Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. announced that Chris Zimmerman has been hired as president of Easton Sports. He’s charged with expanding Easton’s footprint through integrated product and marketing programs driven by consumer insights and designed to improve the brand’s performance for retail partners and customers. Zimmerman began his career at Saatchi and Saatchi. In 1995, he was recruited to join Nike’s North American Advertising group. In 1999, he was tapped to lead Nike’s U.S. Golf Division. In 2003, Zimmerman was asked to take over Nike’s struggling hockey business and revitalize the Bauer hockey brand. He will operate out of Easton-Bell Sports corporate headquarters in Van Nuys. How is the sports equipment industry doing, in terms of sales, these days? I think it’s similar to retail in general. The business in 2010 is seeing some upticks and strengthening. The zone for Easton is being a technology company that provides high performance products that give athletes an edge. Those are the fundamentals of the company. And every athlete recognizes, and is in search of, that edge. What are your plans for expanding Easton’s footprint? Nothing I can announce now. But I’m thrilled to be coming into a company that has consistently developed the types of products that can make a difference in terms of performance and protection. My goal is to help build on the Easton story and engagement with our brand. In the hockey business, we recently developed the Z-Shock helmet. It has crush resistant technology that makes it stronger than competitive helmets. Right now is a time where providing improved head protection to avoid concussions is critical. – Eric Billingsley Aerospace Eric Crane Aerospace & Electronics, a segment of Crane Co., announced the appointment of Eric Wilson as VP of Human Resources for the Aerospace Group based in Burbank. Wilson will also be responsible for the human resource organizations in Crane’s Elyria, Ohio and Lynnwood, Wash. locations. He is transferring to Crane Aerospace & Electronics from the Crane Composites business segment where he has been VP, Human Resources since 2007. Prior to joining Crane, he began his career with United Parcel Service and has held increasingly progressive positions at Graphcom, Inc., General Signal Corporation, FedEx and the Penske Truck Leasing division of GE. Wilson has broad human resources experience in areas of staffing, compliance, employee relations and compensation. Banking/Finance California United Bank announced the addition of David Peskin as senior VP, Commercial Banking. He will be based in the West Los Angeles office. Peskin is the latest in a series of recent additions to support the bank’s expansions into the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Valley markets. He joins California United Bank from First Regional Bank in Los Angeles, where he was senior VP from 2002 to 2010. From 1993 to 2002, he was VP, and later senior VP, for both Western Bancorp and U.S. Bank in Santa Monica. From 1989 to 1993 he served as VP of Bank of Industry, which was acquired by Comerica Bank, in Encino. Americas United Bank announced that vice president Amy Navarette has been appointed president of the Glendale Latino Association. The Glendale Latino Association works to bring together business and professional Latinos of Glendale, promote the betterment of their businesses and professions, and improve access to education by awarding yearly scholarships to local Latino students seeking higher education. Navarette will work to realize the goals of the Association, and promote community support for the advancement of Latinos in the corporate sector as well as with other ethnic groups. Glendale-based Americas United Bank is the first primarily Latino-owned bank to open in the state of California in more than 30 years. The board of directors of The Ryland Group, Inc. announced the election of William L. Jews as chairman of the board of directors to succeed the current chairman, R. Chad Dreier. Dreier retired as chief executive officer of Ryland on May 29, 2009, and continued as chairman of the board of directors. He will not stand for election as a director at the annual meeting of stockholders. As a result, the board of directors of Ryland elected Jews, who is currently Ryland’s lead director, to succeed Dreier as chairman. Headquartered in Southern California, Ryland is one of the nation’s largest homebuilders and a leading mortgage-finance company. Conference Global Conference Partners hired Reed Ellis as senior director of Business Development. In this newly created position, Ellis will be responsible for the development and growth of the Channel Sales organization, including the identification and development of Private Label resellers, Master Agents, Agent Partner Programs and Affinity Partnerships for audio and web conferencing services. He was senior manager of MCI WorldCom’s Partner Marketing organization where he was responsible for the Association and Agents programs and most recently managed the Channel Sales organization at ConferencePlus. While at ConferencePlus, Reed successfully negotiated and managed Private Label programs with Tier 1 Conferencing Service Providers, IXC’s, LEC’s and CLEC’s, as well as a host of equipment providers and Master Agents. Education Cal State Northridge officials have announced the election of three new members to the university’s foundation board of directors. The board’s newest members are Wayne R. Bailey, a retired banking executive and community leader; Robert Derek Taylor, a founding partner of Centinela Capital Partners, LLC, an independent alternative investment management firm; and Varaz Shahmirian, president and principal of Laursar Technologies, which provides consulting services to the medical device industry. Marketing Liz Rosenberg, a public relations professional who has worked with some of the biggest names in the music business at Warner Bros. Records, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Rosenberg is forming her own agency, Liz Rosenberg Media, with plans to represent several of the label’s artists as part of an ongoing consultancy with the company. She will continue to represent Madonna, who is currently a Live Nation artist. Since joining Warner Bros. in 1971, Rosenberg has represented artists such as Michael Bublé, Cher, Stevie Nicks, and David Foster, as well as newcomers Charice and Katherine Jenkins — all of whom will remain with her at Liz Rosenberg Media. Mustang Marketing hired Randall Loui as graphic designer. Prior to working for Mustang, he worked as a graphic designer for Recstorage, Inc., where he orchestrated all graphic material for the company, including catalogs, brochures, packaging, web animation and advertising campaigns. Randall graduated from CSUN with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design. He is also an active member in the Professional Association for Design (AIGA). Real Estate Younan Properties, Inc., a privately-held real estate investment and asset management company, appointed Robert C. Peddicord to the newly-created position of chief operating officer. Peddicord brings to the position more than 22 years of executive experience in commercial real estate leasing and operational management. Peddicord served as COO of Arden Realty Inc. Prior to the acquisition of Arden by General Electric in 2006, the company was a publicly-traded REIT and the largest owner and operator of office space in Southern California. