May 11, 2011

Banner Bank

Banner Bank hired Andrew Nguyen as a real estate loan officer in the Bellevue branch. Nguyen has eight years of home loan experience in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California, and spent the last four years as a home loan consultant for Washington State Employees Credit Union.

Pierce County

Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy selected Gary Robinson as director of the Pierce County Budget and Finance Department. Robinson has served in a variety of executive roles with the state since 1977, most recently as chief financial officer for the Department of Social and Health Services. He succeeds Patrick Kenney, who retired this month after 29 years as Budget and Finance director. Robinson must be confirmed by the Pierce County Council.

Mars Hill Graduate School

The board of trustees of Mars Hill Graduate School voted to re-name it The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. The change is a part of a broader effort by the school to position itself as a progressive innovator in Christian graduate education. The name change will take place in mid-August.

May 10, 2011

Washington Business Institute

The Association of Washington Business Institute hired Amy Johnson as a strategic consultant on workforce training and manufacturing. Johnson will continue her role as COO for the Institute for Systems Medicine in Spokane. The AWB Institute focuses on improving the state's workforce.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Advisors said Steve Becher joined the Bellevue office and Richard Nelson joined the Seattle office as financial advisors. Becher was a financial advisor at Chase Investments Services. Nelson was a financial advisor at UBS Financial Services.

InfoSpace

Bellevue-based InfoSpace, a developer of metasearch products, said William Ruckelshaus has been named president and chief executive officer. Ruckelshaus has served as president and acting chief executive officer since November of 2010, and has been a member of the board of directors since 2007.

May 06, 2011

Group Health Cooperative

The Group Health Cooperative Board of Trustees elected former Seattle deputy mayor and retired Boeing vice president Bob Watt to fill a vacant trustee position until the end of the year. Watt replaces Phyllis Best, who resigned to accept a position in Montana.

REI

Kent-based REI plans to open a new store this fall in Greenville, S.C. at the intersection of Interstate 85 and Woodruff Road. REI Greenville will be a one-story, 22,000-square-foot store with a bike shop and a seasonal gear rental department. This will be the first REI in South Carolina.

Evergreen State College

Michael Zimmerman will be the next academic vice president and provost at The Evergreen State College. Zimmerman has 30 years of experience in public and private institutions, most recently at Butler University and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He was dean of the colleges of arts and sciences at both. Zimmerman will begin work at Evergreen this summer and succeeds Don Bantz who served as provost for six years before becoming president of Alaska Pacific University.