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Saturday, May 23, 2026

PEOPLE



Compiled by Kelly Ryan and Andrea Rangno

BANKING

Wells Fargo & Co. named Hector Retta Orange County regional president. Retta has more than 30 years of financial services experience that includes retail and commercial banking and wealth management. He previously worked as regional president of border banking for Wells Fargo in Texas.

CONSTRUCTION

Jan Karl joined the Irvine office of Rudolph & Sletten Inc., part of Tutor Perini Corp., as a business development executive. Karl will assist in increasing market share, targeting construction projects and developing business relationships.

EDUCATION

The Santa Ana Unified School District named David Valentin chief of school police. Valentin spent nearly 20 years at the Santa Ana Police Department where he worked as police commander, lieutenant of field operations, police corporal and gang detail investigator.

FINANCE

NAI Capital Inc. added six brokers to its Newport Beach office: Charles Dever III, Roger Niez, Doug Wubbena, Steven Frey, Brent Mork and Steve Liu. Each is a senior vice president, with the exception of Liu, who is an associate specializing in hospitality.

Irvine-based Financial Asset Services Inc. hired Jeffrey Flory as business development manager. Flory has experience in real estate finance and sales. He previously was a vice president at Aurora Loan Services.

HEALTHCARE

John Jones was named treasurer of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, an association of pharmacists and other healthcare practitioners. Jones is senior vice president of professional practice and pharmacy policy at Irvine-based Prescription Solutions, part of Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Brian Solow, vice president and medical director of clinical programs at Prescription Solutions, joined the board of trustees at the Pharmacy & Therapeutic Society.

Health Data Solutions added Denise Endly and Kyle Kriz as sales executives in its Lake Forest office. Endly specializes in business to business healthcare marketing in both acute care and private practice settings. Kriz specializes in healthcare information.

INSURANCE

MetLife Auto & Home, part of New York-based MetLife Inc., hired Ken Potter as regional sales manager in San Juan Capistrano. He will oversee the company’s local growth plans.

LAW

Peter Holbrook joined the Irvine office of Buchalter Nemer as a shareholder in the firm’s labor and employment practice group. Holbrook represents private and public sector employers in discrimination, wrongful termination and arbitration matters. He also has experience litigating class action suits.

Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP has named Monique R. Donavan partner in its Newport Beach office. Donavan has experience in a variety of civil litigation areas including general liability, construction defect and business litigation. Her practice is currently concentrated in complex insurance defense.

MARKETING

Keith Goldberg has joined EWI Worldwide as senior vice president of client strategy in its Foothill Ranch office. He previously has worked with AT & T; Inc., General Electric Co., Merck & Co. and other companies and brands. While at DMB & B; Advertising, Goldberg was responsible for the slogan “What’s in your wallet?” for Capital One Financial Corp.

NONPROFIT

The Girl Scout Council-Orange County added Sandra Hutchens, Cheryl Maliwanag, Richard Porras and Betty Mower Potalivo to its board. Hutchens is the county’s sheriff and resides in Dana Point. Maliwanag is a director at Pathway Capital Management LLC in Irvine. Porras is executive director of external affairs at AT & T; California, part of AT & T.; Potalivo is president of the OC and desert communities regions of Northern Trust Corp.

The Blind Children’s Learning Center hired Kim Neuhauser as president and executive director in Santa Ana. Neu-hauser has extensive ex-perience working with nonprofts, including Cath-olic Charities of Orange County. She has lectured for the past 10 years in the economics department at University of California, Irvine.

The KOCE-TV Foundation board added Robert Magnusen, S. Paul Musco and Glenn Stearns as members. Magnuson is president of Magnuson & Co., a consulting firm based in Laguna Beach. Musco is founder and chairman of Gemini Industries Inc. in Santa Ana. Stearns is chairman and founder of Santa Ana-based Stearns Lending Inc.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Rebecca Scales joined the QuadPhoto photography studio in Anaheim as a sales representative. Scales has corporate experience in photography sales, retail operations and training. She previously owned and operated a commercial photography business.

REAL ESTATE

Aliso Viejo-based Seabreeze Management Co. hired several employees. Among them are: Sharon Bacchetta, Noelle Kauhi, Betsy Cobb-Seliga, Becky Morales and Carmel Syvertsen. Bacchetta will be a controller. Kauhi will be a financial manager. Cobb-Seliga, Morales and Syvertsen will be account executives.

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