IN BRIEF / People in Business
* Peter S. Knight has joined Metropolitan West Financial Inc. as a managing director. He will be responsible for new business development for the Los Angeles-based financial-services holding company. Knight is the former president of Sage Venture Partners and is a former deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
* Julie Greenwald has been promoted to president of Island Records, a division of Vivendi’s Island Def Jam Music Group.
Greenwald, 32, joined the Def Jam label in 1992 as an assistant to chief Lyor Cohen. She moved to the promotion department and later ran the marketing department. As president of Island, which was combined with Def Jam in a corporate reorganization, she will oversee a pop and rock roster that includes such acts as Hoobastank, Bon Jovi and Sum-41.
Cohen has given Greenwald and Def Jam President Kevin Liles the added titles of executive vice presidents of the Island Def Jam division.
* Jacob “Jack” Yellin has been promoted to senior vice president and counsel of Walt Disney Co. His responsibilities will include handling litigation for Disney worldwide and directing ethics and legal compliance programs.
* Paul Bikowitz has been promoted to president of Santee Dairies, succeeding Richard Walrack, who plans to retire. Bikowitz is a 24-year veteran of the Industry-based milk and juice processing plant that operates under brand names Knudsen and Foremost.
* Stephen Collias has been named president of KWP Financial, a subsidiary of real estate services firm Kennedy-Wilson Inc. He is a former Kennedy-Wilson executive and a former manager of the Resolution Trust Corp.
* Nader Moghaddam has been promoted to president of Kinecta Financial & Insurance Services, a subsidiary of Kinecta Federal Credit Union. Based in Manhattan Beach, Kinecta FCU is the 10th-largest credit union in the U.S. It was formerly the Hughes Aircraft Employees Federal Credit Union.
* Brian C. Stewart has been named chief financial officer for Crown Media United States, which operates the Los Angeles-based Hallmark Channel, U.S. He is a former executive at parent company Crown Media Holdings Inc.
* Greg Ptacek has been appointed director, corporate communications, of the American Film Marketing Assn., the trade group representing independent film and television distributors and producers. A former public relations director at Rogers & Cowan, Ptacek will oversee the group’s annual American Film Market trade show, among other duties.
* Janice Hopkins has been named associate vice president of marketing and community outreach for Molina Healthcare of California. She is a former executive of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. and played a major role in developing the company’s Secure Horizons health plan for seniors.
* Mark Chen has been named vice president and international marketing officer in the international-services department of Manufacturers Bank in Los Angeles. He is a former executive at United California Bank.
* Amy Jones-DeMar has rejoined Los Angeles-based Entertainment Marketing Group as national director of television promotions. A former EMG executive from 1997 to 1998, she most recently was director of advertising and promotion at Columbia TriStar Television Distribution.
* Don Hudson has been promoted to managing director of real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis’ Sherman Oaks office. Senior Vice President Bill Inglis will succeed Hudson as leasing director for the Warner Center Properties complex in Woodland Hills.
* Norman Iverson has been named vice president of business development for BAE Systems Controls’ integrated systems unit. He joins the Santa Monica-based defense and aerospace company from Litton Industries.