Some workers claim their employers make them jump through hoops before they can get a job. But for some, the reference to jumping through hoops may not be too much of an exaggeration. To help lower the rising price of workers’ compensation costs in the state, some companies are requiring prospective employees to pass rigorous physical and endurance tests as a condition of employment for even the most sedentary jobs. Advantage Physical Therapy in Ventura has been performing pre-employment physical tests for companies in the San Fernando Valley and Ventura and Santa Barbara counties for 12 years. About 150 regional and 50 national companies utilize the Ventura testing service. As with drug tests and background checks, an employer reserves the right to refuse to hire a prospective employee if he or she fails any part of the tests. The tests, which are designed individually to fit the person’s job duties, include a musculoskeletal exam with a physical therapist, a flexibility test, weight lifting and aerobic strength testing. Some employees are given carpal tunnel tests as well. “The purpose of this is not to create some kind of Orwellian state but to create a safe and well work environment,” said Val Whalin, general manager of Advantage. The tests, she said, provide an employer with an objective way of knowing whether a prospective employee is physically capable of performing their duties. “When the person comes in to take the assessment, they haven’t yet been hired,” she said. “They’ve been made a post-offer for pre-employment based on successful completion of the assessment.” Contrary to what some people might think, these tests are perfectly legal in California, said Sue Bendavid-Arbiv, an attorney with Lewitt, Hackman, Shapiro, Marshall & Harlan in Encino. According to the Americans With Disabilities Act and California law, it’s illegal to discriminate against prospective employees who have disabilities, and employers who hire disabled workers must make reasonable accommodations for them. However, if a prospective employee doesn’t have a disability but fails the physical tests due to a prior injury or lack of physical strength, the employer can choose whether or not to make accommodations for the employee if they still decide to hire them, Bendavid-Arbiv said. Legally, however, an employer can’t perform the tests prior to an employment offer. If employers still choose to hire someone with a documented prior injury and that person files a workers comp claim at a later date because their working environment exacerbated their condition, the company would only be liable for a percentage of the claim, Whalin said. Advantage Physical Therapy implemented the testing practice based on a program started by a physical therapist in Texas. Five hundred providers nationwide utilize the program, Whalin said. Whalin said Advantage’s client base has increased by 150 percent over the past three and one-half years “It’s more important for a smaller company because one claim could wipe you out.” According to Whalin, 70 percent of all workers comp claims come from the 7 percent to 10 percent of workers who aren’t physically capable of doing their jobs. According to Whalin, the Madera Unified School District in Riverside County, which utilizes Advantage’s pre-testing program, said that its number of reportable workers comp claims was reduced from 112 to 64 during the 2002-03 school year. Ken Harter, owner of Classic Limousine Service, which operates under the umbrella company Harter Transportation Services in Thousand Oaks, has been testing his employees at Advantage for about 18 months. “I want to make sure they are capable of sitting behind a wheel for eight hours and can help people with their luggage,” he said. Subsequently, he hasn’t hired about 5 percent of prospective drivers because they failed the test. Since he implemented the program, Harter said his workers comp claims have decreased by 67 percent. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that his employees who undergo the testing will be any more enthusiastic about the process. Thousand Oaks resident Robert Piccirelli, who has been a driver at the limousine company for five months, said he was shocked when he was asked to lift weights, perform step aerobics and balance on a beam with his hands held behind his back at the Advantage testing site. In the past, the only physical requirement he had to meet to get a job was passing a drug test. “First of all, I thought it was ridiculous,” he said. “I was shocked. I never dreamed I would go through that to drive a car. But I passed it really good.” After working as a driver and lifting heavy luggage, Piccirelli said he now understands why the tests are conducted. “There’s a lot of liability involved in this stuff,” he said.

