• President Bush has nominated Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) to succeed William Donaldson as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Donaldson, the 27th chairman of the commission, announced Wednesday that he would step down on June 30. Cox’s nomination must be approved by the U.S. Senate, where Republicans hold 55 seats.
• Chiquita Brands International Inc. appointed Jeffrey M. Zalla senior vice president and chief financial officer. He replaces John W. Braukman III, who is now senior vice president of new business development and strategic planning. A 14-year veteran of the Cincinnati-based company, Zalla was promoted from his most recent role as vice president of finance for Chiquita Fresh North America. Previously, he was responsible for Chiquita’s treasury, credit, risk management, and financial analysis functions; he also served as Chiquita’s corporate responsibility officer for five years.
• BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc., the third-largest wholesale-club retailer, named Paul McDonough executive vice president and chief financial officer. He succeeds Frank Forward, who was named to the newly created position of executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Before joining the Natick, Massachusetts-based company last year as senior vice president of finance, McDonough was vice president and treasurer of the St. Paul Travelers Companies Inc.
• Martin Marietta Materials Inc. announced that senior vice president and chief financial officer Janice K. Henry will retire in 2006. Henry, who has served as CFO since 1994, has been with the Raleigh, North Carolina-based construction materials provider for 30 years. Vice president and controller Anne Lloyd, who was named to succeed Henry as CFO, will also retain her position as chief accounting officer, a post she’s held since 1999.
• King Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced the appointment of Joseph Squicciarino as the chief financial officer, effective June 27. He succeeds James R. Lattanzi, who previously announced his retirement from the Bristol, Tennessee-based company. Most recently, Squicciarino served as chief financial officer, North America, for Revlon, following more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry in a variety of senior finance positions with Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
• New York-based holding company Ambac Financial Group Inc. announced that PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Sean T. Leonard has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer. Former CFO Thomas J. Gandolfo will take over responsibility for Ambac’s investment and other capital market activities. Ambac Financial Group’s principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corp., is a guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations.
• Automotive marketing services company Autobytel Inc. named Michael Schmidt as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Schmidt, who joined the company last year as senior vice president, finance, has been handling the CFO duties since last November. He previously served as finance chief of Autoweb.com Inc., now a subsidiary of Autobytel, as well as CFO and executive vice president of telecom-information company Telephia Inc. Schmidt began his finance career in 1985 as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Whinney.
• Cell Genesys Inc. announced that Sharon E. Tetlow has joined the company as senior vice president and chief financial officer. She replaces Matthew J. Pfeffer, who is resigning to spend more time with his family. Tetlow, who was most recently a venture partner at private equity firm Apax Partners, was previously finance chief of pharmacogenomics company diaDexus. Earlier, she held senior management positions in other biotechnology companies including Reprogen, Terrapin Technologies (now Telik), Synergen (now part of Amgen), and Genentech.
• Toronto-based entertainment group Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. named David Lazzarato executive vice president and chief financial officer. Lazzarato was previously executive vice president and CFO of Allstream (previously AT&T Canada). Before that, he held executive management positions with BCE Mobile Communications (Bell Mobility) and CAE Electronics. At Alliance Atlantis, best known as the co-producer of television’s CSI franchise, Lazzarato will replace W. Judson Martin, who is leaving for health reasons.
• Shum Mukherjee is joining OpenTV Corp. as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Mukherjee will join the San Francisco-based provider of digital-television technology from Genus Inc., a semiconductor-equipment company, where he serves as executive vice president and CFO. Previously, he was vice president of finance and corporate controller for E-Trade Group, and later CFO of E-Trade International.
• FleetPride Inc., a distributor of heavy-duty truck parts, promoted Timothy J. Gadus to the position of vice president, chief financial officer, secretary, and treasurer. Gadus, who has served as vice president and chief accounting officer since 2004, joined the Woodlands, Texas-based company in 1998 as director of finance and director of corporate development; he has also served as corporate controller and assistant corporate secretary. Before joining FleetPride, Gadus worked as manager of finance overseeing five business units at packaging company Tenneco.
• Nancy Rowden Brock is moving to the private sector as senior vice president and chief financial officer of Rock of Ages Corp., a manufacturer of stone memorials. Brock joins the Concord, New Hampshire-based company from the Vermont Agency of Transportation, where she was director of finance and administration. Before that, she held CFO positions at Chittendon Corp., a regional bank, and Green Mountain Power Corp. At Rock of Ages, Brock succeeds Douglas Goldsmith, who will become president and chief operating officer of the company’s quarry division effective January 1, 2006.
• Beverage Data Network, a provider of product performance information to the wine and spirits industry, appointed of Ken R. Drossman to the posts of chief operating officer and chief financial officer. Drossman joined the Fairfield, New Jersey-based company from Vira Manufacturing, where he was CFO; he has also been the finance chief of Avenues in Leather and HHL Financial Services.