WorldCity Business Magazine

(4) WorldCity People

by WC

Beacon Awards

At this years Beacon Awards ceremony to be held on February 27 at Jungle Island, The Miami-Dade Beacon Council will honor 16 companies and individuals. Headlining the event will be Peter Dolara, head of American Airlines Miami, Caribbean and Latin America division, who will receive the Jay Malina Award for lifetime achievement.

Four other special awards with be made to Bertram Yachts, which recently announced an expansion of its Miami facilities, (Make it Miami Award), Alvah H. Chapman (Chairmans Award), Multivision Video and Film (Judges Special Award) and stations WFOR/ CBS4 and WBFS/My33 (Corporate Responsibility Awards).

In the individual industry categories, Martinair of Holland, which recently relocated its Americas division to Doral, will receive the Aviation Award; Noven Pharmaceuticals will receive the Bioscience Award; CAMACOL, the Business Services Award; St. Thomas University, the Education Award; Live Nation Worldwide, the Film, Arts & Entertainment award; fast growing U.S. Century Bank, the Banking Award; Homestead Hospital, the Healthcare Award; Compuqip Technologies, the IT/Telecom award; and Art Basel Miami Beach, the Visitor Award.

REAL ESTATE

Scott Sime assumes lead role for CB Richard Ellis in Miami-Dade Scott Sime, previously managing director of the Miami-Downtown office of CB Richard Ellis, has been appointed managing director for Miami-Dade County and will oversee both the Miami-Downtown and Miami Airport offices. Steven Gomez, previous managing director for the Miami Airport office, will continue with CBRE as a managing director with the Commercial Asset Recovery and Restructuring Services Group.

“I am excited about this opportunity to lead CBRE’s efforts in Miami-Dade, a county that Expansion Magazine has ranked among America’s 50 Hottest Cities for relocations and expansions, said Sime. Many multinationals are choosing Miami-Dade for their corporate headquarters and investors are aggressively entering our commercial market.”

CBRE provides a full spectrum of commercial real estate brokerage services—including owner and tenant leasing, acquisition and sales, marketing and consulting—to owners, investors and occupiers of all property types. CBRE in South Florida employs over 95 brokers. CBRE has five offices in South Florida: Miami-Downtown, Miami Airport, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and North Palm Beach.

PRIVATE BANKING

Ashley and Nader team up to launch Zenith Capital Partners

Diane de Vries Ashley, who most recently served as head of Bank of Americas wealth management group for Miami and Latin America, and Joseph Nader, formerly chief investment officer for the Cisneros family, have formed of Zenith Capital Partners, a Coral Gables wealth management firm. Zenith provides its clients with strategic advice on portfolio investments, private holdings and asset allocation.

Ashley has more than 30 years of experience in banking and private wealth management. At Bank of America she led a team that handled more than $6.5 billion for high-net-worth individuals and professionals. She has also held senior positions with Bankers Trust in New York and Brazil. Ashley is a past president of the Florida International Bankers Association and a current member of the University of Miami International Advisory Board. She is on the board of the Miami Art Museum, the Adrienne Arsht Center, Florida Grand Opera and The Commonwealth Institute.

With more than 18 years of experience in domestic and international banking and wealth management, Joseph Nader most recently held responsibility for the management of the Cisneros familys global investments. His career has included management positions at Citibank, Prudential Securities and the JP Morgan Private Bank.

FOOD SERVICE

Burger King appoints Robert Perkins to new post VP of inclusion

In his newly created position of vice president, inclusion and talent management, Robert Perkins will oversee BKCs internal and external inclusion strategies and also be responsible for the companys talent management group. Perkins will oversee management development, including talent assessment and reviews, leadership development and training, and succession planning. He reports to Pete Smith, chief human resources officer. Perkins comes to BKC as a senior human resources executive with extensive global experience in the consumer products, media and entertainment industries. He worked most recently at Sony BMG Music where he directed the companys efforts in management and executive development, talent acquisition and diversity compliance. His prior experience also includes leadership roles at Time Warner, Philip Morris, Kraft Foods, Avon Products and Proctor and Gamble. At several of these corporations, he assisted senior management with developing company-wide diversity business plans, integrating diversity into all systems and processes, and coaching managers on diversity awareness and skills. Perkins holds a bachelors in business administration/marketing from the University of Illinois.

LAW

Baker & McKenzie acquires Kohlman Hernandez

The Miami office of Baker & McKenzie acquired Kohlman Hernandez, P.A., a local family law firm, adding attorneys Robert Kohlman and Dolly Hernandez to their roster. The acquisition makes Baker & McKenzie one of the first international business law firms in the area to offer its clients family law services. The new practice focuses on complex marital and family law matters, including the representation of high-net-worth individuals in such sensitive areas as divorce, equitable distribution, child custody, alimony, Hague Petition actions and prenuptial agreements. Much of the practice involves multi-jurisdictional and international disputes. The team represented three-time Wimbeldon champion Boris Becker in his divorce and international child custody case.

Robert Kohlman earned his law degree with from Florida State University College of Law, where he was the executive editor of the Florida State University Law Review. He is also a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he earned a bachelors degree in journalism. Dolly
Hernandez earned both her law degree and her degree in business administration from the University of Miami. She is actively involved in the Cuban American Bar Association and the Junior League of Miami.

REAL ESTATE

Gavin Macphail joins The Staubach Company

The South Florida office of international commercial real estate firm The Staubach Company hired real estate advisor Gavin Macphail to strengthen the firms presence in the Miami market. Macphail will serve as a real estate advisor to multinational companies in the Office Services Group. Prior to joining Staubach, Gavin led the tenant representation practice at Miami-based Holly Real Estate. Macphail moved to Miami in 2002 from Chile, where he founded and managed a seafood export company. He has also lived in Spain and Scotland. He serves as president of the Miami Council for International Visitors and is a member of the board of the ChileU.S. Chamber of Commerce. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Crescendo Circle of Florida Grand Opera and is a graduate of Leadership Miami. Gavin is and a graduate of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York.

LAW

Suzanne Bes joins Hunton & Williams business law practice

The Miami office of Hunton & Williams LLP added attorney Suzanne Bes to its business practice group. Bes, an associate, focuses her practice on general corporate transactional and securities representation, including international business ventures, governmental relations, mergers and acquisitions, and financing issues. Bes received her law degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She earned a bachelors degree in health policy from Harvard University. She served as a legislative intern for the National Association of Latino Elected Officials in the office of U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. During law school, she was a judicial intern for the Honorable Mario P. Goderich of Floridas Third District Court of Appeal. Bes is a member of the Cuban-American Bar Association.