Advertising & P.R.

Lisa Knorr was appointed vice president of business development at On the Scene Productions in Los Angeles. She will be responsible for developing new entertainment products and expanding the West Coast charitable organization and foundation practice. Knorr was previously senior director of publicity at Atlantic Records.

Banking & Finance

Kathleen Meyer was named vice president and portfolio manager for the Los Angeles office of U.S. Trust Co. She will be responsible for managing client portfolios and business development in the high-net-worth market. Meyer was most recently a vice president and senior portfolio specialist at Merrill Lynch in Los Angeles.

Yukinori Nishio and Renette Shigenaga were promoted to executive vice presidents at Sanwa Bank California in Los Angeles. Nishio will be responsible for the Pacific Rim banking region. Shigenaga will be responsible for all bank information technology activities, as well as participating in overall business and technology planning. Both were most recently senior vice presidents. Also, Don Soucie and James Ely were promoted to senior vice presidents at the bank. Soucie will be responsible for the personal financial services and trust department. Ely will oversee daily sales operations for the wealth management group. Both were previously vice presidents.

Jennifer Olsen was promoted to senior vice president at Bank of America Mortgage in Woodland Hills. She will be responsible for managing retail mortgage sales teams in the Los Angeles, Gold Coast and Nevada regions. Olsen was most recently a vice president.

Entertainment

C. Bradley Call was promoted to chief administrative officer and head of development at Digital Domain, a digital effects studio in Venice. He will oversee human resources and purchasing and will continue to be responsible for business development. Call was previously general counsel for the firm. Also, Yvette Macaluso was promoted to vice president of finance. She will be responsible for all financial matters. Macaluso was most recently corporate controller.

Jewell Engstrom was promoted to senior vice president of finance at Disney/ABC Cable Networks in Burbank. She will be responsible for all finance-related issues for Disney Channel, Toon Disney, SoapNet and for the firm’s partnership interests in Lifetime, A & E; Television Network, The History Channel and E! Entertainment Television. Engstrom was most recently vice president of planning and control for Disney Channel.

Maria Grasso was named executive vice president of development at the Los Angeles office of Will Vinton Studios, a dimensional animation studio. She will be responsible for developing the prime-time television and film business. Grasso was formerly senior vice president of comedy development for prime-time series at Warner Bros. Television.

Sharon Tunstall was appointed senior vice president of human resources for the North American region of Universal Music Group in Universal City. She will be responsible for all regional human resources functions and will work with the global human resources team on workforce strategy and employee programs. Tunstall was most recently vice president of human resources at Times Mirror Co.

Health Care

Anthony Armada was appointed senior vice president and service area manager for metropolitan Los Angeles at Kaiser Permanente. He will be responsible for coordinating employees and physicians for services at the Los Angeles and West Los Angeles medical centers, as well as at a mental health center in Chinatown. Armada was previously senior vice president and chief operating officer at Northridge Hospital Medical Center-RBC.

High Tech

Peter Frank was named chief operating officer at Acacia Research Corp., a Pasadena company that develops and operates technology-related businesses. He will oversee operations. Frank will continue his previous role as the firm’s chief financial officer.

Insurance

Mark Shoemaker was appointed vice president at Marsh Risk & Insurance Services in Los Angeles. He will oversee the technology practice and will also be responsible for new business development and sales. Shoemaker was previously a vice president with AON.

Law

Michele Beuerlein, Marguerite Bui, and Nicholas Rockefeller were named partners in the technology and emerging companies practice at Perkins and Coie in Los Angeles. Beuerlein specializes in venture capital transactions and representing emerging growth firms. Bui focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganization, and joint venture transactions. Both Beuerlein and Bui were previously with Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles. Rockefeller concentrates on transactions involving public and private securities, joint ventures, acquisitions, venture capital and e-commerce. He was formerly with Troop, Steuber, Pasich, Reddick & Tobey.

Corey A. Boock was named partner in the national infrastructure practice at Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliott in Los Angeles. He specializes in infrastructure development, privatization and finance. Boock was previously with O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles.

Laurence J. Stein was appointed national chair of the tax department at Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles. Stein focuses his practice on corporate tax issues. He was formerly chair of the firm’s associates committee.

Alan T. Yoshitake was named partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in Los Angeles. He focuses on tax issues involving estate planning, charitable organizations, business and financial planning, privately owned businesses and individual income. Yoshitake was previously a partner at Manatt Phelps & Phillips.

Manufacturing

Murphy Bishop II was named vice president of sales and marketing at Simon & Co., a home accessories and lighting manufacturer based in Los Angeles. He will be responsible for overseeing all sales representatives and showrooms, supervising trade shows, and maintaining key accounts and catalog relationships, as well as overseeing the firm’s daily operations. Bishop was most recently West Coast sales manager for Stila Cosmetics in Los Angeles.

New Media

Harvey Finkel was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer at Intertainer in Culver City. He will continue to oversee financial, business, and legal affairs and human resources and will also manage facilities and information technologies. Finkel was formerly senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Jason Keiles was appointed vice president of business development for Massive Media Group, a Los Angeles-based firm that provides technology for secure distribution of digital content to entertainment and advertising companies. He will oversee strategy and business planning, new business initiatives, international activities and administration. Keiles was most recently director of international production planning for Universal Worldwide Television.

David Kohl was named executive vice president of advertising sales at Farmclub.com in Los Angeles. He will oversee ad sales for the Web site and weekly music television series. Kohl was previously vice president of online advertising sales and new media at Comedy Central. Also, Marc Nathan was appointed vice president of A & R.; He will be responsible for discovering, signing and developing artists for the Farmclub.com’s online record label. Nathan was most recently senior director of A & R; at Universal Records.

Real Estate

Jeffrey E. Friedman was appointed partner at Maguire Partners, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer. He will be responsible for major firm financings, debt and equity transactions and acquisitions. Friedman was previously a senior banker at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York.

Telecommunications

John DeHart was promoted to western regional vice president of real estate at Teligent, a broadband Internet access provider based in Los Angeles. He will be responsible for securing building and installation rights for the firm’s broadband wireless network facilities. DeHart was previously director of real estate site acquisition.

Glenn Lurie was promoted to vice president and general manager of AT & T; Wireless in Los Angeles. He will oversee business operations in California and Hawaii. Lurie was most recently vice president and general manager for the Southern California market. Also, David Haight was appointed vice president and general manager for the Southern California market. He will oversee business operations in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties. Haight previously operated his own consulting firm, Prolific Sales.