CEO Moves this week include:
John Hancock | Univar Inc. | Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC |
Lithium | Walter Investment Management Corp. | Christopher & Banks Corporation |
InnerWorkings, Inc. | Compassion & Choices | PDS Gaming |
GreenMantra Technologies | DataPath, Inc. | Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. |
Orvana Minerals Corp. | Trinity Industries, Inc. | Resolute Forest Products Inc. |
BLOK Technologies Inc. | Goldwind Americas | The Everett Clinic |
Hitachi Vantara | LifeApps Brands Inc. | GrafTech International Ltd. |
EyeSouth Partners | Milost Global Inc. | Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. |
SambaSafety | Lima One Capital | James Beard Foundation |
Beanitos, Inc. | Meredith Corporation | Sigma Designs, Inc. |
Perelson Weiner, LLP | Sixty Six Oilfield Services, Inc. | MAPCO |
Block One Capital Inc. | Ronnoco Coffee LLC | IndiSoft |
Broward Health | Boehringer Ingelheim | Clarify Medical |
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) | Raisbeck Engineering Inc. | LivingTree |
ImmuDyne, Inc. | Blueday Inc. | Ultra Petroleum Corp. |
Hogan Assessment Systems, Inc. | Inspira Financial Inc. |
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CEO Moves is published by Samuel Dergel (Executive Search Consultant with Dergel Executive Search). Samuel can be reached by email at samuel@dergelsearch.com or by phone at +1 (415) 738-2070.
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John Hancock [BOSTON] announced Brooks Tingle president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance. Mr. Tingle served in this role on an interim basis since last summer. Since joining John Hancock in 1987, Mr. Tingle has held diverse roles in the company’s life, annuity and long-term care insurance businesses. Most recently, as senior vice president, Marketing and Strategy for John Hancock Insurance. Previously, he served as senior vice president and COO for John Hancock Life Insurance Company.

Univar Inc. [DOWNERS GROVE, Ill.] (NYSE: UNVR) announced that it has selected David Jukes as the Company’s president and CEO effective May 9, 2018. Stephen D. Newlin, the Company’s current Chairman and CEO, will become Executive Chairman of Univar’s board of directors. Since joining Univar in 2002, Jukes held various roles of increasing responsibility. He was named President of Univar EMEA in 2011, and then President of Univar USA and Latin America in 2015. In May of 2017, Jukes was promoted to President and COO of Univar Inc. Prior to joining Univar, Jukes was Senior Vice President of global sales, marketing and industry relations for Omnexus. In 1991 he joined Ellis & Everard, ultimately becoming Vice President of corporate development for their polymers division. He currently serves on the board of DCC plc.
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC [NEW YORK] (NYSE: OZM) announced that Robert Shafir will succeed Dan Och as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Och, the Company’s largest shareholder, will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board through March 31, 2019, after which time he expects to remain involved with the firm. Mr. Shafir previously served in various capacities at Credit Suisse Group AG, most recently as the CEO of Credit Suisse Americas from 2008 to 2016 and Co-Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management, from 2012 to 2016. He was a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group and Credit Suisse. He was also Chairman of the Americas CEO Management Committee and the Private Banking & Wealth Management Products Management Committee. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, in August 2007, Mr. Shafir worked at Lehman Brothers for 17 years serving as Head of Global Equities, as well as a member of their Executive Board. He also held other senior roles, including Head of European Equities and Global Head of Equities Trading. Prior to that, he worked at Morgan Stanley in the preferred stock business within the fixed income division.
Lithium [SAN FRANCISCO] announced that Pete Hess has been named CEO as successor to Rob Tarkoff. Hess joins as the former CEO of Advent Software, where he led the acquisition of the company in 2015. Following the acquisition, he has served Vista Equity Partners as a Senior Advisor and member of the Lithium Board of Directors.
Walter Investment Management Corp. [FORT WASHINGTON, PA.] (NYSE: WAC.BC) announced that Anthony N. Renzi, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President, will be leaving the Company. To ensure a smooth transition, Mr. Renzi intends to stay with the Company and continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer and President until a permanent or interim successor is named.
Christopher & Banks Corporation [MINNEAPOLIS] (NYSE: CBK) announced that it has completed its search for a successor to interim Chief Executive Officer and President Joel Waller. The Company has appointed Keri Jones as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board effective upon her first day of employment, which is anticipated to be on March 12, 2018. Ms. Jones is a proven executive with over 30 years’ experience at retail businesses including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target Corporation. In her most recent role as Executive Vice President, Chief Merchant at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ms. Jones was responsible for the strategy and execution of Merchandising, Product Development and Planning, Allocation & Replenishment. Prior to Dick’s, Ms. Jones spent 27 years at Target, where she served in a variety of leadership roles, including, Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain; Executive Vice President of Merchandising Planning and Operations; Senior Vice President of Health and Beauty; and Vice President, General Merchandise Manager, Toys and Sporting Goods.
InnerWorkings, Inc. [CHICAGO] (NASDAQ: INWK) announced that President and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Belcher, will be succeeded by Rich Stoddart, who is currently serving as Global President of Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett Worldwide. Mr. Stoddart will be appointed President & Chief Executive Officer of InnerWorkings, Inc. and will join its Board of Directors effective on or before April 5, 2018, at which time Mr. Belcher will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to his current role, he ran Leo Burnett North America for 11 years as Chief Executive Officer and President.

