Consulting Matthew W. Doyal has joined Westlake Village-based Millennium Business Solutions Group Inc. as SalesLogix implementation specialist. Doyal has six years of experience as a business analyst and IT implementation specialist. His expertise is in front office to back office integration. Woodland Hills-based Right Management Consultants has named Dewayne Sode as vice president of client services. Sode is responsible for building relationships and securing business with major corporations throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Sode has over 15 years of experience in sales, marketing and business development. He has previously worked as a business development manager with Parson Consulting and as an associate director of business development with Ernst & Young. RBF consulting, has named M. Violet Gray project manager in the geographic information systems group of the firm’s Camarillo office. Gray’s background includes providing strategic planning, database design, data conversion, systems implementation, staff training, supervision and systems integration. Internet Westlake Village’s RENTNET, a division of Homestore Inc., has named Maria Pietroforte, a 20-year veteran of the multifamily housing industry, to be its new president. Most recently, Pietroforte served as president of KSI Management Corporation, one of greater Washington D.C.’s largest developers. Pietroforte helped launch the company’s luxury line of apartments known as The Metropolitans, and pioneered several different marketing programs. Prior to that, Pietroforte was president of E & S; Ring Company, a Los Angeles based apartment managing company. Pietroforte, will be relocating from Washington D.C. to Westlake Village. Law Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff Inc. has announced that Sherman Oaks resident Andrew Apfelberg has joined its corporate and securities law practice. Apfelberg’s primary focus is in business and finance, and he will work with the firm’s bankruptcy, reorganization and capital recovery practice group, as much of Apfelberg’s transactional experience has been in the insolvency context. On corporate matters, Apfelberg’s focus is in mergers and acquisitions. He serves as primary outside counsel to companies and entrepreneurs, advising on entity formation, finance and securities issues, and critical agreements with employees and third parties. Media Jonathan D. Colburn has joined the San Fernando Valley Business Journal as staff reporter covering politics, health care and hospitality. Colburn began his career as an editorial intern with the San Francisco Business Times. Most recently, he was a business reporter at The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, where he covered real estate and economic development. He is a graduate of the University of King’s College in Canada. Camarillo-based Salem Communications, a radio broadcaster focused on religious and family-themed programming, has named Mike Moran, manager for the company’s Atlanta cluster of stations. In this newly created role, he will be involved in all aspects of the operations of the stations and will report to the general manager and the vice president of operations, Allen Power. Moran is a 27-year veteran of media and broadcasting, having worked on the agency, rep firm, and station sides of the business. Most recently he served as vice-president/director of Media of Leading The Way, the international media ministry of Michael Youssef in Atlanta. Real Estate Jo Ann Poole has joined Troop Real Estate, Inc. as a residential real estate agent in the company’s Simi Valley/Wood Ranch office. Poole had formerly worked at Century 21 Hilltop LaCarre in Simi Valley, where she had been the top producing agent and earned “Centurion” status (recognizing the top one percent of Century 21 agents worldwide). Jody Driver, a 24 year veteran of residential real estate in Simi Valley, the Santa Clarita Valley, Camarillo, and the San Fernando Valley, has joined the Simi Valley office of Troop Real Estate, Inc. Driver had previously worked for Century 21 Hilltop La Carre, earning “Centurion” status. Retail Robinsons-May/Meier & Frank has promoted Robert B. “R.B.” Harrison to chairman. Harrison joined The May Department Stores Co. in 1986 as an analyst at the Kaufmann’s division and was named senior vice president and CFO at Robinsons-May in 2002. He replaces Robert M. Soroka who was named chairman of Marshall Field’s, a division recently acquired by May. Guitar Center, Inc announced that its Board of Directors has approved a management succession plan to be implemented during the fourth quarter of 2004. Under this plan, Marty Albertson, presently president and co-CEO, will assume the position of chairman of the board and become sole CEO of the company. Larry Thomas, presently chairman and Co-CEO, will become chairman emeritus. In addition, Mr. Thomas will serve as chairman of the Guitar Center Music Education Foundation, a private foundation to be established to administer charitable giving by Guitar Center in support of music participation and music education. Mr. Thomas will also remain a member of Guitar Center’s board of directors. Both Thomas and Albertson are long-term Guitar Center employees, with 27 and 25 years of service respectively. Tech Calabasas based Ixia, a global provider of IP network testing solutions, announced that Mike McHale has joined the company as vice president. McHale has over 20 years of sales, sales management and team building experience. In his most recent position, he served as the country manager for the United Kingdom at Anritsu where he was responsible for the leadership and direction for the UK field office. McHale served at Anritsu since 1999. Prior to Anritsu, McHale managed the European sales staff of Tescon Company Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer of automatic test equipment and industrial robotics. In this role, he was responsible for the sales and marketing efforts for the region.
