Company Town : Hard Rock Cafe Chooses CEO

Hard Rock Cafe International has hired James Berk, director of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Foundation, as president and chief executive.

Berk, 36, succeeds Arthur Levitt as chief executive. Levitt, 38, a former Walt Disney Co. executive, announced in December that he would return to Disney. Berk will join Hard Rock Cafe in April.

* Harry Medved, who resigned recently as communications director of the Screen Actors Guild, was named executive director of the Parents’ Television Council, a project of the Media Research Center. Medved also recently formed Internet Entertainment, a multimedia company.

* At Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Robert Maresca has been named vice president of marketing and Brian Miller has been named vice president of production.

* Former Savoy Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn executive Michelle Abbrecht has been named vice president of special marketing at Random House Trade Group.

* Tom Prince joins the Bubble Factory as senior vice president of production.

* Former MCA Music Entertainment Senior Vice President Paula Batson has been named vice president of Nashville-based Network Ink Public Relations.

* Jim Vescera has been named senior vice president of advertising and promotion for ABC Entertainment.

* Mark Stroman has been promoted to senior vice president of national promotion for Fox Broadcasting.

* ESPN has promoted Ed Durso to executive vice president of administration.