NEWSMAKERS
Downtown BID Director Faces Hurdles
Brenda Peters has one of the best commutes in Los Angeles, even if her path is a bit messy at times.
Peters is new director of operations for the L.A. Fashion District in downtown Los Angeles, responsible for security and keeping the area clean. She replaces Joe Germain, who relocated to Las Vegas for family reasons.
Peters and her husband have moved into a downtown loft so she can get to know the community for which she is responsible.
“I was in the area really early one morning and I could not believe the amount of trash on the street. I thought they hadn’t cleaned up from the weekend, but it was just from that morning,” Peters said.
The Fashion District Business Improvement District was created in 1996 by business owners seeking to revitalize the 82-block area. The district struggles with typical inner-city problems including crime, graffiti, illegal dumping and encampments.
Peters said she would build partnerships with police, social service organizations and city programs that handle illegal dumping. The district has added 200 stores in the last 18 months, so dealing with crime and litter is a top priority, she said.
As former director of operations for the Downtown Seattle Association Metropolitan Improvement District, Peters said it is crucial to know the ins and outs of a neighborhood in order to clean it up.
“I knew I would have an hour and a half to three hour commute each day, and that would be time I wouldn’t be able to work,” she said. “So we moved into one of the lofts downtown, and I love walking to work and meeting everyone in the neighborhood.”
Peters was selected for the job which includes managing a budget of more than $2 million and a workforce of 50 maintenance and security employees out of more than 250 applicants from across the country.
“If you were to go to Seattle and take a look at the changes made in the time Brenda has been there, there really is a notable difference,” said Kent Smith, executive director of the L.A. Fashion District BID.
Peters has four children and 11 grandchildren.
Koula Gianulias
Advertising
Campos Creative Works has appointed Jennifer Beindorf senior account manager at its Santa Monica offices, where she will be responsible for managing automotive accounts Prior to joining CCW, Beindorf was the Integrated Marketing Manager for Lincoln Mercury.
Architecture
The Jerde Partnership has named Karen Randal vice president, in charge of developing new business throughout the Eastern Americas. Before joining Jerde, Randal was director of business development at Swanke Hayden Connell Architects.
Associations
The California Chamber of Commerce has elected Raymond Holdsworth, president of Los-Angeles based AECOM Technology Corp., chair of its board of directors.
Banking & Finance
Transamerica Distribution Finance has appointed Karl Brier as vice president of global accounts for the IT financial solutions group in the Southwest. Brier, former chief financial officer of media firm Line56, will be in charge of new business development.
Shelley Thompson has joined City National Bank as executive vice president and director of wealth management, directing its investment management, personal trust, business trust and estate and financial planning groups, as well as its broker-dealer subsidiary, City National Securities Inc. Thompson previously was chief executive and managing director of the Minnesota regional office of U.S. Trust. Vernon Kozlen will fill the newly created position of director of asset management development. He previously was executive vice president.
Peter Schwab, chairman and chief executive of Foothill Capital Corp. in Santa Monica, has been appointed chairman of the board of the Commercial Finance Association, a trade association of banks and finance companies.
Consulting
Janis Risch has been promoted to chief operations officer of Russell Stephens LLC, an executive search firm serving the financial services industry. Risch joined the firm in 1992 and has held management positions with the Federal Reserve Bank.
Entertainment
Fox Television Studios has named Ronit Koren director of marketing. She will be responsible for developing and executing marketing campaigns for domestic and international television program sales and home entertainment. Koren previously was the company’s manager of marketing.
Bert Berdis & Co., a radio commercial production company, has named Kari Waz to the new position of executive producer. She previously was director of broadcast for Bates USA West.
Government
Laura Trejo has been appointed general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Aging. Trejo, who has been clinical district chief for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Countywide Older Adult Programs, will be responsible for the city’s programs for the elderly.
Health Care
HemaCare Corp. has named Judi Irving president and chief executive. Irving was most recently president and chief executive of Health Net of Arizona and Health Net of Oregon. She has also been vice president of operations and chief financial officer for the Western Region of Prudential Healthcare.
Leonard Borrmann has been named president and chief executive of Insert Therapeutics Inc. Borrmann joins Insert from Maret Pharmaceuticals, where he was president and chief executive.
Hospitality
Park Hyatt Los Angeles has appointed Roberto Alicea to executive chef of the hotel and chef de cuisine of the hotel’s restaurant, The Park Grill. Alicea previously was demi chef de cuisine at Nomi at the Park Hyatt in Chicago.
Law
Latham & Watkins has announced the election of 20 partners, six of whom will serve the Los Angeles Office. The new L.A. partners are James J. Farrell, Vincent H. Herron, David O. Kahn, Julian Kleindorfer, Gregory O. Lunt and Dominic K. L. Yoong.
Manufacturing
Avery Dennison Corp., developer and manufacturer of self-adhesive products, announced that Julia A. Stewart and Peter K. Barker have been elected directors. Stewart is president, chief executive and chief operator of IHOP Corp. Barker retired in 1998 as partner at Goldman, Sachs.
R. Chad Dreier, president and chief executive officer of The Ryland Group, a national homebuilder, has been elected to the board of directors of Occidental Petroleum Corp.
Marketing
Content Project, a Santa Monica marketing firm, announced the addition Jeannine Chanin as vice president of business development. She is a former partner at BarkStudio.
Media
Alex Ben Block has been named editor of Electronic Media, a television industry weekly publication. Block served as executive director of the Los Angeles Press Club and editor in chief of Hollywood Star News.
Real Estate
David R. Gordon has been promoted to executive managing director in the Los Angeles office of Studley Inc. He is a member of Studley’s National Accounts Group and its West Coast management committee.
Retail
Purebeauty, supplier of beauty products and salon services, has announced the addition of three executives. Al Calvanico has joined as chief financial officer, responsible for overseeing accounting, finance and information technology departments. Cavanico previously served was controller for Trader Joe’s Company. Allison O’Connor has been named vice president of merchandising, responsible for planning, allocation and visual presentation of all products. Mike Kraus has joined the company as corporate director of marketing and will oversee all strategic marketing efforts, including brand development and positioning.
Technology
Arthur Laffer has joined the board of Vizional, a Santa Monica-based software firm. Laffer, a former Reagan economic policy advisory board member, will serve as the chair on the finance and audit committees. He is the founder and chairman of Laffer Associates, an economics research and financial consulting firm.
Altnet has announced that Ron Lachman, co-founder of Sandpiper Networks, has been named chief scientist, a new position. Lachman will provide strategic and technical guidance on Altnet’s distributed computing initiatives.
ValueClick Inc has named Scott Ray general manager of Mediaplex Inc. and AdWare Systems Inc., units of its technology division. Ray will be responsible for the overall management and growth of the units.
