Accounting Public accounting and consulting firm Crowe Horwath LLP has appointed the following individuals to positions at its Los Angeles and Orange County offices: Karen Ortega will be working as Senior Staff, Assurance and Financial Advisory business unit at the Los Angeles office. Jameson Martin will be working as Staff in the Assurance and Financial Advisory business unit of the Orange County office Jenny Bolsky, CPA, of Miller, Kaplan, Arase & Co., North Hollywood, has been elected president of the 10,100-member Los Angeles Chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) for 2009 – 2010. She succeeds John Samore III, CPA, of the Internal Revenue Service. A resident of Tarzana, Bolsky holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Davis, and a master’s in business administration from Woodbury University. Joining Bolsky on the board of the CalCPA Los Angeles Chapter are Gayle M. Whittemore (first vice president) of Whittemore & Associates, Valley Village; Loni Ang (vice president) of Citi Smith Barney, Los Angeles; Mark A. Pribble (vice president) of McDowell, Dillon & Hunter, Torrance; Kristen N. Contreras (secretary) of Good, Swartz, Brown & Berns, Woodland Hills; and Cory J. Stigile (treasurer) of International Tax Group, Los Angeles. Aerospace Jeff Greason, CEO and co-founder of XCor Aerospace in Mojave has been named to the NASA Human Spaceflight Review Panel. The panel will conduct an independent review of ongoing U.S. human space flight plans and programs and will report on its progress to NASA leadership and the Executive Office of the President. Education Amy Wallace has been appointed Dean of University Library at California State University Channel Islands. She will assume her duties on July 1. Wallace joined the Channel Islands campus in June 2003 as Head of Public Services and Outreach, and has been serving as Interim Dean of University Library since July 2008 when former dean, Paul Adalian, retired. In her new role as Dean of University Library, she will guide strategic and operational planning for the library and seek innovative ways to foster information literacy, expand the library’s collection, and maximize the use of technology. Wallace currently serves on the Board of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIST), the Board of LOEX: Clearinghouse for Library Instruction, and as vice president for the California Association of College and Research Libraries. She is a recipient of the ASIST Cretsos Leadership Award and a member of the Phi Beta Mu Library and Information Science Honor Society. Prior to joining the library faculty at CSUCI, Wallace held library positions at the University of California, San Diego; The Claremont Colleges, and Chapman University. Entertainment NxTV, a provider of IP Based Entertainment and Services Delivery Platforms to the hotel and lodging industry, announced its new Executive Management team. The new team includes: F. Francis Najafi has been named chairman of the board. Najafi is founder and chief executive officer of Pivotal Group, a thirty year old real estate and private equity/venture investment firm with an active presence in a variety of technology companies and all major real estate product types. Mr. Najafi believes in taking a hands-on approach to business and as chairman of NxTV, he directs the vision of the company and is active in all strategic decisions. Hooman Honary, a multimedia and wireless company visionary, has been named president and chief technology officer of the multimedia and wireless company. He previously served as chief technology for Oxford Media in the development communication and multimedia technology strategies for a nationwide On-Demand content delivery network. Additionally, he held senior technology and strategic development positions with Intel Corporation and Broadcom Corporation, global leaders in semiconductors for wired and wireless multimedia communications. Honary has been engaged in communications and digital multimedia systems and has 21 patents to his name. Ira Dworkin is the new senior vice president of Operations and Product Development, responsible for installations, customer support, and engineering teams, as well as product planning. Ira has managed engineering, product development, and operations organizations for over 15 years with consumer-focused media, entertainment and technology leaders, including Cisco Systems’ Linksys subsidiary, Moviebeam, a form subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company and InnMedia, a joint venture between Hilton Hotels and LodgeNet Entertainment. Stephen Guillot, a hospitality media veteran, is the Vice President of Hospitality Sales and Marketing. Stephen is responsible for developing and managing NxTV’s market growth strategy, tactics and business models to increase NxTV’s distribution of entertainment and service delivery platforms to the hospitality industry. He recently served as Vice President of Sales and Strategic Alliances at On Command Video. Stephen’s background includes over 20 years of extensive sales and marketing knowledge in a wide variety of industries ranging from Hospitality to Media Technology to Commercial Real Estate to Biotech and Pharmaceutical. Catherine Gopaulsingh joined NxSystems, LLC as Senior Vice President of Finance where she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Accounting, Planning, Finance and Human Resources. Catherine has extensive experience in Finance and Accounting gained over the past 15 years while working with technology companies, new media ventures and Hollywood Studios located in Canada and the United States. Additionally, she has served as Vice President of Finance at Hollywood Studios where she has been involved in developing the annual operating plan and five year strategic business plan. Previously at Moviebeam, (initially a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company), Gopaulsingh was responsible for Finance, Accounting and Human Resources and implemented financial systems, policies and procedures designed to meet the needs of growing organization and deliver exceptional customer service. Insurance One year after the launch of the Preferred