PEOPLE
Advertising
Lagrant Communications has promoted Keisha N. Brown to vice president of media and promotions. Brown, who had been media and promotions director, will be responsible for strategic planning, new business development and media buying.
Automotive
St. Louis-based Enterprise Rent-A-Car promoted Howard Zaroff to Southern California Division vice president and Fred Abdelnour to community relations manager for Southern California. Zaroff was in charge of Enterprise operations in eastern San Gabriel Valley, the Inland Empire and Orange and San Diego counties. Abdelnour most recently worked as human resources manager for Enterprise’s Culver City/Westside region.
Consulting
Pattiann Firmiss has been promoted to senior executive vice president and chief operating officer and Victor Palmieri extended his contract as vice chairman and general counsel at Mullin Consulting, which administers executive benefit plans.
Michelle Fletcher was named vice president of client services at Right Management Consultants. She will be responsible for business development with Fortune 500 companies in Los Angeles.
Dietary Products
Herbalife International has promoted Audrey Sommerfeld to senior vice president of global product marketing. Sommerfeld previously worked as Johnson & Johnson’s director of marketing for facial, hair and sun care products.
Education
UCLA Extension has named Karen Hassett director of custom programs and Jack M. Snyder continuing education specialist. Hassett will oversee business development of corporate education and training programs; Snyder will be responsible for legal programs and business conferences.
Financial Services
Scott A. McAfee has been elected chairman of WMC Finance Co. of Woodland Hills. McAfee had been president and chief executive of WMC subsidiary WMC Mortgage Corp.
Independent brokerage firm Brookstreet Securities Corp. in Pasadena has added G. Tilton Gardner and Terrence Duckett as securities brokers. Gardner, an equity placement specialist with more than 40 years of experience, previously worked with Roth Capital Partners. Duckett specialized in equities and retirement planning at A.G. Edwards before joining Brookstreet.
Kent G. Callahan was named president and chief executive of Transamerica Retirement Services. Callahan had been senior vice president for business development and marketing.
Government
Anh Truong, an associate at Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP, has been appointed to the Los Angeles Quality and Productivity Commission by Mayor James Hahn. Truong, who specializes in complex litigation, had served as a consultant to the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission and the Pasadena Charter Reform Task Force.
Health Care
Jay Greenberg has been appointed president of LivHOME Inc. following the assisted-living services firm’s recent acquisition of San Diego-based Age Concerns. Most recently, Greenberg was chief executive of SCAN Health Plan of Long Beach.
Law
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has named Brian Daucher, John Friedrichs, Frank Johnson and Jeff Rehfeld partners. Daucher specializes in litigation and intellectual property, Friedrichs in commercial lending transactions, Johnson in construction, environmental, real estate and land use litigation and Rehfeld in commercial bankruptcy.
Richard L. Sprunger and Gregory N. Weisman have both been made partners at Silver & Freedman. Sprunger, a CPA, has a practice in business, commercial and real estate activities. Weisman is chair of the firm’s apparel industry practice.
Media
Deborah Claesgens was named executive director of advancement for principal gifts and David Melendez was appointed executive director of advancement for foundation and corporate relations at public television station KCET-TV. Claesgens was director of development at Charter College of Education at California State L.A. Melendez most recently served as executive director of the Cesar Chavez Foundation.
John Davis has been appointed general manager of KDOC-TV in Los Angeles. Davis has been an account executive and retail sales manager with KDOC since 2001.
David McLees has been promoted to senior vice president of artists and repertoire for Warner Music Group’s Warner Strategic Marketing division, based in Burbank. McLees had been vice president of artists and repertoire at WSM’s Rhino Entertainment.
Bruce Wayne Yip was named marketing director of Angelsmith, a multimedia production and marketing company. Before joining Angelsmith, Yip promoted record labels Ministry of Sound and Capitol Records for SoulKool Promotions and was college marketing coordinator with Playboy Enterprises.
Real Estate
Stephen Boyle has been promoted to chief financial officer of Wedgewood Enterprise Corp. in El Segundo. Boyle joined Wedgewood, a real estate investment and residential property management firm, in 1999.
Rick Coop has been appointed president of Western Pacific Housing’s Los Angeles and Ventura County division. Coop will head the division’s operations, including marketing and planning for 14 communities in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
