Winners were announced at the first annual teleFUSION Awards gala held at the Salk Institute. Last night more than 15 awards were presented during the sold out event honoring leaders, legends, innovators and companies in San Diego's telecommunications industry.

More than 135 companies and individuals were nominated, and a blue ribbon panel of judges made up of 36 executives in the San Diego technology community selected the final winners. This year's winners include the following:

Company Awards

* Company of the Year - LG InfoComm

* Breakthrough Innovation in Communications - Entropic

* Product Launch of the Year - QUALCOMM/BREW

* Communications Hardware Product of the Year - Wavecom

* Communications Software Product of the Year - Widcomm

* Communications in Security and Defense - Cubic Defense Applications

* Commercial Application of the Year - Pacific DataVision

Individual Awards

* Leader of the Year - Masood Tayebi, WFI

* Supporter of the Year - Bill Carpenter, Tech Coast Angels

* Political Supporter of the Year - Daryl Issa

* Technology Leader of the Year - Dipanshu Sharma, V-Enable

* Educator of the Year - Frieder Seible, UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering

* CFO of the Year - Stewart Hutcheson, Leap

* PR Leader of the Year - Jackie Townsend, Townsend, Inc.

* The Legend Award - Robert Beyster