Senior-level hires and promotions in South Florida for the week of Nov. 13, 2017

BRIAN McMENAMY has been named vice president and controller of Spirit Airlines.

BANKS

Jeff Watts has been named Southeast market president at Bank Leumi, based in the Aventura office. He will oversee the Southeast middle market team within the commercial banking division. Watts was previously the director of City National Bank of Florida’s private client group. He has a bachelor’s in anthropology from California State University and an MBA from Thunderbird.

COMPASSIONATE CARE

Laura Ryan was recently named director of business development at Catholic Hospice in Miami. She had been a marketing executive at the organization. Before joining Catholic Hospice, she was the administrator at Brookdale Senior Living.

HOSPITALITY

Cristiano Buono has been named general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Miami Beach. He most recently held a leadership position at The New York EDITION. Buono holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Hotel Management School IPAS in Ischia, Italy.

LAW

Three partners have been named at the newly formed firm of LewisFox, an alcohol beverage industry law firm based in Coral Gables:

▪ Alexander F. Fox was previously a criminal defense lawyer at Alexander F. Fox, P.A. He has a bachelor’s from American University and a J.D. from the University of Florida.

▪ Marbet Lewis was a shareholder in the alcohol beverage group of Greenspoon Marder. She has a J.D. from St. Thomas University.

▪ Robert F. Lewis was chair of the alcohol industry group at Greenspoon Marder. He has a law degree from the University of Miami.

Judge Linda Ann Wells recently joined appellate law firm Crabtree & Auslander in Key Biscayne. She is the former chief judge of the Third District Court of Appeal. Judge Wells has a law degree from Florida State University.

NONPROFITS

At the National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts) in Miami:

▪ Evan Plummer has been named senior director of education. He was director of arts education at Chicago Public Schools.

▪ Matt Nielson has been named senior director of operations and campus planning. He was deputy commissioner for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

REAL ESTATE

Lourdes Menendez has been named director of marketing and business development at Dadeland Mall, part of the Simon Property Group. She was previously director of marketing and business development at Fashion Valley, a Simon property in the greater San Diego area. Menendez has a bachelor’s from Florida International University.

Michael A. Vassilaros has been named chief investment officer at Key International, a Miami-based real estate investment and development company. He was previously chief investment officer at Starwood Property Trust. Vassilaros has a bachelor’s in economics from Duke.

SPIRITS/BEVERAGES

Maurice Doyle has been named president-inclubation brands and global commercial development at Bacardi, based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Doyle, who had spent 17 years with Bacardi, left in 2009 for William Grant & Sons, where he most recently was chief operating officer for Suntory’s non-alcoholic division for Africa, Middle East & Caribbean. He has a bachelor’s/master’s in economic an dsocial studies from Trinity Collge in Dublin.

This column lists high-level promotions of senior executives based in Broward, Miami-Dade or Monroe counties. These announcements, which also are at miamiherald.com, are for full-time, paid positions. Send items, including previous job; education; high-res jpegs of head shots and the website address of the company to movers@miamiherald.com. Put “Movers” in the subject line.

Mover’s spotlight

Name: Brian McMenamy

New position: Vice president and controller of Spirit Airlines. He was also appointed principal accounting officer for the company.

From: Vice President, finance at American Airlines.

Responsibilities: He will lead all aspects of the company’s financial accounting, including corporate accounting, SEC reporting, accounts payable, payroll, revenue and collections, corporate tax, international tax and accounting SOX compliance teams.

Also: McMenamy brings more than 30 years of experience in corporate finance. Previous appointments at American Airlines include vice president, finance; vice president, financial planning and analysis; and vice president and controller.

Education: McMenamy, a CPA, has a bachelor’s in financial economics from Rockhurst College in Missouri and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Best advice: Upon becoming VP of finance and controller [at American Airlines] in 2006, when the entire aviation industry was in significant financial distress due to numerous systemic issues well beyond any single carriers’ control, the EVP and CFO left me a brief project list for the new job with the advice: ‘Please Fix.’

See past senior-level hires and promotions in South Florida for 2017: