San Fernando Valley Sherman Oaks Gordon Gregory, founder of Sherman Oaks investment bank Mosaic Capital LLC, has died of complications from cancer. He was 59. Gregory and fellow investment banker Davis Blaine co-founded professional networking group ProVisors in 1988 to connect lawyers, accountants, investment bankers and other professional service providers. Today, the group has more than 3,000 members in California and the Boston area. Gregory was born in Los Angeles in 1953, attended USC, UC Berkeley and Hastings College of Law. A resident of Hidden Hills, he is survived by three daughters. Glendale DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. has hired Dawn Taubin as its chief marketing officer. The Glendale animation studio hired Taubin to replace Anne Globe, who resigned earlier this month to start her own consulting firm following some notable studio flops. Taubin previously headed up domestic marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures and a Sherman Oaks marketing consulting firm. She will be responsible for marketing at the studio that includes theatrical, television and global initiatives. Taubin also taught public relations and advertising at Chapman University in Orange. Burbank Walt Disney Co. won a major legal victory this month when a federal appeals court ruled that its Marvel Entertainment subsidiary has ownership of some of its most popular superheroes. In a 57-page ruling, a panel of three New York appellate justices upheld a lower court decision that granted the studio ownership of characters such as the Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man. The litigation began shortly after the Burbank media conglomerate acquired Marvel for $4 billion in 2009. It was filed by the family of one the cartoonists who worked for Marvel. Umami Restaurant Group of Los Angeles has opened an outlet in Toluca Lake at one of the area’s oldest lunchtime stops. Umami Burbank opened earlier this month at the former Papoo’s Hot Dog Show, which closed in 2011 after 62 years in business. To pay tribute to the old hot dog stand, the burger outlet also serves a variety of hot dogs at the location. Umami Restaurant Group has more than 15 location in California, New York and Florida, with other area locations in Studio City and Thousand Oaks. Megabus has begun service between Burbank, San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. The discount bus service, owned by Scottish conglomerate Stagecoach Group plc, will offer six daily trips from Metrolink’s downtown Burbank station at 201 N. Front St. The bus service was offered in Los Angeles in the past, but stopped in 2008. Since December, Megabus has added service in eight California cities. Chatsworth JPMorgan Chase & Co. is laying off 300 workers at its Chatsworth mortgage-processing office. The layoffs are part of the New York bank’s nationwide staff cuts announced about six months ago. Several hundred employees will remain at the office once the phase-out is complete, which the company said will take place over three months to one year. Chase added employees to the mortgage services office during the recession to handle an increased number of foreclosures and refinancing of mortgages, but that work has since faded. Chase has 20,000 employees in California where it serves more than 10 million customers. Conejo Valley Westlake Village Produce company Dole Food Co. has accepted an offer from its 90-year-old chief executive to go private. Two months after David Murdock offered $12 a share for the Westlake Village company, he made a second offer that values the company at about $1.6 billion, including debt. The $13.50 a share Murdock has agreed to pay represents a 32 percent premium over the price at the time of the initial offer in June. The deal is still subject to approval by shareholders not affiliated with Murdock, who already controls about 40 percent of the shares. Santa Clarita Valley Santa Clarita Holly Schroeder has been named the president and chief executive of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp. She replaces Jonas Peterson, who left the non-profit development agency in June to pursue a similar position in Las Vegas. The agency is operated in partnership with College of the Canyons and several local businesses. Earlier this year, it was awarded a three-year, $600,000 contract from the City of Santa Clarita to boost area business development. Schroeder leaves a position as chief executive of the Los Angeles and Ventura County Chapter of the Building Industry Association, where she has worked for eight years. The Valencia resident will begin in her new position Sept. 9. Around the Valleys To be considered for publication, submissions should be emailed to [email protected]. Please put ATV in the subject line. For more information, call (818)316-3121.
Around the Valleys
