients find practical, cost-effective legal solutions to complex real estate and business matters. At Hall Legal, APC, Andrew offers the experience of a large law firm with the hands-on service of a boutique practice. Whether navigating a business or real estate dispute, he guides clients through every stage of the legal process, from pre-litigation resolution to trials and appeals.
“Combining big-firm experience with boutique attention for California business
and real estate legal services.”— Andrew Hall
He has represented a broad range of clients, including residential and commercial property owners and managers, landlords, tenants, homeowners, title and escrow companies, lenders, and real estate agents and brokers, while providing personalized, pragmatic service.
2244 Faraday Ave., #132, Carlsbad, California 92008
[email protected]
760-259-7959
hallapc.com
Discover San Diego’s Top Lawyers — the region’s most trusted legal professionals across diverse practice areas.
At Christensen & Spath LLP, Charles Christensen (right) and his partner, Walter Spath (left), provide personalized, comprehensive and cost-effective legal counsel. The firm specializes in real estate law, helping clients with everything from litigation to transactional matters.
“From boundary disputes to every aspect of acquisitions and sales, we provide full service to clients in the real estate arena.” — Charles Christensen
Mr. Christensen takes the time to understand his clients’ specific goals so he can develop solutions that are as efficient and effective as possible. This commitment, combined with his decades of experience and deep legal knowledge, has earned him and his firms the Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating — the highest distinction an attorney can receive — for more than 35 years.
401 West A Street, Suite 2250, San Diego, California 92101
619-236-9343
candslaw.net