METROPOLITAN MOVERS
Congratulations and Condolences

    FirstWorld Communications named Sheldon Ohringer president and CEO. With 18 years of senior telecommunications management experience, he most recently was with ICG Communications, where he was president of the ICG Telecom Group.

Zimmer

    P. Gregory Zimmer Jr. was appointed CFO and senior v.p. of the Robert F. Driver Co. Inc. shortly after the company was purchased by senior management executives. Most recently, Zimmer was senior v.p. of a subsidiary of General Motors Acceptance Corp.

    A mortgage banking career spanning more than 15 years has helped earn David Johnston a promotion to senior v.p. of McMillin Mortgage. Johnston joined the firm three years ago and oversees a staff that closed more than $149 million in home loans last year, a 36 percent increase from 1996. This year, the mortgage department hit its $160 million goal in August and is now expecting to handle $225 million in loans by year’s end.

    In 20 years of international banking, Charles "Chuck" Taylor worked in places like Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia and China. His new job is with First National Bank as head of trade finance.

    Susan Ryan was promoted to v.p. and bankcard services manager at Valle de Oro Bank. She developed a "No Fee Ð Fly Free" card program and has been recognized nationally for the program's success.

Kusumoto

    Attorney Peter Ito, an associate in the San Diego office of Baker & McKenzie, is the new president of the California Receivers Forum.

    David Kusumoto has moved up to director of media relations and editorial services at Roni Hicks & Associates. He has 20 years of experience as a broadcast news director, editor and reporter, and as a media, corporate and financial communications representative at Sempra Energy.

    Promoted to director of business development at the architectural firm of Carrier Johnson was H. Michael Smith. He joined the firm last year.

    Colliers International, a commercial real estate services company, appointed Richard Bradley regional manager in anticipation of the opening of a new brokerage office in San Diego in mid-1999. Other appointees are Jim Zimsky, senior v.p., who will manage the San Diego/UTC and Rancho Bernardo offices, and Bill Rodewald, senior v.p. and manager, and member of the Colliers International board, to oversee Carlsbad operations.

    The new deputy director of development at the San Diego Museum of Art is Rochelle McReynolds. She spent the last eight years in a similar position for KOCE-TV, Orange County Public Television.

    Carol Wallace, president and COO of the San Diego Convention Center Corp., is first v.p. of the International Association of Assembly Managers. Next year, she will become president. The organization is the largest organization for public facilities managers.

    Appointed project manager for Carrier Design Group Inc. was Frederic Huddleston, a 15-year veteran of the architectural industry who formerly was principal and owner of FWH Design.

    Roel Construction's new Surety Claims Division hired Chuck Montgomery, a 24-year industry veteran, as manager. Roel Construction's Consulting Group hired Brent Williamson as project manager/cost estimator. Also new to the company is George Kragseth, superintendent of Roel's Tenant Improvement Group. Other new hires by Roel are Chris Heese, project engineer with the General Construction Group, and Leighton Walker, superintendent.

    Kevin Sloat, principal at Sloat, Higgins & Associates and former chief legislative adviser for Gov. Wilson, has teamed with The Flannery Group, the current lobbyist for the city of San Diego. He will serve as the lead lobbyist of the group's 1999 advocacy team, and Joyce Flannery will manage the city's legislative program. Also new with the Flannery Group is Adam Day, former chief of staff to County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who holds a newly created v.p. position.

    The International Data Response Corp. appointed Leslie Athill as v.p. of financial and strategic analysis. She spent four years with the Walt Disney Co. before taking this position.

    Thomas Byrnes was named president and CEO of American Digital Network. Before taking this position, Byrnes was teaching strategic management at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business at the University College, Dublin, Ireland.

    The San Diego Division of Stewart Title of California named Autumn Frank v.p. of subdivision services. Frank has been in this business for 10 years and joined Stewart Title early this year.

    Promoted to tax manager for McGladrey & Pullen, CPAs and consultants, was Tom McFadden. He joined the firm in 1993.

    David Norris, a solo practitioner, will fill the California Young Lawyers Association seat on the State Bar's board of governors and will be president of the group for the second term. He specializes in general civil litigation.