Dave Mast, chief financial officer of Providence Everett Medical Center in Washington, will replace Mitch Thomas as chief financial officer of the San Fernando Valley service area for Providence Health and Services which includes Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. The change will take effect July 2. Thomas left the position May 18 after accepting a position as senior vice president of finance and CFO of Presbyterian Intercommunity Health Care in Whittier. He was Providence’s CFO for 13 years. Mast is rejoining Providence St. Joseph after a four-year departure, in which he left his job as director of finance of Providence St. Joseph hospital to work as CFO of the Everett hospital. Providence Health and Services, which operates in five states, runs both the Burbank and Everett medical centers. “It’s a slight move up in position,” Mast said. “I’m looking forward to coming back home.” In his new position, Mast said he will be concentrating on adding more hospital beds at Holy Cross. An expansion is pending approval. “Holy Cross has been operating at capacity since before I left,” he said. In addition, Mast said he will be focusing on developing the Disney Cancer Center at St. Joseph, which is still being built. The comprehensive center will offer a variety of services that will keep patients from having to drive to multiple offices during treatment. Mast said he will also focus on getting additional funding to expand services at the local hospitals through philanthropy, tax-exempt bonds, cash and grants. Thomas, who has known Mast since they worked together at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center from 1992-1994, said one of his colleague’s biggest challenges will be dealing with ongoing collective bargaining negotiations at St. Joseph with the nursing and service and technical employees. Thomas, who will continue to reside in Burbank, will be finishing out his term as the president of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce until his term ends in December. He chose to work at the Whittier hospital, he said, because “the organization made me a very attractive offer all the way around.” As a CFO of a free-standing hospital, Thomas said he will have more control over operations. Providence, he said, operates in a more centralized fashion than it used to, with decision making occurring more on the regional and system-wide level. “The facility CFOs have a lot less latitude than they used to,” he said. “At this stage in my career, I wanted to have the full scope of responsibilities that a corporate CFO would have.” In his new position, he said, “I have full corporate CFO responsibilities, including direct access to bond ratings agencies, functions I didn’t have when I was in Burbank.” Marci Wormser AGRICULTURE David DeLorenzo, has been named president and CEO of Dole Food Co. DeLorenzo currently serves on Dole’s board of directors and chairs the audit committee. He has also previously held executive positions with the company. BANKING J. Bilal Abdullah was named vice president and district manager for Wells Fargo’s North Valley Community Bank region. Abdullah will oversee more than 200 team members at 11 Wells branches in the San Fernando Valley. He joined Wells in 1994 and most recently provided sales support and strategic consulting for the bank’s credit card, debit card and global remittance products. Western Commercial Bank has appointed Christy A. Cortes vice president of marketing. Cortes was most recently vice president, regional manager of US Bank’s commercial real estate department for the California market. She has been in the banking industry for 22 years. CHAMBERS Greg Lippe was named as a 2007 Small Business Advocate of the Year by the California Chamber of Commerce. Lippe is managing partner with Lippe, Hellie, Hoffer & Allison, in Woodland Hills. EDUCATION Arlinda Eaton has been appointed to the state’s Committee on Accreditation that is responsible for the initial and continuing accreditation of educator preparation programs. Eaton is associate dean of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at California State University, Northridge. Vance T. Peterson was selected as the new vice president for university advancement at California State University, Northridge. Peterson will oversee the university’s “Imagine the Arts” fundraising campaign to support the upcoming construction of a new regional performing arts center on campus. He will also serve as president of the university’s foundation. Peterson is currently vice president for advancement at the Culinary Institute of America. David R. Misch has been appointed to the board of trustees of Woodbury University. Misch is chairman and CEO of Mellon 1st Business Bank where he oversees the delivery of specialized relationship banking services to small- to mid-sized businesses in Southern California. ENTERTAINMENT Brick Rucker has been named as art director with AvatarLabs, a motion graphics and online design studio. In that