Compassion & Choices [WASHINGTON] announced the promotion of its chief program officer, Kim Callinan, to chief executive officer (CEO). Barbara Coombs Lee, who served as CEO and president of the end-of-life care advocacy organization for the last 13 years, will remain president of the organization. Prior to joining Compassion & Choices in 2015, Callinan spent two decades creating integrated campaigns to engineer social change.
PDS Gaming [LAS VEGAS] announced Alex Dungan as its new CEO. Mr. Dungan joins the Company after a 27-year tenure at Bally Technologies, currently part of Scientific Games, where he was most recently Vice President of the Gaming Operations Business unit and Sales Administration. Johan Finley, current CEO and Founder of PDS, will continue to advise the Company as a consultant on special projects in the gaming industry and will also serve as special gaming advisor to Northlight Financial, an affiliate of which acquired PDS in January 2017.

GreenMantra Technologies [BRANTFORD, Ontario] announced it has named Jodie Morgan as its new chief executive officer. Morgan previously served as president of Pinova Inc., Solazyme Roquette Nutritionals, LLC, and SPI Polyols, Inc. She has also been on the Board of Directors of GreenMantra since early 2017.
DataPath, Inc. [ATLANTA] announced that its Chairman of the Board, Chris Melton, will step in as interim CEO, after its current President & CEO, David Myers, announced his plans to step down in February. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board and interim CEO for DataPath, Inc., Chris Melton is the Chairman and CEO of The White Oak Group, an Atlanta-based private investment firm. Melton also previously led the growth of DataPath as Co-Chairman from 2004 until its public offering in 2006.
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W) [CHARLOTTE, N.C.] (NYSE: BW) announced that it has appointed Leslie C. Kass to serve as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Kass served as Senior Vice President, Industrial at Babcock & Wilcox since May 2017. She joined B&W in 2013, and subsequently served in various roles including Vice President of Retrofits. Before joining B&W, Kass held a number of engineering and project management-related positions of increasing responsibility with Westinghouse, Entergy and Duke Energy.
Orvana Minerals Corp. [TORONTO] (TSX: ORV) announced the resignation of James Gilbert as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer as well as a director of Orvana. Mr. Gilbert has decided to pursue other opportunities. Effective immediately, the Board has appointed Juan Gavidia as the Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Trinity Industries, Inc. [DALLAS] (NYSE: TRN) announced that Antonio Carrillo, currently the Chief Executive Officer of Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV:MEXCHEM*) and a current member of Trinity’s Board of Directors, has accepted a future role with the company as President and Chief Executive Officer of the new infrastructure company upon completion of the spin-off. Prior to joining Mexichem, Mr. Carrillo spent 16 years at Trinity where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Group President of the Company’s Energy Equipment Group and was responsible for Trinity’s Mexico operations. In 2014, he was elected to Trinity’s Board of Directors and has served as a member of the Finance Committee.

