COMINGS AND GOINGS
Ed Hrabak
>>?Sterling Jewelers senior vice president of merchandising Ed Hrabak will succeed Bill Montalto as executive vice president and chief operating officer. The change will take place at the end of June, upon Montalto’s retirement after 26 years of service.
>>?Michael Margolis has been appointed president of Sowind Group’s America division. Margolis comes from Hublot, where he worked as U.S. sales director.
>>?Ray Bleser, founder of the Schenectady, N.Y.–based Northeastern Fine Jewelry, has been appointed chair of the board of directors of the Chamber of Schenectady County.
>>?Steven Mazza of the Mazza Co. has been elected president of Prestige Promenade. Former president Douglas Sills, who stepped down Feb. 1, will continue to serve as director.
>>?Hearts On Fire hired Ilaria Lanzoni as its director of design. Lanzoni joins the company from Garrard in London, where she served as head designer.
>>?Jewelers of America has announced that David Peters, its director of member services and education, is now director of education and industry relations. Molly Fallon, director of marketing and communications, is now director of marketing and membership. Amanda Gizzi, director of consumer communications, is now director of communications.
>>?Kazuo Nomura has been appointed managing director of Forevermark for Japan. The appointment takes effect in April, after a transition with outgoing managing director David Rudlin.
>>?Online retailer Bluefly’s chief operating officer, Joseph C. Park, has been promoted to CEO. Park replaces Melissa Payner, who resigned as CEO and from the board of directors. Park also replaces Payner on the board.
>>?Zale Corp. appointed Ken Brumfield senior vice president of financial products. Brumfield will be responsible for customer financing, warranty, insurance, and repair product offerings.
>>?JudeFrances Jewelry named Liz Paris its vice president of sales and marketing. Paris was previously a regional sales manager at David Yurman.
>>?Sten Daugaard has been appointed chief development officer of Pandora. Daugaard, the former CFO of the Lego Group, has been a member of the executive board of Pandora since 2010.
>>?Danny Rubinstein, former co-owner of Prisma Express, has opened a new company, Ancora Designs, in Los Angeles.
Ruben Bindra
>>?Ruben Bindra of B & B Fine Gems was named president of the American Gem Trade Association. Kambiz Sabouri of Gem 2000 will become vice president. Cynthia Renee is the new secretary; John Bachman takes over as treasurer.
HONORED
>>?Gaetano Cavalieri, president of CIBJO, received the Award of the Order of Carl Faberge during the International Jewellery Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Pioneer winner Dr. Daga (left)
>>?The Indian Diamond & Colorstone Association presented Dr. Mahendra Singhji Daga, president of White Color Gems, with its Pioneer Award at its grand gala event Feb. 2 during the AGTA Tucson GemFair.
REMEMBERED
>>?Enrico (Rick) Addessi of Danbury, Conn., died Feb. 18 at age 82. He ran Addessi Jewelers, in Ridgefield, Conn.
>>?Richard D. Rilliet, a New Jersey native who worked as a custom jewelry maker in Santa Barbara, Calif., died Jan. 11 at age 60 after a battle with cancer.
>>?Joy Englebert, who sold ads for JCK for more than two decades, died of cancer Feb. 24 at age 70. The pioneering female rep joined Chilton Publishing in the 1970s, eventually transitioning to JCK, where she served as a regional sales rep until her retirement in 2003.
LEGAL
>>?Bidz.com announced that its investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission has ended, and the SEC does not intend to take any action against the online jewelry retailer.