Associations Jim Presnal was named executive director of the Themed Entertainment Association in Burbank. He will be responsible for managing day-to-day operations and chapter liaisons while assisting with strategic planning. Presnal was previously an instructor for UCLA Extension. Biotechnology Charles C. Best Jr. was appointed chief financial officer and executive vice president of finance at BioSource International in Camarillo. He will be responsible for all financial matters. Best was most recently vice president and chief financial officer at Cogent Light Technologies in Santa Clarita. Entertainment Rick Finkelstein was promoted to president of Universal Pictures in Universal City. He will be responsible for managing worldwide business operations and will help with the transition of theatrical distribution operations from Universal Pictures International to United International Pictures. Finkelstein was previously senior vice president of corporate development and strategic planning for Universal Studios. Larry Kurzweil was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios Hollywood. He will oversee the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and Universal CityWalk. Kurzweil was previously senior vice president and general manager of Universal CityWalk. Steven D. Shaiken was named senior vice president of merchandising for Universal Studios Recreation Group in Universal City. He will be responsible for merchandising, product development, retail operations and financial planning for all theme park stores and kiosks worldwide. Shaiken was previously senior vice president of retail and leasing for Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Cliff O’Sullivan was appointed vice president of marketing and artist development at Universal Music and Video Distribution. O’Sullivan was most recently vice president of marketing at RCA in New York. Also, Michael Gillespie was promoted to vice president of national sales. He will be responsible for retail and wholesale accounts and will oversee daily sales operations. Gillespie was previously senior director of national sales. Shawn Papazianwas promoted to vice president and studio manager of Ray-Art Studio in Canoga Park. He will oversee all production activities. Papazian was most recently director of studio operations. Ken Voss was appointed computer graphics artist at Flat Earth Productions, a visual effects production and post-production company in Burbank. He will be responsible for computer-generated effects along with designing and maintaining the company Web site. Government Sim Farar was appointed by President Clinton as an ambassador to the 54th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He is responsible for advancing U.S. interests with other delegations through negotiation and speechmaking. Farar is president of JDF Investments in Woodland Hills. Health Care Shirley M. Heidersbach was named chief nursing officer at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center’s hospital campus in Encino. She will be responsible for administration and operations. Heidersbach was most recently assistant chief nursing officer at Community and Mission hospitals in Huntington Park. High Tech David Dennis was promoted to president and chief operating officer of Cogent Light Technologies in Santa Clarita. He will be responsible for day-to-day operations. Dennis was previously general manager. Media Rick Blangiardi was appointed president of Telemundo station group, working out of KVEA-TV in Glendale. He will oversee all stations in the national group and work with general managers at other stations. Blangiardi was previously chief operating officer and managing director at Brad Marks International in Los Angeles. Robert Washburn was promoted to executive vice president and group publishing director at Weider Publications in Woodland Hills. He will be responsible for advertising sales, marketing and promotion efforts. Washburn was most recently senior vice president and group publishing director of titles. Also, Ali Rashid was promoted to executive vice president of operations. He will oversee budgeting and planning, information technology, production and manufacturing, sales, and human resources. Rashid was most recently senior vice president of operations. New Media Tim Cahill was promoted to chief executive officer at HomePage.com in Pasadena. He will be responsible for strategic direction and forging corporate partnerships. Cahill was previously chief operating officer for the company. Also, Mary Lou Fulton has been appointed chief operating officer. She will be responsible for day-to-day company management and consumer relations. Fulton will continue in her current duties as company president. Steven Trepp was promoted to president of city guides at Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch in Pasadena. He will oversee content and marketing of the network of city guide sites. Trepp was previously regional vice president for New York and the Northeast. Also, Traci Fleming was promoted to chief operating officer of city guides. She will oversee local, regional and national Web sales efforts as well as marketing, operations and content for the 33-city field operation. Fleming was most recently Southeast regional chief operating officer of city guides. In addition, David Stansbury was promoted to executive vice president of content and product design. He will coordinate network strategy for the city guides, including management of field-content operations and content integration. Stansbury was previously vice president of content for the city guide division. Real Estate Paul S. Asher was named associate at CB Richard Ellis in Sherman Oaks. He will specialize in retail landlord and tenant representation. Asher was previously with the Westwood Financial Group.