Newsmakers

Dishing Out Marketing Program at IHOP

In taking the helm of IHOP Corp.’s advertising and promotions as the new director of marketing, Craig Silver has a big order to fill.

Silver is responsible for everything from television commercials to menu design, tabletop promotional material to storefront banners at the owner and franchiser of nearly 1,000 International House of Pancakes restaurants nationwide. In the new post, Silver, who was vice president at ad agency Duncan & Associates in Los Angeles, will oversee two in-house ad executives and IHOP’s Newport Beach-based advertising agency, Heil Brice Retail Advertising.

“Really, I’m responsible for anything that goes to the consumer,” said Silver.

IHOP won’t be making major changes to its two-year old “Anytime is a good time for IHOP” campaign, aimed at promoting breakfast fare throughout the day while vying for lunch and dinner customers. Silver said there are no plans to change the campaign’s basic idea and slogan. “The campaign has been successful, so there’s no reason to change it,” Silver said. “You don’t mess with that.”

Silver said he believes IHOP’s “anytime” campaign has been successful, in part, because it has been well-accepted by the company’s franchisees. “(The franchisees) have been very supportive and continue to put some of their money (into the campaign) as well,” Silver said. “Which is one of the reasons we decided to continue (with the campaign.)”

Silver graduated from Stanford University in 1977 and received his master’s degree in advertising from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. From that program he was recruited by J. Walter Thompson in Chicago, where he worked for two years. He left that job, and the Midwest, to take a position as an account executive at Foote Cone & Belding in Los Angeles, where he worked from 1979 until 1988, when he took a job at Phillips Ramsey in San Diego. Silver was in San Diego until returning to Los Angeles in 1996 to work for Grey Advertising, from which he moved to take his most recent position at Duncan & Associates, where he handled a number of restaurant accounts.

Silver lives in Westlake Village with his wife and three children, aged 18, 16 and 11.

Conor Dougherty

Accounting & Consulting

Lucy M. Keele, founder and past president of the American Society of Trial Consultants, has joined Chicago-based Zagnoli McEvoy Foley Ltd., a litigation and business communication consulting firm. Keele is based in Los Angeles and will advise attorneys on topics including witness and attorney assessment and preparation, focus group and trial simulation exercises, case theme-analysis, opening and closing arguments and cross examinations.

Patricia J. O’Connell has been promoted to partner in the tax practice of Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP in Los Angeles. O’Connell joined the firm in 1992 as a senior manager in the tax department.

Advertising & P.R.

Donnelle Borgeson has been named to head the creative services department at Mustang Marketing and Advertising Inc. in Westlake Village. She previously served as the firm’s senior art director.

Jeffrey Klein has been named president and chief executive of 101 Communications in Chatsworth. He previously served as the company’s chief operating officer.

Scott MacPhee has joined DZN, The Design Group, a Los Angeles design and advertising agency, as senior vice president. He will concentrate his efforts on broadening the company’s client base to include children’s and youth-oriented companies. MacPhee is the former president of the MacPhee Group Inc., a Pasadena-based design agency.

Lunch, an advertising agency in Santa Monica, has hired Mike Plisek as director of finance and operations. He previously served as controller at Ground Zero Advertising in Marina del Rey.

Brien Scott has been named creative director of SGI Marketing in Los Angeles. He will oversee all aspects of casting, advertising, marketing services, graphic design, art direction and production coordination. Scott was formerly the marketing director for Culver City-based Kent & Spiegel Direct Inc.

Entertainment

Seth Howard has been promoted to vice president, scripted programming and development at Tribune Entertainment in Los Angeles. He will be overseeing the development and production of Tribune’s new action program, “The Ultimate Adventure Company,” in addition to maintaining responsibility for Tribune’s additional action hours, including “Mutant X” and “Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda.” Tribune also announced Julie Fick has been promoted to coordinator, scripted programming and development. In addition, Richard Inouye has been promoted to a new position: senior vice president of finance and operations. He had been vice president, finance and administration, and will continue to oversee all of the company’s financial and administrative activities as well as Tribune Studios, the company’s new Los Angeles-based studio lot.

NBC has promoted Erin Lempriere and Jacelyn Swanson to directors of current series programs. Both had served as managers of current series programs.

Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment recently announced the formation of Sony Pictures Integrated Network, an operational unit to offer integrated online promotional efforts coordinated across all lines of business. Ira Rubenstein has been named senior vice president of SPIN, responsible for the day-to-day activity of the network. Jeremy Barnett has joined SPIN as vice president, customer relationship management. He will be responsible for overseeing consumer research, customer loyalty program development as well as overseeing SPIN’s international activities and collaboration with other Sony business units.

George Valdiviez has been named vice president, marketing, at WEA Corp., a manufacturing and distribution subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He started with the company in 1988 and was most recently national director of marketing.

Government

Howard D. Coleman, a partner at Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott LLP’s Los Angeles office, has been elected president of the Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners. The board’s role is to review the conceptual planning and operation of the city’s streets, including traffic control devices transit programs and transportation services and to regulate ambulances.

Health Care

Edward Grant has been named to head the department of radiology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine. Grant previously served as chair of radiology at the VA Medical Center in West Los Angeles and vice chairman of radiology at UCLA Medical Center.

Hospitality

Keith Brunell, who most recently served as chef/executive partner of Maggiano’s Little Italy in Woodland Hills, will serve in the same capacity at the soon-to-be-opened Maggiano’s at the Grove near Farmer’s Market. He will design the restaurant’s kitchen, oversee its 100-person food preparation staff and work with company management to develop new menu items as well as be responsible for food costs and quality and inventory control.

Insurance

Robin L. Martin has been promoted to vice president and principal at Speare & Co., an insurance company in Los Angeles. He will continue to work on commercial accounts but will be more involved with carrier relations and serve as a member of the firm’s executive committee.

Law

John Arya, Kevin Collins, Maureen Gorsen, Raad Shawaf and Lisa Stevens have been made partners at Weston, Benshoof, Rochefort Rubalcava & MacCuish LLP. Arya is a member of the firm’s litigation group and has experience in franchise termination, antitrust and trademark infringement. Collins is also a member of the litigation group and represents contractors and owners in litigation arising from public and private improvement works. Gorsen and Shawaf are members of the firm’s land development group. Gorsen’s practice focuses on environmental compliance and land use. Shawaf represents clients in real estate and secured finance transactions. Stevens is a litigation partner with experience in toxic tort, products liability, environmental and general commercial litigation matters.

Apalla Chopra, Mark Easton and Ann Menard have been named partners in the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Chopra is a member of the labor and employment department. Her practice includes litigation, traditional labor negotiations and client counseling. Easton’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and securities offerings. Menard, who joined the firm’s real estate department in 1991 and represented clients in a range of real estate and finance transactions, transferred to the firm’s finance and restructuring group earlier this year.

Media

Real Estate Media, a New York real estate publishing company, announced that Patricia Kirk has been named editor of Real Estate Southern California Magazine. Kirk is based in Los Angeles most recently served as West Coast bureau chief of Real Estate Media’s online operation, GlobeSt.com.

Crush Editorial, a commercial editorial house in Los Angeles, has promoted Curtis Schmidt to editor. He joined the firm in 2000 as an assistant editor.

Real Estate

John McClelland will join Chadwick, Saylor & Co., a real estate investment banking and capital management firm in Los Angeles as managing director. McClelland is currently the principal real estate investment officer for the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association.

James T. Nagle has joined CB Richard Ellis, a real estate services company, as managing director for the Los Angeles region in the asset services division. Nagle previously served as senior managing director/national accounts group at Kennedy-Wilson International in Beverly Hills.

Lowe Enterprises, Los Angeles-based national real estate investment, development and management firm, has named Richard G. Newman president of California Office Properties for Lowe Enterprises Southwest. He will be responsible for Lowe’s commercial property activities throughout California, including oversight of the company’s current portfolio of more than 4.5 million square feet of office space and commercial developments. Newman joined Lowe in 1986 and was elected shareholder in 1998.

Ross Thomas, a principal of Delphi Business Properties, has been installed as the 34th president of the American Industrial Real Estate Association in Los Angeles. Thomas has been a member of AIR since 1977 and replaced Clifford Reston of Real Property Advisors.