ACCOUNTING
Deloitte & Touche LLP appointed Ryan Miller and Paul Waldman seniors at the Costa Mesa office. Miller was previously with the Southern California/Nevada tax services group and Waldman was with the Los Angeles County Assessors Office.
Corbin & Wertz, Irvine, has added several members to its staff: Sean McRoberts was named the company’s technology administrator. McRoberts was previously with Nova Information Systems Inc. Tim Porter joined the practice development department. Porter was previously an independent consultant in business management. Anne Glass was appointed firm administrator. She was previously operations manager with the Mike Ferry Organization. Sean Maharaj was added to the company’s tax planning and preparation practice group as a staff accountant. He was previously with Arthur Andersen LLP. And Alan Villanueva was appointed partner in the tax practice group. He has been a senior tax manager for the company for 4 years.
Scott Carnahan returned to KPMG LLP as a partner and national director, advisory services for the structured finance group in the firm’s Assurance-Based Advisory Services practice following a year as president of DiTech.com.
ADVERTISING
Michael Kula joined Costa Mesa-based Marshall Advertising and Design as an account executive. He was previously an account executive for Lages & Associates.
Tricia Smakula joined Strata-Media Inc., Orange, as an account executive. She was previously with the human resources division at Disney’s Tokyo location.
ARCHITECTURE
Richard Crichton was promoted to associate for Collaborative West. He has been with the San Clemente based firm since 1998.
Roger Mobley joined Irvine-based Danielian Associates as director of planning. Mobley previously headed his own planning consultant firm in Mission Viejo.
Harold Baker was named senior associate and director of construction services for Robbins Jorgensen Christopher’s Southern California firm. Baker joined the Irvine-based firm in 1995.
The KGTY Group Inc., an Irvine-based company, hired Manny Gonzalez as a principal. He was director of architecture for Kaufman & Broad. In addition, Jill Williams was elected to KTGY Group Inc.’s board of directors. She has been with the Irvine-based company since its inception in 1991.
Charles Good-Man joined Gillings/Mueller Architects, an Irvine-based design firm, as project architect. Good-Man, an 18-year industry veteran, will oversee production of construction drawings.
Irvine-based William Hezmalhalch Architects Inc. hired Alan Fishman and Denise Ashton as community planners. Fishman has more than 25 years’ experience in master land use, planning, and entitlements. Ashton has more than 20 years’ experience in physical site planning and master land use.
AUTOMOTIVE
Geno Effler was promoted to director of public relations at Kia Motors America. Effler, who has been with the company since 1993, is a 23-year public relations veteran who has also done work on behalf of Mazda, Pacific Mutual and the Los Angeles Rams.
BANK/FINANCE
The American Bureau of Collections Inc., of Buffalo, N.Y., appointed Alan Steinhart vice president and general manager of domestic collection operations, which includes responsibility for operations at the company’s West Coast office in Tustin.
Scott Mather assumed responsibility for managing the Fund at PIMCO Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust Inc., an investment company investing primarily in commercial mortgage-backed securities. Mather is a senior vice president and portfolio manager for the Newport Beach company.
Cypress Financial Services Inc. appointed John Hindman CEO and elected him to the Cypress-based company’s board of directors. He was previously the company’s CFO.
Harbor National Bank hired Jim Roberson as vice president and real estate manager. Roberson has been a construction and commercial real estate lender for 24 years.
Linda Galvez was promoted to vice president at the Sexton Companies. Galvez will oversee credit and documentation for the equipment financing company. The Newport Beach-based company also hired Carrie Stevenson as director of documentation, collections and asset management. Stevenson was formerly a fund control manager for an escrow holding company in Santa Ana.
Dr. Donald Booth, Sharon Gomez and Cheryl Spencer were added to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service board of directors. Booth has been an economics professor at Chapman University since 1959. Gomez is a consultant in multi-ethnic relations with an emphasis on planning and resource services and Spencer is a senior executive in the information services industry.
Molly Millican was named vice president at Bank of Orange County’s Orange office. She was previously vice president of Orange National Bank.
J. Burns was appointed director of acquisitions at Newport Beach-based Lyon Capital Ventures. He will focus on identifying multi-family opportunities in California.
BUSINESS SERVICES
Himanshu Bhatia, CEO of St. Louis-based Rose International, was named director of the Orange County Purchasing Council. She will oversee all aspects of the Irvine economic development promoter.
The Lassen Companies Inc., Irvine, hired Karin Wagatha as director of information technologies. Wagatha will oversee the creation of a business communications system to streamline the company’s management, manufacturing, distribution and business services.
CONSTRUCTION
Ronald Gerhardt joined GKK Works as a construction project manager. Gerhardt is a licensed general contractor and real estate broker with 26 years of experience in construction and real estate. GKK also hired Robert Farrell as senior project manager. Farrell was previously construction manager for the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s expansion and modernization project.
Diana Arnold was named vice president, corporate development for DMK. She will be responsible for leading the Tustin-based building firm’s business development initiatives, corporate growth and strategic planning.
R.D. Olson Development named Kris Olsen vice president. Olsen will oversee all aspects of the development process for the Irvine-based construction firm. The company also hired Fred Fuller as a senior project manager. Fuller will oversee bidding, estimating and construction services and assemble and direct project teams for the construction firm.
EDUCATION
Gary Matkin was appointed dean of continuing education at University of California, Irvine. Matkin was previously associate dean of the university extension at UC Berkley.
Hazel Laskey was named director for the Orange County Small Business Development Center, an economic development initiative of the Rancho Santiago Community College District. She has been a staff consultant for the center since 1997.
ENGINEERING
Fuscoe Engineering Inc. promoted Linda Moore to manager of the firm’s graphics department. She joined the Irvine-based engineering firm in 1999 as senior graphics designer.
Jim Neal was hired as associate-in-charge of Wilbur Smith Associates’ Southern California office in Anaheim. He will be responsible for business development, office operations and project management.
HEALTHCARE
Scott Magers was named president of Logic Nutrition, Irvine, and will direct the food supplement company’s educational publishing, corporate seminar and product development programs. Magers holds a degree in sports medicine and exercise physiology and has taught and coached at Chapman University.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Lee Hecht Harrison, Irvine, appointed Susan Howington vice president of business development. Howington comes to the firm from an international outplacement firm where she spent two years. Previously, she worked in business development for the Geneva Companies.
Rob Morris was appointed vice president of operations for Net-Strike Worldwide, an Irvine-based subsidiary of Ernst & Young LLP that was created to recruit and train independent IT professionals on a 24/7 basis. He was previously product manager for People Mover. The company also appointed Marianne Henn director of human resources. Henn comes to the company from Barco Visual Systems.
Dennis M. Boyer, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Heidrick & Struggles International, has joined the Irvine office of the international executive search firm. Boyer is a member of the firm’s consumer practice and leads the global hospitality/leisure time industry specialty practice.
LAW
Snell & Wilmer LLP, Irvine, appointed Matthew S. Buttacavoli as associate attorney focusing on product liability litigation. Buttacavoli is a UCI graduate who received his Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego.
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP promoted Sean O’Connor to partner in the firm’s Irvine office. O’Connor practices in the litigation department, where he focuses on real estate and eminent domain litigation, business torts and complex commercial litigation.
Irvine-based Kring & Brown hired Allen MacNeil, Kimberly S. Poese and Barbara Raileanu as associates. The three will primarily focus on construction defect and personal injury defense.
Morrison & Foerster, Irvine, added Richard J. Babcock as partner and Martin P. Florman as of counsel in the firm’s corporate practice group. Both are former partners with McDermott, Will & Emery.
Eric Sohlgren and Jeffrey K. Brown were named partners of Payne & Fears LLP, Irvine; Mark J. Butler and Diane D. Kim also joined the firm as associates.
RETAIL
Jim Hogan was promoted from new car sales manager to general sales manager for Crevier BMW, Santa Ana. Hogan will oversee 50 employees in the new car and resale departments.
Rusty Apparel, Irvine, added the following to its domestic merchandising staff: Cynthia Falk, director of design and merchandising for Rusty Men’s Apparel; J.D. Hendley, accessories and snow designer; and Kari Kramer, national sales manager in Rusty Juniors.
