Best Places to Work in the Bay Area

The San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal recognized 125 employers Thursday evening as the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area 2011.

The eighth annual Best Places to Work awards recognized the top employees in five categories based on company size. These five employers earned No. 1 rankings: Intuit; Kimpton; Bradley Real Estate; Galileo Learning; and Akraya.

For the complete list of all 125 winners, go here, or see below.

The companies and their stories are featured in a 32-page special section in the April 22-28 issues of the The San Francisco Business Times and Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal.

This year’s ranking Best Places to Work brought nominations from 301 companies representing employees in 12 counties around the greater Bay Area. Some 187,756 employees at those companies were given multiple-choice surveys that resulted in the rankings reported.

Results of those surveys were tabulated by research partner Quantum Workplace.

The awards celebration at the Hilton San Francisco attracted nearly 1,000 attendees.

Largest Employers (1,501-plus employees)

1. Intuit Inc.
2. Juniper Networks Inc.
3. Kaiser Permanente.
4. Genentech Inc.
5. Santa Clara University.
6. Joie de Vivre Hospitality Inc.
7. Accenture.
8. Wells Fargo Bank.
9. Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.
10. Brocade Communications Systems Inc.

Large Companies (501-1,500 employees)

1. Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC.
2. Zynga Inc.
3. Riverbed Technology Inc.
4. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
5. Fenwick & West LLP.
6. Jones Lang LaSalle.
7. Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants.
8. Telecare Corp.
9. Stryker Endoscopy.
10. Mechanics Bank.
11. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
12. Advent Software Inc.
13. Episcopal Senior Communities.
14. Robert Half International Inc.
15. Sybase.

Mid-Size Companies (101-500 employees)

1. Bradley Real Estate.
2. Box.net Inc.
3. Workday Inc.
4. DPR Construction Inc.
5. Demandforce Inc.
6. Blach Construction Co.
7. XL Construction Corp.
8. Guidewire Software Inc.
9. IMVU Inc.
10. Guarantee Mortgage Corp.
11. Clearwell Systems Inc.
12. Athens Administrators.
13. Hotel Nikko San Francisco.
14. McCarthy Building Cos. Inc.
15. Actelion Pharmaceuticals U.S. Inc.
16. W. L. Butler Construction Inc.
17. Cupertino Electric Inc.
18. MassMutual Financial Group - SFBAA.
19. Shimmick Construction Co.
20. Enphase Energy Inc.
21. Splunk Inc.
22. Sprig Electric Co.
23. Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc.
24. Grand Hyatt San Francisco.
25. Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.
26. Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.
27. BCCI Construction Co.
28. Farella Braun + Martel LLP.
29. EPIC Insurance Brokers.
30. Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP.
31. Perforce Software Inc.
32. Aerotek Inc.
33. MedAmerica Inc.
34. Pivot Interiors Inc.
35. Fitness Anywhere Inc.
36. Armanino McKenna LLP.
37. Frank, Rimerman + Co. LLP.
38. Slalom Consulting.
39. Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
40. Bank of Marin.
41. Hanson Bridgett LLP.
42. Sage Centers for Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Care.
43. Grocery Outlet Inc.
44. Future US Inc.
45. HOPE Services.
46. WestEd.
47. Burr Pilger Mayer Inc.
48. MIPS Technologies Inc.
49. Bingham McCutchen LLP.
50. Brown & Toland Physicians.

Small Business (51-100 employees

1. Galileo Learning.
2. Eventbrite Inc.
3. Primitive Logic Inc.
4. EHDD Architecture.
5. ENGEO Inc.
6. Wildfire Interactive Inc.
7. Palo Alto Networks Inc.
8. Appirio Inc.
9. Tagged Inc.
10. Syserco Inc.
11. Miceli Financial Partners.
12. Pinnacle Capital Mortgage Corp.
13. E2open Inc.
14. VOX Network Solutions Inc.
15. SPP Process Technology Systems Ltd.
16. Ooyala Inc.
17. Pereira & O’Dell.
18. AppleOne Employment Services.
19. XYZ Graphics Inc.
20. M Squared Consulting Inc.
21. SOAProjects Inc.
22. GALLINA LLP.
23. Edelman.
24. Alfa Tech Inc.
25. Geosyntec Consultants Inc.

