newsmakers/jas/apr14/35″/mike1st/mark2nd

Advertising/Public Relations

Alan Bunton has been named co-executive creative director of Ogilvy & Mather. Bunton directed Ogilvy’s creative department in its South African office prior to joining the L.A. office.

Banking & Finance

Sanwa Bank California announced the promotion of several executives from senior vice president to the position of executive vice president Susan Fowler, human resources; Yukio Harada, information and delivery systems; and Roland Ojeda, risk management. Philip Sherringham was named chief financial officer. Sanwa also changed the titles of four senior officers as follows: Howard Gould, chief administrative officer and Kazuyoshi Kuwahata, chief line officer, were named to the position of vice chairman. Larry Layne of the relationship banking group and Doug Stewart of the marketing and delivery support group were promoted to group executive vice presidents.

Hancock Savings Bank has named Kathleen L. Kellogg president and chief executive officer. Prior to joining the Hancock Park-based bank, Kellogg served as president and chief executive officer of Frontier Bank. She began her career with Union Bank and held positions at Crocker National, Imperial, Home Federal and California Federal banks.

Energy

Donald R. Voelte has been appointed senior vice president of corporate planning for Atlantic Richfield Co. Prior to joining Arco, Voelte spent 22 years at Mobil Corp., where he most recently served as president of new exploration and producing ventures.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. announced the appointment of David C. Yen to vice president and treasurer. Yen comes to Occidental from Pratt & Whitney, where he served as vice president and treasurer.

Entertainment/Media

Margye S. Baumgardner has been named vice president for development at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Baumgardner’s responsibilities include planning, implementation and administration of all development programs for the Natural History Museum Family, which includes the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, the George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, the Petersen Automotive Museum and the William S. Hart Museum.

Christine Essel has been promoted to senior vice president of planning and development of public affairs for Paramount Pictures’ Studio Group. Essel will oversee interaction with city, county and state governments and local civic and community organizations. During her tenure with Paramount, Essel was involved in the renovation and expansion of the studio.

Warner Bros. International Theatrical Distribution has announced the appointment of Sue Kroll to senior vice president. Kroll will be responsible for marketing, conception, creation and media placement of campaigns for the overseas motion picture releases of Warner Bros. Previously, Kroll served as senior vice president of Warner Bros. International Channels.

Michael Kincaid has been named vice president and general sales manager for KCAL 9. Kincaid will oversee all sales activities for the station. Previously, Kincaid served as executive vice president of sales at Fox Sports Net. KCAL 9 also has named Tom Morris vice president of sports sales and marketing and Patrick McClenahan vice president of sports. Morris joins KCAL 9 from Fox Sports West, where he served as vice president of advertising sales. McClenahan served as senior vice president at Fox Sports Net prior to joining KCAL 9.

Gregg Hoffman has been appointed vice president of production for Walt Disney Pictures. In his new position, Hoffman will oversee the development and production of movies produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Hoffman previously served as director of production for Walt Disney Pictures.

MGM Music has promoted Mike Sandoval to executive vice president. Sandoval will oversee all aspects of music activities for MGM and United Artists Pictures and manage the company’s record and publishing catalogs. Prior to joining MGM Music as senior vice president, Sandoval worked for Polygram Music.

High-Tech/Aerospace

Jay Kerutis has been appointed retail vice president of Merisel Inc. Kerutis’ responsibilities include development and implementation of Merisel’s new retail market strategy. Merisel distributes computer hardware and software products and offers support services.

Douglas S. Merritt has been named president and chief executive officer of Santa Monica-based Micro J Systems. Prior to joining Micro J, Merritt was employed by Waterton Management as a venture capitalist.

Law

Richard A. Shortz and Peter P. Wallace have joined the Los Angeles office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as partners. Shortz specializes in corporate securities and project finance for clients in energy-related fields. Before joining Morgan Lewis, he was a partner at Rogers & Wells and at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. Wallace specializes in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and securities. Wallace was a partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy before joining Morgan Lewis.

James M. Jimenez has joined the firm of Gilchrist & Rutter as a partner in its Santa Monica office. Jimenez specializes in business transactions, mergers and acquisitions and real estate development and leasing of commercial and retail projects.

Cummins & White announced the appointment of Esther Holm to partner. Holm practices in the area of business torts, employment law and personal injury. Cummins & White added the following associates to its Los Angeles office: Randy A. Moss, Roger G. Honey, Patricia Michelena and D. Todd Parrish.

Personnel

Superior National Insurance Group Inc. has named Curtis Carson vice president of human resources. Carson will be responsible for corporate human resources at the Calabasas-based firm. Carson previously served as human resources manager for Farmer’s Insurance Co.’s Colorado region.

Real Estate

Thomas J. Neary has joined Morley Builders as contracting manager. Neary will be responsible for marketing and sales for Morley Builders’ two subsidiary companies Morley Construction Co. and Benchmark Contractors Inc. Prior to joining Morley, Neary served as business development manager for the architectural firm of Bahr, Vermeer and Haecker.

Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall has named William V. Sheppard vice president and transportation principal. Sheppard will oversee the marketing and technical direction of DMJM’s highway and bridge project work within the company’s engineering and construction/facilities management practices.

Charles Kaplan has joined Los Angeles-based California Realty Group as vice president. Kaplan specializes in representing landlords who lease, buy and sell commercial properties. Kaplan previously served as the leasing agent in charge of Westwood Financial Corp.’s San Fernando Valley portfolio.