Executive Spotlight
Scot Sandstrom honored
Scot Sandstrom, president and CEO of New Pointe Communities Inc., has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce (SDNCC) for his achievements as a business leader in the community. Sandstrom founded New Pointe Communities in 2007. His original plan was to focus on land development in San Diego County, but after the Witch Creek fires destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the region he changed his course. Sandstrom began buying the empty lots from fire survivors who could not rebuild or did not want to re-build their home. Today, Sandstrom and his team have rebuilt or are in the process of rebuilding 16 homes in six neighborhoods: The Trails, Westwood, Marbella, Westwood Legends, Eastview and Montelena. The construction has led to the creation of 3,500 construction jobs with companies throughout San Diego County.
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Mutual of Omaha staff
Mutual of Omaha Bank has named three bankers — Steven Connolly, Maria Adamo and Mark Agostino — to help lead its new San Diego location at 3580 Carmel Mountain Road. Connolly is community bank manager and will oversee all retail operations at the new location. He has more than 40 years of experience in the industry. Bank. Connolly earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and management from Metropolitan State College. Adamo is an assistant branch manager, assisting Connolly in managing daily operations at the San Diego location. Adamo has more than 25 years of experience in the industry and most recently served as banking operations supervisor for Imperial Capital Bank in San Diego. Agostino joined the bank as a personal banker, responsible for working with He most recently served as an account manager for Right Way Promotions in San Diego. Prior to that, he was a relationship manager for First Republic Bank in La Mesa.
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Kathy Scott named CFO
Kathy Scott has been named chief financial officer for BioSurplus Inc., which supplies the life science industry equipment management services and pre-owned laboratory instruments. She reports to CEO Preston “Cinco” Plumb. For the past 15 years, Scott was a partner with RA Capital Advisors, a private investment bank. While there, she managed the acquisition of The Titan Corp. by L-3 Communications and acted as financial adviser to Enron Corp., post-bankruptcy. Scott started her career as an auditor in the San Diego office of Arthur Andersen where she focused on both public and private clients. She graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in economics/business. Scott is a vice chair on the board of directors of the YMCA of San Diego County.
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BeneChill’s new CEO
Amgen executive Alan Raffensperger has been appointed CEO of BeneChill, a privately held medical device company that is launching its first product later this year in Europe — a cooling device for use by emergency response teams in the field. Raffensperger joins BeneChill from his post as executive director and franchise head of nephrology for Amgen. He joined Amgen in 2005 as general manager of the Nordic and Baltic Region, overseeing operations in eight countries from his Sweden base. Prior to Amgen, Raffensperger was with Hoffman La Roche for 10 years and was the CEO for Swedemed, a privately-held developer of an advanced ultrasonic surgery system. He began his career with Pharmacia.
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Account executive added
The J. Walcher Communications public relations agency has named Sandy Young as its new account executive. Young has worked with the firm on a part-time basis for the past year. Young has accumulated experience at several of San Diego’s public relations and marketing communications firms.
Prior to her new job, she was a senior account executive at Benedetto Communications (now Chemistry), where she led a variety of hotel, restaurant, health and real estate clients. She also served as the PR firm’s social media specialist.
Young also worked for The McRae Agency as an account manager. Young holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a minor in literature/writing from UCSD.
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Planned Parenthood award
Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of San Diego & Riverside Counties, was named by the New Leaders Council as one of the 40 top leaders under age 40 in the United States. The NLC said it selected Johnson because of her visionary leadership in heading a major health care organization. In the five years that Johnson has led the agency, it has doubled its ability to serve the community, according to the citation. The agency is the second largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the country and serves 142,000 patients each year through 19 reproductive health centers. More than 14,000 students and educators also receive age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education and training.
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Acting president named
Barbara R. Kavalier, vice president of student services at Mesa College, has been tabbed to serve as acting president of the college until an interim president has been chosen. The search for a permanent president for Mesa will begin this fall, with the goal of selecting a new leader who can take office on or shortly after the start of the next school year, which begins on July 1, 2011. Kavalier, whose appointment is effective Saturday, will fill the position vacated by Rita M. Cepeda, who will become chancellor of the San Jose/Evergreen Community College District on July 15. Kavalier has been at her present post since January 2008. Previously she was associate vice president of student services at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Wash. She worked for more than 15 years as an administrator with the Dallas County Community College District. Kavalier’s appointment was announced by Constance M. Carroll, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District.