Client Insurance Services Group (PCS), Poms & Associates continues to expand its team by bringing on Gregg Carpenter and David Beeton. The PCS group, created in 2008 by Seth Ford Gilman, now has ten employees. Gregg Carpenter will serve as senior vice president for the PCS division of Poms. Working out of the Woodland Hills corporate headquarters, he is responsible for generating new business and managing client relationships. Additionally, he will co-lead acquisition and recruitment efforts. Carpenter is a seasoned senior level manager with over 27 years experience in the insurance brokerage industry with Marsh, Inc. He received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of San Diego. David Beeton will serve as account executive for the PCS group. He will also be responsible for the development of new business and the management of client relationships. Beeton comes from Marsh, Inc., where he had been a Risk Consultant for the Private Client Services Group for the last two years. He received his Bachelors in Business Administration with a dual emphasis in finance and marketing from Loyola Marymount University. Media Jean-Briac (JB) Perrette has been named President, Digital & Affiliate Distribution and Content Distribution Strategy, NBC Universal. He was previously President, Digital Distribution. His expanded duties will include the strategic and tactical responsibility for NBC Universal’s broadcast distribution relationships. Additionally, Perrette will inform the strategy for NBC Universal’s collective content distribution, which includes all platforms such as TV, Internet and mobile. He was named President, NBC Universal Digital Distribution, in December 2006. In that role, he oversaw the North American distribution of content across the Internet, wireless, set-top devices and other emerging digital platforms. He led NBC Universal’s efforts in the formation of Hulu, NBC Universal’s popular online video venture with News Corp., Providence Equity Partners and Disney, and has led a number of industry leading distribution deals on emerging platforms such as iTunes, Amazon.com and Xbox, and leading wireless deals with partners including AT & T;, Verizon, and FLO TV. He continues to be the primary lead for NBC Universal’s content discussions with Internet sites, mobile carriers and aggregators, and emerging digital companies for a variety of offerings. Perrette serves on the boards of Hulu, Peacock Equity Fund, MSNBC.com and A & E; Television Networks. The Dohring Company has appointed Rick Wilson as chief operating officer. Wilson will oversee the growth of the company’s programming, hosting, sample and data processing businesses. He brings decades of experience to the job including serving as chief operations officer for Worldwide Panel, Inc., where he was responsible for triple-digit revenue growth. He also held positions at JD Power and Associates, and Diagnostic Research, among other companies. Joining Wilson as vice president of business development is Thyra Lees-Smith, who previously served as director of sales for GMI and director of business development for The A.C. Nielsen Company. At Nielsen, she increased brand tracking products and services. Tax Encino-based Tax Resolution Services Co.’s founder and CEO, Michael Rozbruch, has been named a finalist in the Executive of the Year category in the 2009 American Business Awards. Tax Resolution Services (TRS), a company that provides affordable solutions to people seeking income tax relief will also be competing in the Best Writing/Content category for Tax Resolution University, the company’s income tax relief blog. Rozbruch, who is being recognized for his leadership in expanding his company’s efforts to educate the public on tax resolution strategies and solutions, also authors the Tax Resolution University blog, a comprehensive IRS resolution resource read by thousands of individuals. Technology Donn Rappaport has joined Zumbox as its chief executive officer. Rappaport will continue as CEO of ALC, a data marketing service provider that has partnered with Zumbox, a paperless postal system based in Westlake Village. Rappaport is also a member of the Direct Marketing Association’s Board of Directors since 2000 and served as its Chairman in 2008. Agoura Hills-based Symark International, developer of the PowerSeries & #153; identity and access management solutions for heterogeneous IT environments, appointed Saurabh Bhatnagar as vice president of product management. He will oversee the creation of new products and market strategies. Bhatnagar brings nearly a decade of experience in the security and enterprise technology solutions industry to Symark. Prior to joining Symark, he served in senior product management and strategic alliances roles at Websense, a leading security software provider, including management of their data leak prevention and e-mail security (software and SaaS) product lines. He also led key aspects of the integration of the PortAuthority and SurfControl acquisitions, and drove strategic alliances and go-to-market programs with multiple technology vendors including Microsoft and Check Point. Prior to joining Websense, Bhatnagar worked as a marketing consultant with Hewlett Packard where he drove region-wide technology alliances and enterprise solution marketing programs for Asia-Pacific. Travel Sterling Travel of Camarillo appointed Westlake resident Pat Kelly Randall to its team of experts. A 28-year veteran of the travel industry, and fluent in German and French, she has traveled extensively through Europe and Africa and has experienced more than 30 cruises around the world. Telecommunications Chris Bradish has been named executive vice president of global wholesale markets in the East Coast office of Simi Valley-based VoiP provider InterMetro. Prior to joining InterMetro, Bradish was founder and CEO of NTA Communications and vice president of corporate development for Global Communications. As part of the East Coast office, Bradish hired Eric Engbers, a co-founder and chairman at WiMax Global Roaming Alliance, and Robert Serrett, who has served in executive positions at PNG, Flint Communications and GlobalNet Carrier Services.
