Arthur Ochoa, a senior vice president at Beverly Grove-based Cedars-Sinai Health System has been appointed co-chair of the Pacific Council on International Policy board of directors.
The group aims to promote diverse prospectives on global affairs in California.
“I’m honored and privileged to help drive the conversation about forward-thinking strategies and principles that guide global policy,” Ochoa said in a statement. “Organizations like the Pacific Council on International Policy help to strengthen the effectiveness of subnational diplomacy, bringing California’s vital perspective to the global policy debate.”
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Kenneth Walker, a founding family member of Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, died earlier this year. He was 97.
Walker, a former U.S. Navy officer who was born in Long Beach, took over the bank in 1979. But he started unofficially working at the bank when he was just 11 as an elevator operator and groundskeeper.
During his time at the helm of the bank, he helped it grow throughout the region. He helped open offices in Orange, Lake Forest, Fullerton, Rossmoor, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana. His son succeeded him as chief executive in 2008.
“Mr. Walker’s leadership and commitment to integrity left a profound impact on the Long Beach business community, helping to shape its growth and success for decades,” Jeremy Harris, president and chief executive of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said.
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A former federal judge is on the move again after returning to private law practice about two years ago.
Paul Watford last week lateraled to the downtown office of King & Spaulding, where he is now a partner in the firm’s business litigation group. He comes from the downtown office of Palo Alto firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which he initially joined in 2023.
“King & Spalding has an impeccable litigation brand and a strong focus on collaboration and integration across practices that is very appealing to me,” Watford said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to helping the firm continue to build out its elite litigation practice and to be part of its growth story in California.”
Watford served as a Ninth Circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals as a Barack Obama appointee from 2012-2023. The UCLA School of Law graduate also was reportedly on Obama’s shortlist of nominees to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. Before his judicial appointment, Watford was a federal prosecutor and also practiced at downtown-based Munger Tolles & Olson.
“I have known Paul for decades, and he is an amazing person and lawyer. He is a fantastic addition to the great talent that King & Spalding already has in California,” said David Willingham, a partner in King & Spalding’s Los Angeles office, in a statement.
Managing Editor Zane Hill contributed to this report.
