Banking & Finance
Wells Fargo Private Client Services has named the father and son team of Bob and Brian Firring senior financial consultants with Wells Fargo Investments LLC. Both Firrings were previously managing directors at Stone and Youngberg.
HSBC, an international financial institution, has named Steve Larsen as first senior vice president for its L.A. office. Larsen was previously vice president at Citibank.
PFF Bancorp Inc., a Pomona Valley-based bank and trust, has promoted Gregory C. Talbott to senior executive vice president and chief operating officer. Talbott recently served as chief financial officer with the firm.
Asset Foreclosure Services Inc. in Woodland Hills has hired Kellee Gibson as default manager. Gibson was previously vice president of operations at First Integra Funding Corp.
Construction
Limbach Facility Services, a national mechanical contract and service firm based in Pittsburgh, has hired Leonard Hayward as vice president and manager of its Los Angeles branch. Hayward was previously senior director and project executive at the University of Marelich Mechanical, a subsidiary of Emcor Group Inc. in Anaheim.
National bidder Turner Construction Co. has appointed Samuel R. Ramirez to senior project executive in its L.A. office. Ramirez was recently an executive in business development with the company.
Consulting
Aon Consulting, a human resources division of Aon Corp., has promoted Jammie Nam to assistant vice president in its Los Angeles office. Nam was previously a consultant with the firm.
First Consulting Group, specializing in outsourcing for health care and life sciences, has named Larry Ferguson chief executive and a member of the board. Ferguson was formerly president of First Data Systems.
Education
Buckley School in Sherman Oaks has hired David Carter as director of human resources. Carter was formerly sales assessment center manager at Aon Consulting.
Hospitality
Robert Thomas has been named general manager for the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey. Thomas recently served as general manager for the Marriott Hotel.
Michael Miner was named managing director of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites, an Interstate Hotels property in downtown L.A. Miner was formerly area general manager for the Kor Hotel Group.
Human Resources
Bill Heeley has been hired as an executive recruiter for direct response recruiting at Solution Marketing, an L.A.-based staffing resource for marketers. Heeley was formerly president at Infinite Brands.
Law
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has hired Anissa D. Seymour as partner in its securities litigation practice. Seymour was recently a senior litigation associate at Latham & Watkins LLP’s Los Angeles office.
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP has named Carlos E. Needham partner at its Los Angeles office. Needham was previously of counsel with O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
The World Intellectual Property Organization has appointed Gary J. Nelson a domain name mediator. Nelson is a partner with intellectual property law firm Christie Parker & Hale LLP in Pasadena. Nelson is one of only five arbitrators from the Los Angeles area.
Greenberg Traurig LLP has hired Paul Schumacher as a shareholder in the L.A. office’s litigation department. Schumacher was formerly a partner at Bingham McCutchen.
Marketing
DIC Entertainment, a brand management company based in Burbank, has appointed Jeffrey Edell as president and chief operating officer. Most recently, Edell served as president and chief executive of MFC Development Corp.
Media
Penthouse Magazine Group has named Susan Steel West Coast sales director at the company’s Los Angeles office. Recently, Steel was southwest sales manager with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Public Relations
Jim Giggans has been hired as senior vice president for public affairs at Edelman, an independent firm. Giggans was previously an anchor and news reported at KNBC.
Real Estate
Grubb & Ellis Co., a commercial real estate organization, has promoted J.C. Casillas to client services manager for Los Angeles County. Previously, Casillas was Los Angeles County research services manager.
Technology
Aerospace Corp., an El Segundo-based non-profit technical analyses company, has named Dan S. Barbee as general manager of the facilities division. He was formerly director of public office buildings with the city and county of Denver. Also, Rufus A. Fulton Jr. and John E. McLaughlin were elected to Aerospace Corp.’s board. Fulton was chairman and chief executive of Fulton Financial Corp.; and McLaughlin was formerly a Central Intelligence Agency official.
Utilities
The Valley County Water District Board has appointed Guy H. Mato as interim general manager. Mato is currently broker and owner of Venture Matrix.
KUDOS
The Los Angeles Jewish Federation Legal Division has honored Michael Smooke with the Bruce I. Hochman Maimonides Torch of Justice Award. Smooke is a real estate partner at Fulbright & Jaworski and the award recognizes his philanthropic and civic contributions to the Jewish community.
Michael Kaplan, a real estate investor with Arka Properties Group and a member of City of Hope’s national board, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree from the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences. The award recognizes Kaplan for his support.
BusinessWeek Magazine has listed the following Los Angeles businesses on its “100 Hot Growth Companies” of 2005: Korn/Ferry International (No. 82), Guess (No. 78), ValueClick (No. 55), Diodes Inc. (No. 52) and PeopleSupport (No. 14).
Parsons, a Pasadena-based engineering and construction firm, has won the 2005 China Construction and Engineering Luban Award for its Teda Soccer Stadium project. The Luban Award is given by the Ministry of Construction each year to one project that demonstrates excellence in engineering.
Citywealth Magazine has named the following Los Angeles businesspeople on its Top 100 Wealth Advisors and Managers in America: John Couch, wealth manager at Goldman Sachs & Co.; Lawrence H. Heller, partner at Bryan Cave LLP; Mark A. Ivener, managing partner at immigration law firm Ivener & Fullmer LLP; and Andrew M. Katzenstein, partner at Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman LLP.
– LABJ Staff
