ACCOUNTING
• Leo Chomiak has been hired as a tax partner at the accounting firm of Grant Thornton. Previously, he was the local tax lead partner for KPMG's South Florida business unit.
• Matthew Hartmann has been hired as a partner at the Coral Gables accounting firm of Jordan Castellon Ricardo. Previously, he worked for CBIZ McClain Accounting, Tax and Advisory.
• Wayne Klein has been hired as a principal at Lewis B. Freeman & Partners, a forensic accounting and consulting firm in Miami. Previously, he was the director for the Utah Division of Securities.
AUTOMOTIVE
• Three associates from JM Family Enterprises subsidiaries -- Southeast Toyota Distributors and JM&A Group -- have been promoted to vice president.
Kevin Fleeger has been promoted to vice president of parts and service support for Southeast Toyota Distributors. Al Green has been promoted to vice president of marketing for Southeast Toyota Distributors. Mike Pritchard has been promoted to business process integration vice president for JM&A Group.
BANKING
• Bill Kelley has been hired as executive vice president for the South Florida division of CNLBank. He is responsible for Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties and works in Boca Raton. He most recently was executive vice president of community banking for First Southern Bank in Boca Raton.
CRUISE LINES
• Lanie Fagan has been appointed as the director of communications for Cruise Lines International Association and is based in the Fort Lauderdale office. Previously, she was the associate director of corporate communications with accounting firm KPMG in New Jersey.
CULINARY
• Andrew Marsano has been hired as vice president of sales and marketing for Sanso Foods, based in Miami.
• Miguel Santiago has been hired as executive chef at Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Resort & Spa. Most recently, he served as executive sous chef at Acqualina Resort & Spa in Sunny Isles.
• The Biltmore in Coral Gables has promoted Philippe Ruiz as executive chef de cuisine of all of the restaurants on the property, including Palme d'Or, Fontana and Cascade. He joined the Biltmore in 1999 as chef of the Biltmore's Palme d'Or restaurant.
EDUCATION
• The University of Miami Board of Trustees has named three new members: Adrienne Arsht, Bruce E. Toll and UM student Shajena Erazo. The board is responsible for governing the University of Miami.
Arsht is chairman emerita of TotalBank. Toll is vice chairman of Toll Brothers, a luxury homes builder. Also, he is the chairman of Philadelphia Media Holdings, an alumnus of UM and a member of the UM President's Council. Erazo is pursuing a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in psychology and religion.
LAW
• Scott A. Burr has been hired as a partner in the law firm of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in Fort Lauderdale. Previously, he was the chair of the international litigation and arbitration practice at Diaz, Reus, Rolff & Targ in Miami. He now leads RRA's global practice group as chair.
• Attorney Deborah R. Mayo has joined Fowler White Burnett as a shareholder in the general practice group. She will be based in the firm's Miami office where she will focus primarily on transactional work. She was most recently a partner with the Miami office of Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod.
MARKETING
• Kristina Hammonds has been hired as vice president of operations at Dynamic Response Group, a Miami-based marketing firm. Previously, she spent nine years with Thane International as vice president of marketing.
MEDIA
• Eli Velazquez has been promoted to vice president of sports at Telemundo. He was previously a director.
NONPROFIT
• The Historical Museum of Southern Florida has appointed five new members to its 2008-09 Board of Trustees. They are Sara Gutierrez-Hernandez, Phillip M. Hudson III, Leslie J. Lott, Francis X. Sexton, Jr. and Donald Slesnick II.
Gutierrez-Hernandez is founder and president of South Bay Lending in Miami. Hudson is a partner resident of Arnstein & Lehr in Miami. Lott is the founding partner of the Miami intellectual property firm of Lott & Friedland. Sexton is a founding partner of Concepción, Sexton & Martinez in Coral Gables. Slesnick is the mayor of Coral Gables and managing partner of Slesnick & Casey.
REAL ESTATE
• Matthew Schwartz has been appointed as a principal at Maxwell+Partners, a real-estate development and workout consulting firm in Miami Shores. He has served as executive director of the Miami Downtown Development Authority and assistant city manager for the City of Miami Beach.
TRANSPORTATION
• Shelly Smith-Fano and Norman Wartman have been appointed to the Board of Directors for Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.
Smith-Fano is director of Miami Dade College's School of Business Hospitality Management Program. Wartman is chairman of the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee.
This column lists high-level appointments and promotions in South Florida. Send items -- including job title, responsibilities, phone number, previous job and color jpegs -- to