Resolute Forest Products Inc. [MONTRÉAL] (NYSE: RFP, TSX: RFP) announced the selection and appointment of Yves Laflamme as Resolute’s new president and chief executive officer, and a member of the Board of Directors, succeeding Richard Garneau. Mr. Laflamme currently serves as senior vice president, Wood Products, Global Procurement and Information Technology for Resolute. He is a 37-year veteran of the industry, as well as Resolute and its predecessor companies.
BLOK Technologies Inc. [TORONTO] (CSE: BLK) announced the appointment of Robert Dawson, a current adviser of the Company, as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Company. His experience crosses several categories including technology, financial services, blockchain, consumer goods, food, retail, and environmental sustainability with well-known brands such as Intel, Dell, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Expedia, HSBC, LEGO, VELCRO, and others. Rob has held positions as Chief Client Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at industry-leading participation and crowdsourcing technology companies as well as President of boutique research and innovation consultancies.
Goldwind Americas [CHICAGO] a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. announced that David Halligan will be leaving as its chief executive officer. Mr. Halligan joined Goldwind in 2010 as chief financial officer and member of the executive team charged with launching Goldwind in the Americas. Halligan served as CEO for the last four years.

The Everett Clinic [EVERETT, Wash.], a DaVita Medical Group and division of DaVita Inc. announced that its chief executive officer (CEO) and market president, Rick Cooper, will retire after more than 40 years of service and Dr. Aric Coffman will step in as CEO and market president. Aric has served in several DaVita Medical Group leadership roles within the past 12 years including residency program director, associate medical director of specialty care, senior medical director and chief medical officer.
Hitachi Vantara [SANTA CLARA, Calif.], a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., announced that Brian Householder has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2018. Ryuichi Otsuki, the current CEO of Hitachi Vantara, will leave his role to take an expanded role for Hitachi, Ltd. as Deputy General Manager of Hitachi’s Corporate Sales & Marketing Group and Chairman of Hitachi Global Digital Holdings, the holding company for Hitachi Vantara, oXya and Hitachi Consulting. Otsuki will also serve as Chairman of Hitachi Americas and will continue to reside in Santa Clara, California. Prior to being named as Chief Executive Officer, Householder served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Hitachi Vantara.
LifeApps Brands Inc. [DEL MAR, Calif.] (OTC PINK: LFAP) announced the appointment of Bobby Blair as Chief Executive Officer. Robert Gayman, acting Chief Executive Officer, will remain with the company as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
GrafTech International Ltd. [BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Ohio] announced that David J. Rintoul will join the Company as President & Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), effective March 1, 2018, replacing Jeffrey C. Dutton. Mr. Dutton will continue to serve as a director on the Company’s Board of Directors. Prior to joining GrafTech, Mr. Rintoul served as President of U.S. Steel Tubular Products and as a Senior Vice President of United States Steel Corporation. Mr. Rintoul’s career in the steel industry spans 38 years with positions at both integrated and mini mill producers in the United States, Europe and Canada.
EyeSouth Partners [ATLANTA] announced that Rex Adams has joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Adams was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of Payspan. Adams previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (“CHOA”).
Milost Global Inc. [NEW YORK] announced that it has appointed Kim Freeman as the new leader and Chief Executive Officer. Kim is taking over from the founding partner and current CEO, MJ Gwadiso. Mr. Freeman is currently Partner & Managing Director of Mining at Milost Global Inc.
Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. [VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.] (NASDAQ: WHLR) has terminated Jon S. Wheeler as the Company’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. In addition, Mr. Wheeler resigned his position from the Board of Directors. The Company named David Kelly as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr. Kelly joined the Company in 2013 and served as Senior Vice President, Director of Acquisitions for the Company, and most recently as the Chief Investment Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Kelly served as a Principal with Kelly Development, LLC, a real estate development firm he founded in March 2011. From 1998 to 2011, Mr. Kelly served as the Director of Real Estate for Supervalu, Inc. Mr. Kelly has served as a director of the Company since 2011.
SambaSafety [DENVER] announced that Allison Guidette has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Guidette most recently served as CEO of G2 Web Services. Prior to G2, she was a Managing Director & SVP for Thomson Reuters and held positions at Merrill Corporation and CEB.
Lima One Capital [GREENVILLE, S.C.] hired Jeff Tennyson as Chief Executive Officer. Lima One Capital Founder, John Warren will remain Chairman. Prior to Lima One Capital, Tennyson was President at Clayton Holdings, CEO of B2R Finance, and served as CEO of EquiFirst, during his 12-year tenure at the company.

