 Chief Executive Nancy Hoffman Vanyek is looking to expand her staff at the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce, but she has run into an unexpected challenge. “I’ve interviewed six people and three had COVID over the holidays,” she said. “Most of the people didn’t do anything over the holidays because of the virus.” In contrast, Hoffman Vanyek vacationed in Idlewild in Riverside County. Although she visited a casino, overall she was “more cautious than usual,” ate in more and avoided crowds. “If I’m going to catch this thing, I want to be exposed to people I know,” she explained. … A little more than a year ago, Vahid Khorsand left his equities research firm in Woodland Hills so he could be Mayor Eric Garcetti’s representative in the West Valley. With the mayor moving on, Khorsand in September became deputy director of planning for Councilmember Bob Blumenfield. But when Kevin Tamaki retired from Blumenfield’s office as of Jan. 1, Khorsand took over his portfolio – which includes small business outreach and being a liaison to business organizations. One of the good things about the new job: Khorsand can resume working, at least part time, at his old firm, BWS Financial, where he and his brother cover a couple dozen companies for clients, such hedge funds and pension funds. Since those clients are mostly on the East Coast, Khorsand said he can work a few hours in the early morning and then report to work at 9 a.m. – ready for a full day…Calavo Growers Inc., the Santa Paula avocado company, has appointed Brian Kocher as chief executive effective Feb. 1. Prior to joining Calavo, Kocher served as chief executive at Castellini Group of Cos., a distributor of fresh produce. Previously, he held executive roles, including chief financial officer and interim chief executive, at Chiquita Brands International, the banana importer. Kocher will succeed Steve Hollister, who has served as Calavo’s interim chief executive since September.  … Horacio Gutierrez is the new general counsel and secretary of Walt Disney Co. in Burbank effective Feb. 1. Gutierrez joins Disney from Spotify, where he has served as chief legal officer. He will succeed Alan Braverman who will retire after nearly two decades as Disney’s general counsel. In his new job, Gutierrez will oversee Disney’s team of attorneys in litigation, compliance, transactional law, securities law, regulatory matters, privacy protection, global ethics, and patent, copyright, and trademark issues. Prior to Spotify, he was general counsel for Microsoft Corp.Â