Smaller Companies 25-50 employees

1. Akraya Inc.
2. Heroku Inc.
3. Grockit Inc.
4. Cryptography Research Inc.
5. Simplion Technologies Inc.
6. Alzheimer’s Association - Northern California and Northern Nevada.
7. Mashery Inc.
8. Sharethrough Inc.
9. Sparkpr.
10. Waverley Surgery Center L.P.
11. Johanson & Yau Accountancy Corp.
12. Prolinx Services Inc.
13. Petrinovich Pugh & Co. LLP.
14. CVE Inc.
15. Freed & Associates.
16. Robert W. Baird & Co.
17. TEECOM Design Group.
18. True Partners Consulting LLC.
19. Advanced Chemical Transport Inc.
20. vCom Solutions Inc.
21. Stellar Solutions Inc.
22. S.R. Travel Service.
23. Text 100 Corp.
24. CRI.
25. RiseSmart Inc.

Gold Advanced to a Record, Set for a Third Weekly Gain

Gold advanced to a record, set for a third weekly gain, as a weaker dollar and debt concerns boosted the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment. Silver gained to the highest level in 31 years.

Gold for immediate delivery reached an all-time high of $1,512.47 an ounce before trading a $1,508.78 at 4:10 p.m. Seoul time. The metal is up 1.5 percent this week. Futures for June delivery yesterday touched a record $1,509.60 on the Comex in New York. The most-active contract has posted a record 10 times this month. The exchange is closed today in observance of the Good Friday holiday.

“The weak dollar is having the most influence on gold at the moment,” said Chae Un Soo, a Seoul-based trader at Korea Exchange Bank Futures Co. “The market is getting more jittery now that we have sovereign-debt concerns about the U.S. in addition to Europe and the Middle East problems, which increasingly boosts safe-haven demand for gold.”

The dollar slid to the lowest level since August 2008 against a basket of six major currencies yesterday on speculation that the Federal Reserve will be slow to raise borrowing costs. The Dollar Index is little changed today. The Fed has kept the benchmark rate between zero percent and 0.25 percent since December 2008 and pledged to purchase $600 billion in Treasuries through June to stimulate the economy.

Standard & Poor’s this week revised its debt outlook for the U.S. to negative from stable. Violence in the Middle East, sovereign-debt turmoil in Europe and Japan’s nuclear crisis have helped propel bullion 31 percent higher in the past year.

“Overall trade for gold and other precious metals was extremely thin due to the market holiday in the U.S. and U.K.,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co. in Tokyo.

Silver for immediate delivery climbed as much as 0.6 percent to $46.86 an ounce, the highest price since 1980. The metal has climbed 9 percent this week, heading for a fifth weekly advance. That was the biggest weekly gain since Feb. 18.

Spot palladium fell 0.7 percent to $765 an ounce, while cash platinum was 0.5 percent higher at $1,825 an ounce.

An “Open Letter” to Britain’s Prince William and his Intended, Kate Middleton

Raise your hands, metaphorically speaking, if you think it’s tacky that Novato’s Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. has issued an “open letter” to Britain’s Prince William and his intended, Kate Middleton, advising them on the merits of marriage insurance for their upcoming April 29 nuptials, aka the Event of the Century.

The text of the open letter was released Thursday morning by the insurance company, a unit of Germany’s Allianz AG. See below:

“Dear Prince William and Kate,

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Those of us here in the states couldn’t be happier for you and we’re closely following all of the developments and details around your big day.

As you know by now, planning a wedding is no easy feat – especially when the entire world is watching. While your team of professionals is scrambling to finish all of the last-minute details, like decorations, flowers and entertainment, we thought you’d like to know about something a lot of engaged couples are unaware of – wedding insurance. Over here across the pond, we offer wedding insurance to protect couples from things that could go wrong on their big day.

Kate, just think about it. What if Monty, one of your future mother-in-law’s dogs, got a hold of your beautiful wedding dress and turned it into his favorite new toy? Or what if the minister fails to show up? Trust us, it’s happened. Or even worse, what if a guest got severe food poisoning during the reception? These situations – and more – would all be covered with wedding insurance.

Here in the U.S., we even offer a “change of heart” provision. If the bride or groom gets cold feet, we’ll cover the cost of the wedding (but we’re confident that wouldn’t happen with either of you).

We know the economy is a little tight these days and you two are working within a budget, but wedding insurance isn’t any more expensive than what you’d pay for that one last guest on your list. And with all of the people you’re inviting, there are probably a few at the end of your list.

Even though “Love conquers all,” as the saying goes, this doesn’t prevent something from going wrong with your caterer, the dress or the photographer. Play it safe and consider wedding insurance. William and Kate (can we call you Will, by the way?), you can find more information at www.wedsure.com.

We’re so excited for you both and can’t wait to watch the event on TV – maybe in Times Square! Of course, if you’re looking to fill a few extra seats at Westminster, there’s still time to send us an invite.