Appointments: March 2013

Multimedia Games
Multimedia Games Holding Company has appointed Todd McTavish to the post of senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary. 

McTavish has extensive expertise in the gaming industry and general corporate legal and regulatory compliance matters, having most recently served as general counsel at Video Gaming Technologies (VGT), a manufacturer of games for Class II and emerging gaming markets. In that role he was responsible for leading the legal and compliance department, supervising in-house attorneys, overseeing the corporate compliance function and managing regulatory consultants, lobbyists and outside legal counsel.

Prior to being named VGT general counsel in 2011, McTavish had served as corporate legal counsel since 2008. Prior to joining VGT, he served as vice president of business development and general counsel at D1 Sports Holdings from 2005 to 2008. He also served in a financial consulting role at PwC and in the tax planning department at PepsiCo from 2003 to 2005. McTavish began his career as an associate in the corporate, securities and finance department at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, where he served from 1998 to 2003.

Patrick Ramsey, president and chief executive officer of Multimedia Games, comments, ‘As the company expands its product portfolio and continues its efforts to secure licenses in new jurisdictions, we are facing an ever-changing and increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment. Todd is the ideal person to shape our strategies to address this evolving environment and we are excited to welcome him to our growing, highly dedicated team.’

McTavish holds a BA in political science from West Virginia University, a JD from Touro College Law Center and a master’s in corporate finance law, cum laude, from the Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the International Association of Gaming Advisors and the American Bar Association’s gaming law section.

Pro-Trans Ventures
Pro-Trans Ventures, a Calgary-based specialized transportation and logistics services company that serves Western Canada, has announced the appointment of Scott Cedergren as corporate secretary of the corporation.

Cedergren is a lawyer with the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais in Calgary, and has spent four years working in the oil and gas and environmental industries in Alberta. He received a bachelor of laws from the University of Manitoba in 2008 and a bachelor of science from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000.

Steben
Steben, a leading provider of managed futures funds, has announced that Francine Rosenberger has joined the company as general counsel. In this role, Rosenberger will oversee all legal and compliance matters for the firm. She will serve on Steben’s executive team and report to Ken Steben, president and CEO.

Most recently Rosenberger was an equity partner at K&L Gates, one of the top 20 law firms in the US. At K&L Gates she specialized in advising clients on the formation, structuring and operation of investment companies, exchange-traded funds and commodity pools as well as registering newly formed investment advisers, the development of compliance programs, compliance audits, and advising fund boards on fund governance and regulatory issues.

‘We are incredibly pleased that Francine has joined our executive team,’ says Ken Steben. ‘The depth, diversity, and extent of her experience will be vital to the growth and success of Steben & Company – in particular as we continue to meet investor needs by bringing new alternative investment products to market in the coming months.’

Rosenberger earned her BA from Juniata College, and graduated magna cum laude with a JD from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.

ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup, the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, has appointed Richard Buchband as senior vice president and chief legal officer. Buchband will serve as ManpowerGroup’s general counsel and lead the company’s overall legal strategy and function, as well as managing corporate governance and securities. He will report directly to Jeffrey Joerres, ManpowerGroup chairman and CEO.

Buchband previously served as partner and associate general counsel for Accenture, a $28 billion consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. He has also served as senior corporate counsel and secretary for global travel company Orbitz, and as an independent legal consultant. 

‘Richard brings to ManpowerGroup valuable strategic and leadership experience developed at major public and private companies,’ says Joerres in a statement. ‘His deep in-house experience with public company issues will serve our company well.’

Buchband graduated from Princeton University with a BA in 1985 and also holds a JD from Columbia Law School. He succeeds Ken Hunt, who will retire after serving as legal counsel for ManpowerGroup in various capacities for the past 30 years.

