Senior-level hires and promotions for the week of July 16, 2018

BANKS

At J.P. Morgan Chase:

Fernando Ruiz has been promoted to lead the bank’s Consumer Banking and Wealth Management businesses in South Florida. Based in Miami, he oversees Chase’s network of more than 230 branches in Broward, Palm Beach, Miami, Naples, Fort Myers and Sarasota.

Diego Gordillo has been named head of the bank’s Middle Market Banking in Florida, based in Miami. Gordillo is relocating back to South Florida from New York where he previously led J.P. Morgan’s North American Foreign Exchange Sales teams for Middle Market and Business Banking clients.

Kristine Caldas has been promoted to area manager for West Miami in business banking, and she will lead a local team of bankers.

CREDIT UNIONS

Christopher Patron has been named business development officer at BrightStar Credit Union. His duties will include helping to expand and identify new business opportunities in Broward County. Most recently, he was the Officer and Relationship Manager at Ocean Bank. Patron obtained his bachelor’s degree in finance and international relations from Florida International University.

EDUCATION

Kimberly Durham, Psy.D., has been named dean of Abraham S. Fischler College of Education at Nova Southeastern University. Prior to her appointment, she was interim dean of the college. She has also been chair of the Department of Justice and Human Services and dean of the Institute for Justice and Human Services. Durham has a bachelor’s in psychology, a master’s in clinical psychology and a Psy.D. in clinical psychology from NSU.

LAW

Dennis S. Klein has joined Kelley Kronenberg as a partner and will have a broad range of practice areas. He is also a State of Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit and Appellate Mediator. He previously owned an alternative dispute resolution practice that specialized in commercial disputes, which he has now merged with Kelley Kronenberg’s mediation practice. He also teaches courses on mediation advocacy at the law schools of Florida International University School and the University of Miami. Klein has a bachelor’s from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, and a a master’s and J.D. from the University of Virginia.

Stacy Laffere has been named chief operating officer of The Haggard Law Firm, a personal injury firm in Coral Gables. She will oversee the day-to-day operations of each of the firm’s departments. She most recently was office manager at Bretz & Young, PA in Hutchinson, Kansas. She was director of communications and office manager at Haggard from 2007 to 2014.

HEALTHCARE

Frank Garcia has been appointed vice president of operations for Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. He is responsible for overseeing the Emergency Department and the LifeFlight Critical Care Transport Program as well as the radiology, laboratory and pharmacy services for the 289-bed pediatric specialty hospital. Garcia was most recently regional director of Ambulatory Services at Nicklaus Children’s. He has a bachelor’s from Florida International University and a master’s in health services administration from Barry University.

REAL ESTATE

Alexander Brown has been named executive vice president dedicated to tenant representation at Colliers International South Florida. He will be based in Fort Lauderdale. He was previously managing principal of Cresa South Florida. Brown has a bachelor’s in finance and marketing from Widener University in Pennsylvania.