Steve Poizner The new California insurance commissioner takes over various reform initiatives spearheaded by outgoing department head John Garamendi. Among the most pressing is Garamendi’s efforts to have car insurance tied to driving records versus where somewhere lives. Paul De La Cerda De La Cerda is director of the Small Business Development Center at College of the Canyons. The program is in a state of transition after having Long Beach Community College take over as the lead agency. De La Cerda oversees the programming serving the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. What changes or programs will he take to serve the small businesses that are supposed to benefit from the SBDC? Arturo Sneider When his company Primestor of which he is a partner breaks ground on a 32-acre site in Pacoima sometime this year, the event will mark the first major shopping center development in this Northeast Valley area. The Pacoima Commercial Center, located at 13500 Paxton St., set to be co-anchored by Lowe’s, will replace the now-closed Price Pfister manufacturing facility that had once been the area’s major employer. Primestor, which specializes in urban infill developments in underserved communities, cannot duplicate the kinds of employment opportunities Price Pfister once offered this community. But Sneider’s reputation for building projects that serve as anchors for underserved, often Hispanic communities stands to help revitalize Pacoima nonetheless. Arnie Schaffer A rising star within Providence Health System, Schaffer in 2006 became chief operating officer of the Southern California region for the health care provider. He joined the group in 2002 and in four short years moved to chief executive of the San Fernando Valley service area, supervising Providence Holy Cross and St. Joseph medical centers. The new post means he’s in charge of all four of Providence’s hospitals in the region. Indications are Schaffer is being groomed for even higher positions. Gilbert J. Dalmau Dalmau is president/CEO of Americas United Bank, the first Hispanic-owned and operated bank in the San Fernando Valley, Americas United opened its doors with a capitalization of $28.8 million. Dalmau, a veteran banker with 25 years of experience, also has a great deal of experience with serving specialized business markets. While at First Bank, where he served as president of the Southern California Region, Dalmau guided the acquisitions of Charter Pacific Bank, Bank of Yorba Linda and International Bank of California. He also developed First Bank’s Hispanic Banking Group along with other units geared to specialized markets. Howard L. Berman The United States Representative from Val ley Village in January gains oversight of the Judiciary Committee’s panel on the Internet and intellectual property. The addition could spell an important change to the Valley’s motion picture, recording and television industries, which will gain an important voice on these issues. Berman has said he will be hawkish on the issue of copyrights and fair use. Neal Vitale When he formed 1105 Media Inc., a business-to-business publishing company, in 2006, Neal Vitale created the groundwork for a media conglomerate that spans industries as diverse as business intelligence, education technology, industrial health, safety and compliance, network technology, software and others. Since then, backed by investment firms Nautic Partners LLC and Alta Communications, CEO Vitale has continued on the acquisition trail, most recently agreeing to purchase Post Newsweek Tech Media, the government publishing and events group of The Washington Post Co., The CPM Group, a producer of conferences and information products, and Fawcette Technical Publications Inc., publisher of Visual Studio Magazine and producer of trade conferences. Now with three divisions, 101communications, Stevens Publishing and 1105 Government Information Group, the company publishes magazines and e-newsletters and operates websites and trade conferences. Vitale, the former president and CEO of Petersen Publishing, is expected to continue to acquire media companies. David Brewer The new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District faces a bumpy road in 2007. It’s the first year the district will face off against Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s efforts to reform the district and Brewer’s first crack at implementing more changes.