Accounting

Grant Thornton LLP, an accounting, tax and business advisory firm, has hired Pedro Rosario as manager of the business advisory services practice in the Los Angeles office. Rosario was previously manager for information systems assurance at BDO Seidman in Los Angeles.

Architecture


SmithGroup in Los Angeles elected Cynthia Keeffe and Breton Washington as new associates. Keeffe is a senior project manager and Washington is in construction administration.

Banking & Finance


The Private Bank of California in Century City hired J. Scott Green as senior vice president and Vanessa Karubian, Ann Alliegro, and Peter Winfield as vice presidents. Green was previously vice president at Excel National Bank in Beverly Hills, Karubian was in the private banking and investment group at Merrill Lynch, and Alliegro and Winfield were vice presidents at San Francisco-based Comerica Bank.

Business Loan Express in Los Angeles hired Erik Daniels as western regional sales manager. Daniels was previously Small Business Administration division manager for the western U.S. at Banco Popular in Los Angeles.

Mercanti Group, a boutique merchant bank, hired Edgar Mendez as a principal in its Los Angeles office. Mendez was previously director of finance at Gateway Inc. in Irvine.

City National Bank in Beverly Hills promoted Gwen T. Miller to executive vice president. Miller was previously a team leader in the Beverly Hills-based entertainment division.

Consulting


Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., a Glendale-based employee benefits consulting division of insurance brokerage firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., hired Willis E. “Bill” Urick III as area president of the Los Angeles office and Stephen J. Gambale as western regional sales director. Urick was previously partner and producer at a major insurance broker in Los Angeles and Gambale was executive vice president, managing director at a major insurance broker in Los Angeles.

Government


The City of Pomona hired Charles K. LaClaire as planning and housing director. LaClaire was previously assistant director of community development for Apple Valley.

Hospitality


Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp. hired Alexander Mirza as senior vice president of corporate development. Mirza was previously a senior executive in the travel and transportation practice at Accenture in El Segundo.

Law


Derik Lewis joined the Costa Mesa office of Phoenix-based Snell & Wilmer LLP. Lewis specializes in commercial finance and real estate.

Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, an intellectual property specialty law firm, added 20 associates at its Irvine headquarters: Azadeh Agahi, Nicholas D. Atchison, Michael K. Erickson, Adam J. Gilbert, Michael W. Gray, John F. Heal, Colin B. Heideman, Daniel C. Higgs, Stephen R. Jenkins, Agnes H.Z. Juang, Jarom D. Kesler, Theodore G. Papagiannis, David A. Petrini, Vishnu S. Reddy, Steven P. Ruden, Ashley M. Schneider, Ahsan Shaikh, Bryan W. Wahl, Friederike I. Woltereck and Thomas Y. Yee.

Manufacturing


Pentel of America Ltd., a Torrance-based manufacturer and seller of writing instruments and art materials, hired Martin Furman as chief operating officer. Furman was previously interim president at Santa Fe Springs-based Trojan Battery Co.

Non-Profit


The Los Angeles chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, an organization devoted to promoting and improving environmental quality and building standards, hired Lance Williams as executive director. Williams was previously president/chief executive at the Long Beach Community Action Partnership.

The Board for the Alliance for the Arts, the fundraising arm of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, elected Richard “Tag” Hoefflin as chairman. Hoefflin, who owns a Westlake Village law firm, has been a board member since 2000.

Public Relations


Sheldon Group, a Southern California lobbying firm based in Newport Beach, promoted Marlo Naber to director of public affairs. Naber will direct government, community and media relations for real estate development projects and government agency

contracts.

Real Estate


George S. Livermore was promoted to president of the property information group at Santa Ana-based First American Corp. He will oversee the property information group unit, as well as maintain his responsibilities as president of First American Real Estate Solutions.

Retail


Macerich Co., a Santa Monica-based real estate investment trust focused on regional mall, hired Laurel Crary as senior manager, property management at Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles. Crary was previously general manager for the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.

Shoe Pavilion Inc., a Sherman Oaks-based off-price footwear retailer, hired Neil Watanabe as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Watanabe was previously executive vice president and chief financial officer at Elizabeth Arden Spas in Stamford, Conn.

Technology


Sonexis, a developer of audio and Web conferencing systems, hired Linda Broughton as regional account manager based in Los Angeles. Broughton was previously an account conferencing executive at MCI Conferencing Services.

ViaLogy Corp., a Pasadena-based active signal processing software company, appointed Michael W. Kelly as chief executive and president. Kelly retains his position as general partner and manager at the Palo Alto office of First Ventury, a German venture capital firm.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. promoted John J. Chino as deputy of the electronic systems sector and vice president and general manager of enterprise excellence. Chino was previously sector vice president and general manager of engineering and manufacturing.

Transportation


Enterprise Rent-A-Car promoted Tony Shirvanian to area rental manager in the Koreatown and West Los Angeles regions. Shirvanian was previously branch manager for the Los Feliz location.

Utilities


Los Angeles-based Southwest Water Co. hired Walter J. Bench as treasurer. Bench was previously assistant treasurer at Newport Beach-based Conexant Systems Inc.