position, Rucker oversees art direction and design for Internet movie marketing campaigns. Prior to joining AvatarLabs, Rucker was Lead Creative with Shine LA. GOVERNMENT Tim Stehr has been appointed as the new chief of the Burbank Police Department. He will assume the position following the retirement of current Chief Thomas Hoefel who retires Aug. 1. Stehr joined the Burbank force in 1979 and has served as an officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and deputy chief. Danny Roberts has been appointed to the board of directors for the California Association of Local Economic Development. Roberts is the assistant executive director of the Community Redevelopment Agency for the City of Palmdale. HEALTH CARE Dr. Lawrence Stock, an emergency department physician at Antelope Valley Hospital, was recently named Volunteer Clinical Faculty Teacher of the Year by Harbor UCLA Medical Center. Harbor UCLA Medical Center is a teaching hospital for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The award was given based on results of surveys of emergency medical residents who are in training at Harbor UCLA. Among the categories that were evaluated were knowledge of emergency medicine, clinical skills, teaching ability, enthusiasm, friendliness and interest in patient care Stock is an associate clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. LAW John R. Yates has joined Greenberg & Bass LLP as a senior associate. His practice entails intellectual property, internet, information security and general business law. He was previously a partner with Berman, Mausner & Resser and of counsel to Beltran & Medina. MANUFACTURING Steven Borick has been named as Chairman of the Board of Superior Industries International, Inc. He currently serves as president and CEO of the aluminum wheel manufacturer. Louis Borick has been named to the new position of founding chairman, where he will serve as senior advisor to the board. Sheldon Ausman has been elected to the new position of lead director of the Superior board. NON PROFIT Ken Scherer, CEO of the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation in Woodland Hills, has been named to the national board of directors of Rebuilding Together, a volunteer organization preserving and revitalizing homes and communities. Michael Weinper was recognized by Hillel 818 as a distinguished alumnus from Los Angeles Valley College. Weinper is the president and CEO of PTPN, the country’s largest network of independent rehabilitation therapists. NUTRACEUTICALS Chris Kurjanowicz has been named as vice president of marketing with Natrol, Inc. In that position she will be responsible for overseeing all of the company’s brands and their associated marketing programs. Most recently, Kurjanowicz was a partner at OneAccord, a sales and marketing consulting firm. REAL ESTATE AMCAL Multi-Housing, Inc. added three new members to its construction team. Colleen Edwards will serve as an estimator, working with the construction team to determine preliminary and final budgets. As construction manager, Tom Blankenship is responsible for the management and tracking of construction jobs from conception to completion in central California. Cheryl Heilman has been named as assistant construction manager. In that role, Heilman works with Blankenship to determine efficiency and cost-effectiveness of all construction means and methods. Gil Azcarate has joined Intero Real Estate Services as a managing partner. In that role, Azcarate will oversee day-to-day operations, consult on strategy and help manage Intero’s team of agents. Prior to joining Intero, Azcarate operated his own real estate office. RESTAURANTS uWink has promoted John Kaufman to the position of chief restaurant and development officer. The restaurant company has also appointed John Blake director of restaurant operations. Kaufman will oversee all restaurant development. Blake, who reports to Kaufman, will oversee restaurant operations including franchisee training. SALES Airprotek International, Inc. added two sales representatives to develop retail and consumer direct sales in Mexico. Miguel Angel Gonzalez will be responsible for sales in Jalisco, Nayarit and parts of Sinaloa. Ramiro Chavez will be responsible for sales in Sinaloa and Chihuahua. Rob Black, owner of Extreme Associates, has taken on the additional role as head of domestic sales. Evelyn Santos has been named as executive assistant to Black. SPORTS Chris Heasley has been named director of golf at the North Hollywood Fitting & Performance Center for custom golf equipment maker KZG. In the role, Heasley will manage and market the custom fitting program at the center. Prior to joining KZG, Heasley was a golf instructor at resorts in California and New Jersey. STAFFING Richard Jennings has been appointed as CEO for Mediscan Staffing Services. He previously served as an administrator with CFHS Holdings, Inc. Mediscan provides staffing in the areas of radiology, nursing, respiratory care and rehab. TECHOLOGY Stu