BUSINESS PEOPLE
* Diane Hilliard of Winnetka has been promoted to director of the homeowners association division at LB Property Management, Los Angeles, the company said. She will oversee the staff of association supervisors and accountants, among other duties.
LB specializes in the management of multifamily residential and commercial properties.
* Naveen Ahuja has been promoted to area managing director for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Los Angeles. He will be responsible for the Sheraton Universal Hotel, Universal City, where he is based and will oversee four other Starwood properties in the greater Lo s Angeles area.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. operates more than 650 hotels in 70 countries.
* Judy Kneisley has been appointed senior vice president and general manager at Lee Hecht Harrison, Woodland Hills. She will be responsible for marketing and sales of the company’s career services in the Los Angeles area.
Lee Hecht Harrison offers outplacement, executive coaching and career development services, through offices in the United States, Europe and Australia.
* Martin D. Pichison has been named interim chief executive officer and president of ORA Electronics, Chatsworth, replacing Gershon Cooper, who is resigning for medical reasons but will remain chairman of the board.
ORA Electronics is a supplier of cellular phones, personal communications services, modems and related products.
* James Segil has been appointed vice president of marketing at Virtualis Inc., North Hollywood, the company said. Segil comes to Virtualis from Mattel Inc., where he served as brand manager for Hot Wheels and other toys.
Virtualis is an E-commerce and Web-hosting application service provider.
* Stuart Oken has been promoted to senior vice president of creative affairs for Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Burbank, the company said. Oken has been with the company since 1995. Before that he served as president of Witt-Thomas Films at Warner Bros.
Walt Disney Theatrical Productions produces films.
* John King has joined Hydro-Aire Inc., Burbank, as technology specialist. King had been a project engineer for the Air Force at Hill Air Force Base, Ogden, Utah. He was instrumental in recent redesigns of the F-16 jet and C-141 cargo plane braking systems.
Parent company Crane Aerospace is part of Crane Co., a manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving niche markets in fluid handling, aerospace, automatic merchandising, engineered materials and industrial controls.
* Tom Williams has been promoted to chairman and chief executive officer for Universal Studios Recreation Group, Universal City, the company announced. Williams has been with Universal Studios for 29 years. Most recently he served as president and chief executive officer of Universal Studio’s Escape theme park in Orlando, Fla. He replaces Cathy Nichols, who has resigned to pursue other interests, the company said.
* Pat Moloney has been promoted to vice president, entertainment, for Universal Studios Hollywood. Moloney will be responsible for direction and operation of all live entertainment.
Universal Studios is a unit of the Seagram Co., a global entertainment and beverage company.
* Creative Planet, North Hollywood, announced 11 recent executive appointments in editorial and sales. Carl di Orio has been hired as editor of TVIndustry.com, Elif Cercel will become DirectorsWorld.com’s editor, Cristina Clapp and Katie Makal join as MediaTechnology.com and DesignInMotion.com editors respectively. Suzanne R. Lezotte will edit CinematographyWorld.com, and Robert O’Haver becomes editor of VFXPro.com, a resource for the visual effects industry.
* Tim Matteson joins the sales team along with Gary Rhodes, Todd McGee, Ken Rose and Elizabeth Ferris.
Creative Planet is a network of business-to-business vertical Web sites for professionals in film, photography, design and other creative industries.
* Sanford M. “Sandy” Litvack has been named vice chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Co., Burbank. Litvack joined Disney in 1991 as senior vice president and general counsel. He has been senior executive vice president and chief of corporate operations since 1994.
Disney is a diversified entertainment company.
