Banking & Finance Union Bank of California has promoted senior vice president Bita Ardalan to market president. Ardalan is responsible for the San Fernando Valley, Ventura County, Santa Barbara County and a portion of the Los Angeles market. Biotechnology Rolf Hoffman was named senior vice president of Amgen Europe. Hoffman will be responsible for Amgen’s commercial strategy in Europe and continuing to grow the company’s presence in Europe. Amgen is the world’s largest biotechnology company. Hoffman comes from Eli Lilly & Company, where he worked for 17 years in sales and marketing and executive management positions. He was project manager for Prozac and, most recently, he held positions as area director, Latin America, president, InterAmerica and general manager, Germany. Health Care Diana M. Bonta, R.N., former Director of the California Department of Health Services, has assumed the newly created position of Vice President of Public Affairs for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region. Bonta will direct Kaiser Permanente’s public policy agenda for Southern California. While at the California Department of Health Services she enhanced preparedness for potential bioterrorism, including the smallpox vaccination program and the California Health Alert Network. The Valley Community Clinic has appointed six new members to its Board of Governors. The new members include two medical doctors, Francesco Federico, President and CEO of Lakeside Healthcare Inc., and Harold M. Maller, Chairman of Pediatrics at Valley Presbyterian Hospital and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at U.S.C. School of Medicine; political and governmental consultant Steven Afriat; Carlos E. Garcia, CEO of qualitative and quantitative research firm, Garcia & Associates; attorney and Visiting Associate Professor at Southwestern University of Law Harriet Rolnick, and television producer/community activist Eliza Taub. Human Resources Peter Dameris was named president and CEO of On Assignment Inc. after Joe Peterson abruptly resigned from the company. Peterson had been with On Assignment, a temporary staffing services company that specializes in the healthcare industry, since 2001. Dameris has been with the Calabasas-based company since November, 2003 as executive vice president and COO. Previously he had worked at Quanta Services Inc. and Metamor Worldwide. Insurance Zenith National Insurance Corp. announced that Jack D. Miller has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zenith Insurance Company. Miller has been with Zenith for seven year and has been serving in the capacity of executive vice president and chief operating officer. Zenith is a property-casualty insurance organization with headquarters in Woodland Hills. Public Relations CCG Investor Relations has promoted Crocker Coulson to president. Coulson was partner and chief operating officer Real Estate Craig J. Cahow, has joined GVA DAUM as a vice president in its Woodland Hills-based office. Cahow previously served for 15 years directing the leasing division at Trizec Properties, Inc., overseeing their Western U.S. commercial portfolio. After that, he specialized in tenant representation for four years at the Staubach Company. Cahow is a 30-year veteran of commercial real estate in the Los Angeles area and has completed over $1 billion in transactions. Technology Don Winters was appointed to the board of directors at TechnoCom Corp. in Encino. Winters is a 16-year veteran of the telecommunications industry who is currently president of White Hawk Associates. Digital Theater Systems (DTS) has expanded the responsibilities of its director of business development for Greater China to include Taiwan and Australia. Kin Chan will oversee the Asia-Pacific region from the DTS’ newly opened Hong Kong office. DTS, a NASDAQ-traded company headquartered in Agoura Hills, is a developer of digital audio technology for movie and home theatres, as well as cars, video games and DVDs.