Fisher has been named as senior director of business development and sales at JMR Electronics, Inc., a supplier of storage and server platforms. In that position Fisher will promote new technologies and drive worldwide sales for all JMR products and services. Before joining JMR, Fisher served as senior director of business development and strategic accounts for Wasabi Systems. Steve Pitts has been named as vice president, services at MESoft, Inc., a workflow software developer based in Burbank. In that position, Pitts will be responsible for service offerings, deployments and support at the enterprise, studio and production company level. Pitts previously served as vice president, studio and feature production information technology at 20th Century Fox. [W/PIC in archives] Raffy Lorentzian has been named as chief financial officer and senior vice president with National Technical Systems, Inc., a Calabasas-based provider of test and engineering services. He joined the company in 1997 and prior to the promotion was vice president and chief accounting officer. [W/PIC in archives] Cathryn Gawne has joined the board of directors of Enable IPS Corp., a Valencia-based developer of power devices. Gawne is an attorney with the Silicon Valley Law Group and also serves as corporate counsel for Enable IPS. Wataire International, Inc. based in Woodland Hills has made two appointments to its advisory board. James Marsden has been named as chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. Marsden is a professor at Kansas State University. Joining him is Brian Baker, co-founder and president of International Mascot Corp., a producer of character costumes. Ronald Moeller has been named as vice president of manufacturing for QPC Lasers, Inc. In that position, Moeller will drive expansion for the company’s new generation of laser products. Prior to joining QPC, Moeller was vice president of operations and manufacturing at Kotura, Inc.

The view from the Wells Fargo regional headquarters in Encino spans nearly the whole San Fernando Valley. But when Vince Liuzzi looks out, he sees a landscape of another kind a continuing story of immigrants coming to America and making their way toward the American dream. So when Liuzzi, who is president of Wells’ San Fernando Valley Community Bank, saw a growing population of Persian and Iranian immigrants in the Valley, he took a lead role in adding a Persian and Iranian resource group to the support services Wells provides for its team members. “I come from a family of immigrants, and so many people immigrate in the Valley that I feel it’s my responsibility to make sure my customers feel good about Wells Fargo,” Liuzzi said. “I saw a need to support some very special team members first by putting together this resource group. To me it was in response to what I saw happening in my market.” The Caspian Connection resource group is one of 10 different resource groups at Wells, including councils for those of Hispanic, Arab, Asian American, African American, Asian Indian and Native American descent as well as gay, lesbian and transgender team members and disabled team members, that meet to network for career advancement and to share ideas and experiences. The groups, which have grown from eight in 2000 to 107 throughout the bank today, are part of a larger directive at Wells that seeks to connect its employees with its customer base with recruitment, staffing and promotion programs that reflect the diverse customer base Wells serves. Among the five district managers who report to Liuzzi, who is also a member of the 35-person corporate diversity council, are an African-American, a Greek American, a district manager of African and Asian descent, a Hispanic and a Caucasian. The two Valley offices for business banking, in Sherman Oaks and Santa Clarita, are both headed by Hispanics. And the bank’s Valley store managers are just as likely to speak Farsi, Pashtu, Spanish or Armenian in addition to English. Bankwide, of Wells’ 166,000 staff members, 33 percent are ethnically diverse. Of the bank’s 21,994 managers, some 22 percent come from ethnically diverse backgrounds and 16 percent of the bank’s senior managers are ethnically diverse. The Wells diversity program focuses on workforce development with mentoring, networking and talent management services that help team members connect with senior management and enhance their growth opportunities. The bank also runs workshops to help employees bring diversity into everyday conversation, exploring the ways in which preconceived notions impact communications and, ultimately, performance. To prepare to take its program to the next level, Wells has begun surveying its team members about its diversity initiatives. Those results and other work will serve as a foundation to develop diversity accountability guidelines that are expected to roll out next year. “There will be common goals and measurements for all senior managers,” Liuzzi said. “We’re in the middle of putting the metrics together.”

