NEWSMAKERS Airports Los Angeles World Airports has promoted Kathy Van Ness to financial manager II in its financial planning division, managing the operating budget for its four airports. Van Ness previously headed the budget and audit division at LAWA. Career Services Career services company Lee Hecht Harrison has appointed vice president and senior consultant Bruce Barnes to the position of director of professional services. In his new role, Barnes will be responsible for providing career management and transition services to senior executive, management and staff level personnel. Engineering Charles G. Novak has retired from Hall & Foreman Inc., an engineering, surveying, planning and landscape architecture firm in Chatsworth. Novak has served on the board of directors of the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce. Stephanie Bloom has been appointed to assistant project manager for the newly created project expediting group at Van Nuys-based VTN West, Inc., a civil engineering firm. Bloom has been with VTN for 15 years, serving as a liaison between the firm’s project managers and its clients, public agencies and consultants. Finance James Walker, executive vice president and chief information officer at WMC Mortgage Corp. has retired from the Woodland Hills-based company. Walker, who is 60, has been with the company since January, 1993 when it was Weyerhaeuser Mortgage and was part of the team that led the transition to WMC. Walker was instrumental in developing WMC’s loan origination Web site, at the center of its marketing strategy as an Internet-based lender. Government Yusef Robb has been appointed press deputy to Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn. Robb will oversee coordination of all press conferences and media interviews with the mayor and handle general media inquiries. Robb previously served as deputy communications director for former Gov. Gray Davis. He was also the press secretary to the New York State Democratic Committee and served as press officer on the 2000 Al Gore presidential campaign. Rita Robinson has been appointed by Mayor James Hahn to serve as general manager for the city’s Bureau of Sanitation. Robinson will oversee a department with a budget of $207 million and more than 2,600 employees. Robinson previously served as the interim general manager for the Los Angeles Housing Department and as interim general manager at the Department of Transportation. Real Estate Barry Rothstein has joined NAI Capital Commercial’s NNN Group, which specializes in net leased credit single tenant investments. As part of his duties, Rothstein will form an international network of net leased brokers within NAI. The 17-year commercial real estate veteran was most recently with Charles Dunn Co. Rental Agencies Enterprise Rent-A-Car has promoted Lora James to area manager in charge of rental offices serving a portion of the San Fernando Valley including Northridge, Chatsworth, Granada Hills and Canoga Park. She will supervise the four rental offices with 26 employees out of the company’s Northridge branch. She was previously an Enterprise branch manager in Beverly Hills. Manufacturing Rudolph (Rudy) A. Schlais, Jr. resigned from the Superior Industries International Inc. Board of Directors citing personal reasons. He had been elected in March 2003. Technology Valencia-based 3D Systems Corp. has named Fred R. Jones as vice president and CFO and Robert M. Grace, Jr. as vice president, general counsel and secretary. Jones was previously at his own consulting firm and before that served as CFO of two NYSE-listed firms. Grace worked at NYSE-listed Sealed Air Corp. for 22 years as general counsel and secretary. He is also a member of the New York Bar.