CFO Moves – week ending August 7, 2015

CFO Moves this week include:

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CFO Moves is published by Samuel Dergel (Executive Search Consultant and CFO & Financial Executive Search Specialist with Stanton Chase). Samuel can be reached by email at s.dergel@stantonchase.com or by phone at +1 (415) 738-2070.

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Sprint (NYSE: S) [Overland Park, KS] announced that Tarek Robbiati was named Chief Financial Officer. Robbiati most recently was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at FlexiGroup Ltd. Previously he held senior executive positions, including group managing director and deputy chief financial officer of Telstra Corp., chief executive officer at CSL Limited, and head of corporate finance for Orange Plc.

United Airlines (NYSE: UAL) [Chicago, IL] announced that Gerald Laderman has been named acting chief financial officer. He succeeds John Rainey. Laderman most recently has been senior vice president of finance, procurement and treasurer. He previously served as vice president of finance and treasurer for Continental Airlines from 2001 to 2010 and joined the company in 1988. 

PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL) [San Jose, CA] announced John Rainey is joining as its new Chief Financial Officer. Rainey joins PayPal from United Continental Holdings, Inc. where he was Executive Vice President and CFO at United Airlines. Prior to being CFO at United Airlines, Rainey held various positions of increasing responsibility in finance at United Airlines and Continental Airlines. Before joining Continental, Rainey worked at Ernst & Young LLP in Houston for two years.

Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) [New York, NY] announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Steven Berns, has resigned. Tribune Media has appointed Chandler Bigelow, its current Chief Strategies & Operations Officer as interim CFO.  Bigelow previously served as CFO from 2008 to 2013, and is a 17-year veteran of the company.

Shutterstock, Inc. (NYSE: SSTK) [New York, NY] announced Steven Berns will succeed Tim Bixby as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

Hallmark Cards, Inc. [Kansas City, MO] has named Jim Shay executive vice president and chief financial officer. Shay will replace Tim Griffith who is retiring. Prior to joining KCP&L in 2010, Shay served as CFO for Northern Power Systems.  He also has served as CFO of General Electric’s Environmental Services in Kansas City and as CFO of BHA Group Holding.  Early in his career he was an audit manager with KPMG Peat Marwick, and managing director of Frontier Investment Banc Corp.

Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP) [Kansas City, MO] announced the acceptance of resignation from Jim Shay, senior vice president—finance and chief financial officer. The company also announced today the promotion of Kevin Bryant to senior vice president—finance & strategy and chief financial officer of Great Plains Energy. Most recently, Bryant served as vice president of strategic planning. Prior to that, Bryant served as vice president of investor relations and treasurer for Great Plains Energy.

AssetAvenue [Los Angeles, CA] announced that Peter Coleman has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, Mr. Coleman has been CFO for several technology start-ups, including FuHu and LOYAL3 HOLDINGS, Inc. Prior to LOYAL3, Mr. Coleman was Chief Financial Officer at Merriman Holdings, Inc. from 2008 to 2012. He also served concurrently as Chief Executive Officer of Merriman’s primary subsidiary, Merriman Capital, Inc. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Coleman was Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of ThinkEquity Partners, LLC where he also served as a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and Global Management Committee. Earlier in his career, he was an equity research analyst for Charles Schwab and Bank of America.

American Energy Partners, LP [Oklahoma City, OK] announced that Elliot Chambers will join as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of its affiliates American Energy NonOp, LLC (AENO). Chambers is replacing as CFO of AEW and AEMN, Jennifer Grigsby. Chambers previously worked for Chesapeake Energy Corporation for seven years, serving as Corporate Finance Manager from 2008 to 2009; Assistant Treasurer from 2009 to 2010; Vice President – Finance and Assistant Treasurer from 2011 to 2013; and Vice President and Treasurer from 2013 to 2015. Prior to Chesapeake, Chambers worked in New York for Colgate-Palmolive Corporation, Prudential Financial, Verizon Communications and Ernst & Young in various accounting, finance and treasury roles.

Ascent Resources, LLC [Oklahoma City, OK] announced that it has hired Jennifer Grigsby to serve as Chief Financial Officer. Mrs. Grigsby is joining Ascent from American Energy Partners, LP where she served as CEO and CFO of American Energy Minerals Holdings, LLC and as CFO of American Energy – Woodford, LLC since February 2015. She previously worked for Chesapeake Energy Corporation, serving as Vice President, Assistant Treasurer and Corporate Secretary from 2006 to 2007; Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Corporate Secretary from 2007 to 2013; and Senior Vice President, Corporate and Strategic Planning from 2013 to 2014. Prior to Chesapeake, Mrs. Grigsby worked for Commander Aircraft Company and Deloitte & Touche, LLP.