James Beard Foundation (JBF) [NEW YORK] announced that Clare Reichenbach has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Effective February 20, Reichenbach, founder of CJJR Consulting and a former executive vice president of Strategy and Business Development at BBC Worldwide and AMC Networks, succeeds Susan Ungaro, who stepped down as JBF president at the end of 2017. At CJJR Consulting, Reichenbach’s clients included New York Public Radio, NBCU, and Samsung. Prior to that, she was EVP of Strategy & Business Development for both AMC Networks and BBC Worldwide.
Beanitos, Inc. [AUSTIN, Texas] announced that Giannella Alvarez has joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Alvarez served as CEO of Harmless Harvest, where she led the company for almost two and a half years. She currently serves as a Director on the Board at Domtar Corporation and on the board of Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc. Giannella is succeeding Dan Costello, who accepted a President role at X2 Energy Beverages.
Meredith Corporation [DES MOINES, Iowa] (NYSE: MDP) announced that it appointed Steve Lacy Executive Chairman and Tom Harty President and Chief Executive Officer. Lacy is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Harty is President and Chief Operating Officer. Harty joined Meredith in 2004 as its Chief Revenue Officer and President of Consumer Magazines. He was named National Media Group President in 2010. Immediately prior to Meredith, Harty was Senior Vice President for The Golf Digest Companies, a division of Advance Publications.
Sigma Designs, Inc. [FREMONT, Calif.] (NASDAQ: SIGM) announced the departure of Thinh Tran, President and Chief Executive Officer, from his positions at Sigma Designs and from its Board of Directors. Elias Nader, Sigma’s current Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed as interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Nader has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since 2013. Prior to joining Sigma, he held several senior level positions in Finance and Accounting, most recently as CFO of Imperial Holdings, and as Corporate Controller of Dionex Corporation. Mr. Nader is currently a member of the Board of Directors at YuMe, Inc.

Perelson Weiner, LLP [NEW YORK] announced Lynne Born has joined as CEO. Ms. Born specializes in succession planning, growth and change management and the design of best in class Leadership and Development Programs for next generation career path. She has served as a leader in one of the largest multi-family offices in the country serving high-net-worth business owners and multi-generational families.
Sixty Six Oilfield Services, Inc. [NEW YORK] (OTCBB: SSOF) announced that Dave T. Ho has been elected President, Chief Executive Officer and serves on the board of directors. Mr. Ho is a marketing veteran with over 20 years as a business owner and marketing executive. Mr. Ho has been a partner at two successful marketing agencies in Connecticut, Design Trust Inc. and York & Chapel, Corp., where he is currently president.

MAPCO [FRANKLIN, Tenn.] announced it has appointed Charles (Hal) Adams as CEO, replacing Frederic Chaveyriat who served as interim CEO and remains Executive Vice President of MAPCO’s Board of Directors. Adams began his career as a night shift associate working his way up to his most recent position as President of Retail Operations at CST Brands.
Block One Capital Inc. [VANCOUVER, British Columbia] (TSX-V: BLOK) announced the appointment of Sothi Thillairajah as Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Sothi Thillairajah cofounded Finzat Block LLC and is guiding development of the company’s mortgage blockchain solution. Mr. Thillairajah was a Managing Director at Revere Capital Advisors. Over his career with Nomura, Commerzbank and Societe General, Mr. Thillairajah has worked on projects in Europe, Africa and Latin America.
Ronnoco Coffee LLC [ST. LOUIS] announced the hiring of Terry McDaniel as its new CEO and board member. He previously served as president/CEO of Inventure Foods Incorporated for the past 11 years. Previously, McDaniel led Inventure Foods and Wise Foods, and had significant sales and marketing roles at Grand Metropolitan Company (Häagen-Dazs), Nestle and Tropicana Products.
IndiSoft [COLUMBIA, Md.] appointed Hans Rusli as the company’s new CEO. Sanjeev Dahiwadkar, founder and CEO, now becomes IndiSoft’s managing member and chairman of the board. Rusli most recently was chief credit officer at Caliber Home Loans. Previously, Rusli spent 10 years at Bank of America as senior vice president in risk management. Earlier in his career, Rusli was senior vice president of servicing operations at Transworld Mortgage, senior vice president of investor services at First Nationwide Mortgage and a founder and CEO of MSTD Inc.

