Advertising
RiechesBaird, Irvine, added Cassandra Gharadjedaghi as media account executive. Her primary focus will be media placement for the firm’s clientele in magazines, newspaper, television, radio and the Internet.
Andersen Jones Partners, a San Juan Capistrano-based advertising agency specializing in medical device and healthcare marketing, promoted Blythe Callahan to account coordinator. Callahan was previously an administrative assistant with the agency.
Nancy Bennett joined BKD Design in Fountain Valley, which provides design, product packaging, collateral and corporate programs, as senior designer. She has 15 years of experience in the design industry. BKD also added Karlene Wells as project coordinator. She is a 10-year veteran of the design and advertising industry.
Jim McKinney joined Strata-Media Inc., Orange, as a business development manager. McKinney previously was senior account representative for the La Habra-based Bauer Group Inc.
Johnson Gray Advertising Inc., Newport Beach, added Sarah Pickell as director of business development. In this role, Pickell spearheads expansion plans for the agency, including building the business in the e-commerce marketplace. Pickell comes to the firm from the Walt Disney Co., where she worked as manager of strategic marketing for Disney’s California Adventure theme park and the Disneyland Resort.
Lawrence, Mayo & Ponder, Newport Beach, recently promoted Kaly Rodriguez to accounts payable supervisor and human resources manager. Rodriguez joined the advertising agency in 1998.
Architecture
Roger W. Mobley joined Danielian Associates, an Irvine-based architecture and land-planning firm, as director of planning. Mobley holds an MBA from National University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute. Mobley previously headed his own planning consultantcy in Mission Viejo.
MCG Architecture named Diane Carpenter director of business development for the firm’s Irvine, San Diego and Las Vegas offices. Carpenter, a UCLA graduate, was previously marketing director for Langdon Wilson Architecture Planning Interiors in Irvine. She was also executive director of the Commercial Industrial Development Association (CIDA) and a director of the National Association of Industrial & Office Parks (NAIOP).
JBA Architecture + Planning in Newport Beach recently hired Anastacio “Cachi” Martinez as director of operations.
AUTOMOTIVE
Irvine-based Caliber Collision Centers named Brent Adams corporate controller, a new position. The collision repair company, which has 33 facilities in California and Texas, hired Adams from Canon Computer Systems.
Banking andFinance
Mike Kelly, previously with Robert Half in Irvine, has started his own consulting group, Spinnaker Financial Resources in Newport Beach. The company specializes in placing financial and accounting professionals on project work.
Preferred Bank, Irvine, appointed Ralph M. Selway first vice president and regional manager. Selway previously held the position of vice president and branch manager at Cal Fed in Laguna Hills and at First Interstate Bank in Newport Beach. Preferred Bank also named Nada Vuksic assistant vice president and operations manager for the Irvine branch. Vuksic was assistant branch manager for Cal Fed in Laguna Hills.
Eldorado Bancshares Inc., Laguna Hills, named Romolo Santarosa senior vice president and chief financial officer. Santarosa will also hold the same positions for Eldorado Bank and Antelope Valley Bank, subsidiaries of Eldorado.
Terri Millson was elected president of the Planned Giving Roundtable of Orange County. Millson is vice president of investments for the foundation services group of Sutro & Co., Newport Beach.
Richard Ferree and Peter Foley have joined the Irvine-based, independent brokerage firm Brookstreet Securities Corp., a full-service network of investment professionals.
Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), Newport Beach, named Vineer Bhansali head of domestic analytics for portfolio management. Bhansali is a senior member of PIMCO’s portfolio management group, with responsibilities for identifying and analyzing relative value opportunities across all fixed-income investment sectors.
Tonyta Thomsen was hired as manager of information services at the Newport Beach-based Sexton Companies, where she will oversee the management of internal communication systems while helping the company and clientele stay abreast of new technology.
Business Services
Tom Ryan has been named regional manager and Scott Connors and Charles Yocom have been appointed operations managers for the Southwestern region at Carlson, Costa Mesa. Carlson is a single-source provider of consulting, design and implementation services for mission-critical facilities.
GTG Inc., an Irvine holding company, appointed Frederick C. Schultz CFO. Schultz is a 30-year veteran of the engineering and human resources industries. His experience includes directing the financial operations for London Temporary Services of Los Angeles, Investco of Laguna Beach and Jaykim Engineering of Diamond Bar.
Morpace International Inc., Irvine, named Patricia Glasser research director for the Western states and Pacific Rim regional office. Glasser will be based at the Irvine Spectrum and will be responsible for all aspects of primary research projects for a variety of clients including healthcare, publications and the travel and tourism industries.
Construction
MBK Construction Ltd., a division of MBK Real Estate Ltd., promoted David C. Callis from operations manager to vice president, commercial construction. Callis works from the firm’s Irvine headquarters. Prior to joining MBK, Callis was with Kitchell Contractors in Irvine.
Education
Concordia University, Irvine, appointed Dr. Mary Holl vice president of administration. In this position, which will begin on July 1, Holl will provide leadership for human resources, strategic planning, physical facilities and the legal functions of Concordia University and its foundation. She will replace Robert Barnes, who will retire after directing the business affairs of the university for the past 24 years.
Healthcare
PacifiCare Behavioral Health (PBH), Laguna Hills, named Timothy E. Danaj vice president, sales and marketing. Before joining PBH, Danaj held vice president-level positions with Universal Standard Healthcare and with Health Alliance Plan, both of which are Michigan-based.
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, named Richard Ortwein of Focus Real Estate LP a member of its board of directors. Ortwein was nominated for a board position after a year on the hospital’s finance and audit committee. He will serve a three-year term.