Starwood Retail Partners [Greenwich, CT] announced that it has named Angela Aman Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Aman has spent the last four years as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Retail Properties of America, Inc. Prior to Retail Properties of America, Inc. Ms. Aman served as Vice President and Portfolio Manager at RREEF and began her career as an analyst and associate in the Investment Banking Group at Deutsche Bank Securities.

Metromile [San Francisco, CA] announced that Joe Selsavage has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Joe was most recently CFO for Hotwire.

McCourt Global [New York, NY] announced that Brent Taravella has joined the firm as Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Previously, Taravella was the Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of iHeartRadio, iHeartRadio Networks, and the Katz Media Group, divisions of iHeartMedia. Prior to iHeartMedia, Taravella spent 14 years in a variety of roles with Fox Television Stations, including Vice President, Finance & Administration for Fox Station Sales, Inc., Vice President, Finance for WNYW-TV in New York City and Vice President, Finance for KTVC-TV and KVC-TV in Austin.  Before that, Taravella held positions at WFAA-TV, a division of the Belo Corporation, and the ABC Radio Networks, a division of Capital Cities/ABC.

FINCA International [Washington, DC] welcomed Roman Hingorani as the new Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining FINCA, he held multiple leadership roles in Citi, Standard Chartered Bank and Credit Agricole.  In addition, Mr. Hingorani has held CFO and board positions at The International Investor.

USA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAT) [Malvern, PA] announced the appointment of J. Duncan Smith as chief financial officer. Mr. Smith succeeds David DeMedio who transitions to the newly created position of chief services officer. Smith joins USAT from Bryn Mawr Bank Corporation, where he served as CFO and Treasurer since 2005. Previously, he spent 12 years in a similar role with First Chester County Corporation, and five years with a denovo banking operation. Smith also had approximately seven years of experience with several public accounting firms including Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young.

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE: CHD) [Ewing, NJ] has announced that Richard Dierker will succeed Matthew Farrell as Executive Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Dierker joined Church & Dwight in 2009 and is currently Vice President, Corporate Finance. From 2008 to 2009, he held a senior financial management position at Alpharma, Inc. Prior to 2008, he held financial and business development management positions for Ingersoll-Rand Ltd.

Brightstar Corp. [Miami, FL] announced that Reza Taleghani has joined the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Taleghani joins Brightstar from J.P. Morgan. Beyond banking, Taleghani served as the President and CEO of Sterling Airlines A/S.

Nu-Med Plus, Inc. (OTC: NUMD) [Salt Lake City, UT] announced that Keith Merrell has accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer replacing Mark Christensen.

Data Dimensions [Janesville, WI] announced the addition of Don Tuscany in the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He most recently held the title of Treasurer, Controller and Director of Financial Reporting at Dean Health Plan Inc. Before that, he was CFO at Employee Benefits Corporation and Chief Operations and Finance Officer of Integrated Risk Solutions. Also, from 1996 to 2010, Tuscany served in various executive roles at Assurant Health of Milwaukee, including Vice President, Global Sourcing & Vendor Risk Management.

SimpliVity [Westborough, MA] named Tom Beaudoin chief financial officer. He joins SimpliVity from Nuance Communications, where he served as executive vice president and CFO. Prior to joining Nuance in 2008, Beaudoin was president, CFO, and chief operating officer of Polaroid Corporation. Previously, he held senior finance positions at Parametric Technology, i2, Compaq, and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Harvest Partners LP [New York, NY] announced that Marc Unger has joined the firm as Chief Financial Officer. Previously Mr. Unger was the CFO/COO of CCMP Capital Advisors. Prior to that, he was CFO of UBS Capital Americas. Mr. Unger started his career with Ernst & Young.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) [San Diego, CA] announced the appointment of Matthew Korenberg as Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Korenberg joins Ligand from NeuroCircuit Therapeutics, where he was founder and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to NeuroCircuit Therapeutics, Mr. Korenberg was with Goldman, Sachs & Co. for 14 years. Most recently he was a Managing Director in the healthcare investment banking team. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Mr. Korenberg was a healthcare investment banker at Dillon, Read & Co. Inc.

Central Garden and Pet Company (NASDAQ: CENT) [Walnut Creek, CA] announced the resignation of Lori Varlas, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The Board of Directors has named David Chichester as Acting Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Chichester has served for 13 years on Central’s Board as Audit Committee Financial Expert. Mr. Chichester has served as CFO or held senior finance positions at several companies including Starbucks and Marriott Corporation.