In some cases leasing is proceeding a little more slowly than was hoped, and property managers all note that, with so many new units on the market, competition is rising, but in general NoHo is proving that if you build it, they will come. A steady stream of renters is signing up for the 700 new luxury apartment units that have come on the market since last year in the NoHo Arts District area in North Hollywood, willing and able to pay what are often record rates for the San Fernando Valley, and the streets of the neighborhood are slowly filling with the footsteps of urban professionals as was initially envisioned. Meanwhile, even more new apartments are on the way, and the area is beginning to attract the interest of institutional-grade investors who would never have considered buying in North Hollywood before. There are growing pains new properties are working out the bugs and vandalism and graffiti are still in evidence, but for the most part, NoHo has moved headlong into the transformation promised when the Metro line made its first appearance. “Up until a year or two ago, there had not been a lot of institutional investor interest in NoHo,” said Greg Harris, a multifamily broker who runs The Harris Group of Marcus & Millichap. “But with this master-planned redevelopment, institutional investors are looking at it as much more of a core market.” With the opening of the Metro line, city planners and developers hoped that NoHo would be transformed, joining a growing national new Urbanism movement with self contained neighborhoods connected by rail and bus. But as the development dragged on for years, it began to look like nothing would move North Hollywood from its worn and weathered state of disrepair. The opening of two brand new apartment complexes, The Lofts at NoHo Commons and the Gallery at NoHo Commons, both offering luxury rental living at prices ranging from $1,540 a month to $2,700 a month, seems to have finally started the transition. Equity Residential, a publicly held real estate firm acquired Academy Village Apartments and is now renovating the 250 units there from top to bottom with new appliances, flooring and exterior landscaping. JSM, the developers of The NoHo Collection, which opened its first building with 103 units in 2005, is in varying stages on an aggressive development plan to build another 600-odd units, with perhaps double that number in a later stage. And brokers report that, while no agreements have been reached, properties such as Fairfield Properties’ Gallery, which is being marketed for sale, are attracting a new class of investors. The newfound supply of units is still a little ahead of the demand for some. At the Gallery, where about 30 percent of the units have been filled, the activity is somewhat slower than was hoped, in part because there were delays in opening. And at NoHo Collection, which had until recently been fully occupied, the occupancy rate has fallen to 90 percent. “It has been slower for this time of year,” said Dewayne McClanahan, assistant property manager. “Competition-wise, yes, there’s more.” But at the Lofts, units are filling up at a rate of eight to 10 a week, beating expectations by about two units a week. And even where leasing is somewhat slower, there is ample evidence that the market is fundamentally strong. “We had a really busy month in May,” said Kimberly Heaton, the Gallery’s property manager. “Our traffic flow is consistent. With so much new product, I think it has been a lot more competitive than we had hoped, but do I think it will be successful? Definitely.” The newcomers are also beginning to change the look and feel of the neighborhood. Some report seeing a stronger police presence along Lankershim Boulevard in the evenings, new restaurants are opening and, slowly, more pedestrians are taking to the streets. “From what I hear it’s done a 360,” said McClanahan. “We have people here who said at one point they wouldn’t even walk their dogs in the street.” Some problems Problems with auto vandalism and graffiti still linger, in some cases causing a lot of concern for tenants. “We chose the area because it looked safe,” said Genard Eulatriz, who said he was one of the first tenants to occupy the Gallery. “It was secure and it was brand new and it had all the amenities. But about a month and a half later many people started complaining. A neighbor is infested with roaches. There was a break in with a T-Bird convertible. People are going to be moving out.” The Gallery’s new manager, assigned to the post not a week ago, doesn’t deny that there have been some problems. “The property was built near sewer lines and that sometimes causes certain types of bugs,” Heaton said. “I met with an exterminator to work out a preventative program.” Vandalism is not unique to the Gallery. The Lofts has had some graffiti and a few isolated automobile break-ins. But, the property managers say, those things are not unique to NoHo, and they are to be expected in a neighborhood in transition. Neighbors meanwhile seem to be coping well. “I was staying on Miracle Mile, and it was too congested,” said Alex Evans, a commercial model who recently made the move to the Lofts after looking at six or seven different complexes in the area. “Some streets are desolate, and where it’s desolate it could be gang infested, but for the most part, it doesn’t bother me. It’s quiet. I like the hardwood floors, and it’s got a real good community feeling, maybe because it’s so new.” As expected because of its proximity to the studios, the neighborhood is attracting a lot of entertainment industry professionals, but others too are moving in. “I wouldn’t say a majority are entertainment related,” said Vanessa Propersi, regional manager at Alliance Residential Co., which manages the Lofts. “We have doctors, lawyers. There’s definitely a market out there.” Editor’s Note: Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff is a resident of the Gallery at NoHo Commons.

