Promotions and appointments
Greg Isaacs has joined LeadPoint. Jeff Kichaven will join JAMS. Scott Shagrin and Ira Ravitz have moved to Merrill Lynch. Excel Life Sciences hired Dr. Vijai Kumar. Nero named Kris Barton general manager.
Salem Communications promoted Michael Reichert. Targus Group tapped Allen H. Gharapetian to head its marketing. UCLA School of Law has appointed Professor Lynn Stout to the Paul Hastings Endowed Chair in Corporate and Securities Law. Robert Lee will serve as a member of Corinthian Colleges, Inc‘s board. New Century Financial Corporation hired Taj S. Bindra.
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Los Angeles-based LeadPoint announced today it has hired former eBay executive Greg Isaacs as vice president, marketplaces. Isaacs will oversee all of LeadPoint’s existing products and will be responsible for developing and rolling out new products in multiple new verticals. Isaacs comes to LeadPoint from eBay, where he was the director of eBay’s developers program and was responsible for making eBay the largest and most innovative web services platform.
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Jeff Kichaven, a Southern California mediator, announced he will join JAMS, The Resolution Experts, on Dec. 1. Kichaven, who launched a private ADR practice in 1995 after a successful career as a litigator, will be based in JAMS Los Angeles Resolution Center and will be available to hear cases throughout the U.S.
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Scott M. Shagrin and Ira H. Ravitz have joined Merrill Lynch as financial advisors. The Shagrin Group will be based out of Merrill Lynch’s Beverly Hills office on the corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard. Shagrin brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. He joined Merrill Lynch from Smith Barney, where he served as a financial advisor and member of the Director’s Council for Top Producers for over 10 years. Ravitz also joined Merrill from Smith Barney, where he worked with The Shagrin Group Advisory Team for nearly ten years.
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Los Angeles-based Excel Life Sciences, a U.S.-based, India-focused life sciences company, announced today that it has hired Dr. Vijai Kumar to serve as the company’s president and chief medical officer, effective immediately. Kumar has been involved with over 200 clinical trials and 20 new drug application approvals in the USA, Europe and Asia. Excel Life Sciences’ service offerings include clinical trials, technology transfer, product licensing, formulation research, new product development, establishing GCP compliant sites and training of all clinical trials stakeholders, with an emphasis on emerging markets.
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Glendale-based Nero announced today that Kris Barton has joined the company as general manager of Nero Online. In his new position, Barton’s will oversee the ongoing development of Nero’s online presence and coordinate effective relationships between the company’s technology and products, marketing support, and business development operations within the company’s online strategy. Prior to joining Nero, Barton held senior posts at several industry leading software and web companies, including Microsoft where he managed teams for the worldwide development of the Microsoft’s Windows Live, MSN Portals and Microsoft Office products.
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Camarillo-based Salem Communications (Nasdaq:SALM), a Christian-themed content provider, today announced that Michael Reichert, who has been serving as regional manager over the San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle markets, has been promoted to vice president of operations effective November 1. In his new role Reichert will add New York and Boston to his current management responsibilities.
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Anaheim-based Targus Group International Inc., maker of notebook computer cases and accessories, announced today that Allen H. Gharapetian has joined the company as vice president of global marketing and global product management. Gharapetian will lead and manage product planning and product development for Targus’ global team. He will also focus on overseeing the company’s global marketing efforts, including brand management, market research, communications, and graphics and design.
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UCLA School of Law has appointed Professor Lynn Stout to the Paul Hastings Endowed Chair in Corporate and Securities Law. The Paul Hastings Chair was created in December 2005 through the generosity of the international law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. It is the first endowed chair UCLA Law has received from a law firm, and it is also the first endowed law firm chair in the city of Los Angeles.
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Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (Nasdaq: COCO) has appointed Robert “Bob” Lee to serve as a Class II member of Corinthian’s board of directors. This appointment increases the board to eight members, six of whom are non-employee directors. Lee has also been nominated and is expected to stand for election for a three-year term at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting expected to occur in January 2007.
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Irvine-based New Century Financial Corporation (NYSE:NEW), a real estate investment trust (REIT) and mortgage finance company, announced that it has hired Taj S. Bindra as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Bindra will assume the position of executive vice president effective Nov. 6, 2006 and chief financial officer effective Nov. 15, 2006.
Bindra will be a member of the company’s executive management committee and report to Brad A. Morrice, president and chief executive officer. As announced in August 2006, Patti M. Dodge, the current executive vice president and chief financial officer, will transition to the role of executive vice president, investor relations. This transition will become effective on November 15, 2006 and Dodge will continue to be a member of the executive management committee and report to Morrice.