ChannelAdvisor Corporation (NYSE: ECOM) [Research Triangle Park, NC] announced that it has appointed Mark Cook as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Cook succeeds John Baule, who has resigned as CFO. Mr. Cook has served as Vice President, Finance and Controller at Red Hat, Inc. since 2007 and previously served as Red Hat’s Treasurer. Prior to joining Red Hat, Mr. Cook served in financial leadership positions at a number of manufacturing and textile companies, including Cluett American Corp., Guilford Mills, Inc., Worthington Industries, Inc., Blount, Inc. and RJR Nabisco, Inc.

IRIDEX Corporation (NASDAQ: IRIX) [Mountain View, CA] announced that James Mackaness, who had served as chief financial officer since 2008 and as chief operating officer since 2012, has resigned his positions with the Company.

JenaValve Technology, Inc. [Irvine, CA] announced the appointment of Peter Wulff as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). His industry experience includes CFO positions at medical technology companies Alphatec Spine, Inc., Artes Medical, Inc., and CryoCor, Inc. Most recently, Mr. Wulff served as CFO and COO for Pure Biosciences, Inc.

Cybergy Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CYBG) [Englewood, CO] announced the appointment of William Gregorak as the new Chief Financial Officer of the wholly owned subsidiary Cybergy Partners. Mr. Gregorak’s most recent position was as CFO of Ascent Solar Technologies. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gregorak spent 17 years at Hewlett-Packard including various senior finance and accounting positions and subsequently in the 1990s, as a national sales account manager and software development operations manager.

DocuSign, Inc. [San Francisco, CA] announced that Michael Sheridan has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Sheridan has served as CFO for several technology companies including Mimosa Systems, Playlist Inc., IGN Entertainment, Facebook and SonicWALL. He began his career with nine years in public accounting at Arthur Andersen.

Option Care [Deerfield, IL] announced the appointment of Michael Shapiro as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Shapiro most recently served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Catamaran Corporation. Shapiro joined Catamaran in 2012 as Senior Vice President, Finance and became CFO in 2014. Prior to joining Catamaran, Shapiro was Vice President and CFO for Rexnord Corporation. Shapiro previously spent 15 years at Baxter International, Inc. where he served in various financial leadership positions including Vice President, Finance and Business Development for the Renal Division of Baxter.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) [Oklahoma City, OK] announced that it has appointed Julian Bott as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company. Mr. Bott, who most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at Texas American Resources Company since 2009, assumes the CFO role from Eddie LeBlanc, who has served as CFO since July 2013 and has announced his retirement. Bott previously served as Managing Partner at Kensington Energy Partners (2008-2009), and Principal and Chief Financial Officer at 3DMD Technologies Ltd. (2004-2008). Mr. Bott served in various senior management capacities at TD Securities from 1996 to 2003 and in senior positions in the Energy Group at Bankers Trust Company from 1984-1996.

Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: RJET) [Indianapolis, IN] announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Timothy Dooley will leave the Company. Mr. Dooley joined the Company in 1998 as Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis and was promoted to increasing levels of responsibility before being appointed as CFO in April of 2011.

Dimension Therapeutics, Inc. [Cambridge, MA] announced that Jean Franchi has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Prior to joining Dimension, Ms. Franchi served as Chief Financial Officer at Good Start Genetics. Prior to her transition to Good Start in 2012, Ms. Franchi spent 16 years at Genzyme Corporation. In 2008, she was appointed Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance, responsible for corporate financial reporting and. Earlier in her career, Ms. Franchi worked in accounting, finance, and sales operations for two diagnostic companies: bioMérieux, Inc., and API.

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: MACK) [Cambridge, MA] announced that Yasir Al-Wakeel will be appointed Chief Financial Officer and head of Corporate Development. Dr. Al-Wakeel joins Merrimack from Credit Suisse where he served as a Director on the healthcare investment banking team.  Prior to that role, Dr. Al-Wakeel was a research analyst at Credit Suisse.

VISANOW [Chicago, IL] announced that Brittany Smith has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining VISANOW, Smith was Director in the Technology, Media and Telecom Services group at Madison Dearborn Partners.

Allied Motion Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:AMOT) [Amherst, NY] announced that Rob Maida, currently the Chief Financial Officer of Allied Motion, will be moving to the newly created position of Vice President of Operational Excellence and concurrent with this change, Mike Leach will become the new Chief Financial Officer of the company. Mike comes to Allied Motion from Osmose Holdings, Inc. where he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the last six years. Prior to that, he was with Cytec Industries for eight years where he progressed to the position of North American Operations Controller for Cytec Specialty Chemicals and eight years with Belko Corporation where he was the VP of Finance and Administration.