By Stephen Chapek Contributing Reporter Merrill Lynch is a financial services company that believes diversity doesn’t have to come at the expense of excellence. The recognition by the company’s management that the country’s demographics have diversified has driven its efforts to reflect that diversity in its workforce. According to Stan O’ Neal, the company’s African-American Chairman and CEO, Merrill Lynch emphasizes merit and has striven to create a culture in which every individual can excel. The San Fernando Valley’s great ethnic and cultural diversity has provided an excellent platform for achieving its diversity goals through hiring and promotion. No better example of these policies can be found than in the Encino office of financial advisor and First Vice President, Investments, Judith Chipps. As a long-time employee of Merrill Lynch, she recounted how much the corporate environment has changed in her 30-year career, particularly with regard to the role of women. “The landscape looked very different when I started in the financial field. I have seen quite an evolution, for one in the assumption that women even belong in the workforce,” she said. “Merrill has been a leader in recognizing the needs of women in the workforce.” She should know. Chipps leads a team of five female financial advisors at her branch who collectively manage over $300 million worth of client assets. While her all-female team may be somewhat unusual, even by Merrill Lynch standards, she claims she is not unique in wanting to simply be the best financial advisor to her clients that she can be, regardless of gender. It is an ethos that resonates throughout the company’s organization. “Promoting equality and diversity has become an integral part of our business,” she said. Echoing her chairman, Chipps said, “Here at Merrill Lynch, it is a real meritocracy. If your clients are doing well, then you do well.” She also noted that the financial services field was one where men and women of similar rank are paid equally, based on their performance. The firm also has a very active external program to pursue diversified business development and leadership initiatives in underserved communities. Demetrio Kerrison, vice president and diversity manager of the Western division for Merrill recently spoke to SFVBJ about the company’s efforts to advance underprivileged communities through its partnerships with USC and LAUSD. Kerrison said the Merrill has been very active in its new partnership with USC’s minority alumni associations to recruit talented African-American, Hispanic, Asian as well as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gender alumni into the company’s fold. Merrill has also been working to expand several innovative financial literacy and business development programs into Los Angeles public schools.

Amgen has agreed to acquire Alantos Pharmaceuticals, a medical drug development company based in Massachusetts, for $300 million in cash. Following completion of the transaction, Alantos will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen. It is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007. The acquisition will provide Amgen with the rights to Alantos’ inhibitor drug that treats Type II Diabetes as well as a treatment platform for osteoarthritis. Alantos’ lead diabetes drug candidate, ALS 2-0426, is a DPP-IV inhibitor that is currently in Phase 2a of clinical development for the treatment of Type II Diabetes. The oral medication helps inactivate glucagon-like Peptide 1, which is an important mediator of blood glucose levels following meals.

Less than a year after taking over as Daily News publisher, John McKeon has been replaced in that position. Ed Moss, a former publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal, took over on Monday, according to a newsroom memo from Daily News Editor Ron Kaye obtained and posted at the LAObserved website. In October, McKeon was named publisher to replace Tracy Rafter. McKeon also serves as president and CEO of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Daily News’ parent company. The Daily News is part of an eight newspaper chain owned and operated in Southern California. Moss was previously corporate vice president of for sales and marketing for Media General and positions at 21st Century Newspapers, Freedom, and the Tribune Co., according to the memo.

