Phoenix’s Walton announces expansion of executive team

Walton, a real estate investment and land asset management company with US$3.39 billion under management and administration, has expanded its executive team as it continues to achieve significant milestones and growth throughout the U.S. and Asia. 

Paul Megler has been named Executive Vice President, Capital Markets & Strategic Partnerships for the Walton Group of Companies. He will lead the growth of the company’s homebuilding partner relationships working with the asset management team on new acquisitions and sales within the existing Walton portfolio. In addition, Mr. Megler will be assisting with institutional capital raising efforts for the Walton funds globally.

Among his roles prior to joining Walton, Mr. Megler served as Vice President, Real Estate & Business Development at KB Home (NYSE: KBH) where his focus was mergers and acquisitions, national land strategy and financial sponsor relationships. He was also Managing Director JMP Securities, LLC where he specialized in real estate investment banking for homebuilders and land developers. Mr. Megler holds a Master of Business Administration from UCLA Anderson School of Management and Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting and management information systems from Miami University. 

Rebecca Bruce has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer for the Walton Group of Companies. With more than 15 years of experience, she manages financial strategy and the accounting, audit, treasury and tax functions, overseeing a team of professional accountants at Walton. 

Ms. Bruce joined Walton in 2009 as Corporate Controller and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Finance and Accounting in 2014. Prior to joining Walton, she served as Manager in the Assurance and Advisory Business Services practice for Ernst & Young, where she articled and received her Chartered Accountant designation. Ms. Bruce received a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from Memorial University of Newfoundland. 

Emily David has been named Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations for Walton International Group. She will be working with the Walton Asia team, driving the communications strategy for the company’s operations from Singapore.

Prior to joining Walton, Ms. David was a Communications Manager for Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates where she was tasked with designing and delivering a communications strategy for the largest division of the airline. She earned a master’s degree from the Istituto Marangoni. 

“The expansion and promotion of the Walton team comes at an important time for our company,” said Bill Doherty, CEO, Walton Group of Companies. “As we continue to grow and achieve significant milestones, the depth of expertise and operational drive of our employees will help to serve our clients as we enter the next phase of expansion. We are optimistic for the future and the opportunities for continued growth.”

Leading employment litigators join Ballard Spahr

Jay Zweig and Melissa Costello—two attorneys with a combined five decades of experience representing businesses as employment law and commercial litigators—have joined Ballard Spahr’s Labor and Employment Group, Firm Chair Mark Stewart announced today. They will be based in Phoenix.

Mr. Zweig and Ms. Costello have been active in advising clients on federal and local laws relating to COVID-19. Individually, Mr. Zweig represents businesses in avoiding and resolving employment law disputes. He assists employers with human resources policies, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, wage-and-hour, FMA, and leave law issues, whistleblower cases, sexual harassment and employment discrimination administrative charges and litigation, internal investigations, ADA matters, and OSHA citations. He has been lead counsel in federal and state court trials for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. For her part, Ms. Costello advises clients regarding disciplinary issues, employee handbooks, non-compete agreements, separation agreements, harassment, ADA, and discrimination matters.

“Jay and Melissa are, like their new colleagues in the Labor and Employment Group at Ballard, essential partners to the clients they serve,” Mr. Stewart said. “That is especially true now as employers turn to us for help in addressing the impact of the global pandemic on their workplaces and the many complex issues that arise. We welcome the depth and experience that Jay and Melissa bring.”

MJ Insurance appoints expert to benefits consulting team

MJ Insurance, a leading insurance agency for more than 50 years, is expanding its Benefits Consulting department with the addition of employee benefits consultant, Derek Ackerman. 

Ackerman comes to MJ from Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory, broking and solutions company. In his role as senior growth consultant, he oversaw the development of new business and ongoing client service, utilizing solutions designed to help clients in the ever-changing world of benefits. 

He has more than a decade of experience in the employee benefits and tech industries.

“We are thrilled to welcome Derek to the team,” said Michael H. Bill, CEO at MJ Insurance. “His advisory experience will be extremely beneficial in providing innovative solutions to all of our client’s unique employee benefits needs.” 

Ackerman received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Arizona.