WorldCity Business Magazine

WorldCity People

by Mary Dempsey

Hellmann hires CEO for U.S. unit

Frank Scheibner, a long-time player on the international logistics scene, has been named president and CEO for Hellman USA. In the recently created position, the German-born Scheibner will be based at the company’s Miami headquarters and report to Karl Weyeneth, Hellmann’s CEO for the Americas.

“As part of Hellman’s plan to strengthen our presence in the region, the company has introduced the position of a president and CEO dedicated exclusively to the U.S.,” says Weyeneth. Scheibner is charged with expanding the company’s U.S. operations from its current 18 offices, while fostering new product offerings.

The new CEO boasts extensive experience in sales, customer management and operations on heavy lift and oversized cargoes. He says customers today need supply chain visibility and increasingly sophisticated logistics solutions. “Visibility is not just about tracking shipments but also about how much inventory is on hand in a warehouse, where it is stored and when it has been allocated to fulfill an order,” he says.

With more than 16 years of logistics management experience, Scheibner, 39, started his career with Lassen/LEP in Munich then moved with the company to Chicago and, later,Minneapolis. In 1997 he joined another logistics services company, Schenker, as a branch manager for Minneapolis before being named regional vice president for the U.S. in 2001.

Masvidal moves up at AmEx Bank

Sergio J. Masvidal has been named vice chairman of American Express Bank Ltd.

From Miami, he will head the global wealth management activities for the international banking subsidiary of American Express Co. Masvidal says he hopes the appointment “will add to the recognition that Miami is a major financial center in its own right.”

The 30-year veteran of the banking sector joined American Express Bank in 1987 as general manager of the entity’s private banking arm, American Express Bank International. In 1992, he became president of the entity and, eight years later, he was named director of its worldwide operations serving customers in Latin America, Europe and Asia. He will retain that responsibility.

Before joining American Express Bank, Masvidal held executive positions at Continental Illinois National Bank, The Northern Trust Co. and two banks in Miami: Irving Trust International Bank and Bank M.

Energy exec joins Ryder board

E. Follin Smith, CFO of Constellation Energy singled out by Fortune magazine this year as the country’s “most admired” energy company has joined the board of directors at Miami-based Ryder Systems.

“Follin is a proven leader who has positively impacted the management and performance of several highly respected companies,” says Ryder Chairman and CEO Greg Swienton. “Constellation Energy is a well-respected energy company recognized for its commitment to values Ryder shares in areas such as financial disclosure and process improvement.”

Before joining the Maryland-based energy company, Smith worked for General Motors Corp. and Armstrong World Industries.

ABA group taps Gutirrez**

Corporate lawyer Jorge R. Gutirrez has been named vice chair of an American Bar Association working group on corporate social responsibility. He will serve a four-year term on the eight-member international panel.

“It’s a committee I’ve been wanting to get on for several years,” says Gutirrez at international law firm Greenberg Traurig in Miami. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to address general issues of corporate social responsibility and to formulate studies and research on the topic.”

The growth in global business and recent executive scandals have added to the debate on corporations’ role in the communities where they do business. “Corporate social responsibility is one of the emerging trends of the last 10 years,” says Gutirrez, who specializes in international cross-border corporate financial transactions and private and public corporate offerings. He says that the ABA group, which is expected to meet about once a month, will draft policy papers on corporate social responsibility.

Meanwhile, another Greenberg Traurig attorney, Leslie Jos Zigel, has been named to the board of governors of the Florida chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, better known as the Recording Academy. Zigel’s legal work focuses on the entertainment industry, and his clients include Puerto Rican musician Nestor Torres, TV celebrity Don Francisco of Univision’s Sabado Gigante variety show, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and the Miami Performing Arts Center. The Recording Academy sponsors the Grammy Awards.

Tonko jumps to Banyan

Business aviation company Banyan Air Service has hired Jon Tonko as line service manager. He will oversee the operation and training of technicians at the Fort Lauderdale-based company, which provides aviation services to domestic and international aircraft owners.

“I’m coming into a situation where I have 30 line technicians under me and a whole set of new challenges,” says Tonko, 36. “FXE [Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport] is the second busiest aviation airport in the country. We have 60% share of the market, so we’re very busy. That adds an interesting challenge.”

Tonko has more than 13 years of aviation experience, most recently as a line manager at ASI Jet in Minneapolis. He has also worked for Valley Aviation in Fargo, N.D.

Tonko says the international aspects of the work drew him to the South Florida job. “We see a variety of aircraft and customers: Venezuelans, Canadians coming down in winter to vacation,” he says. In addition to aircraft sales and management, Banyan Air Services provides fueling, ground handling and hangar services, repairs and aircraft parts sales and distribution.

Home Depot recruits Sauls

After 14 years at Florida International University, Steve Sauls has left his post as vice-president for governmental relations to join Home Depot as vice president for corporate relations at the company’s Delray Beach headquarters.

“I’ve been in the public sector more than 30 years, from working at the senior level, the federal level, the state level and now at the university level,” says Sauls. “My prior work brings together all the elements needed for this position. This is an opportunity that just came to me.”

He says the move to a Fortune 150 company from a university was not so difficult. “I’ve been working for a private-sector oriented place all these years at FIU,” he says. “Also, I’ve been fairly entrepreneurial in the public sector. The idea of going to the corporate sector is not a strange idea to me.”

In the new position, Sauls will handle public relations, community relations, international communications and governmental affairs for Home Depot, with $14 billion in sales annually. While at FIU, Sauls’ lobbying was seen as instrumental in obtaining more than $350 million in federal and state funding for construction projects and other initiatives at the university.