Ask some big corporations in the San Fernando Valley about the make-up of their workforces and they will happily talk about their diversity. But just what does that mean? A generation ago the word would have been confined to physical attributes race, ethnicity and gender but in the 21st century the word has been broadened to include educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, military experience, English-language proficiency and even whether a person works full or part time, in an office or telecommuting. With workers staying on the job longer the grizzled veteran who entered the job market straight out of high school shares a working environment with the pampered Millennial college graduate. And in the pursuit of diversity, both can learn from each other. Going hand-in-hand with diversity is the buzzword of inclusion, a term probably easier to define when applied to the workplace. Darold Sawyer sums it up as including everyone and excluding no one. “It gives recognition to the vast skill sets from everybody that makes up our workforce and helps us be the successful company we choose to be,” said Sawyer, manager of diversity and equal opportunity programs for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in Canoga Park. Of the 2,500 employees of the maker of rocket and jet engines, women made up 26.4 percent of the workforce at the end of last year while minorities comprised 31.1 percent. Statistics, however, are lacking on the breakdown of women and minority workers in the Valley. For Los Angeles County, census figures for 2000 show that of a labor force of 4.3 million, more than half of that is made up of minority races other than white. Hispanics were the highest number at 2.9 million. Women made up 1.9 million of the labor force with all but 705,000 of minority races other than white. U.S. Labor Department figures report that in 2004 there were 16.6 million Africa Americans in the workplace, 6.3 million Asians, and 19.3 million of Hispanic origin. Of those groups, Hispanics were projected to gain the most by 2014, with 25.8 million workers. For the most part with a few exceptions such as manufacturing with its older white male workers industry in the county does reflect the population mix, said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. Los Angeles is in a unique position to make it easier for employers to make their workforce diverse because it is an international city with an influx of potential workers coming from Mexico, Central and South Americas, Asia, Canada and Europe, Kyser said. “I don’t think they have to worry about it,” Kyser added. “At one time in the 1950s you really had to work at it but now it just happens and it’s very simple.” Corporations still need to make some effort to bring in minority and women employees. Now in a major hiring phase, Pratt & Whitney casts a wide net for its entry-level engineers. While state colleges and universities have served the company well as recruiting fields, said Sawyer, those in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic states and Northeast give access to a different student body than found in Southern California. In addition, the company is establishing relationships with historically black colleges across the U.S. “From a diversity standpoint this gives recognition to the broader demographic shift that will make up our workforce in the years to come,” Sawyer said. As a principal consultant with executive search firm McDermott & Bull in Woodland Hills, Fleming Jones has been expressly told to find candidates to add diversity to a client’s workplace. In June, Jones worked with a client that has been a traditionally male-dominated company but senior management recognized the need for women employees as a smart business choice, Jones said. “They see that diversity in opinion and experience will help them in the long run,” Jones When looking for an executive or a lower level employee the standard of hiring the best person possible still applies. That’s the philosophy at Askenazy Development and Pueblo Contracting Services in the city of San Fernando. The two companies reflect the area of the Valley they are located in and when hiring all applicants are considered because they want the best people, co-owner Martha Diaz Aszkenazy said. With a large Latino market in the Valley being bilingual and bicultural can make a difference when dealing with certain potential tenants, Aszkenazy said. “We also have some employees who are Armenian that give us a different kind of edge, too,” Aszkenazy said. But if large Valley companies are diverse at the staff and middle management levels that is not always the case at the executive level and in the board room. The Pepsi Bottling Group, for instance, employs 327 workers at its warehouse in the city of San Fernando. But only two minorities and no women are in senior management positions and the sole executive position is filled by a white male. To get into those positions requires a mentor who takes an active interest in having a diverse executive team, said Valley Economic Development Center President Roberto Barragan. “People speak of diversity but when it comes to executive management that is a rarified atmosphere,” Barragan said. At Pepsi Bottling, senior managers make presentations to junior management to let them know there is someone they can talk with or call with questions about career advancement. “They’ll talk about how to move up in the organization,” Steve Murk, human resources manager for the Pepsi Bottling Group. When it comes to representation on boards of directors by women and people of color, it remains “the last frontier,” Barragan said. For instance, of the twelve members of The Walt Disney Co. board of directors nine are men and of those seven are white. At Countrywide Financial, 8 of the 10 members of its board are white males. Online service provider United Online has one woman among its six-member board of directors, while Glendale-based restaurant chain IHOP Corp. has that rarity of a woman CEO in Julia Stewart who also serves as its board chairman. There is some validity when a company says they can’t find anyone to serve on their board to make it more diverse but at the same time nothing is being done to change that, Barragan said. “We have to encourage companies to look at diversity as something that’s not just something you have at the checkout counter,” Barragan said. “It has to be something with a president’s title or someone sitting at the board table. Then we have real diversity.”

