Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona hires CIO
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) has hired Michael Pencek as the company’s new chief information officer (CIO). Pencek will provide leadership to BCBSAZ’s information technology team, support both short- and long-term planning of infrastructure and operations, and guide strategic implementation of the company’s technology portfolio.
“Mike brings a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things IT,” said Paige Rothermel, chief growth officer for BCBSAZ. “He will be instrumental in leading our IT organization through transformational change, leveraging emerging technologies to simplify access to quality healthcare.”
Pencek joins BCBSAZ after two years as CIO of Honeywell International where he was responsible for the company’s global infrastructure, platforms, and operations, and led an organization of more than 240 employees. Prior to Honeywell, Pencek spent 13 years with Motorola Solutions, Inc., where he eventually served as vice president of information technology and spearheaded major enterprise resource planning and information technology programs.
New district managers Join Wells Fargo in Greater Phoenix
Josh Diker was appointed by Wells Fargo as District Manager for Scottsdale/Tempe. In his new role, Diker will be responsible for 102 team members and nine branches. Diker has 24 years of banking experience and most recently was at BBVA Compass bank managing branches, productivity, and investments. He has also held positions at TCF Bank in Minneapolis and served as a District Manager with Chase Bank in Arizona. He resides in Phoenix and enjoys volunteering at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
As District Manager of West Valley Central in Phoenix, Christine Dryden is responsible for 92 team members and eight branches. Dryden previously served as District Manager for the White Mountains in Northern Arizona. She began her career at Wells Fargo 29 years ago as a teller in Omaha, Neb. before transitioning to the roles of branch manager, branch manager vice president and district manager. She resides in Queen Creek.
Dan Wilson has been named District Manager for Southeast Metro in Mesa, Apache Junction and Gold Canyon. Wilson will oversee 133 team members and 10 branches in his new role. Most recently, he was the District Manager for Wells Fargo in north metro Atlanta. Wilson began his career with Wells Fargo in 2005 as a teller and has since served as a personal banker, business payroll partner and branch manager. He is a past recipient of the Wells Fargo Excellence Award and has served on the board of directors for the United Way of Atlanta, North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Sports Council. He relocated to Scottsdale with his wife, Laini, and their three-year-old daughter, Leighton, and five-month-old son, Ridge.
Ware Malcomb announces Douglas Gullo has joined firm
Ware Malcomb, an award-winning international design firm, today announced Douglas Gullo has joined the Phoenix office as Studio Manager, Architecture. In this role, Gullo will oversee the Architecture Studio and manage select projects for Ware Malcomb’s Phoenix office.
“We are excited to have someone of Douglas’ tremendous expertise and talent join our team,” said Kevin Evernham, Principal of Ware Malcomb’s Phoenix office. “His design excellence in commercial real estate will help expand the reach of our Architecture team, and enable us to further serve our clients.”
Gullo brings more than 25 years of architecture and business development experience to Ware Malcomb. He has worked on many notable Greater Phoenix-area projects including office, retail, industrial, medical office buildings, and resort and entertainment. Utilizing his architectural design and project management skills, Gullo manages the design process from initial concept and ideas through successful project completion. Gullo holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona and is the design author on many award winning office, retail, industrial and medical buildings in the Greater Phoenix market.
Ware Malcomb recently moved to a new, larger office space located at 2777 E. Camelback Rd, Suite 325 in Phoenix. The move accommodates the firm’s growing employee and client base in the region.
SynCardia announces promotion of Don Webber to CEO
SynCardia Systems, LLC, manufacturer of the world’s only clinically-proven and commercially approved total artificial heart, is pleased to announce that Don Webber has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer, and Peter Spadaro has been appointed as the President and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
Don Webber joined SynCardia in 2018 as Chief Operating Officer (COO), leading Manufacturing Operations and Engineering, Quality and Supply Chain Logistics for the SynCardia product line. Don’s demonstrated leadership as COO led to his promotion in January 2019 to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He brings extensive management experience from more than 25 years in public and private sector life science companies. Prior to joining SynCardia, Don had been the COO at OptiScan since 2010. In addition, he’s previously served as VP of Manufacturing Operations at C.R. Bard, VP of Operations at EKOS Corporation, and President and CEO of Mitralign. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering technology from the State University of New Yorkand an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.
Peter Spadaro has joined SynCardia’s leadership team as the President and Chief Commercial Officer. Peter will be responsible for oversight of the global Sales and Marketing Organizations and for driving the company’s sales growth. He assumed the new role on April 2, 2019 reporting directly to the CEO, Don Webber. Peter started his career at St. Jude Medical as a Sales Representative in New York City. During his almost 30-year career with St. Jude Medical he progressed through the organization’s Sales and Marketing organizations taking on leadership roles that included Vice President of Global Marketing, Vice President of Cardiovascular Sales, and Division Vice President of Cardiac Rhythm Management to name a few. Peter comes to SynCardia from his recent leadership role at Medtronic as Senior Director of Sales, Cardiac Surgery. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University.
