Accounting
Steven Cupingood was promoted to partner at Singer Lewak Greenbaum & Goldstein in Los Angeles. He will focus on corporate, partnership, individual, and non-profit tax entities, including tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions.
Advertising & Marketing
Robert Foster was named senior vice president and regional management supervisor with Campbell-Ewald in Los Angeles. He will be responsible for media and creative planning in the Western United States, including marketing and communications planning for Chevrolet. Foster was previously the owner of R. Blake Marketing. Also, Tony Cowser was promoted to account supervisor. He will be responsible for developing strategic marketing plans for Chevrolet car and truck brands in the Western region. Cowser was most recently an account executive.
Associations
Hillary Selvin has been appointed president and chief executive of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. She will head efforts to advance business growth and development. Selvin was previously senior assistant executive director for Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles.
Banking & Finance
Union Bank of California named the following new hires and promotions in its Los Angeles office: Robert Alpert was named vice president in the community banking group. He was formerly product manager with Home Savings of America. Allison Berry was promoted to vice president in the commercial banking group. She was most recently a credit officer. Peter Gessert was appointed vice president of division sales and marketing manager in the commercial mortgage division. He was senior vice president for ARCS Commercial Mortgage in Calabasas. Greg Kirland was promoted to vice president for SelectBenefit. He was previously an operations manager.
Jeffrey Smith has joined Scudder Private Investment Counsel in Los Angeles as vice president and sales officer. He will be responsible for providing investment management services in the Greater Los Angeles region. Smith was previously with Bank of America in San Francisco.
Jaynie Studenmund has been named senior vice president of Fannie Mae’s Western region, headquartered in Pasadena. She will be responsible for marketing and customer management, risk management, and finance and resource management. Studenmund previously served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for the Los Angeles Times.
Education
Richard Koshalek was named president of Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He will work with the board of trustees to form policies and planning for educational initiatives, fund raising, and corporate and alumni relations. He was previously director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
Entertainment
Hollywood.com Inc. in Santa Monica announced the following new hires and promotions: Robert Shearer was named general counsel and senior vice president. He was previously with Weil Gotshal & Manges. Eric Illowsky was appointed senior vice president. He was previously senior vice president of programming and development at the Sci-Fi Channel. Mary Hall was promoted to executive director of operations. She was most recently director of operations.
John Bertolli and Brad Jenkel have been named co-heads of production for Destination Films in Santa Monica. They will be responsible for developing and overseeing projects from pre-production through post-production. Bertolli was most recently senior vice president of production and a producer at Orion/MPCA. Jenkel was executive vice president of production for Orion Pictures.
Randy Hogan has joined Energy Film Library in Los Angeles as vice president of information technology. He will oversee operational and system strategies. Hogan was most recently director of business planning for Winston Tire Co.
Hospitality
Lori Llevano has been appointed director of catering for Le Merigot in Santa Monica. She has been owner and operator of Event Management International for the past eight years. Also, Bruce Hochberger was named senior catering manager for the new hotel. He was most recently director of catering and conference management at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.
Klaus Mennekes has been named vice president and general manager of Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. He was previously general manager of Shutters on the Beach. Armella Stepan was named general manager of Shutters. She was most recently opening general manager for the Standard Hotel.
Dave Romano was promoted to director of catering and conference management at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. His responsibilities will include supervising catered events. Romano was formerly director of conference management.
Rodney Smith was appointed director of catering for the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites in downtown Los Angeles. He will oversee catering services for business and social events and is responsible for customer satisfaction and quality of service. Smith was previously food and beverage director for the San Francisco Holiday Inn Golden Gateway.
Insurance
Richard Erickson has been named general agent for Minnesota Life’s Individual Insurance business unit in Century City. He will be responsible for assisting clients with financial planning strategies. Erickson was a vice president with Met Life for 13 years.
Law
Philip Recht has been named partner with Mayer Brown & Platt in downtown Los Angeles. He will head the firm’s government practice group, concentrating on legislative, regulatory and enforcement matters. Recht was formerly deputy administrator and chief counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Media
Jamie Foster was promoted to assistant news director at KNBC-TV Channel 4 in Burbank. He will be involved in overseeing all aspects of the news organization. Foster was previously executive producer.
Museums
Robert Sain has been appointed director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s LACMALab. He will oversee the new research and development unit and develop exhibitions and studio programs. Sain was executive director of the Children’s Museum in San Diego for the past seven years. Also, Katharine DeShaw was appointed vice president of development for the museum. She will develop and oversee government, foundation and individual fund-raising programs. DeShaw was most recently development director at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
New Media
Mark Tennenbaum has been named chief financial officer for SoftAware Inc. in Marina del Rey. He will be responsible for financial planning, accounting, corporate funding, and mergers and acquisitions. Tennenbaum was director of financial and strategic planning for Virgin Entertainment Group Inc.
Personnel
Elizabeth Kruse has joined Office Team in the City of Industry as staffing manager. She will be responsible for the recruitment and placement of job candidates, and handling client accounts. Also, Tania Hablian has joined the Glendale office of Office Team as staffing manager.
Real Estate
Paul Kitzinger has joined American Realty Advisors in Glendale as director of investment services. He will be responsible for new business development, consultant relations and client services. Kitzinger was previously vice president of investment management for Hart Advisors.
Robert Lowe Jr. has been promoted to senior vice president of Lowe Enterprises’ Destination Development Corp. in Los Angeles. He is responsible for resort community development activities, and managing hotel development and redevelopment. Lowe was most recently director of the hotel development group.
Rod Oshita has joined the Shidler Group in Los Angeles as senior project manager of acquisitions. He will be responsible for new acquisitions and development management of existing portfolios. Oshita was most recently a project developer for Summit Commercial Properties.
Retail
David Harris has been appointed assistant general manager of the Beverly Center. He will assist the general manager with day-to-day operations and maintaining stores and services. Harris previously served as operations manager for Ampco System Parking.
Claudia Reich was appointed vice president of marketing and advertising for Sport Chalet Inc. in Los Angeles. She will be responsible for all aspects of advertising, marketing and promotions. Most recently, Reich was an independent retail marketing consultant.
Security
Bill Babcock has been named chief financial officer for Construction Protective Services in Long Beach. He will oversee accounting and financial functions of the California, Nevada and Arizona facilities. Babcock has 14 years experience in the fields of accounting and finance.