As Sempra Energy expands into international markets, its work culture challenges local attitudes about who can hold a job. In China, for instance, Sempra was one of the first large companies to employ women, Farrar said. “That is exciting that we are impacting on how minorities are viewed in other parts of the world,” Farrar added. The owner of utilities serving Southern California, including San Diego, Sempra has a workforce in which African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans make up 50 percent of its total employee base and 31 percent of management. Overseeing the strategy and success of its programs is the Office of Corporate Diversity Affairs, a part of its human resources department and vital to the business-planning process. As district manager for a region including the San Fernando Valley, Joe Chow works closely with that office to seek minority and women-owned vendors and potential employees. “We go out and put on programs at fairs and events to promote the company and the diversity programs,” Chow said. In its recruitment efforts, Sempra goes after the best employees it can and hopes they appreciate the culture and feel they are embraced by what it offers, said Shawn Farrar, director of corporate diversity at the company’s San Diego headquarters. The company strives to hire workers that reflect the areas it serves, understand cultural issues they encounter and knows how to work with customers effectively, Farrar said. “There are certain things we deal with culturally that we have to be aware of,” Farrar said. Among Sempra’s programs is a partnership with historically black colleges, such as Howard University in Washington, D.C., to hire graduates as engineers. Another program matches new hires with veteran employees on a formal and informal basis based on their schooling, background or job title, Farrar said. The company’s efforts have been noticed. Since 1998, the utility has landed in the top five of Fortune magazine’s “America’s Best 50 Companies for Minorities.” Last year, the Asian Business Association presented Sempra-owned Southern California Gas Co. with the Odyssey Award for its work with Asian-owned vendors; and Hispanic Business magazine named Sempra in the Top 10 of its Top 50 Companies for Hispanics. In 2007, the company placed 29th on “Diversity Inc.’s” overall list ranking diversity programs. As the company expands into international market, its work culture challenges local attitudes toward who can hold a job. In China, for instance, Sempra was one of the first large companies to employee women, Farrar said.

Kreido Biofuels, Inc. expects to conduct tests later this year at its Camarillo headquarters with equipment to manufacture bio-diesel and other chemical products. That goal was among those highlighted in a business update conference call taking place on Monday with Kreido executives. The company has made significant strides since closing on a $25 million private placement deal in January and completing a reverse merger with Gemwood Productions, Inc. that took the company public, said CEO Joel Balbien. “Our multi-pronged strategy of developing our own bio-diesel production plants in the U.S. and licensing our patented its “spinning tube in tube” or STT technology to domestic and international third-party bio-diesel producers helps ensure our ability to capitalize on what we believe is a superior proves intensification technology,” Balbien said. Kreido spent seven years and $20 million developing its STT reactor to speed up chemical reactions. The company’s goal is to have a full-scale production plant operating by the first quarter of 2008 in either Chicago or Wilmington, N.C. The company set a target of producing 100 million gallons of bio-diesel fuel by the end of 2008.