Broward Health [FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.] announced that Interim President/CEO Beverly Capasso was named its President/CEO. Capasso was named interim President/CEO in May of 2017. Capasso was appointed Broward Health’s interim President/CEO after serving on the North Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners. Capasso previously served as CEO at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami. She has also held senior management positions at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston and as Chief Nursing Officer at Miami’s North Shore Medical Center, part of Tenet Healthcare.
Boehringer Ingelheim [RIDGEFIELD, Conn.] announced that Paul Fonteyne, U.S. President and CEO will retire after 15 years of committed service on December 31, 2018. Wolfgang Baiker has been appointed to succeed him, effective March 1, 2018. Dr. Baiker, currently Senior Vice President, Human Pharma Supply & Global Quality and Head of the Biopharma Business Unit, joined Boehringer Ingelheim in 1989 as Section Head for Clinical Development in Biberach, Germany.
Clarify Medical [SAN DIEGO] announced that its CEO Jim Sweeney has resigned for health reasons. Rex Bright, a current Board member of Clarify Medical, has agreed to serve as interim President and CEO.

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) [WASHINGTON] announced the hiring of Michael H. Moloney as CEO. He will assume the role March 5, 2018. He previously held the position of Director for Space and Aeronautics at the Space Studies Board and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Moloney also worked for more than seven years as a foreign service officer for the Irish government, serving at both the Irish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the Irish Mission to the United Nations in New York, as well as working as a press officer for the service in Dublin.
Raisbeck Engineering Inc. [SEATTLE] announced Peter Greenthal as the new CEO and president.
LivingTree [AUSTIN, Texas] announced that Gary Hensley will take the helm as the new CEO. Prior to joining LivingTree, Hensley’s founded and led Edbacker as CEO. Before Edbacker, Hensley served as Director of Strategic Partnerships and Product Management at Pearson, which bought Hensley’s K-12 dropout prevention software.
ImmuDyne, Inc. [NEW YORK] (OTCQB: IMMD) announced the resignation of Mark McLaughlin as President & CEO, and the appointment of Justin Schreiber as the Company’s President & CEO. Mr. Schreiber is the founder of JLS Ventures, LLC.
Blueday Inc. [BOSTON] introduced Graeme Grant, former Salesforce Commerce Cloud Vice-President, as CEO and Board Member. Previously, Mr. Grant held leadership positions with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Demandware, and Oracle Retail and was a key executive in several successful retail-focused start-ups. He helped found CQuotient; was an early leader at ProfitLogic; and was a top executive at Allurent.
Ultra Petroleum Corp. [HOUSTON] (NASDAQ: UPL) announced that, after leading the Company for 19 years, Chairman and CEO Michael D. Watford will be retiring from his role at the Company, effective February 28, 2018. Brad Johnson, Senior Vice President, Operations, will become interim CEO on that date. Mr. Johnson joined Ultra Petroleum in 2008 as Director, Reservoir Engineering and Planning. In 2011, he was named Vice President, Reservoir Engineering and Development and concurrently promoted as an Officer of the Company. Since April 2014, Mr. Johnson has served directly under Mr. Watford as Senior Vice President, Operations. Mr. Johnson has over 23 years of industry experience. Prior to joining Ultra, Mr. Johnson was employed by Anadarko Petroleum for 13 years where he served in various engineering and leadership roles.
Hogan Assessment Systems, Inc. [TULSA, Okla.] announced Scott Gregory will assume the role of CEO, effective March 1, 2018. Current CEO, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic has resigned and will leave the company on February 28, 2018. Gregory has extensive experience working with global companies, including 12 years as the Vice President of Talent Management and Organizational Development at Pentair. He also was a consultant for Personnel Decisions International and Hogan’s partner, MDA Leadership Consulting, and taught I/O Psychology at Macalester College and St. Olaf College. Gregory rejoined Hogan in 2013, and was elevated to partner and Vice President of Consulting in 2016.
Inspira Financial Inc. [BOCA RATON, FLORIDA] (TSX-V: LND) appointed David Forstadt as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Forstadt has been with Inspira for more than a year.