WEST PALM BEACH — Margaret Wilesmith, founder and president of Wilesmith Advertising/Design in West Palm Beach, announced the addition of two new graphic designers to the firm's staff. They are: Uyen Le, who has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and a bachelor’s in graphic design from Florida Atlantic University; Anthony Reindel, a 2011 graduate of Miami University of Ohio with bachelor’s degree in graphic design and interactive media studies.
WEST PALM BEACH — Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has named Michael Pumo general manager of WPEC-TV CBS 12 in the West Palm Beach. Pumo will be oversee the station, which Sinclair programs under a time brokerage agreement.
Pumo served as vice president of broadcast sales for Freedom Communications, which currently owns WPEC. Sinclair is in the process of buying WPEC, as well as the remainder of Freedom's television stations. Before, Pumo was president and general manager for WFLA, the NBC outlet in Tampa. He also served as VP and general manager of WBTW in Myrtle Beach, S.C., KAMR and KAMC in Lubbock, Texas and was general manager of Sinclair's WCGV and WVTV in Milwaukee.
WEST PALM BEACH — Accounting firm WTAS said three managers in its West Palm Beach have been promoted to director. They are David Bollis and Stephanie Murray who both are members of the firm's private client services practice and Justice Chamlee who is a member of the firm's valuation team. Bollis has been with WTAS since inception in 2002, while Chamlee and Murray joined WTAS in 2010 and 2003, respectively.
BOCA RATON – Dennis Cohen, senior director of direct import/own brand supply chain for Office Depot, has been selected as the new chairman of the National Retail Federation announced today the new chairman and vice-chairman of its Strategic Supply Chain Council. Cohenpreviously served as vice chairman of the NRF Strategic Supply Chain Council, which provides guidance and technical expertise on issues affecting retailers’ management and security of their international supply chains, with a focus on public policy, supply chain management and best practices. Members include senior retail executives responsible for global supply chain, transportation and logistics management.
BOCA RATON — Palm Beach County commissioners have appointed Greenburg Traurig shareholder Bruce C. Rosetto to the board of directors of the Florida Atlantic Research and Development Authority. The board oversees the research park at FAU’s Boca Raton campus. More than 20 startup technology companies are housed at the park.Rosetto is a corporate and securities attorney representing private and public companies, private equity funds, investment banks and banks. His practice focuses on entrepreneurs and small to middle market public companies.
Rosetto chairs the Enterprise Development Corporation. He received his law degree from Villanova and his bachelor’s from La Salle University.
BOCA RATON – John Crean, general manager of the Broken Sound Club, has earned designation as a certified chief executive and membership in the Honor Society of the Club Managers Association of America. Crean is a nationally recognized leader in environmentally sound golf and country club management. He has headed private clubs in New York and Florida for more than 20 years. He qualified for Honor Society membership by earning numerous credits in club management experience, education and association activity.
Under Crean, Broken Sound has achieved five-star Platinum Club of America status from the CMAA, a distinction shared by fewer than 4 percent of the country’s 6,000 private clubs. Broken Sound Club is the first in Florida and second in the nation to be certified as environmentally sustainable by the international nonprofit Golf Environment Organization (GEO). The Old Course at Broken Sound Club is host to the prestigious annual PGA Champions Tour Allianz Championship
BOYNTON BEACH — To better serve patients, Paul Krykhtin, DDS, has moved his Coast Dental practice from West Palm Beach to Boynton Beach. Coast Dental Boynton Beach recently opened in the Boynton Beach Plaza at 4756 N. Congress Avenue and is accepting new patients. Krykhtin offers comprehensive family dentistry services to adults and children starting at age 10. Office hours are Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The practice accepts more than 200 dental insurance plans and can usually accommodate dental emergencies the same day. For an appointment call (561) 868-0900 or visit the practice’s website.
FORT LAUDERDALE — BankAtlantic has promoted two executives within its retail division. It’s named Mark Shim a regional manager for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast and Dorie Vega regional manager for Broward County.
Shim joined BankAtlantic more than eight years ago as customer service nanager at BankAtlantic’s Riviera Beach branch and has beenmarket manager for offices in Manalapan, Boca Raton and Lake Worth. Vega joined BankAtlantic in 2001 as market manager of BankAtlantic’s 14th Street branch location and has successfully managed several branch locations.
WEST PALM BEACH — Gov. Rick Scott has appointed Phillip H. Hutchinson to the judicial nominating commission for Palm Beach County. Scott is a shareholder in the West Palm Beach office of Greenberg Traurig. Scott selected Hutchinson from a list of nominees submitted by the Florida Bar. He will serve through June 30, 2015.
Hutchinson concentrates his practice on commercial litigation and defending corporate clients in complex litigation. He has experience in state and federal courts, including individual claims and class actions. Hutchinson has broad experience in complex case management, electronic discovery management, extensive pre-trial discovery and work-product protection.
