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NEWSMAKERS


Accounting

Green Hasson & Janks LLP in Los Angeles promoted Brian Yacker to partner, Tom Barry and Anant Patel to principal and hired David Spranza and Farshad Yashar as principals. Yacker was previously senior tax manager, and Barry and Patel were senior managers. Spranza was previously senior tax manager at Stonefield Josephson Inc. in Santa Monica and Yashar was senior tax manager at KPMG LLP in Los Angeles.

Architecture


The American Institute of Architecture/ Los Angeles installed William H. Fain Jr. as president. Fain is managing partner and partner-in-charge of urban design and planning at Los Angeles-based Johnson Fain.

Banking & Finance


Countrywide Financial Corp. in Calabasas hired Jeannie Finkel as managing director human resources, talent acquisition strategies. Finkel was previously senior vice president human resources at San Francisco-based Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.

The Private Bank of California in Los Angeles appointed Gary S. Stiffelman, Andrea Rich, and Richard M. Pachulski to its board. Stiffelman is a partner at Ziffren Brittenham Branca Fischer Gilbert-Lurie Stiffelman & Cook in Century City, Rich was previously president, chief executive and director at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Pachulski is a founding shareholder of Pachulski Stang Ziehl Young Jones & Weintraub PC in Century City.

U.S. Trust in Los Angeles hired Ronald R. Macleod as a senior vice president of the family wealth practice in Southern California. Macleod was previously vice president of private wealth management at Mellon Financial in Los Angeles.

Construction


Clune Construction Co. in Los Angeles hired Alison K. Benaderet as director of marketing and transferred Michael Metzger, senior vice president, from the company’s Chicago office to Los Angeles. Benadaret was previously head of sales promotion at a mortgage company in Irvine.

Entertainment


DreamWorks Animation hired Terry Press as worldwide head of marketing. Press was previously head of marketing at DreamWorks SKG.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. in Century City hired Jeff Pryor as executive vice president, corporate communications. Pryor was previously founder of Pryor & Associates, now Los Angeles-based Priority Public Relations.

Law


Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP in Los Angeles, promoted Samantha Grant, Emma Luevano and Marc E. Mayor to partner. Grant, Luevano and Mayor were previously associates.

Foley & Lardner LLP in Los Angeles hired Cheryl L. Wagonhurst as a partner in the health law department. Wagonhurst was previously chief compliance officer at Tenet Healthcare Corp.

Bingham McCutchen LLP in Los Angeles hired Sandra Lee Montgomery as a partner in the finance group. Montgomery was previously a partner in the financial transactions group at Morrison & Foerster in Los Angeles.

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Los Angeles promoted Peter W. Wardle to partner. Wardle was previously an associate.

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in Los Angeles hired Carol Johnston as a partner in the trusts and estates practice. Johnston was previously an attorney in the tax and estate planning practice at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Los Angeles.

Feinberg Mindel Brandt Klein & Kline LLP in West Los Angeles hired Geoffrey Murry as an associate in the family law department. Murry was previously a law student at the University of California Los Angeles.

Manufacturing


American Soil Technologies Inc. hired Donette Lamson as vice president of the turf, horticulture and landscape division. Lamson was previously owner of Soil Medic Carlsbad.

Marketing


Campos Creative Works, a Santa Monica-based international producer of business-to-business and experiential marketing events, hired Sandy Roseman as account manager. Roseman was previously sales account manager at Torrance-based George P. Johnson Co.

Non-Profit


Joint Efforts Inc., a San Pedro organization focused on improving the quality of life in the South Bay Area, appointed Michael T. Goddard to its board. Goddard is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in Torrance.

Downtown Long Beach Associates, an organization operating on behalf of property owners and tenants of the Business Improvement District, hired James Hansen as economic development manager. Hansen was previously vice president of business and economic development at the Irvine Chamber of Commerce.

Real Estate


Amber Hotel Co., a Malibu-based hotel brokerage company, hired Wyatt McCrea as an agent. McCrea was previously senior associate at Woodland Hills-based Simay Co.

Transwestern Commercial Services in Los Angeles hired Bob Pearson and Kevin R. Housman as senior vice presidents. Pearson was previously vice president at Trammell Crow Co. and Housman was a senior leasing agent at Santa Monica-based Douglas Emmett and Co.

Grubb & Ellis Co. hired David S. Burback as executive vice president and managing director at the Los Angeles South Bay office. Burback was previously founder of Northwest Realty Advisors in the Pacific Northwest.

CityView, a Santa Monica-based housing investor teaming up with builders and developers to create housing for working families, hired Kacy Keys as vice president, Omar Brownson as director of acquisitions and Mark Enfield as senior vice president of finance and operations. Keys was previously founder of Keys Consulting Group in Los Angeles, Brownson was in the affordable housing and mixed-use developments industry in Philadelphia, and Enfield was controller at Santa Monica-based Saybrook Capital LLC.

Studley, a national commercial real estate services firm, promoted David Gordon to branch manager and Mike Catalano to co-branch manager, both in the West Los Angeles office. Gordon was previously executive managing director and Catalano was senior managing director.

Services


Enterprise Rent-A-Car, based in Carson, promoted Janelle Etchepare to area manager and Ashley Armbruster to regional rental manager of West Los Angeles. Etchepare was previously Beverly Hills and Culver City branch locations manager, and Armbruster was area manager of the Laguna Beach and Newport Beach locations in Orange County.

Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles-based provider of executive search, outsourced recruiting and leadership development solutions, hired Shelly Fust as a senior client partner in the global industrial markets. Fust was previously a partner at New York-based Battalia Winston International.

Technology


Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman promoted Kathleen M. Thomas to vice president, learning and development. Thomas was previously the company’s Newport News sector director, learning and development.

Solar Integrated Technologies Inc., a Los Angeles-based provider of commercial building roofing systems, hired John M. Palumbo as chief financial officer. Palumbo was previously chief financial officer at Pomona-based Keystone Automotive Industries Inc.

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KUDOS


A team of researchers and physicians at Orthopaedic Hospital’s Joint Replacement Institute and J. Vernon Luck Sr., M.D., Orthopaedic Research Center received the John Charnley Award from the Hip Society, in recognition of excellence in hip resurfacing research.

KCET and Washington Mutual Inc. honored three members of Southern California’s African American community with the “Unsung Hero Awards,” on the occasion of Black History Month. The honorees were: Barbara H. Clark, founder, secretary and grant writer for Library Adult Reading Project; John Davis, founder of the African-American Studies Department at Loyola Marymount College; and Denise Roberts, founder of The Denise Roberts Breast Cancer Foundation.