NEWSMAKERS/1stjc/mark2nd

Banking/Finance

SunAmerica Inc. announced that vice chairman Jay S. Wintrob has been elected to its board of directors. Wintrob, 39, has been with the financial services company for the past decade. He is president of SunAmerica Investments, which manages an $18 billion investment portfolio, and is chairman of SunAmerica’s Credit Committee. In addition, he leads the Century City-based company’s development efforts and has reporting to him its trust company, legal and regulatory affairs, human resources, and accounting functions.

Mellon Financial Group announced that Barbara Hoffman has joined the company’s Boston Company mortgage group as vice president for business development. She will be based in West Los Angeles for the group, which provides residential mortgages ranging from $350,000 to $3 million. Hoffman comes to the Boston Company from First Los Angeles Bank, where she most recently held the position of senior vice president.

Entertainment/Media

Mike Stenson has been promoted to the newly-created position of executive vice president of production for Touchstone Pictures of Burbank. In his new role, Stenson will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of development and production for a variety of motion picture projects under the Touchstone name. Among the projects he is currently overseeing are “Armageddon” and “Six Days, Seven Nights.”

Don E. Corsini has been named vice president and general manager of television station KCAL 9 in Los Angeles. He was previously the station’s vice president of sports, operations and production. In his new position, Corsini will be responsible for overall administration at KCAL.

David Sameth has joined DreamWorks SKG as head of creative advertising. He was previously vice president of creative affairs for MCA/Universal Pictures Production. He has worked on development on several projects including “Carlito’s Way,” “CB4,” “Timecop” and “Golddiggers,” as well as creating the marketing campaign for “Jurassic Park.” Sameth will be based in Burbank.

The Bubble Factory announced the promotion of three executives in its feature film, music and consumer products departments. The Los Angeles-based company is a multi-media firm that specializes in creating feature films. Gerard Bocaccio has been made senior vice president of creative affairs, Andrew R. Stephanopoulos was elevated to vice president of A & R;, and L. Spencer Humphrey has been upped to vice president of consumer products and promotions. All three have been with the Los Angeles-based company since it was founded in 1995.

Health Care

Neil M. Sorrentino has been named as senior vice president and chief executive officer of Calabasas-based Tenet HealthSystem. Sorrentino, 50, is responsible for facilities generating about $2 billion in annual revenue. Most recently, he was senior vice president for Tenet’s northern region that covers Northern California and other markets.

Hotel/Tourism

Karina Colon has been named director of sales at the Park Hyatt Los Angeles at Century City. In her new position, she will be responsible for the organization and direction of the sales staff in an effort to generate individual and group businesses for the hotel. Prior to assuming the post, Colon was associate director of sales at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey.

Wally Mariani has been appointed senior vice president of Qantas Airways for The Americas, based at the El Segundo regional office. Mariani has been in the industry for the past 30 years, holding several key positions with the airline in Australia. He was previously regional general manager for Qantas in the Australian state of Victoria.

The Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau has appointed Larry E. Hanson to the position of associate vice president of client services. Previously, Hanson was director of catering and convention services for Sheraton Grande Hotel in Los Angeles. He’s also has worked for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.

Law

Brian Davidoff, a specialist in bankruptcy law, has become a name partner in what will now be known as Rutter, Hobbs & Davidoff. Davidoff replaces a former name partner, Warren G. Greene, at the Los Angeles-based firm. Greene was recently appointed to the Superior Court bench. Davidoff has served as president of the Westwood Bar Association and the California Organization of Small Bars.

Mark J. Grushkin has joined the Los Angeles-based law firm of Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory as a partner. Prior to joining the firm, Grushkin was a partner with Musick, Peeler & Garrett. His area of expertise includes employee benefits, including pension, profit sharing, employee stock ownership, welfare plans and deferred compensation plans.

Manufacturing

Robert C. Brosius has been named chief operating officer for Cinema Products. Brosius formerly was senior vice president of Fairchild Controls. In his new role at the Los Angeles-based firm, Brosius will be in charge of operations including engineering, manufacturing, finance and sales.

Real Estate

RTKL Associates Inc., an international architecture firm, recently promoted Katherine Sprague from associate vice president to vice president. Sprague joined the company in 1991 to establish a new graphics department for the Los Angeles office. She has worked on themed environmental graphics for the Entertainment Center at Irvine Spectrum, and 333 South Hope Street in downtown L.A.

Larry Hazzard was named senior vice president of Carter-Burgess’ newly created Construction Management Division. Hazzard was formerly an executive vice president with O’Brien-Kritzberg & Associates. He will be based in Carter-Burgess’ new Encino office. The company handles engineering, architecture and planning for construction projects.

Retail

Bristol Farms has appointed Edmund K. Davis as chairman of the board of directors. Davis has served as president and chief executive officer of the company since 1996. Bristol Farms is an El Segundo-based premium retailer of gourmet and specialty food items. The company operates six stores in Los Angeles County.

Spencer Gifts Inc. has promoted Gene E. Carey to president and chief operating officer of the retailer. Carey joined the Universal City-based gift store in 1988 as regional manager of operations, and was promoted to executive vice president in 1991. Spencer gifts a division of Universal Studios operates 525 retail stores nationwide.