Compiled by Kelly M. Ryan
ASSOCIATIONS
Four Newport Beach residents were re-elected to voluntary leadership positions with the Muscular Dystrophy Association: Robert Bennett, Frank Di Bella, Sebastian Paul Musco and Augie Nieto II. Bennett is owner and founder of Bennett Productions and former chairman of the board of Transatlantic Entertainment of Los Angeles. Di Bella is a CPA for Frank Di Bella Accountancy of Whittier. Musco is chairman of the board of Gemini Industries of Santa Ana. Nieto II is chairman of the Octane Fitness Co.
FINANCE
E. Christian Delzell, Krista Jajonie and Nicole Silva joined Beacon Pointe Advisors in Newport Beach as analysts. Before working at Beacon Pointe, Delzell was an analyst at Marcus & Millichap Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Firm. Jajonie joined the office after working as an intern for the past year. Silva was hired after a two-year internship.
Hunter Wise Financial Group LLC in Irvine added William F. Peck as managing director. Peck has more than 20 years experience as an investment banker. He has worked in sales, marketing and product management positions at Union Carbide Corp. Peck was managing director at Citigroup Capital Strategies.
Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management hired Jeff Saccacio in its Costa Mesa office as managing director and head of wealth planning. He recently was a managing director and wealth strategist at Citigroup Private Bank. Saccacio was also a partner in the personal financial services practice for the Western region of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Elisabeth Smittipatana joined the Credit Exchange Corp. as director of human resources. Smittipatana has 10 years experience in human relations and is a certified senior professional in human resources. She was cofounder of Coffee Therapy Inc. before joining Credit Exchange. She also was vice president of operations and human resources at Team Post Op Inc.
HEALTHCARE
The Center for Optimal Health in Irvine named Ryan D. Seay director of mind-body medicine and behavioral health services. Seay is a licensed clinical psychologist and was trained in mind body medicine through the Harvard Medical School Mind/Body Institute. He focuses on the impact of chronic stress and illness on each patient’s health and quality of life.
LAW
Hodel Briggs Winter LLP selected Karla J. Kraft as a new partner of the firm. Kraft has been practicing as a commercial trial attorney with the firm since 2003. For the past two years she was named a Southern California Rising Star by L.A. Magazine and Law & Politics in the area of business litigation.
Picker Chow and Freisleben of Newport Beach added Charlene Chen and Karen Gichtin as associate and of counsel, respectively. Chen is a recent graduate of Chapman University School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude. She was also staff editor of the Nexus Law Journal and recipient of the CALI Award of Excellence. Gichtin previously worked as a consultant, associate and project attorney for various firms. She handles bad faith litigation and insurance coverage matters.
Charles A. LePla joined Hart King & Coldren as an associate in its Santa Ana office. LePla specializes in land-use, environmental and real estate law. He previously was an urban planner for several City Planning Department in San Diego County. LePla was chairman of the Escondido Housing Advisory Commission and was director of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce.
MARKETING
Echo Media Group in Tustin hired Taylor King as junior account executive. King was previously an intern at Echo Media. King studied journalism at Cal State Long Beach and was a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America. In her new job, she will manage client support services, research and strategic planning for media placements.
REAL ESTATE
Richard Gann was promoted from director of training to vice president of sales and marketing at Triple Net Properties LLC. Gann will manage administration of national training and education programs. He has 10 years experience as an attorney in real estate, taxation and estate planning. Before joining Triple Net Properties, Gann was vice president and general counsel for a commercial property tax auditing firm. In 2006, he co-authored Proposition 83 also known as Jessica’s Law.
TECHNOLOGY
Carillo Business Technologies in Westminster hired Dennis Huff as vice president of sales. Huff recently was vice president of Agilysis Inc./Pioneer Standard Inc. Huff’s experience includes product knowledge of hardware and software solutions for telecommunications, energy and industrial products.
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