Newsmakers

Sfv newsmakers 1-25/dt1st/mike2nd Advertising Summerfield Horner has been named media buyer at Inter/Media Advertising. He will be responsible for placing direct-response spots on national cable and local broadcast markets. Horner served as traffic manager for the agency since 1996. Education James Sullivan has been named interim vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer at Cal State Northridge. His duties include streamlining the fiscal operations of the university as well as overseeing the continued reconstruction of campus damage caused by the 1994 earthquake. Sullivan is coming out of retirement to take the position, but had held similar positions in the past for the University of California. Entertainment Shirley Eaton has been promoted to manager of advertising and public relations at North Hollywood-based Landmark Entertainment Group. She will supervise all advertising, promotion and public relations activities, on a corporate level, in relation to trade shows, and in conjunction with specific company-designed and produced projects. Since joining the company in 1991, Eaton has served as executive assistant to the company chairman and chief executive. Ted Rae has been named visual effects supervisor at Sylmar-based Visual Concept Engineering Inc. He will be responsible for co-supervision of the VCE visual effects division. Hellene Runtagh has been promoted to executive vice president at Universal Studios. In her new position she will assume responsibility for the global sourcing and real estate operations of Universal’s parent, Seagram Co., as well as a newly created shared services initiative. Runtagh joined Universal in 1997 as senior vice president. Health Care Elliot Gordon[picla1-11] has been promoted to vice president of legal services for WellPoint Health Networks Inc. He will be responsible for ensuring companywide compliance with federal and state employment and labor laws and managing all employment-related legal matters. Prior to joining, Gordon was of counsel with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Also, Robert Kelly[picla1-11] has been promoted to vice president of legal services. He serves as senior legal advisor for mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and compliance, as well as general corporate matters. Kelly was formerly an associate with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Dawn Wood[picNM1-18] has been promoted to vice president and medical director of Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs for Woodland Hills-based Blue Cross of California. In addition, Wood is an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA. Kevin Woodard has joined the Woodland Hills office of Health Net as vice president of strategic planning. He will be responsible for the development, analysis and evaluation of strategic initiatives and business planning for the company. Previously, Woodard served as director of health economics for Prudential Health Plan of California. High Tech Michael Friedman has been promoted to president of E/W Electronics. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations of the company. Most recently, Friedman was executive vice president and chief financial officer. Also, Richard Friedman has been named vice president of sales. He will be responsible for the oversight of the entire national sales operation for the company. Previously, Friedman was a company regional manager. And Ferdie Alviz has been named vice president of operations. He will be responsible for all facets of inside sales activity, import purchasing and inventory and warehouse operations. Most recently, Alviz served as operations manager. Yatin Mody has been named vice president and controller of Camarillo-based Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. He will be responsible for the growing finance and accounting functions of the company. Mody has been with the company since 1992, most recently as controller. Also, Roy Carew has been named vice president of assembly and testing. He will manage assembly, testing and subcontract operations based in Camarillo. Carew has been with Vitesse for over 11 years, most recently as director of assembly and testing. Douglas Van Den Broeke has been appointed vice president of technology at Burbank-based Align-Rite International Inc. He will be responsible for the advancement, research and development of Align-Rite’s photomask technologies and manufacturing capabilities. Most recently, Van Den Broeke was director of research and development at Photronics. Martin Woll has been appointed chief financial officer and vice president of finance for Camarillo-based ACT Networks Inc. He directs and controls the overall financial plans and policies, accounting practices and relationships with the firm’s shareholders, lending institutions and the financial community. Most recently, Woll was business assurance partner and banking leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Law Lisa Weinberg has been named partner at Woodland Hills-based Gaines & Stacey. She will continue to specialize in real property and land use-related litigation matters. Prior to joining, Weinberg practiced for 10 years at Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. New Media Kenneth Clark has joined North Hollywood-based Net Effect Systems as vice president of sales. He will be responsible for the growing national sales force of the company. Previously, Clark was vice president of sales at One Meaning Inc. Also, Tom Ku has joined as vice president of professional services. Prior to joining, Ku was vice president of solution services and partners for BEA Systems Global Services. Larry Shapiro[picla1-11] has been named senior vice president of business and legal affairs for Buena Vista Internet Group, a division of the Walt Disney Co. He will serve as general counsel for the division, oversee the human resources department and play a significant role in managing Disney’s relationship with Infoseek. Prior to his promotion, Shapiro served as vice president-counsel with Disney’s corporate legal department. Eric Shepcaro has been appointed vice president of worldwide sales for Westlake Village-based Sandpiper Networks Inc. He will be responsible for implementing new programs that enhance the global rollout of Sandpiper’s Footprint service. Prior to joining, Shepcaro spent over 17 years at Sprint Corp., most recently as vice president of sales engineering and application support. Real Estate Jim Patton was recently promoted to director of leasing and acquisitions for Tarzana-based NewMark Merrill Cos. He will be responsible for the acquisition of all retail assets, including developments and investments. Patton has served as director of business development since the company’s inception in 1997.