Compliance Week regularly tracks various personnel moves, board appointments, product releases, customer wins and industry gossip in the corporate governance realm. Submit announcements to Compliance Week Managing Editor Matt Kelly.
Executive Moves
American Ecology Corp. has appointed Jeffrey Feeler controller, treasurer and chief accounting officer. Feeler replaces Michael Gilberg, who is leaving to pursue other interests. Feeler joins the Boise, Idaho, hazardous waste management company from MWI Veterinary Supply.
Chicago-based printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons has appointed Miles McHugh corporate controller. McHugh previously served as chief financial officer of R.R. Donnelley Logistics and was assistant controller of R.R. Donnelley. McHugh replaces Michael Graham, who has left to pursue a CFO opportunity elsewhere.
Kansas City, Mo.-based energy company Aquila has promoted Beth Armstrong, currently vice president and controller, to chief accounting officer. Armstrong spent six years in public accounting prior to joining Aquila.
Dennis Frick will retire from Florida Rock Industries after 14 years as corporate secretary and corporate counsel of the Jacksonville, Fla., construction materials company. Frick has worked for Florida Rock for 26 years.
Young
As part of a reorganization of its financial operations, body armor maker DHB Industries has named Lawrence Young chief financial officer. The Pompano Beach, Fla., company has also named Ryan Esko corporate treasurer and Mark Thorson corporate controller. Young has previously overseen financial restatements and reporting overhauls at AT&T Latin America and Sunterra Corp. All three come to DHB from Alix Partners, the same outfit helping to overhaul financial reporting at General Motors.
Mentor Corp., a maker of breast implants, has named Joseph Newcomb corporate secretary and general counsel. Newcomb comes to the Santa Barbara, Calif., company from Inamed Corp., where he held the same titles.
Swedish engineering group Sandvik has appointed Bjorn Wahlborg vice president of group financial control. Wahlborg joins Stockholm-based Sandvik from AstraZeneca.
Nellany
In New York, Jennifer Nellany has been named general counsel and corporate secretary of Morgans Hotel Group. Nellany was previously a senior associate at the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.
Critical Therapeutics, a Lexington, Mass., biopharmaceutical company, has promoted Jeffrey Young to vice president of finance and treasurer. Young was previously senior director of finance at the company.
Denver-based Gasco Energy has promoted Peggy Herald to chief accounting officer; she previously was the company’s controller. Prior to joining Gasco, she served as the financial reporting manager for Hallwood Energy Corp.
Real estate investment trust Mills Corp. has named Mark Dorigan and Mary Ellen Seravalli co-general counsels. Seravalli in particular will be responsible for securities law. The pair replace Tad Glenn, who has resigned for personal reasons. Arlington, Va.-based Mills also named Rick Nadeau chief financial officer.
In West Palm Beach, Fla., United Franchise Group has appointed Tom Johnson corporate controller. The company is an umbrella corporation for franchises such as SIGNARAMA, EmbroidME, and BillboardConnection.
Terabeam, a technology company in San Jose, Calif., has promoted Brian Sereda from vice president of finance and controller to acting chief financial officer and acting treasurer. Sereda replaces Patrick Milton, who is on disability leave.
Cardinal Financial Corp. has hired Mark Wendel as director of finance and accounting. Wendel comes to the Tysons Corner, Va., bank from First Community Bancshares, where he was chief financial officer.
Sunterra Corp., a timeshare resort company based in Las Vegas, has placed Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Benson on administrative leave pending an investigation into alleged accounting improprieties. Board member James Weissenborn will serve as interim CEO. Steven West, Sunterra’s CFO, has also left the company to take another job; the company named Robert Krawczyk, previously controller and chief accounting officer, to take his place.
Likewise, clothing maker Hampshire Group has suspended Chief Executive Officer Ludwig Kuttner, Treasurer Charles Clayton, Principal Accounting Officer Roger Clark and two personal assistants, while the company’s audit committee investigates alleged misappropriation of assets by the group.
On The Board
Nicolaisen
Former SEC Chief Accountant Don Nicolaisen has been named to the advisory board for D2C Solutions, a compliance consulting firm in Houston. Nicolaisen, who left the SEC last summer, is in good company: Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft also sits on the board.
MedAvant Healthcare Solutions has appointed James Hudak and Samuel Schwartz to its board of directors. Schwartz will also serve as chairman of the board’s audit committee. Atlanta-based MedAvant also named Peter Fleming counsel for the company.
The shareholders of Cost Plus have elected Christopher Dodds to its board of directors. Dodds, chief financial officer of Charles Schwab Corp., will join the audit committee of the Oakland, Calif., retailer.
From The Vendors
PepsiAmericas has chosen Cartesis finance software to support its worldwide financial closing processes and related Sarbanes-Oxley reporting.
British compliance software company Hitec Laboratories has acquired Ten Software. Ten specializes in the development and support of risk and performance management solutions.
OpenPages, a maker of governance software, announced that financial services company Unitrin will use OpenPages FCM for its Sarbanes-Oxley cost reduction initiatives.
Swiss drug giant Roche has chosen software from BWise to support its efforts at internal control over financial reporting.
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