Hospitality
The Hilton Anaheim appointed Joe Gurnari as laundry manager, Bruce R. Hayden as director of finance, Michael Krouse as assistant director of sales and Hal Nabavi as assistant director of food and beverage. During his 21-year career, Hayden previously held the position of director of finance at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu; at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport; at the Turtle Bay Hilton, Hawaii; and at the Capital Hilton, Washington D.C. Krouse attained the designation of CHME from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, which elected him local president for two years, and in 1997 was recognized as the Business Leader of the Year by the city of Orange. Nabavi will assist the director of food and beverage in administering all food and beverage operations, including five restaurants and two lounges.
Human Resources
Management Solutions Inc., Santa Ana, appointed Julie Keathley director of business development. MSI is a specialty staffing and services firm that provides interim placement, full-time and executive search services with practices in finance, accounting, human resources, information technology and engineering.
Insurance
Safeco Select Insurance Services, a provider of hazard insurance outsourcing, tracking and processing for mortgage lenders and services, promoted Charles C. Mai to tracking services manager for the company’s regional services center in Santa Ana. Mai formerly held the post of customer service supervisor and will manage more than 70 employees in his new position.
Law
The Law Office of John L. Norman, Santa Ana, recently promoted James M. Norman to managing legal assistant and Melissa Orea to a legal position. Orea, formerly an intern, plans to attend law school, while Norman, who recently completed law school, will be promoted again to junior partner after passing the state Bar exam.
Crowell & Moring LLP, a full-service law firm with offices in Irvine, Washington, D.C., London and Brussels, announced that Donald Bradley has been elevated to partner in the Irvine office. Bradley practices litigation in the public and private construction, antitrust, environmental, federal procurement, securities, product liability, credit reporting and general commercial fields. He represents developers, general contractors, subcontractors and a range of commercial clients in state and federal court as well as in alternative dispute resolution proceedings.
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory LLP a business and real estate law firm, elected three associates to partner in the firm’s Irvine office. Michael Alvarado’s practice involves all aspects of real estate transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions of individual properties as well as multi-property, portfolio transactions, construction, development and leasing of offices, industrial and retail properties and real estate secured lending. Kristine Floyd focuses on general business litigation and environmental law for land developers and purchasers, lender and institutional investors, asset management firms, and real estate industry consultants, including brokers and environmental contractors and consultants. Susan Graham specializes in real estate law with an emphasis in finance. She represents both lenders and borrowers in permanent, bridge, construction and mezzanine loan transactions.
REAL ESTATE
Gerald Giglio and Arlan Murata joined the Anaheim office of Grubb & Ellis Co. as vice presidents. They were previously an investment sales team with the Anaheim office of CB Richard Ellis.
Standard Pacific Homes promoted Barbara Trachy to director of sales for the OC Division. She will oversee a staff of 29 sales professional and will play an integral role in shaping the division’s sales programs and strategies.
Ambassador Relocation named Gerard DePace executive vice president. He was previously a senior sales executive for Premier, Paragon and CHA relocation. Sue Kelley also was appointed manager of global accounts for the Laguna Hills-based company. She will be responsible for national and international sales and marketing.
James Landis was appointed senior managing director in the Orange County office of Charles Dunn Company Inc. He comes to the company from the Seeley Co., where he was associate vice president.
RETAIL
Autobytel.com named Charles Ramsay Jr. senior vice president of automotive operations. Ramsay was vice president of dealer development. In addition, Thomas Nashmy was named head of the Irvine-based company’s new business auction systems unit. Nashmy was previously general manager of an ADP automotive direct marketing firm.
TECHNOLOGY
Carla Dyckman was appointed director of marketing for Net-Strike Worldwide. She will oversee the development and management of advertising, strategic alliances, marketing communications, research and development activities and media relations.
Mark Monaghan was named chief executive officer of the Software Council of Southern California, an organization that counts 2,000 Southland companies among its members. Monaghan is an Orange County-based consultant providing management services for high technology startups and emerging-growth companies.
William Whicker joined Think Tank Systems, Cerritos, to head the service sales department. Whicker, a 10-year veteran with Digital Equipment, was previously general manager of a services division of Volt Information Sciences. Think Tank specializes in the IBM RS/6000 product line.
E-Commerce Exchange, Irvine, named Paul Mazzarella CFO. Mazzarella, a former executive with Platinum Software Corp. (now Epicor Software Corp.), will manage and direct the company’s growth.
Brea-based Parsec Automation hired John R. Gale as vice president, e-business development. Parsec provides web-based software solutions for data, monitoring and reporting functions for manufacturing, data services and publishing companies. Gale was previously with an Irvine ISP where he designed and developed B2B marketing and sales strategies.
Ed Brown was named director of sales, global market, for Sonance, a San Clemente-based architectural audio firm. Brown comes to Sonance from Recoton Home Audio in Florida.
Western Digital Corp., Irvine, appointed David C. Fetah vice president, human resources. Fetah, 40, was executive director of human resources for PeopleSoft Inc., Pleasanton, and was also previously with Fluor Corp. in Irvine.
IPNet Solutions Inc., Newport Beach, named Hatem El-Sebaaly chief technology officer. El-Sebaaly will be responsible for advancing the company’s integrated collaboration, order management and transaction management technology for the software developer.
TRADE SHOWS
DisplayWorks, Irvine, promoted Jerry Jones to vice president of sales and marketing for the trade show exhibit/display house. Jones, who will oversee all client relationships, design and training, was previously vice president of sales.
