NURELM
NuRelm E-Business Software’s new advisory board members are Paul E. Lego, retired chairman and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Corporation; Ed Engler, founder and CEO of Summa Technologies; and Donald Taylor, founder and former CEO of Net Health Systems and current senior director of life sciences solutions at Vivisimo.
Lego currently serves as president of Intelligent Enterprises Consulting. He retired from Westinghouse in 1993 as chairman/CEO, after spending his entire business career with the corporation in positions from manufacturing and engineering to senior management.
Engler founded Summa in 1996 to develop mission-critical Web-enabled applications for large-scale systems. Under his leadership, Summa has been recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s fastest growing privately held companies for three consecutive years. Summa was the fastest growing privately held company in Pittsburgh in 2001. Engler also has 13 years of experience working in and leading early stage information technology companies, and has been involved in the funding, direction or management of five start-ups in Pittsburgh. He formed Summa VentureWorks in 1999 to partner with early stage start-up companies in the enterprise software market.
Taylor brings 10 years of experience developing, managing, marketing and selling healthcare software products. He has launched four major enterprise software systems from concept to implementation, including the largest telehealth outcomes and benchmarking application for home health care.
RESPIRONICS
Washington & Jefferson College honored Gerald E. McGinnis, chairman of the board and founder of Respironics Inc., as Entrepreneur of the Year for 2004. The award was presented during the College’s 18th Annual Entrepreneurial Leadership Dinner. McGinnis, who holds 20 registered U.S. patents and contributes directly to the development, design and manufacturing processes of Respironics’ products, has built the company into the world’s leading provider of sleep and respiratory products and programs, with annual sales approaching $700 million.
THE KISKI SCHOOL
Charles Clark, Keith Ferrazzi and William McConnell have joined the board of trustees of The Kiski School, America’s oldest boys’ boarding school.
Clark, a member of Kiski’s class of 1993, is CEO of DataPhase IV, Inc., a Morgantown-based clinical research company.
Ferrazzi, from Kiski’s class of 1984, is president and CEO of YaYa, a Los Angeles-based creator of customized computer games for Internet advertisers. Ferrazzi is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School.
McConnell is CEO of Patusan Trading Co. Inc. of Blairsville, a distributor of fine oriental rugs.
THORP REED & ARMSTRONG
Douglas E. Gilbert was elected to serve a fourth consecutive term as managing partner of Thorp Reed & Armstrong LLP. Gilbert currently serves as chair of the firm’s executive committee, a committee he has been a member of since 1994. He acted as co-chairman of Thorp Reed & Armstrong’s Business Department from 1989 to 1994.
Gilbert engages in a general business law practice that includes the negotiation, documentation and implementation of corporate and financial transactions, including divestitures, acquisitions, mergers, private placements and revolving credit agreements. He also serves as a counselor to business enterprises in related commercial and regulatory matters.
YMCA OF PITTSBURGH
Lisa Christian was appointed chief operating officer of the YMCA of Pittsburgh. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization. A career professional with the YMCA, she most recently served as vice president of operations for the YMCA of San Francisco. She also served as the San Francisco Peninsula YMCA in San Mateo, Calif.
Rosemary Mendel joined the YMCA of Pittsburgh as vice president/development and communications. A lifelong Western Pennsylvania resident, Mendel was previously with the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, where she served as director of corporate and foundation giving. She has also held key positions with the Pittsburgh Opera, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania.
FIRST COMMONWEALTH BANK
J. Ardie Dillen was named regional president of First Commonwealth Bank’s newly created Pittsburgh-area region. The appointment follows the recent merger of First Commonwealth Bank and BankPittsburgh, where Dillen served as chairman, president and CEO.
Dillen serves as a member of the board of directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, where he is one of six elected Pennsylvania bank senior executives. He also serves as past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers, and has served as vice president of the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Pennsylvania. He previously served as president, treasurer and member of the board of directors of the Pittsburgh Rotary Club and Pittsburgh Rotary Club Foundation, as well as the president and treasurer of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Financial Managers Society.
Prior to joining BankPittsburgh, Dillen was employed by a national CPA firm as an auditor. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
