Birtcher Enterprises Names New Finance Chief
* Gregory MacDiarmid has been named chief financial officer of Birtcher Enterprises in Laguna Niguel, the parent company of several development, property management and real estate investment/advisory services firms. He joined Birtcher in 1989 as a vice president in the national finance group. From 1992 to 1995, MacDiarmid was senior vice president in charge of finance and operations for the company’s activities in Mexico, and during the past year, he has been working on financial and strategic planning projects involving various parts of the company.
* James R. Eckstaedt has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer of Cerplex Group Inc. in Tustin, a provider of service outsourcing. He succeeds Bruce Nye, who was appointed senior vice president, corporate development. Eckstaedt joins Cerplex after nine years at Western Digital, an Irvine mass storage products company., In his new role, Nye will be responsible for company merger and acquisition activity, strategic relationships and strategic planning activities.
* Doug Antone, president of Ingram Alliance and senior vice president of the parent company, Ingram Micro Inc., has been given the additional responsibilities of managing the product marketing and marketing communications departments. Ingram Micro, based in Santa Ana, is a wholesale distributor of microcomputer products.
* Mark De Fusco has been named director of academic affairs for the Southern California campus of the University of Phoenix in Costa Mesa. The campus has learning centers in Fountain Valley, Gardena, Lawndale, Diamond Bar, Van Nuys, Ontario and South Pasadena. De Fusco has been an adjunct instructor with the university since 1993.
* Steve Gaffney has been named a principal in McLarand, Vasquez & Partners Inc., an architectural and planning firm in Costa Mesa. He will continue his role as director of architecture.
* Richard A. Hawthorne has joined Voit Commercial Brokerage as an investment specialist in the Irvine office. He was previously senior institutional and lender specialist with Grubb & Ellis, and spent 12 years as president and founder of Hawthorne Development Co.
* Walter Schoenfeld has been elected chairman of the board of directors for Vans Inc., an Orange-based shoe company. He succeeds George McCown, who is now chairman of the executive committee and a vice chairman of the board. Gary Schoenfeld, chief operating officer of Vans, will assume the additional role of president. He succeeds Walter Schoenfeld, who will remain chief executive.
* Kerri Ruppert has been appointed chief financial officer of Comprehensive Care Corp. in Corona del Mar. She was formerly chief accounting officer. Drew Miller, who was previously both chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will remain as chief operating officer.
* Colette De Long has been named vice president of personal trust administration for First American Trust Co. She will be based in the Newport Beach office. De Long was previously a vice president and senior trust officer with Wells Fargo Bank and before that was a senior trust officer with Bank of America.
* Bob Barker has been appointed group vice president of Irvine-based Parker Bertea Aerospace’s new Flight Control & Hydraulic Systems operation. Frank Nichols has been named group vice president of the new Fluid Management & Control Systems operation, and Ed Arnold is the new group vice president of marketing.
* Robert J. Mandala has been named senior vice president of Bank of America. He will remain a district manager in Irvine, in charge of 25 traditional bank branches, grocery store banking centers, customer service and sales.
* D. Patrick Linehan has been appointed president and chief executive of NetSoft, an Irvine software company. Linehan was most recently president and chief executive of Provo, Utah-based MiraLink and before that was chief operating officer at Starbase Corp. in Irvine.
* Karen L. Karavatos has been appointed managing partner of the construction litigation division of Horton Barbaro & Reilly, a Santa Ana law firm. She was formerly a senior supervising attorney with the law firm of Fiore, Walker, Racobs & Powers.
* William F. G. Carroll has been named to head the Irvine loan production office of Preferred Bank. He is senior vice president and regional manager.
* Wayne R. Pinnell has been named an audit partner with Haskell & White, a Newport Beach accounting firm. He joined the firm in 1995 as a principal after more than 10 years with BDO Sediman, LLP.
* Patrick S. Jones has joined the board of directors of the Cerplex Group Inc., a Tustin provider of high-technology outsourcing services. He is vice president and corporate controller for Intel Corp.