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Arden’s executive vice president of Operations and Leasing. He joined Arden in 1996 as VP – Leasing where he created an in-house leasing program that managed 4 million square feet of transactions per year. Peddicord began his career as corporate managing director for Studley, a global tenant advisory firm headquartered in New York. The board of directors of American Realty Advisors announced that president and CEO Stanley L. Iezman will become the firm’s chairman and CEO. It was also announced that managing directors Scott W. Darling and Kirk V. Helgeson would be named to additional positions within the firm. Darling will become the firm’s president and Helgeson will become executive VP. Darling is a principal of American and currently heads the firm’s portfolio management team and serves on its investment and executive committees. Helgeson is a principal and managing director of the firm’s Investment Group, overseeing the investment acquisition/disposition strategy and activity for the firm’s portfolios. He will guide the firm’s investment priorities and operations. Iezman will continue to lead the firm’s overall direction and management. Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, Inc. announced that Mike Smith and Darren Casamassima have been elevated to principal status. Smith, a specialist in multi-housing and investment sales, has successfully transacted more than $250 million in apartment house and development land sales since he joined Lee’s Multi-Housing Investments Group. Casamassima, who specializes in office sales and leasing, has successfully executed more than 700,000 square feet of lease and sale transactions on behalf of landlords, public and private corporations and middle-market owner-users. Under Lee’s business model, associates have the opportunity to become shareholders in the company when they achieve certain performance thresholds and demonstrated leadership qualities. NAI Global named Lee Black, executive VP of NAI Capital in Encino, to the NAI Global Elite. The latter group is comprised of the organization’s top performers and top producers. Black qualified as a top producer at the Elite level based on production in 2009. Public Storage appointed Dick Poladian and Ronald P. Spogli to its board of trustees. Poladian, 58, is executive VP and chief operating officer for Lowe Enterprises, Inc., a diversified national real estate company, where he oversees human resources, risk management, construction, finance and legal functions. Previously, he worked with the international accounting firm Arthur Andersen from 1974 to 2002. Spogli, 61, co-founded Freeman Spogli & Co., a private investment firm, in 1983. Prior, he worked with Dean Witter Reynolds as a managing director responsible for mergers and acquisition in the western United States. Public Storage also announced that Steven M. Glick joined the company as senior VP and chief legal officer. Glick was most recently senior VP and general counsel of the Americas for Technicolor. Staffing Equis Staffing hired Marian Rozzen as its new staffing manager. Prior, Rozzen served as staffing manager for a global staffing company for four years. She was the #4 International Rookie of the Year in 2006, chosen out of the company’s 400-plus offices. She also earned the Customer Service Award for five quarters in a row, and generated over $1 million in sales. As staffing manager for Equis, Rozzen will be responsible for temporary and consulting placements in the finance, accounting and administrative areas. Rozzen gained valuable financing experience by serving as regional credit analyst for Securitas Security USA and as director of credit for Freedom Technology Media Group, Inc. She is certified in the Master Accounting Series for the 90’s (MAS90). Technology MannKind Corporation announced that James S. Shannon, MD, MRCP (UK) has joined the company’s board of directors. Shannon is a recognized pharmaceutical industry leader with more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership positions. He is currently president and CEO of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior, he was Global Head of Pharma Development for Novartis AG based in Basel, Switzerland. After joining Sandoz in 1994 as head of Drug Regulatory Affairs, Shannon held a number of significant positions in Novartis. He was head of the Integration Office for R&D, overseeing the creation of the Novartis R&D groups from those of Ciba and Sandoz, and head of the Cardiovascular Strategic Team. Calabasas-based DTS, developer of surround sound technology, named Dr. Frederick Kitson as the firm’s EVP and chief technology officer, according to SoCal Tech. Kitson joins the company from Motorola, where he was corporate VP and head of research and development of the firm’s Applied Research Center. Kitson also served at Hewlett Packard. Surfware, Inc., developer of SURFCAM® CAD/CAM systems, announced that Bill Schwab joined the firm as a 4- and 5-Axis SURFCAM Applications Engineer. Schwab has an extensive background in milling, including operations, programming and machine set up for a variety of aerospace products. His experience involves training end users on SURFCAM’s 2- 3- 4- and 5-Axis systems. He has also used TrueMill® to ensure a high level of quality and productivity with cutting hard-to-machine materials such as Inconel, titanium and cobalt chrome. He has been in the industry for 30 years and has become an expert in 4- and 5-axis machining. Inphi Corporation, a high-speed analog semiconductor company, announced the addition of two new technical advisors, Fred Weber and Randy Wilhelm, to its Technical Advisory Panel. Weber is an expert in computer and microprocessor architecture and design and an experienced executive. He currently serves on the board of directors of SeaMicro, an innovative IT startup developing revolutionary, extremely power efficient server computers, and Glasspoint Solar. Wilhelm is a 30-year veteran of the semiconductor industry. He is also a senior advisor to Micron Technologies. Prior, Wilhelm was with Intel for 25 years, where he held multiple executive positions including: general manager of the Wireless Networking Group; general manager of the Clients Products Group; and VP and general manager of the NAND Memory Group.