PacifiCare Names Chief of Unit, E-Business Company
John Kao has been named president and chief executive of Santa Ana-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.’s Specialty Services unit and new E-commerce company, PacifiCare Ventures. Kao succeeds the interim head of Specialty Services, Jeff Folick, who retired. Kao had been chief financial officer of PacifiCare’s Secure Horizons USA unit.
* Marwan Zreik has been named vice president, research and development and quality control, at Naturade Inc. in Irvine. He joined the company in 1997 after serving as research coordinator for Gero Vita International Inc. in Marina del Rey.
* Richard N. Rasmus has been appointed chief executive of Flashcom Inc. in Huntington Beach. Rasmus joined Flashcom last November as president and chief operating officer. Brad H. Sachs, former chief executive, will remain chairman of the board and will consult on corporate strategy and business development. Before joining the company, Rasmus was vice president of Comcast Corp., where he oversaw the ComcastHome cable modem online service and 24 broadband Web sites.
* Peter Casserly has been named senior vice president, finance, for E-Commerce Exchange in Irvine. Before joining the company, he was with Zepher Capital in Boulder, Colo., and an audit manager at KPMG Peat Marwick, both in the Netherlands and Southern California.
* Lou Burke has been appointed senior vice president of sales for 76 Lubricants Co. in Costa Mesa. He joined the company in 1987 and has held the positions of industrial lubrication engineer, product team manager and vice president of marketing and product strategy. Mark Williams was named vice president of marketing and product strategy, and Tom LaRocque is the new international and direct sales manager.
* Ginger Sherman Silverman has been named vice president, marketing/advertising, for HomeBase Inc. in Irvine. She was formerly senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Prudential Real Estate and Relocation and, before that, senior director of national advertising and marketing for Taco Bell Corp.
* Christopher B. Reale has joined EquiCo Capital Markets in Irvine as president. He was formerly managing director of Bank of America Securities, where he directed the Western U.S., Canada and Mexico middle-market merger and acquisition business. Stephen Saunderson was named vice president. He had been vice president of international private banking for Bank of America, where he advised clients in Latin America, Asia and Europe.
* Dennis Vanderpool has joined JMG Security Systems in Fountain Valley as operations manager. He had been facilities operations manager at PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. in Cypress for 13 years.
* Glenn Sherman has been appointed president and chief executive of Christie Systems Inc. in Cypress, the new parent company of Christie Digital Systems Inc. and Christie Inc. He will be responsible for preparing the company for an initial public offering. Sherman has more than 20 years of experience in developing and leading high technology companies.
