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Business leaders in the news [Detroit Free Press :: ]
[May 11, 2014]

Business leaders in the news [Detroit Free Press :: ]


(Detroit Free Press (MI) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 11--Vivian Pickard, president of the GM Foundation, was elected to the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity International. Pickard also serves on the boards of the Memorial Foundation, Friends of African and African American Art, Detroit Regional Chamber Foundation, Parade Co., CultureSource, Trumpet Awards Foundation, St. John Providence Health System and the Sphinx Organization. She earned a bachelor's degree from Ferris State University and a master's of business administration from Central Michigan University.



Thomas Schoenberger was named managing director of brokerage services and business development for CORE Partners, a commercial real-estate firm in Birmingham. He has worked in the commercial real estate industry for more than 20 years.

Parks Title in Royal Oak promoted Heather Opalewski to director of human resources and hired Curtis Schabath as marketing coordinator. Opalewski has been a team member with Parks Title since November 2011. She received a bachelor's of administration degree from Baker College of Clinton Township. Prior to joining Parks Title, Schabath worked as a lead product specialist for Volkswagen of America's experiential marketing department on their auto show and events circuit. He is working on a master's of business administration degree from Walsh College.


Jervis B. Webb in Farmington Hills has a new pin to improve its conveyor chain, which was initially introduced nearly a century ago. The new pin includes features that allow oil to flow down it to reach critical lubrication points and extend the life of the chain.

Betty Chu was appointed chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs for Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. She is responsible for corporate strategy design and implementation with regard to clinical operations. A partner in Clinton Women's Healthcare in Clarkston and Utica, she is an associate professor, obstetrics and gynecology, at the Oakland University/William Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester. She also is the former president of the medical staff at Beaumont Hospital in Troy and a former board member of Beaumont Health System. She graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School, completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak and received her MBA from the University of Michigan.

The Michigan State Medical Society Foundation, an association of Michigan physicians, gave $4,200 to Haven of Oakland County to combat domestic violence in metro Detroit by educating women and children about the signs of abuse.

Butzel Long announced the following attorneys were recently elected shareholders: Geaneen Arends, Joseph Richotte and Milton Whitfield. Arends concentrates her practice on general business law and commercial real estate. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and Boston College Law School. Richotte practices in the areas of white-collar criminal defense, securities and business litigation, news media defense and attorney discipline defense. Whitfield recently was based in the firm's Washington, D.C., office. He earned two degrees from the University of Virginia and received his law degree from Georgetown University and a master's of business administration from George Washington University.

Andre Rodriguez joined Team Schostak Family Restaurants in Livonia as the regional kitchen manager. He began his career in the restaurant industry at 15 and has worked a range of kitchen positions, from line cook to assistant general manager. He also has held jobs at T.G.I. Fridays, Bar Louie and Aramark at Oakland University.

Miller Canfield elected Kimberly Berger, Marc Swanson, Joseph Infante, Steven Stapleton, Leigh Schultz and Eric Bartley asprincipals of the law firm in Michigan. Berger specializes in domestic and international trademark prosecution and intellectual property litigation. She received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School and her bachelor's degree from the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Swanson represents lenders, litigants, customers, suppliers, creditors' committees, unsecured and administrative creditors. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and his bachelor's from the University of Michigan.

Infante's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, intellectual property and alcoholic beverage manufacturing regulation. He received his law degree from the Ohio State University and his bachelor's from Michigan State University.

Stapleton's experience is in commercial litigation. He received his law degree from the University of Detroit and his bachelor's from Grand Valley State University.

Schultz specializes in labor and employment consultation. She received her law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and her bachelor's from the University of Michigan.

Bartley represents financial institutions. He received his law degree from Michigan State University College of Law and his bachelor's from Illinois State University.

Pam Spaeth joined Catholic Charities West Michigan as the new vice president of philanthropy and community outreach. She has more than 30 years of development experience. Spaeth spent much of her career working for Easter Seals in its national headquarters in Chicago. She has a bachelor of science degree from Kent State University.

Patrick Miller has been promoted to executive vice president of Hospice of Michigan. He will continue to serve as chief operating officer. Since 2004, Miller has served a variety of roles at Hospice of Michigan, most recently as senior vice president of service operations. He has a bachelor's degree in biology, an MBA and a master's of health services administration from the University of Michigan.

-- Svetlana Dembitskaya has been named chief operating officer at Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming. Dembitskaya brings more than 15 years of experience in health care leadership to her new role. She will be responsible for the hospital's day-to-day operations, overseeing the hospital's annual operating budget, more than 2,500 physicians and employees and 12 neighborhood outpatient centers that serve more than 250,000 patients each year. Prior to joining Metro Health, Dembitskaya was COO of medicine at Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

Ross Mortgage, headquartered in Troy, has hired Jay McMaken as director of veteran affairs and operations. McMaken most recently served as a senior loan officer at Wells Fargo.

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