• Kenneth A. Vecchione has been named chief financial officer of Wilmington, Delaware-based MBNA Corp., the world’s largest independent credit-card lender. Vecchione will continue in his current role as finance chief of MBNA America Bank, the corporation’s principal operating subsidiary. He succeeds Vernon H.C. Wright, who is retiring on December 15.
• David McHale was promoted to chief financial officer of Northeast Utilities, succeeding John Forsgren, who will retire on January 1. McHale climbs to the top finance job after an entire professional life at the Berlin, Connecticut-based utility, beginning in 1981 when he joined Northeast as an intern in the economic and load-forecasting organization. In 1989, he was promoted to manager of investor relations; in 1995, to assistant treasurer; and in 1998, to treasurer.
• Carrie Wolfe returned to FTD Inc. as chief financial officer, a role she left on a full-time basis in April 2004. In 1999, Wolfe joined FTD.com, the online subsidiary of the Downers Grove, Illinois-based floral-delivery specialist, as controller and vice president of finance and accounting. She named the finance chief of FTD.com in 2001 and the finance chief of FTD the next year.
• Portland, Oregon-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. named David H. Anderson as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective September 30. He most recently served as senior vice president and CFO of TXU Gas, a subsidiary of Texas-based natural gas distributor TXU Corp. Anderson replaces Bruce DeBolt, who will retire on October 1.
• Bio-key International Inc., a Minneapolis-based maker of finger-based biometric identification and wireless security systems, appointed Harlan Plumley as chief financial officer. He succeeds Gary Wendt, who will retire on November 1. Most recently, Plumley was CFO of software and services company Lightbridge; previously, he was the finance chief of software maker Marcam Solutions.
• NitroMed Inc., a pharmaceutical firm based in Lexington, Massachusetts, named Lawrence E. Bloch as chief financial officer and chief business officer. Previously, Bloch was the CFO and vice president of business development for biotechnology company Applied Molecular Evolution. NitroMed also named James Ham to the post of vice president of finance, where he will be responsible for supporting Bloch in financial planning, analysis, control and reporting, and strategic growth. Ham was previously CFO of Clearview Projects, a consulting firm to the biotech industry.
• DigitalGlobe, a Longmont, Colorado-based provider of commercial satellite imagery, named Yancey Spruill as chief financial officer. Spruill, who recently served as a principal in the investment banking group at Thomas Weisel Partners, also has investment banking experience with Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan & Co. In addition, his strong operations background includes an engineering career with Corning Inc. and The Clorox Co.
• Polar Molecular Holding Corp. announced that Rod Johnson joined the Denver-based fuel additives producer on August 12 as chief financial officer and director of operations. Johnson succeeds Brian Alleman, who resigned to pursue other interests. Johnson has held the CFO position at an international medical-device manufacturer and at a national office-supply distributor.
• TechniScan Medical Systems Inc., a Salt Lake City-based developer of ultrasound technology for breast imaging, has hired Clarence Verhoef as chief financial officer. Verhoef was most recently vice president of marketing, and previously the chief financial officer, of OEC Medical Systems, a General Electric subsidiary that makes surgical-imaging equipment.
• David Fisher was named chief financial officer of OptionsXpress Holdings. Fisher joins the Chicago-based brokerage holding company from the same post at Potbelly Sandwich Works, a nationwide chain of “quick-service restaurants.” Prior to Potbelly, Fisher served as senior vice president, CFO, and secretary at Prism Financial Corp. where he oversaw the company’s initial public offering and eventual sale to The Royal Bank of Canada. OptionsXpress also announced that Tom Stern, CFO of the company’s broker-dealer subsidiary, is now chief administrative officer for the holding company.
• C. Stephen Cordial will step down from his position as vice president and chief financial officer of Santa Barbara, California-based Somera Communications Inc. effective December 31. Somera also announced the appointment of David J. Peters as vice president of finance and corporate controller. Previously, Peters was controller at Santera Systems Inc., a maker of telecommunications equipment, and vice president of accounting and financial administration at Protection One Inc., a residential and commercial security company.
• David Mead, previously the chief financial officer of First Place Financial Corp. in Warren, Ohio, has joined the Buckeye State’s Marietta College as professor and head of the school’s new finance major.