Advertising
Gorilla Nation, an online advertising agency, has promoted Angela S. Cooper to director, business development; Jason Holland to senior manager, business development; and Fabien Ricard to senior account manager. Also, Aimee Gerry was hired as senior account executive; Neda LaMarr as account executive, inside sales; and Sharyn Alcaraz as senior corporate counsel. Cooper was formerly account and partner development associate with the agency. Holland was business development associate. Ricard was an account manager. Gerry was previously senior account executive at Doubleclick. LaMarr was a sales representative at Verizon Superpages.com. Alcaraz was North American regional counsel at Oberthur Card Systems.
Architecture
Craig Semingson has joined HMC Architects, a design firm specializing in education, health care and governmental facilities, as a principal architect. Semingson was most recently a principal with HDR Architects in Los Angeles.
Banking and Finance
FocalPoint Partners LLC, an independent investment banking firm, has hired Nick Desai as managing director in its Los Angeles office. Desai was formerly director at Cappello Capital Corp., an investment banking firm based in Santa Monica.
U.S. Trust, a wealth management company, has promoted Charlotte E. Cheim and Kathleen Meyer to senior vice presidents and fixed income portfolio managers in its Los Angeles office. Cheim was most recently portfolio manager in the fixed income department of the company. Meyer was vice president and portfolio manager.
Education
Tracy L. Turner was appointed director of the Legal Analysis, Writing, and Skills Program at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. Turner is currently an associate professor in the LAWS Program.
Entertainment
Walt Disney Co. has promoted Joan McCarthy to director, community relations. McCarthy was formerly manager of community relations at Disney.
Square Enix Inc., an interactive entertainment products and services publisher, has promoted Daishiro Okada to vice chairman and John Yamamoto to president and chief executive for North America. Okada was previously the president and chief operating officer. Yamamoto was head of Square Enix Ltd., the European subsidiary of Square Enix Inc.
MusicBox, a music production company, has hired Aaron Davis as vice president, licensing. Davis was previously director, film/TV and network promo licensing for MegaTrax, a music producer in North Hollywood.
Jennifer Goldberg has joined ABC Radio L.A. stations KABC-AM (790) and KLOS-FM (95.5) as director of digital media. Goldberg was most recently at CBS Radio/Los Angeles as Internet sales manager for KLSX-FM (97.1), KTWV-FM (94.7) and KRTH-FM (101.1).
Government
State Controller John Chiang has named Ross DeVol and Edward E. Leamer to the Council of Economic Advisors. DeVol is director of regional economics and the Center for Health Economics at the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank in Santa Monica. Leamer is the Chauncey J. Medberry professor of management and a professor of economics and statistics at UCLA.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has appointed Randi Levin as the chief technology officer and general manager of the Los Angeles Information and Technology Agency. Levin was formerly with NBC Universal as vice president and group information officer.
Helen Han was appointed to the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women. Han is currently chief executive of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Association of Woman Business Owners.
Health Care
Steven F. McLaughlin has been promoted to executive vice president, operations for U.S. HealthWorks, an operator of outpatient occupational health and urgent care centers. McLaughlin was most recently senior vice president and general manager of the company’s western division.
Hospitality
Trish Kopera has joined hotel Raffles L’Ermitage Beverly Hills as director of sales. Kopera was most recently group sales manager at the Peninsula Chicago.
Marketing
Carat Fusion, a digital marketing agency, has hired Rob Hollander as senior vice president, content strategy. Hollander was formerly a senior partner/worldwide group creative director for Ogilvy & Mather, an advertising, public relations and marketing agency.
Media
Schneider Publishing Co., a Los Angeles-based publisher of the meetings and events magazines Association News and SportsTravel, has hired John Oliver as advertising manager. Oliver was formerly director of advertising sales at Meeting Professionals International, a membership organization for corporate, association and independent meeting planners.
Lorna Borenstein has joined Move Inc., a media information provider and producer of Move.com and Realtor.com, as president. Borenstein formerly was vice president and general manager of Yahoo Personals, an online dating site and a division of Internet search engine Yahoo.com.
Non-Profit
Lindsey Kozberg has joined Rand Corp., a non-profit research organization, as vice president for external affairs. Kozberg was most recently vice president for development at Rothbart Development, a regional shopping center developer in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Police Federal Credit Union, a non-profit, member-owned financial services institute serving sworn and civilian employees of the Los Angeles Police Department and their families, has promoted Carol Martin to senior vice president of operations and member relations. Martin was formerly vice president of loan services at the credit union.
LA Inc., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, has promoted Michael Krouse as senior vice president. He was previously vice president of LA Inc.’s Convention Center sales.
Public Relations
Valencia Perez & Echeveste Public Relations, an independent Hispanic public relations firm specializing in the Latino market, has hired Lourdes Rodriguez as account manager, Alicia Lopez as account executive and Dolores Sanchez as senior account executive. Rodriguez was formerly senior account supervisor at Acento Advertising. Lopez was assistant account executive at RL Public Relations and Marketing. Sanchez was the district director for state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles.
Conning Chu
