BANKING John N. Sinnema was named vice president and manager of Union Bank of California, Toluca Lake. As a senior staffing specialist for Union Bank, Sinnema began his career in the banking industry in 2002. Within a year he became manager of the Atwater branch, after going through the bank’s management training program. Most recently he managed the Westwood branch. Erik W. Daniels has been named as executive vice president and national sales manager for the Small Business Administration division of U.S. Bank in Glendale. Daniels was most recently senior vice president and western regional sales manager for Business Loan Express in Alhambra. ENTERTAINMENT DreamWorks Animation SKG announced the promotion of two of its executives to co-presidents of production for feature animation. Bill Damaschke and John Batter will oversee the creative production and development for the studio, the studio’s overall operations and its state-of-the-art animation tools and technology. Damaschke will also serve as president of live theatrical productions. Both gentlemen joined DreamWorks in 1995. A.D. “Bud” Albers has been appointed as chief technology officer of the Walt Disney Internet Group. In that position Albers is responsible for leading technological breakthroughs on existing platforms as well as developing cutting-edge new technology solutions in support of the company’s new media technology needs. Before joining Disney, Albers served as senior vice president and chief technology officer for MediaNet Digital. INSURANCE William J. Owen joined Zenith National Insurance Corp. as senior vice president of investor relations. Owen had previously served as chief financial officer at Zenith. LAW Horvitz & Levy announced the hiring of two new associates, Kris Bahr and John Querio. Bahr received his law degree from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Prior to joining the firm he clerked for the Honorable Jill N. Parish of the Utah Supreme Court. Querio previously worked as an associate at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal. He is a graduate of the Stanford Law School. In addition, Jason Litt and Jeremy Rosen were promoted to partners at the firm. Litt has handled numerous cases before the California Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. Rosen has been lead appellate counsel in dozens of appeals in a wide variety of areas. He is a graduate of Duke University School of Law. MANUFACTURING Blake Augsburger has been named as country manager for Harman USA, a division of Harman International Industries Inc. with offices in Northridge. In that position, Augsburger will manage support functions that cross divisional and business lines. He joined Harman International in 2001. The company also announced the appointment of Gary Steel to the board of directors. Steel serves as executive committee members at ABB Ltd., and has a background in human resource development, restructuring, and corporate governance. MARKETING David Yovanno has been promoted to chief operating officer of U.S. Media at ValueClick Inc. In that role Yovanno has overall responsibility for the company’s U.S. display advertising, lead generation and comparison shopping businesses. Yovanno joined ValueClick in 2000 and previously had been general manager of ValueClick Media. REAL ESTATE The Simi Valley/Moorpark Association of Realtors has announced its annual honors. Stan Rector of Troop Real Estate was selected as SVMAR “2007 Realtor of the Year.” He served as director and committee chairperson from 2004-2006 with SVMAR. “Being honored by your peers is the ultimate recognition,” said Rector. Leanne Alva of All-Valley Escrow is the first escrow officer to be named as the trade group’s “Affiliate of the Year” for 2007. Alva has been an escrow officer since 1997, joined the firm in 2005. Some of her services to SVMAR include affiliate chair in 2006 and 2007, and installation chair in 2006. SALES Dan Leal has taken over responsibilities as sales director of Internet radio and television station KSEX. Leal is an adult entertainment producer and also has 10 years experience in sales management for technology-based companies. TECHNOLOGY Ron Torten has been appointed as vice president of worldwide sales at Inphi Corp., a semiconductor manufacturer. In that position, Torten oversees the company’s entire sales organization, including a network of direct and independent sales force, manufacturer’s representatives and distributors in North American, Europe and Asia. Prior to joining Inphi, Torten was CEO at NemeriX.