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Retired third-grade teacher Penny Gold has set the new world record for the largest collection of Converse sneakers, according to World Records Academy (www.worldrecordsacademy.org). Gold, who lives in Central Florida with her husband, Barry, owns 733 different pairs of low- and high-top Converses.
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In May, SUNY Maritime College honored Richard D. DeSimone (MS ’77), president of XL Insurance North America’s US Ocean and Inland Marine unit, during the school’s annual Admiral’s Scholarship Dinner. A past chairman of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU), he is the first chairman from the U.S. to lead the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI). Currently chairman of the Water Quality Insurance Syndicate (WQIS), he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1975. Thomas F. Liotti (MPA) has published his sixth book, The Secret Adoption (iUniverse), in which he chronicles his discovery at age 60 of being adopted. The memoir also recounts Liotti’s search for his biological parents, roots, and heritage. The author is an attorney in Garden City and the village justice in Westbury, Long Island.
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Marshall Garber, controller at advertising agency McGarry Bowen, gave a lecture about accounting at Baruch in March. Garber has been with the agency since its 2002 startup and created its accounting system. McGarry Bowen was named Agency of the Year by Advertising Age in 2009, and again—by both Advertising Age and Adweek—in 2011. Lawrence Hal Gerstein was recently named a George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Psychology-Counseling at Ball State University, where he has taught since 1983.
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In January Mildred Garcia was named president of California State University, Fullerton, effective June 1. The first Latina president in the CSU system, she was formerly president of CSU, Dominguez Hills.
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Financial technology expert Tony Cinotti has joined Marine Drive Mobile Corp. as VP, mobile banking. Co-author of two method patents for processing transactions on smartphones, Cinotti has 35 years of experience in systems, sales, programming, project management, and management consulting. Alan Gaines is founder and former chairman of the board of directors of Dune Energy, Inc. He served as chief advisor to financier Carl C. Icahn in all of the latter’s investments within the energy sector. A resident of Beverly Hills, Calif., Gaines recently wrote about oil prices and the oil and gas industry for Live Trading News.
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Mark A. Alimena is an audit partner with J.H. Cohn and the firm’s expert in asset securitization and structured finance company audits. In January he spoke at the Knowledge Congress’s live webcast, The Capital Overhang Issue in Private Equity Explored. Ken Eisdorfer (MBA) has been appointed senior director of strategy and research at Utilities Analyses, Inc., a national energy supply management firm. Previously he was director of utility rate optimization and consulting for Ameresco, Inc.
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Lee Frankel has joined the CORE real estate sales and marketing firm as associate broker. Deborah J. Levinson has joined CPA firm Reznick Group, as a principal, and is expanding its commercial real estate practice throughout the New York metro region. She was previously executive VP and CFO for Forest City Ratner Companies.
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Brian Finneran has been appointed executive VP and CFO at Suffolk Bancorp on Long Island. He had previously served as executive VP and CFO at State Bancorp since 1997. Owh Kian Ong is VP for marketing and refining planning at Hess Corporation. He was guest speaker at a Zicklin Leadership Series event at Baruch in February. Television research executive Steve Sternberg was named senior VP sales research at ION Media Networks. During his 25 years in the industry, he has led research operations at Magna Global, TN Media, and Bozell agencies.