NEWSMAKERS

Accounting

Arthur E. DeJong has been named partner at Kling & Pathak, a Cerritos-certified public accounting firm. DeJong previously served as senior manager at the firm.

Banking & Finance

Comerica Bank has named Daniel Robles assistant vice president and banking center manager of its Long Beach branch. Previously, Robles was assistant banking center manager for Comerica’s East Long Beach branch.

Development

Jay Carson has joined Shangri-La Industries, a Century City development company, as executive vice president for policy and business development. Carson was previously press secretary to Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) during her recent presidential run.

Insurance

Momentous Insurance Brokerage Inc., a Van Nuys insurance company, has named Jeff J. Davis vice president. Davis was previously vice president of Abacus Insurance Brokers Inc. in West L.A.

Law

Law firm Buchalter Nemer has named Alex Angarita, Melissa Mac Pherson and Samy Sadighi associates, and Steven M. Spector shareholder in its downtown L.A. office. Angarita was previously associate with O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Mac Pherson was associate at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, a Houston-based law firm. Sadighi was associate at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, a downtown L.A.-based law firm. Spector was counsel at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro LLP, a Century City law firm.

Yanna S. Bouris has been promoted to partner in the Century City office of Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, an Irvine-based law firm. Bouris was previously associate with the firm.

Stephen E. Foster and Samuel D. Shapiro have been named partners of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, a West L.A. law firm. Foster was previously associate with the firm. Shapiro was of counsel.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, a law firm co-headquartered in Boston and Washington, D.C., has named Andrew B. Grossman partner of the intellectual property litigation practice group in its downtown L.A. office. Grossman was previously partner in the downtown L.A. office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, a New York-based business and technology law firm.

The Century City headquarters of law firm Theodora Oringher Miller & Richman PC has hired Jason L. Haas as associate. Haas was previously associate in the downtown L.A. office of Jones Day, an international law firm headquartered in Cleveland.

Dana Levitt has joined the downtown L.A. office of Foley & Lardner LLP, a Milwaukee-based law firm, as partner in the general commercial litigation practice. Levitt was previously partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, a Chicago-headquartered law firm.

Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon LLP, a Chicago-headquartered law firm, has named Clinton J. McCord, Jennifer M. K. Provencher and Amber A. Quarles associates in its Beverly Hills office. McCord was previously associate with Elderkin & Pirnie PLC, a law firm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Provencher was associate at Dreier Stein Kahan Browne Woods George LLP, a Santa Monica law firm. Quarles was associate in the downtown L.A. office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a commercial law firm based in Chicago.

Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen, a West L.A.-based law firm, has named Jason Roberts partner and Jean Yu associate in the employee benefits practice. Roberts was previously senior associate at Edgerton & Weaver LLP, a Hermosa Beach-based law firm. Yu was associate in the tax, employee benefits and global compensation group at Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, a West L.A.-based law firm.

Manufacturing

E.T. Horn Co., a La Mirada company that manufactures, markets and distributes specialty chemicals and ingredients, has promoted Bob Ahn to president of its industrial groups, and Vince Anderson to vice president of the coatings and building materials group. Ahn was previously vice president of sales for the company’s coatings and building materials group. Anderson was vice president of industrial coatings.

Non-Profit

AIR Commercial Real Estate Association, a downtown L.A. non-profit promoting real estate professionalism, has appointed Douglas C. Earnhart president. Earnhart is senior vice president in the Ontario office of Lee & Associates, a Newport Beach-based commercial real estate services company.

Victor A. Leslie has been promoted to lieutenant colonel in the downtown L.A. headquarters of the Salvation Army Southern California. Leslie was previously major.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has named Leslie Simmons national manager of communications in its Miracle Mile office. Simmons was previously a reporter at the Hollywood Reporter.

Real Estate

Asset Management Consultants Inc., a Mission Hills real estate investment firm, has hired Ken O’Brien as director of investor relations and Ryan Smith as director of capital markets. O’Brien was previously founding partner of Capital Exchange Services. Smith was investment sales manager with Buchanan Street Partners, a Newport Beach real estate investment management firm.

Retail

Michael Kessler has joined Aurora World Inc., a Pico Rivera toy and gift manufacturer, as senior vice president of sales. Kessler was previously vice president and general manager of L.A. Mart, a downtown L.A. home furnishings and accessories retail center.

Technology

Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC, an El Segundo technology company, has promoted Michael J. Frishberg to vice president of corporate restructuring services. Frishberg was previously senior managing consultant with the company.