WEST PALM BEACH — Greenberg Traurig has announced that Wade Bowden has joined the firm as a shareholder in its West Palm Beach office. He joins the more than 500-member global Litigation Practice Group. Prior to joining Greenberg Traurig, Bowden was a shareholder with Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs in West Palm Beach.
Bowden is board certified in litigation law by the Florida Bar. He works in complex commercial litigation, securities litigation, probate litigation, product liability, construction and wrongful death.
“Wade has litigated a broad range of matters at all levels including appellate and supreme court jurisdictions. He will be a great addition to our litigation team because of what it will mean to our clients,“ said Howard Bregman, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Palm Beach County offices.
Bowden is a board member of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, past-president of the young lawyers section of the Palm Beach County Bar Association and a past member of the goard of governors of the loung lawyers division of the Florida Bar.
PALM BEACH — Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT announced that Duff Rubin, managing director of the company’s South Florida region, has achieved the Silver Circle of Distinction, an award recognizing the top commercial sales associates.
"Duff continually demonstrates exceptional leadership and sales performance that exemplifies the standards of excellence for which Coldwell Banker Commercial associates are known. He is a true asset to our organization,” says Robin Webb, managing director, Florida, Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT.
Rubin, who comes from a family of commercial real estate entrepreneurs, has been active in commercial real estate for nearly 15 years. As the Regional Commercial Director for Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, Rubin manages over 100 full-time commercial sales associates.
Rubin has a BA in Economics from McGill University in Montreal. With a background in collegiate athletics, he has continued his love of sports by coaching and volunteering in community organizations and high schools. He was recently appointed to the board of the Palm Beach YMCA.
Sachs, Sax & Caplan announced that nationally recognized death care industry lawyer Harvey I. Lapin has joined the firm. He will lead the firm’s newly established funeral, cemetery
and cremation practice group.
Lapin is the general counsel to the Illinois Cemetery and Funeral Home Association. Lapin joins Ross McVoy, senior counsel with Sachs, Sax & Caplan, in the new practice group. McVoy serves as a general counsel for the Florida Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, created last year when the Florida Cemetery, Funeral and Cremation Association joined with the Florida Funeral Director’s Association.
For over 30 years, Lapin has served as the General Counsel of the Cremation Association of North America for more than 30 years and drafted the association’s model cremation law, which is now the standard for the cremation legislation enacted in many states. Previously, he was special cremation counsel to the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. He was primary drafter or assisted in drafting industry related legislation in over 40 states including Florida. Lapin has closed numerous funeral establishment, cemetery and crematory sales transactions.
A graduate of Northwestern University and Northwestern University Law School, Lapin is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Wisconsin. He is also registered as a CPA in Illinois.
J
UNO BEACH — Deborah Jaffe has joined Loggerhead Marinelife Center as director of development. The move marks the first time Jaffe has been employed by a nonprofit organization, although she has been actively involved as a volunteer for several charities with experience in fundraising, leadership, and community relations.
Jaffe and her husband Marc co-chaired the 2011 North Palm Beach Heart Ball benefiting the American Heart Association; she co-chaired and chaired the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 2007 and 2008, raising $1.55 million for the organization as chair. She also served on the Susan G. Komen for the Cure board of directors from 2000-2008. In 2009, she chaired Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night. She has also held volunteer leadership positions with the American Cancer Society, Executive Women of the Palm Beaches, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Royal Palm Beach Elementary School, and The Arthritis Foundation.
As director of alumni relations at Palm Beach Atlantic University, she managed almost 12,000 alumni with job duties including event management and fundraising. As a partner and owner of event planning company A Passion For Parties, she designed and managed events anywhere from two people to over 800 people. Loggerhead Marinelife Center president and Chief Operating Officer David McClymont said, "We are excited to have someone as dynamic as Deborah join the center's team. Her community involvement and proven development skills perfectly compliment the organization."
BOCA RATON – Options Media Group Holdings, the parent company of PhoneGuard Inc., which offers an anti-texting software for cell phones has technology industry veteran Russell Strunk as president. Strunk began his business career with Electronic Data Systems where he worked as a system analyst on Blue Cross Blue Shield, and then spent 16 years with Datapro Research, a McGraw Hill company, as an executive in sales management.
In 1990, Strunk joined TigerDirect as vice president of sales and was later promoted to executive vice president of marketing. During his tenure he grew his merchandising team to five vice presidents, more than 80 merchants and support personnel, $3.2 billion in company revenue, the addition of 40 TigerDirect and CompUSA retail stores and the successful integration of the Circuitcity.com and CompUSA.com web sites. In August of 2010, he left TigerDirect to pursue consulting and spend more time with his family.