Cancen Oil Canada
Cancen Oil Canada, an Edmonton, Alberta-based company that specializes in crude treatment and the general clean-up and disposal of slop oil and tank bottoms, has announced the appointment of Shankar Nandiwada as chief financial officer and corporate secretary. He succeeds Jeffrey Love, the previous chief financial officer of the corporation.

Nandiwada is a chartered accountant with nearly 20 years of public and private company experience as a controller and chief financial officer in Canada and the US and internationally. His experience includes various levels of public reporting and strategic business planning, budgeting and forecasting. Most recently he was acting chief financial officer of Birch Mountain Resources, a position he held since 2008.

Terra Firma Capital
Terra Firma Capital, a real estate finance company, has appointed Mano Thiyagarajah as chief financial officer and corporate secretary. Thiyagarajah replaces Howard Wortzman and Marisa Christenson, who are resigning as CFO and secretary respectively.

Thiyagarajah has extensive experience as a vice president of finance and controller of several major public real estate and asset management companies in Canada and the US, such as Transglobe Apartment REIT and O&Y REIT. He has been involved in all aspects of accounting, financial reporting, finance and administration for a number of companies.

‘Due to Mano’s expertise in the capital markets he will play a major role in the next phase of Terra Firma’s growth,’ says Terra Firma CEO and president Dov Meyer in a statement.

Savi Technology
Savi Technology has promoted James Costello to the post of vice president and general counsel. Previously senior counsel, Costello will continue to lead legal affairs for the logistics and supply chain solutions company. He played a key role in Savi’s recent divestiture and is instrumental in protecting Savi’s roster of more than 40 patents. Recently this activity has expanded to include developing a more comprehensive partnership and licensing model.

Prior to joining Savi, Costello was division counsel for Applied Global Services, the services division of Applied Materials. He has also worked at three large law firms and three other leading technology companies.

Aflac
Aflac recently announced that it has hired Lori Evangel to the newly created position of managing director and global chief risk officer in the company’s global investment division. Evangel is based in the Aflac Global Investments office in New York and reports to executive vice president and global chief investment officer Eric Kirsch.

Evangel will be a member of Kirsch’s global executive management team. In her new position, she is responsible for leading Aflac Global Investments’ risk management function, encompassing both assets and liabilities for Aflac’s global investment portfolio. She will build out a world-class risk management function to meet the dual goals of risk mitigation and prudent risk-taking through market cycles, and will work closely with Aflac’s global investment teams to identify and assess investment risks while developing strategies to address those risks.

Evangel brings more than 25 years of experience in the financial services sector to Aflac, with much of her focus having been on financial risk management. She most recently served as senior vice president and enterprise risk officer at MetLife, where she was responsible for developing and leading the global enterprise risk management unit. Prior to that, Evangel held progressively responsible positions at insurance firm MBIA, including managing director, head of the portfolio management and market risk group and managing director of the financial solutions group. 

Evangel received a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont and an MBA in finance from the State University of New York at Albany.

Nordion
Nordion, a leading provider of products and services to the global health science market, has appointed Grant Gardiner as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Gardiner will serve as the corporation’s legal officer responsible for all global legal matters.

Gardiner joins Nordion from Research in Motion (RIM), where he served as vice president and associate general counsel and acted as corporate secretary to the board of directors for approximately four years. During his tenure at RIM, which began in 2008, he advised the company on securities matters, M&A and ethics and compliance programs as well as board and corporate governance matters.

With leadership roles at other leading global, publicly traded companies such as Cognos and JDS Uniphase, Gardiner’s experience includes corporate governance, commercial transactions, and securities and anti-corruption law. He holds a bachelor of business administration from the University of Prince Edward Island and an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1993.

‘With more than 19 years of experience, Grant is a seasoned lawyer with a strong understanding of business and global market dynamics. His proven expertise in leading cross-listed, publicly traded companies through complex legal, governance and compliance landscapes with a business focus will be a significant asset to Nordion,’ says Nordion CEO Steve West. ‘Grant is expected to play an instrumental role in the execution of our business strategy globally.’