SendGrid [Boulder, CO] announced that Yancey Spruill has joined the company as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining SendGrid, Mr. Spruill served as CFO of DigitalGlobe.

Tremor Video, Inc. (NYSE:TRMR) [New York, NY] announced that it has hired John Rego as Chief Financial Officer. Rego spent 8 years as the Executive Vice President and CFO of Vonage Holdings Corp. Mr. Rego has also served as the CFO of AppSense.

Press Ganey Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PGND) [Boston, MA] announced today that Breht Feigh will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer. Feigh spent the past 18 years with American Dental Partners in roles of increasing responsibility. Prior to American Dental Partners, he held positions with Robertson, Stephens & Company; ING Barings and Dean Witter Reynolds.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BCLI) [Hackensack, NJ] announced that it has appointed Yoram Bibring as Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Bibring will replace Alla Patlis, the Company’s current interim CFO, who will resume her duties as Controller of the Company. Mr. Bibring joins BrainStorm from Sapiens North America where he served as the Chief Financial Officer.  Prior to Sapiens, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for Silenseed. Before that, he was the Chief Financial Officer for Healthcare Corporation of America.  Prior to that, he spent 11 years as the Chief Financial Officer for Fundtech.

Viavi Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAV) [Milpitas, CA] has appointed Amar Maletira as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Maletira will replace Rex Jackson, who announced earlier this year his planned departure. Mr. Maletira most recently served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Americas Enterprise Services group at Hewlett-Packard. Prior to that, Mr. Maletira held a series of executive positions in global finance at HP including Business Unit CFO for Application services, Global Head of Financial Planning & Analysis and Director of Investor Relations. Prior to HP, Mr. Maletira served as Chief Operating Officer for a start-up IT consulting company in Michigan, and led sales teams at Siemens and HCL in India.

Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ: RELL) [Lafox, IL] announced the election of Robert Ben as its Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Ben spent the past 15 years with Cobra Electronics Corporation. Prior to joining Cobra, Mr. Ben worked for Ivex Packaging Corporation and Abbott Laboratories as well as KPMG and for Ernst & Young as an auditor.

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EIGI) [Burlington, MA] announced that Tivanka Ellawala, chief financial officer, will transition from his current position and take on a new role driving the company’s e-commerce strategy. The company concurrently announced the appointment of Marc Montagner to the role of CFO. Marc Montagner joins Endurance from LightSquared, Inc. where he is CFO. Mr. Montagner returned to LightSquared in 2012 from Dupont Circle Partners in order to serve as CFO after having served as EVP, Sales, Marketing and Strategy at LightSquared between 2009 and 2010.  Prior to joining LightSquared, Mr. Montagner was a Managing Director and Co-Head of the Global Telecom, Media and Technology Group at Banc of America Securities. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and M&A at Sprint Nextel. Mr. Montagner had previously been a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and started his career at France Telecom North America.

TPG Specialty Lending, Inc. (NYSE: TSLX) [New York, NY] announced that Alan Kirshenbaum has notified the Company of his intention to step down as Chief Financial Officer. Upon his departure, Robert Ollwerther, the Company’s Chief Operating Officer, will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer. Ollwerther joined TSLX as Chief Operating Officer in 2014. Prior to TSLX, Ollwerther was an Advisor to TSSP. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Avenue Capital Group. Before that, Ollwerther was a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch where he spent 25 years in a variety of positions, including Chief Operating Officer for the Hedge Fund Development and Management Group; Chief Financial Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa; Chief Financial Officer for Latin America and Canada; Chief Financial Officer for Global Equities; and Head of International and Institutional Internal Audit.

Move, Inc. [San Jose, CA] has appointed Bryan Charap as chief financial officer. Most recently he has served as senior vice president of finance, and he has held a number of finance positions of increasing responsibility during his 14 years at Move. Charap began his career as a business analyst at Eddie Bauer.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AXL) [Detroit, Michigan] announced that Michael Simonte currently the Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will serve as President. Christopher May currently the Company’s Treasurer, will serve as Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. Since December 1, 2011, Mr. May has served as Treasurer and previously, from August 2008 through December 1, 2011, Assistant Treasurer.

Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX) [Lake Forest, IL] announced the appointment of Randall Pollard as Chief Accounting Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Pollard’s appointment follows the departure of Timothy Dick, who has elected to step down as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Pollard joined Akorn as Vice President and Corporate Controller in April 2015 from Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to Novartis, he served in various financial leadership roles at Wyeth and Mayne Pharma. Mr. Pollard began his career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen.