The Insider is laying odds that no one squeezed in more work around last week’s Fourth of July holiday than cabinet maker-cum-homebuilder Ron Simon. Look for proof of Simon’s pace this week, when he’s expected to announce a sale and an acquisition, as well as the hire of a new CEO for his RSI Home Products. The sale and acquisition are both anticipated as part of a single deal, with RSI Home Products striking an agreement to buy Professional Cabinet Solutions, which also is owned by Simon under his RSI Holding LLC in Newport Beach. That will put some formal structure behind the plan the Business Journal’s Jane Yu reported on a few months back, when Simon said he aimed to have the two cabinet brands maintain independent identities while taking advantage of the scale they enjoy together under the RSI umbrella. The new CEO is Thomas Chieffe, who most recently worked for L.A.-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital and had prior stints as CEO of window and siding maker Associated Materials Inc. and as a group president overseeing custom kitchens for Masco Corp. Chieffe takes over at RSI Home Products from Alex Calabrese, who will remain executive chairman of that unit and president and CEO of RSI Holding LLC …
Last week’s Philanthropy page—it runs every other week, so look for it in our next issue—featured Bruno Serato of the Anaheim White House in full regalia after he was knighted by the government of Italy. Sir Bruno didn’t waste any time putting his new title to good use—Barilla, the world’s biggest pasta maker, has pledged a year’s worth of the stuff to Caterina’s Club, the nonprofit Serato founded to feed hundreds of OC’s hard-pressed “motel kids” each day. “The need to feed these children keeps growing, and it’s important that we have supporters in the corporate community who recognize this and are willing to step up to the plate, so to speak,” Serato says …
Diane Dixon has decided to leave the Irvine Company after six months as SVP for corporate communications. Her title will go away, too, with marketing SVP Colleen Lambros adding those duties to her portfolio. Dixon hired in as a direct report to Dan Young, president of Community Development. Lambros will continue to report to Ray Wirta, president of the Investment Properties Group. “We are always evaluating the best way to organize and operate our business and have strategically integrated communications and marketing into a single department,” according to a statement issued by the developer last week. “As part of this process, Diane Dixon has made the decision to leave the Company. We thank her for the good work she accomplished in her time with us” …
Monsignor Arthur Holquin is taking what happened on the 10th anniversary of his appointment as rector and pastor of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano as a gift. Seems one of the swallows that helped make the mission famous but have been absent in recent years was spotted in a mud nest near the rectory. “Quite frankly, this is the first nest I’ve seen in the 10 years I’ve been here,” Holquin said.
