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Aerospace

Southwest Airlines announced that John Thomas will be the new station manager for its operations at Los Angeles International Airport. Thomas joined Southwest in 1980, holding key management positions in Houston, Denver, St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles. He was most recently station manager in Burbank.

Banking/Finance

City National Bank has announced the hiring of James A. Robinson to executive vice president and regional manager. Robinson, who is based in the bank’s Beverly Hills office, will be responsible for the new Inland Empire region. He also becomes a member of City National’s executive committee. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of Riverside National Bank, which recently merged with City National.

McGladrey & Pullen, the nation’s eighth largest accounting firm, has named Allen E. Suderman as senior manager with the Pasadena office. Suderman joined the firm in 1995 as a senior manager, and specializes in tax services. Suderman is one of 24 new partners this year at the firm, which has 68 offices nationwide.

Akira Yamanashi has been promoted to vice president for Union Bank of California. In addition, the bank announced the promotion of Gretchen I. Schaffner to vice president in charge of development finance. Yamanashi, who will be based in Los Angeles, was formerly the bank’s Monterey Park office liaison officer. Schaffner was previously a team leader in the bank’s community development finance department in Los Angeles.

Martin Jelenko has joined the national investment banking firm of Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin as a director in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Jelenko will be responsible for executing investments for the firm’s joint venture equity and capital fund. He previously worked for BT Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Bankers Trust.

Entertainment/Media

MTM Enterprises Inc. has tapped veteran television producer Norman S. Powell as senior vice president of production. He will supervise all aspects of production for MTM and The Family Channel, both based in Studio City. He will also act as a creative liaison with producers and directors on all of the company’s programs.

Amy Gordon-Bawden has been named vice president of finance and planning for studios & facilities operations for Walt Disney Co. in Burbank. Gordon-Bawden will oversee finance and planning functions related to the operation of the company’s Burbank, New York and London facilities. She will also oversee the company’s Library Preservation and Inventory Services group, which manages the studio’s collection of film, sound and video. She previously was director of finance for studio operations.

Gregory Noveck has joined Beverly Hills-based Platinum Studios as vice president of production. Noveck was formerly head of television development at Gaumont Television in Los Angeles. In his new position, he will be responsible for television and movie production in Europe and the United States.

Law

Daniel Douglass has joined the energy and utilities practice of the Sherman Oaks-based law firm of Reznik & Reznik. Prior to this position, Douglass served as senior vice president and general counsel of LG & E; Power Inc. In the new position, Douglass will be responsible for both managerial and legal positions in the utility, pipeline, gas marketing and independent power industries.

Nathan J. Hochman, a former assistant United States Attorney, has joined the Beverly Hills law firm of Hochman, Salkin and DeRoy. He previously worked in the U.S. Attorney’s corruption and government fraud section He previously specialized in federal tax crimes, health care fraud, bank fraud, educational fraud, and money laundering.

M. Kenneth Suddleson and Susan A. Grode have joined the Los Angeles-based law firm of Katten Muchin & Zavis. Both were attorneys with the firm of Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler. Both will focus their practice on entertainment law at Katten Muchin.

Real Estate

Countrywide Home Loans Inc. announced the appointment of Abner Sabino as regional vice president. In his new position, Sabino will manage the production and operational functions of the Pasadena-based company’s new subsidiary “Full Spectrum Lending.” He previously was manager of the company’s telemarketing unit.

Rod J. Ragan has joined Parsons Power Group Inc. as senior vice president of business development. Most recently, Ragan was responsible for project development in Asia Pacific with Duke Fluor Daniel, a partnership serving as the power division of Fluor Daniel. Prior to this assignment, he served as vice president of business development for Fluor in Indonesia.

Layton Belling & Associates has named Perry Schonfeld as senior vice president of the company’s management services group. Schonfeld will be responsible for overseeing management services and operations for the Southern California region of the real estate investment company. He will be based in the Los Angeles office.

Four new officer appointments have been announced at Westmac Commercial Brokerage Company, following completion by the company of its fifth record-setting year of business. Promoted to senior vice presidents were Luke J. Palmo, Gregory A. Sackler, and David L. Thurman. Chris Holland was also named vice president. Westmac is located in West Los Angeles.

Dale S. Fathe-Aazam has joined the Los Angeles office of Transamerica Realty Services Inc. as vice president of mortgage lending. Fathe-Aazam joins TRS from Prudential Capital Group where he was senior vice president responsible for the company’s commercial mortgage secondary market activity. He will now be responsible for management of commercial mortgage investments for Transamerica’s portfolios.

Retail

International House of Pancakes Corp. announced that Richard C. Celio will join the company as its vice president of development. Celio comes to IHOP from CKE Restaurants Inc., which operates Carl’s Jr. throughout the western United States. He will be responsible for international development, franchise development and property management in his new position at the Glendale-based company.

Koo Koo Roo Inc. announced that Robert Kautz has been named president at the corporate level and will continue as chief financial officer. Kautz has been CFO of the company since 1995, and president of corporate development since 1996. In his new position, Kautz will be in charge of development and strategy as the company expands with the newly acquired Color Me Mine retail stores.