Apr 24, 2009

Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce

The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce named Puget Sound Energy Executive Phil Bussey to head the regional business organization. Starting May 26, Bussey will direct all operations for the chamber, which represents nearly 2,400 firms from Marysville to Tacoma. He is now senior vice president of corporate affairs for Puget Sound Energy.

Western Washington University

Western Washington University hired Catherine Riordan as provost and vice president for academic affairs. Riordan is vice provost for academic affairs at Central Michigan University. She was selected after a nationwide search and will begin her new duties in August. Riordan succeeds Dennis Murphy.

Seattle Community Colleges

President Barack Obama has nominated Dr. Raj Shah, a member of the Seattle Community Colleges board of trustees, to serve as under secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, responsible for research, education and economics. Shah is a director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he manages agricultural development programs. He has been on the community colleges board since 2006.

Doyon Government Group

The Doyon Government Group, a government services company, opened a new headquarters in Federal Way at 33810 Weyerhaeuser Way S. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Doyon Limited in Fairbanks, Alaska. Doyon Government Group employs about 3,000 people.

Apr 23, 2009

Washington State UTC

The Washington state Senate has confirmed Jeffrey Goltz as chairman of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Goltz was appointed by Gov. Christine Gregoire to fill the post formerly held by Mark Sidran. His six-year term runs until Jan. 1, 2015. Goltz was a deputy state attorney general since 2001, and worked at the attorney general's office for 30 years.

First Sound Bank

First Sound Bank's Puget Sound Leasing Division hired David Johnson as senior vice president and leasing division manager. Johnson has 10 years of financial services experience in operations and risk management. He has worked at Verizon Wireless and Irwin Commercial Finance of Bellevue.

Bank of Washington

The Bank of Washington opened a new branch in Everett at 33 Everett Mall Way. Rex Siapco is manager. Siapco has 10 years of banking experience. Other staff members are Jennifer Rybak, Catherine Cavner and Cory Willard.

Guardian Management

Guardian Management, a Portland-based real estate investment and management firm specializing in West Coast multifamily housing investment and property management, has hired Jahna Overcash as a regional portfolio manager for Seattle. She will oversee all Seattle-area multifamily properties, both

affordable and market-rate units, and lead efforts to acquire new property management business in Washington. She was an investment manager at American Management Services, dba Pinnacle, with a multifamily portfolio of more than 1,500 units in the Seattle area.

Coast|Sperry Van Ness

Josh Jansen, senior advisor for Coast|Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Services of Everett, was recently recognized as top U.S. producer for Sperry Van Ness. Sperry Van Ness has more than 200 offices and 1,000 advisors nationwide.

2009 construction outlook

On May 1 at MBA University, 335 116th Ave. S.E., Bellevue, Seattle Master Builders will offer a six-hour Web broadcast providing professionals in real estate, housing, municipal and financial industries with an analysis of the current economic situation. Industry experts including economists from the National Association of Home Builders, government, financing institutions and economic think tanks will present research in key sectors including forecasts on housing starts, employment and other economic bellwethers of the housing industry. They will look at the impact on home building in Washington. Todd Britsch of New Home Trends will be the luncheon speaker with a four-year perspective on regional supply and demand issues. The time is from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. To register go to http://www.Masterbuildersinfo.com or call Kristen Parker at (425) 460-8231.