Lenders’ Parent Bulks Up With Big L.A. Names

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Irvine bank holding company Banc of California is raising its profile in Los Angeles, adding two big local names to its corporate ranks in the past two weeks.

The company, parent of Century City’s Private Bank of California and Orange County’s Pacific Trust Bank, last week appointed Eric Holoman to its board. Holoman is president of urban development and investment firm Magic Johnson Enterprises in Beverly Hills.

In that role, Holoman has overseen Magic Johnson Enterprises’ investments in funds managed by Century City firm Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and billionaire Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Cos. in West Hollywood. Holoman was previously a banker with Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America.

That experience makes him a more obvious choice than another recent Banc of California hire: former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who was brought aboard earlier this month as an adviser to Steven Sugarman, the bank holding company’s chief executive.

Sugarman said Villaraigosa will help the bank understand what entrepreneurs and other borrowers in Los Angeles need, giving the bank an edge in expanding in the area.

“We get the opportunity to work with a guy who really has spent the last couple decades understanding the community,” Sugarman said. “We want to make sure the products we develop are the products the market needs. The mayor’s relationships give us that capability to work with the most experienced guy to help us develop those products.”

New Boss

West. L.A. accounting firm RBZ LLP hired a chief executive last month, making it one of the few local accounting groups led by a CEO instead of a managing partner.

John Schweisberger started at the firm earlier this month. He was previously a managing partner in the El Segundo office of corporate IT consultancy Computer Sciences Corp.

RBZ partners started talking about hiring a chief executive about a year ago, said David Roberts, who served as managing partner until Schweisberger was hired. Roberts said it makes more sense to have partners focusing on clients, not on expansion and other firmwide initiatives.

“I head up our law firm services group and I’m a real expert when it comes to that,” he said. “When you take me out of that and put me into managing a firm, I don’t have that experience.”

Still, hiring a chief executive wasn’t the most obvious choice. Chief executives are common at larger firms, such as Seattle’s Moss Adams LLP and London’s Ernst & Young LLP. But most local and regional firms, such as Santa Monica’s Gumbiner Savett Inc. and West L.A.’s Green Hasson Janks, use the managing-partner model.

Roberts said part of the discussion amount RBZ partners was how they would feel about answering to an executive rather than a fellow partner.

“We talked about how people would feel about having a boss,” he said.

Ultimately, the move got the OK from all of RBZ’s 16 partners. For his part, Roberts said he’s glad to be working more with clients and less on internal firm business.

“Any managing partner would be lying if they said it was a great job,” Roberts said. “It’s a great day when I can go home and talk about client work.”

C-Suite News

Ernst & Young promoted four senior managers in its L.A. assurance and tax practices to partner: Sandra Burns, Paul Chen, Marc Roberts and Edith Yavarian. … Downtown L.A. lender Chinatrust Bank U.S.A. his hired two executive vice presidents: Brian Constable, formerly with SunWest Bank, joins as head of Chinatrust’s retail banking group; Frida Bank, formerly with East West Bank, joins as head of risk management. … Manhattan Beach’s Kinecta Federal Credit Union has promoted Steven Glouberman to senior vice president and chief risk offer. He had been the credit union’s general counsel and will retain that role. … Italian attorney and investor Alvaro Pascotto has joined the board of Century City boutique investment bank Sage Group LLC. … Chicago accounting firm BDO USA LLP has promoted Aaron Yamada to partner in the firm’s Century City office. He had been a senior manager.

Staff reporter James Rufus Koren can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 225.

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