People in the News – March/April 2007

A/E/C

Vanir Construction Management Inc. of Sacramento, Calif., hired Brad Aronson, who began his career with the company as a student trainee in 1987, as a vice president/project director. He brings 20 years of experience in construction to his new role and is a licensed general contractor.

Ashley McGraw Architects, P.C. of Long Island, N.Y., announced that Jun Shin has been licensed as a registered architect in New York. Shin has been with the company for more than six years and is recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as a LEED AP. In addition, Melissa Brower joined the firm’s interior design team. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University’s School of Art and Design FIDER-accredited interior design program.

Castillo

Koster

Richard Castillo was named principal at the Irvine, Calif., office of MVE & Partners. His experience includes the development of apartment communities and residential developments. William Koster was also named as a principal at the Irvine office. He is a key player in the firm’s movement toward sustainable building practices. Both men will manage and oversee the technical and project delivery processes for the office and focus on the overall management of the firm.

Following the retirement of two longtime executives, Lee Salin, AIA, was promoted from managing principal of HMC’s San Jose, Calif., office to the firm’s chief operations officer, and Chris R. Taylor, AIA, LEED AP, was promoted from managing principal of the Ontario east office to executive vice president of the firm and regional vice president of Southern California offices. The two promotions follow the Jan. 1 retirements of James Gilliam, AIA, who served as president and CEO before resigning for a mentor position, and Donal E. Endsley, AIA, NCARB, who served as senior vice president of risk management.

HMC also hired Harold D. Kiewel, AIA, NCARB, CSI, CCS, as specifications writer. Kiewel previously worked at Ellerbe Becket of Minneapolis and has more than 30 years of design experience.

MANUFACTURERS

Indianapolis-based Willoughby Industries restructured its field operations into four regional manager positions: Curt Janney will serve as Western regional sales manager; Dave Bernhardt as Eastern regional sales manager; Jeff Vester as Southeastern regional sales manager; and Glenn Cooskey as Southern regional sales manager. The company is a manufacturer of commercial plumbing fixtures for the correctional industry.

Vicon Industries Inc. of Hauppauge, N.Y., appointed Huy Q. Lai sales engineer for the west zone. He will provide field support through commissioning or problem resolution for large systems, as well as provide field training and pre-sales support. Lai brings seven years of experience in sales engineering to his new position. Vicon specializes in the design, engineering and construction of CCTV security, safety and surveillance.

John Richter was hired as the new technical director for Kaivac Inc., developers of the No-Touch cleaning system. Based in Hamilton, Ohio, he will be responsible for heading the research and development activities for Kaivac’s entire product line. His background includes management and leadership roles in new product development with leading companies in the electrical distribution industry.

Ken Hulik joined GeoEnvironmental Inc. of Livonia, Mich., as an associate principal. In his role he will focus on industrial hygiene, toxicology, environmental compliance and management systems, design for the environment, ergonomics and chemical risk management. His experience includes a 26-year career with General Motors where he was the director of global health and safety.

Thomas P. Ward joined Sol Inc. of Palm City, Fla., as vice president of sales and marketing. With more than 25 years of expertise in developing products, he will focus on the company’s growth and profitability, as well as marketing new solar products.

Ideal Industries Inc. of Sycamore, Ill., appointed Brian Thomas to district sales manager. He will be responsible for field personnel and large regional accounts in Texas, and will report to the regional sales manager. He has been with the company for seven years and was previously senior area sales manager in Dallas.

Da-Lite Screen Company promoted Blake Brubaker to systems display manager. Brubaker will be responsible for writing a new series of white papers that will focus on various aspects of system design and display. He has held various positions at Da-Lite for the last 13 years.

Pittsburgh-based PPG named James J. Bogdan as manager of sustainable design and green building initiatives. He will serve as a conduit between practitioners of sustainable design and the company’s performance glazings, architectural coatings and industrial coatings businesses. He has had a 15-year career in the environmental, health and safety industries and previously held marketing and consulting positions with architectural and engineering firms.

In addition, Patrick J. Kenny was named general manager of corporate marketing and construction markets. He joined the company in 1980 and has worked in various positions in marketing, sales and management. In his new role, he will work with the marketing group to manage studies in support of growth initiatives and development activities.

Sanyo, an electronics company in Chatsworth, Calif., appointed Jeffrey Lambert to regional sales manager for the company’s western region. He will oversee the independent representative groups in his region and play a role in the company’s expansion of its digital security product line.

Rose

Dorma Architectural Hardware of Reamstown, Pa., named Gary Rose as product manager to support the growth of the company’s exit device products. He will serve as the link between customers, sales, production, development and design, training, and application engineering. Rose brings almost 20 years of experience to the position with knowledge in R&D, lean/flow manufacturing and sourcing.

ORGANIZATIONS

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Pasqual V. Gutierrez, AIA, of HMC Architects’ Ontario office to serve on the California Architects Board. Gutierrez is one of five architects on the 10-member board, which was established in 1901 to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public through state regulation. The board has issued 22,000 active licenses in the state and there are currently about 11,000 candidates for licenses.

The Construction Owners Association of America Inc. appointed the following people to three years on the board of directors: Fred Smith, Clark County School District, Las Vegas; Boyd Black, University of Illinois, Chicago; M. Teresa Cook, University of Maryland University College, Adelphi, Md.; Robert P. Dillman, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va.; and Miles Albertson, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

Shore

TOA Electronics Inc. of San Francisco appointed Daniel Shore as western regional sales manager for the company’s audio products division. He has experience in audio and systems integration, project management, systems design, and product training. He most recently served as executive sales manager for Audio Analysts Inc.

Carl C. Danberg, former Delaware attorney general, was named commissioner of the Delaware Department of Corrections. Danberg, who was unanimously approved in a state senate vote, will replace Stanley W. Taylor Jr.