Vanags heads economic development in NY
Martin K. Vanags has been named as the new economic development leader for Saratoga County in New York.
Vanags manages and operates a nine-county regional economic development organization in central Indiana for the Indy Chamber and Indy Partnership. Before that, he worked as CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council in Illinois for 10 years.
He graduated from Illinois State University and has a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University.
Debra Nawrocki
Nawrocki promoted to financial officer for Elgin
Debra Nawrocki has been promoted to chief financial officer for the city of Elgin, Ill.
She previously served as the city’s finance manager for the last three years and has been covering the duties of the financial officer position since last year.
Nawrocki is a certified public accountant with 30 years of experience in accounting, auditing and financial management.
She has a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from NIU and is a certified public accountant. She is a member of the Illinois CPA Society and the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association.
Akorn hires Lichter as VP
Steve Lichter has been named executive vice president of pharmaceutical operations for Akorn Inc., a leading specialty generic pharmaceutical company based in Lake Forest.
In this newly created role, Lichter will oversee Akorn’s global supply chain and plant operations.
He joins Akorn from Abbott Laboratories, where he served in various leadership roles for more than 32 years. Most recently, he was corporate vice president of operations for Abbott’s established pharmaceutical division in Switzerland. He was responsible for the division’s global supply chain operations, including drug product manufacturing, procurement, manufacturing, engineering and commercial operations.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.
Steven Orlando
Governor names Orlando to Capital Development Board
Gov. Bruce Rauner has appointed Steven Orlando to the Capital Development Board.
Orlando brings a marketing and insurance background to the board. Currently, he is vice president of sales for the Candos Agency, which is an insurance and financial services agency. He has worked for the agency since 2005 and markets health insurance and other benefits to small-business employers and individuals.
Prior to the Candos Agency, Orlando worked for Heartland Blood Centers as a marketing representative. He assisted churches, businesses and high schools with blood drives by recruiting donors and supplying prizes and gifts. Orlando also worked at Farmers Insurance for nearly three years as a personal lines underwriter.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from NIU in 2002.
Laura L. Gurski
Gurski elected to GP Strategies board
Laura L. Gurski has been elected to serve on the board of directors for GP Strategies Corp., which provides performance improvement solutions globally.
She is a partner at A.T. Kearney, a leading global management consulting firm. She also serves as global head of practices, chairwoman of the Portfolio and Governance Committee and a member of the senior leadership team at A.T. Kearney.
She earned a master’s degree in management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, with an emphasis in strategy, finance and international business, and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Northern Illinois University.
Ed Powderly
Powderly becomes VP at BettsHD
BettsHD, an industry leader in spray suppression technology for heavy-duty trucks and trailers, has appointed Ed Powderly (B.S. ’99) as vice president of sales.
Most recently, Powderly was business development manager for Hendrickson USA in Itasca, Ill., and was responsible for the aftermarket sales organization.
Prior to Hendrickson, he worked for Old World Industries, where he served as a brand manager for PEAK® antifreeze. He began his career at Tenneco Automotive as a product manager in the company’s aftermarket performance group.
David D. Moenning
Moenning to head investments for Arkansas firm
Sowell Management Services of North Little Rock, Ark., has named David D. Moenning to the position of chief investment officer.
He has been an independent money manager since 1987, became a partner in a private money management firm in 1986 and founded the firm Heritage Capital Management in 1989.
He is also a sought-after author on the markets. His “State of the Markets” column, which began in the late 1990s, has blossomed into an award-winning daily market report. USA Today, MarketWatch and Zacks are some of the publications that have featured his writing.
Moenning was a scholarship track athlete at NIU and graduated in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Shari Altergott
Altergott to direct marketing and business development
Shari Altergott has been named director of marketing and business development at Associated.
During her 14 years with Associated, she has held several positions and most recently was the corporate marketing manager. She will manage Associated’s emerging business units (fleet management and telematics) and will continue to be responsible for corporate marketing.
She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Northeastern Illinois University and an MBA from Northern Illinois University.
Bahel named VP of KAR Auction Services
Jay Bahel has been promoted to vice president of strategic initiatives for KAR Auction Services of Carmel, Ind.
Bahel will implement technology to simplify internal and customer-facing processes. He joined KAR’s Automotive Finance Corp. business unit in 2011, serving as vice president. In this role, he led a process improvement program, which automated and standardized processes and made it easier for automotive dealers to do business with AFC.
Before joining AFC, he served as chief information officer for a division of Brunswick Corp. and as a consulting group leader with Project Leadership Associates.
He holds a master’s degree from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University.
Geneva hires Hornberg as principal
Geneva School District 304 has hired Kimberly Hornberg as principal at Heartland Elementary School.
Currently principal at North Elementary School in Crystal Lake School District 47, Hornberg has nearly 15 years of experience in educational leadership.
She has a master’s degree in educational administration from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University.
Renee Joder
Joder named fire starter at Morris Hospital
Renee Joder of Minooka has been named Fire Starter of the Month at Morris Hospital.
The inpatient physical therapist was selected because of her positive attitude and desire to help people improve their quality of life.
“Renee is a very positive, energetic person and is able to motivate even those not interested in participating in therapy to at least give it a try,” said social worker Liz Thrun, who nominated Joder.
Joder earned a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy in 1999 from NIU.
Jesús M. Tirado
Tirado to begin as assistant principal for Mundelein
Mundelein High School District 120 has hired Jesús M. Tirado as its new assistant principal, effective July 1.
Tirado is currently the assistant principal at Erie Elementary Charter School in Chicago, a post he began in July 2011. His current responsibilities include student discipline and academic interventions, hiring and evaluating teachers and staff, leading professional development and using data in goal setting for optimal student achievement.
He also established and oversees middle school and high school placement, including the organization of an annual high school fair and placement of 95 percent of eighth-grade students into high-achieving college prep high schools.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Roosevelt University.
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