VALLEY NEWSMAKERS

FEATURED NEWSMAKER As consumer market executive for Bank of America’s west San Fernando Valley market, Dawn Belton will be leading the charge at 21 retail banking centers comprised of 330 associates, implementing and overseeing many changes that are now in the works. “My responsibility is in assisting and implementing the bank’s many improvements,” she said. “We’re assessing customer’s needs; we’re now looking at new ways in which we offer services, and test piloting quite a few [initiatives]” Among her biggest opportunities and challenges will be helping customers know about and understand recent improvements that include overdraft fee changes and simplified fee structures; and helping associates adapt to new tools to solve customer problems more quickly. The bank will also be test piloting new “specialty stores” in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley that more fully integrate the bank’s small business, investment and mortgage capabilities bolstered by the Merrill Lynch and Countrywide acquisitions. “We’re adding more small business banking specialists to be able to better advise businesses in the local community,” said Belton. These “specialty stores” will bring together small business specialists, financial advisors, and mortgage loan officers under one roof to make it easier for customers to leverage the bank. “These are all very exciting changes that will be great for small business,” Belton said. “We’re very excited about this program.” This pilot program will be rolling out within the next month, she said. Belton will be accountable for the market’s overall performance results, and will oversee policy and strategy implementation for the market, which serves nearly 200,000 households with approximately $3 billion in deposits. “My responsibility is also making sure we remain connected within our communities through volunteerism and assisting in our company’s effort to give back,” she added. Belton started her career at Bank of America in 1999, serving in consumer credit card services managing loss prevention, marketing and customer satisfaction efforts across country. Prior to joining the bank, Belton worked in retail management in the Washington, D.C. area. – Andrea Alegria Awards Jonas Peterson, Executive Director of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation in Valencia, was presented with the Outstanding New Economic Developer of the Year Award by the International Economic Development Council. The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Sept. 27 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio. Peterson was recently hired as the first Executive Director for the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation. Peterson received the award for his work as the Economic Development Director for Mohave County, Ariz., where he previously served. In that position, he helped recruit four of the largest wind and solar energy projects in the nation. Together, these projects represent approximately $9.8 billion in new capital investment and are expected to create over 11,000 jobs. Architecture James Heimler, Architect, Inc. added three new employees as senior draftpersons. They include Jess Real, who has more than 10 years of experience in commercial, industrial and residential architecture; Mario Jaime, who has 15 years of architectural experience in various project types including residential, commercial, medical, and institutional; and Rolando “Rolli” Dorado, who has 15 years of experience in large scale commercial, institutional, residential and hospitality projects. Banking Community Bank has named David Rosso the business center manager of its new Warner Center office in Woodland Hills. Rosso will be responsible for managing operations at the location, which opened July 1, and developing and maintaining a customer base in the area. Rosso has more than 30 years of banking experience including senior management positions at Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Union Bank. He served on the Valley Economic Alliance board and executive committee for seven years. Entertainment Entertainment Lighting Services in Sun Valley promoted key employees and hired two more. John Mitchell was promoted to vice president of sales and business development and Tiny Lavietes to rental operations manager. Mitchell has been with ELS since 2003. He previously served as director of sales where he oversaw growth in installation and boxed good sales. Longtime sub-rental manager Lavietes will assume responsibility for the day to day operation of the ELS Rental Division. Lavietes will work closely with Mitchell to increase market penetration, and supervise the rental equipment inventory. Lavietes has been with ELS since 2000. Robert Chambers Pullman was hired to assume the newly created role of venue accounts manager. In this position, he will be responsible for helping to establish and maintain relationships with venues in the Greater Los Angeles area. Rick Taylor joined ELS as labor services coordinator. He will be responsible for scheduling labor for all events and productions. Taylor is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. . Hospitality Ocean Park Hotels, LLC has announced the appointment of Michael S. Webster as the vice president of operations. Webster has been with Ocean Park since 2005 as opening general manager for two of their Marriott flagged hotels and then as regional general manager for the company. Replacing him as on-property general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott – Thousand Oaks is Donna Giordan-Ontiveros and at the Towneplace Suites by Marriott – Thousand Oaks is Amanda Parrish. Landscaping Landscaping company Stay Green Inc. has promoted Kevin Cawley to operation manager serving clients in the Santa Clarita Valley. Cawley, 28, was promoted from his previous position as an account manager. In his new role he will manage two of Stay Green’s four Santa Clarita service areas and oversee approximately 45 employees, including two production managers and an account manager. Cawley recently took on major new projects providing landscape management services to Six Flags Magic Mountain, Pacific Hills and West Creek/West Hills. Law Attorney Seymour Amster was sworn in as President of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association and Judge Michael Hoff was sworn as President of the Valley Community Legal Foundation during the SFVBA’s Annual Installation Gala Oct. 2. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Wesley presided over the installation ceremonies. During the event a Special Law, Arts, & Media Award was also given to actor Joe Mantegna, star of the CBS show “Criminal Minds.” Marketing Online marketing company ReachLocal, Inc. elevated Jeff Hagins to the position of chief technology officer. Steven Power, ReachLocal Australia’s chief executive officer, was promoted to executive vice president of global sales operations. Hagins was previously ReachLocal’s vice president of engineering for digital presence. He came to ReachLocal through the company’s February acquisition of SMB:LIVE Corporation, where he was a founder and chief technology officer. Hagins will succeed Robert “Rick” Spitz, who is retiring after a 38-year-career as a technology innovator. Spitz will remain with the company in an advisory capacity to assist with the transition. In his new role Power will be primarily responsible for enhancing the company’s global sales team and operations, reporting to Nathan Hanks, the company’s chief distribution officer. Power launched ReachLocal’s Australian operations in 2006. Prior to ReachLocal, Power served as an executive at Netus Pty Ltd, an Australian venture capital company backed by News Corporation; and at PMP as a national sales director and as executive for acquisitions and solutions development. Real Estate Commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc., added Jeff McGuire, a 16-year commercial real estate veteran, as a principal specializing in the sale of mid-sized multi-family properties throughout Southern California with an emphasis on the West Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley and Ventura County markets. McGuire was formerly with ReMax Commercial where he was a senior investment advisor and among the company’s Top 10 producers for eight consecutive years, including two years as its top commercial sales specialist in the U.S. He began his commercial real estate career at Marcus & Millichap and held the position of senior associate before leaving in 1999. Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc., has added Lloyd R. Wertheimer as associate vice president specializing in office sales and leasing. Wertheimer has worked extensively in the Conejo Valley and Ventura County markets and is active in numerous organizations in the city of Thousand Oaks and throughout the Conejo Valley. He was formerly with Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services where he specialized in the sale and leasing of office, retail and industrial properties. Technology Wesely Thomas, a Thousand Oaks-based company that focuses on building or renovating labs, research facilities, operating rooms and other high performance facilities for biotechnology companies and hospitals, appointed Jaime Henard as project manager. Henard joins from Rudolph & Sletten, where he managed projects for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Century Plaza Towers, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital and Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center. Technology company DataDirect Networks based in Chatsworth appointed tech industry innovator Bret Weber as vice president and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) Evangelist. In this role, Weber will be responsible for helping foster and strengthen key OEM relationships to accelerate the company’s embedded systems business. With more than 27 years of experience, Weber joins from LSI Corporation. He holds more than 30 issued patents in the areas of storage software, hardware, and systems. EZ-CAP, with corporate offices in Longwood, Fla. and operations in Valencia, hired Dorothy (Dottie) Higgason-Robinson as vice president, clinical applications; Tom Arakelian as manager, network services; Sara Hull as implementation manager; and Greg Gootee as senior business analyst. Prior to joining EZ-CAP, a company that provides technology to automate healthcare administration, Higgason-Robinson created and built Health Access Solutions, the software division for Pacific Partners Management Services, Inc., where she served as chief operating officer. She also held the position of director MSO client services-HIPAA compliance officer for Pacific Partners Management Services. Arakelian most recently served as information technology manager for Nexus Integration Services, Inc. Hull previously served as senior systems/software application analyst for Access Community Health Network where she provided primary application support for administrative staff in more than 50 clinics. Gootee previously served as CIO of Mid Rogue Management Services. Transonic Combustion appointed Wolfgang Bullmer as chief executive officer. Bullmer will also join the Board of Directors. The Camarillo-based company hired Bullmer in August as president and chief operating officer. He joined Transonic Combustion from BorgWarner where he was most recently vice president of Advanced Engine Engineering.