VALLEY PEOPLE
* Joshua Benegal Marks was named president and chief operating officer of Virtualis Systems Inc., Studio City, a privately held Web hosting provider. Marks has been a director with the 3-year-old company since last year.
Marks founded TCC, an Apple and HP value-added reseller in Washington, D.C.
Virtualis Systems Inc. provides site management and e-commerce software, featuring total merchant payment integration and catalog creation tools.
* Mary Nelson Garrett has been promoted to director of investor relations at THQ Inc., Calabasas. Garrett had been director of finance at the company. She will continue to report directly to Fred Gysi, vice president of finance and administration.
THQ develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, Nintendo and Sony.
* Dan Romanelli has signed a new long-term contract with Warner Bros., extending his tenure as president of Warner Bros.’ Worldwide Consumer Products division in Burbank.
Along with continuing responsibility for all the business units within the Warner Bros. Consumer Products division, such as Warner Bros. Licensing and Warner Bros. Studio Stores, Romanelli is now authorized to acquire properties intended primarily for the creation of licensing and merchandising franchises.
* Rick Ramirez has been named vice president of the 3-month-old Phil Roman Entertainment Co. in Studio City.
Phil Roman recently left the animation company he founded in 1984, Film Roman Inc., to create his new wholly-owned full-service animation firm.
Ramirez’s responsibilities will include all areas of business affairs, financing and development in both the English and Spanish-language markets, as well as general management responsibilities.
* Dan Harper has been promoted to operations manager of golf course construction for Environmental Golf, Calabasas.
Harper joined the company in 1990 as a project coordinator for golf course construction.
Environmental Golf is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Environmental Industries Inc., a national landscape contracting and service firm with annual revenues of $400 million.
