Newsmakers

Education President Bush has named Simi Valley City Councilman Glen Becerra to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Becerra, 34, is a member of the Simi Valley Education Foundation. Entertainment Patrick Fitzgerald has been named senior vice president, sales and distribution, for Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE), announced Robert Chapek, president of BVHE. Fitzgerald comes to BVHE from Citibank, a subsidiary of Citigroup, where he served as vice president, business development, sales and distribution, for Latin America. Prior to his tenure at Citibank, Fitzgerald served with the Campbell Soup Company for 14 years. Finance The Verdugo Banking Co. announced the appointment of Michael F. Maluccio as chairman of the board of directors, replacing Eugene D. Fortner. Fortner, who had been chairman of the bank since its inception in 1991, will continue to serve as a director. A founder and original board member of the bank, Maluccio is president and CEO of Glendale-based management consulting and investment company, the Maluccio Co. James E. Whitney has been named senior vice president of the Bank of Granada Hills and manager of the bank’s SBA Loan Division. He previously served as the senior vice president and manager of the SBA Division of American Pacific Bank, one of the largest SBA generators in the nation. Insurance Bruce W. Marlow, president and CEO of 21st Century Insurance, announced Douglas K. Howell has been appointed senior vice president and CFO; Richard Andre senior vice president, human resources; and Dean Stark senior vice president, claims. Prior to joining 21st Century Insurance, Howell was senior vice president, CFO and treasurer of GuideOne Insurance Group. He has also served as vice president of finance and corporate development for Bankers Life Holding Company. His responsibilities included strategic acquisitions, finance, budget and planning. Andre now is responsible for overseeing the company’s human resources operation, including hiring over 500 new employees per year. Prior to joining 21st Century Insurance, Andre was vice president of personnel at Fidelity National Title Insurance Company. Stark is responsible for overseeing 21st Century’s claim operations. He holds a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter professional designation. The company also announced the retirement of Richard A. Dinon, senior vice president. Internet/Telecommunications Chatsworth-based 101communications announced Dan Altman was promoted to executive vice president, responsible for the finance and shared services departments of the company, including circulation, production and IT. Altman joined 101 from Intertec Publishing, where he served as executive vice president and CFO. Steven Crofts was named senior vice president, events and European operations. He oversees all 101 conference groups. Crofts, founder of The Data Warehousing Institute, which was acquired by 101communications in December 1999, is now senior vice president, conferences and events for 101. Michael Valenti was promoted to senior vice president, human resources. Valenti joined 101 as vice president of human resources in September 1999, following a 30-year career at the Los Angeles Times, where he held executive positions in the human resources department. Gordon Haight was promoted to general manager of 101’s core Igroup of publications and Web sites. As such, he will oversee the entire product group. Mark Sande, formerly 101’s vice president of marketing, was named publisher of Syllabus Magazine. Sande is responsible for the monthly publication targeted at educators and education technology, its annual conference and two regional conferences and Web site. Mark Long is the new president of North Hollywood-based SageMetrics, a business intelligence service provider. Long oversees all business operations as well as sits on the SageMetrics Board of Directors. He comes to SageMetrics from Intraware where he was vice president of strategic development. Manufacturing Capstone Turbine Corporation has named Michael G. Tingus president of Capstone California, a newly formed and wholly owned subsidiary headquartered in Woodland Hills. Prior to his appointment, Tingus was senior vice president and regional manager at Colliers Seeley, a commercial real estate development and property management firm. Capstone California has retained Robert H. Fleet as senior vice president. Fleet was a senior consultant in the builder division for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, working exclusively with Pardee Homes. The company has also retained Edward Edelman as regional director of engineering. He has 16 years in control systems, fuel systems and software engineering and has worked at Allied Signal and Sundstrand Power Systems. Real Estate Lawrence A. Scott was just named vice president of development, Southern California, for AvalonBay. Scott will oversee the company’s efforts from Ventura to San Diego and the Inland Empire. Sales AXS Technologies announced Raad Bunni will head up AXS’ Northwest sales efforts as a sales manager. Most recently, Bunni was senior director of channel development for Rilux Corp. where he oversaw business development, OEM and channel sales. Prior to Rilux, Bunni was director of national sales for Dage-MTI, Inc.