    Irwin Miller, associate professor at California Western School of Law, was named director of the school's clinical internship program. He has been on the faculty since 1989.

    The law firm of Baker & McKenzie welcomed five new associates in the San Diego office. They are Michael Roybal, Adam Philipp, David Nelson, Christopher Alexander and Richard Kim.

    Dr. Kurt Benirschke, president of the Zoological Society board, received the R. Marlin Perkins Award for Professional Excellence from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. Also honored was Donald Lindburg, research behaviorist, who received the Outstanding Service Award.

Monaco

    Cynthia Monaco is sales manager at Amador, the newest neighborhood of homes being built by Davidson Communities in the Carmel Valley east of Del Mar. She has been in residential sales for 12 years.

    Pountney & Associates Inc., consulting civil engineers & land surveyors, added Kevin Sullivan as a design engineer. He has been in the business for four years.

    Genesis Communications International Inc. promoted Ruben Caraveo from director of operations to v.p. of operations, and Mary Anne Kremicki from corporate controller to v.p. of corporate finance. Founded in 1995, the company provides local and long distance telecommunications.

    Tom Shaddox was promoted to v.p. of construction of Hazard Construction Co. A 20-year veteran of the heavy construction industry, he joined Hazard last year as senior project manager/estimator.

    WD-40 Co. promoted Roy Garizio to U.S. director of field sales. During his two years with the company he has been regional director of sales. He formerly worked for Scott Paper Co. for 25 years.
    Robert Tyson Jr. left Chapin Fleming McNitt Shea & Carter to open his own law office in the area of business litigation. He will specialize in professional liability and year 2000 litigation.

    New employees hired by the Sutherland Group Ltd. are Matthew Richter, manager of business consulting services; Edwin Beck, master trainer; Edward Butka, employee development consultant; Rick Taylor, executive director, market research business operations and Kevin Meagher, director of West Coast operations. The group supplies outsourced technology and customer management services.

    Elected to national v.p. positions of the Muscular Dystrophy Association were Ben Davidson of La Mesa, and David Harshbarger of Encinitas. Davidson is a former professional football player with the Oakland Raiders, and Harshbarger is president of his own construction company. He has a 17-year-old son with muscular dystrophy.

    Robert Parme and Mike Mulvey were named senior associates of Kornberg Associates architectural firm. Parme joined the company in 1989 and Mulvey in 1990. Each has more than 20 years of experience in the field.

    Susan Moss, a Washington, D.C., attorney, diversity leader and civil rights advocate, will become San Diego State University's first full-time director of diversity and equity. She will join the staff Dec. 1, after serving since 1992 as assistant to the chancellor for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

    Promoted as senior biologists for RECON, an environmental consulting company, were Mark Dodero and Cynthia Jones. Dodero, who taught in city schools and worked at the San Diego Natural History Museum, has been with the firm since 1994. Jones was a naturalist and science teacher before joining the company in 1997.

Westlake

    Dudley Westlake was hired by Microelectronic Packaging Inc. to oversee sales and marketing. He has worked in the field for 22 years at such companies as Iomega, Beckman Instruments and Rockwell International.

    Named regional executive director for the American Cancer Society's Border Region, which includes San Diego and Imperial counties, was Stephen Browning. Formerly with the Desert Palms area, he has been with the society for 12 years.

    Attorneys Pauline Getz and James Crosby formed a new law partnership, Getz & Crosby, in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Getz, an attorney for 16 years, opened her own practice in 1996 after nine years as a partner in a Downtown firm. Crosby, an attorney for 15 years, opened his own practice in 1992.

    Mark Divine was named division director of RHI Management Resources, a nationwide staffing service for accounting and financial professionals.

    Named senior v.p. of Aquatic Equipment & Services Inc. was Mark Clements, formerly business manager of AES. Clements is president of the Society of Design Administration and president-elect of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

    Kelly Bennett joined the Lavine, Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg CPA firm as a tax professional. She formerly did the same work in Paso Robles. She will work with the firm's small business clients.

    Education for Excellence appointed David Phillipson as director of communication and Bill Karlzen as executive director. A nonprofit foundation that works with at-risk children, the organization recently moved to Mission Valley from Reno.

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