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Cassidy Turley addition
Kevin Tremblay has joined Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial’s industrial division as a landlord and tenant specialist. Tremblay works out of the company’s UTC headquarters and will focus on institutional property leasing and sales. Previously, Tremblay was an office and industrial specialist for Cushman & Wakefield and worked at ECP Commercial. He holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.
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Fisher & Phillips partner
David B. Monks has joined the labor and employment law firm Fisher & Phillips as a partner in its San Diego office. Monks, who previously was chairman of the employment law practice at Klinedinst PC in San Diego, will be involved in both employment litigation and counseling at Fisher & Phillips. He is the third partner to join the San Diego office since last summer. Launched in 2000, Fisher & Phillips now has 14 employees, including administration and legal staff, in San Diego. Monks is a past president of the San Diego Society for Human Resource Management and a member of the National Society for Human Resource Management. He will be involved in the upcoming 2010 SHRM Annual Conference to be held in San Diego on June 27-30. Monks has practiced labor and employment law for almost 12 years. He earned his law degree at the University of Maryland School of Law.
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Grubb & Ellis V.P.
Paul O’Boyle has joined Grubb & Ellis Co. as senior vice president focusing on investment sales and court-appointed receivership assignments. O’Boyle has 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate field. He was previously with Commercial Realty Advisers Inc., McComic Consolidated/Transwest Housing Inc., Keith International Inc. and Carlson Technologies Inc. He began his career in 1989 as a development planner and project manager with the city of San Diego. O’Boyle holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University, a doctorate from USD and an M.B.A. from USC.
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Harbor Police Chief
John A. Bolduc, former chief of the Brainerd, Minnesota Police Department, was sworn in as the next harbor police chief for the Port of San Diego. The ceremony will be at 2 p.m. at Harbor Police headquarters, 3380 North Harbor Drive, San Diego. The new chief has more than 23 years of law enforcement experience, including nine years heading the Brainerd deparment and, before that, as police chief in Mora, Minn. Bolduc replaces Kirk Sanfilippo, who retired in January.
Bolduc has been involved in the professional training and development of police chiefs and supervisors throughout Minnesota. In 2004 he was appointed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officers Standards and Training. Bolduc is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and earned a masters of public administration credits at Minnesota State University at Mankato. He has an undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Bemidji State University, Minnesota.
Bolduc will oversee 141 sworn officers and 25 civilians in the Harbor Police Department, which provides law enforcement and marine firefighting services on San Diego Bay, at Lindbergh Field and along the tidelands governed by the Port District.
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McMillin Realty Addition
Conchita Lopez, a 30-year real estate veteran, has joined McMillin Realty in its Bonita office. Lopez previously spent 10 years with the company in its resale division and new homes division. She also worked for 10 years with Pardee Homes. Lopez has been the recipient of the SAM Award for Top Sales Professional given by the Building Industry Association of San Diego County and is a Chairman’s Circle recipient.
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Law Firm Launched
San Diego attorneys Dennis J. Stryker and Monica Slev have launched a new law firm — the Stryker Slev Law Group — to offer a range of legal services services. Their offices are at 3555 Fifth Ave. in Hillcrest. “Monica and I bring more than 25 years of wide-ranging experiences to our broadly based business firm,” said Stryker. “Our focus is on practical, real world solutions at a value-added, reasonable cost.” Stryker has been chief legal officer for Rick Engineering Co. and will continue to provide legal counsel to the company. Slev’s current practice focuses on civil litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in business and construction defect litigation. She has represented contractors, suppliers, manufacturers, architects and engineers in a wide range of defect claims, including delays, cost overruns, design and construction management. The firm will primarily serve small and mid-sized businesses. The range of services offered will include corporate, commercial and contract law, construction, real estate, Native American and tribal law, labor and employment, civil litigation and alternative resolution, risk management and planning. The practice covers Arizona, California, Colorado and Nevada. The phone is (619) 599-8266.
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New Regional Director Bobbette Biddulph has joined Environmental Science Associates as vice president and Southern California regional director. She replaces Eric Ruby, who has been appointed chief operating officer of the company. Biddulph, who is based in the firm’s San Diego office, has more than 18 years of experience in environmental planning. She has managed projects throughout California for clients and agencies, including the California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substance Control, Caltrans, County of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Division, the cities of San Diego, Escondido, Encinitas, Del Mar and the counties of Riverside, Tuolumne and San Diego.