Career Moves

Myers lands new defense job

Joan Myers, a former president of the N.C. Technology Association, will join defense contractor Applied Research Associates on Dec. 1.

Myers will work out of ARA's Raleigh office and be responsible for expanding the company's military research and development work in North Carolina, said Jim Kainz, an ARA group leader who helped recruit Myers.

ARA is a collaborator with the Defense Security Technology Accelerator in Fayetteville, where Myers worked after leaving SAS Institute in Cary a few months ago.

Myers was president of NCTA, the state technology industry's trade group, for seven years until she resigned in 2007. At NCTA, she was a strong advocate for boosting defense industry-related business clusters across North Carolina.

ARA has about 1,200 employees across the country, including more than 100 in Raleigh. North Carolina is one of 20 major offices of the New Mexico-based company, Kainz said.

In other moves ...

Roger Friedensen has been promoted to senior vice president, Ann Panero to senior account manager and Maureen Strahl to director of finance at the Catevo Group, a marketing communications agency in Raleigh.

Frank Graff and Matt Vaughan joined 919 Marketing Co. in Holly Springs as account executives.

Renee Simar was named pediatric specialist at Inc. Research, a contract research organization in Raleigh.

George Lambert was promoted to partner-in-charge at accounting firm Williams Overman Pierce in Raleigh. Chuck Long was promoted to partner-in-charge in the Greensboro office.

Brice Ackerman was promoted to vice president at BB&T. Ackerman is based at the Beechleaf Court, Raleigh branch. Shawn Hutton was promoted to assistant vice president. He is at the Forest Hills Road branch.

Jeanne N. Lawson joined the N.C. Community Foundation as a regional associate for the northern Piedmont region. She works from the foundation's Raleigh office.

Paul B. Suh, who specializes in orthopedic spine surgery, was hired at Orthopaedic Specialists of North Carolina. Suh will work out of the Chapel Hill, Wake Forest and Oxford offices. Ingrid Luo-Tseng, who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, was hired in the Chapel Hill office.

David B. Adcock joined the law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart in Raleigh as of counsel.

Jim Warner has been appointed director, sales, responsible for the Carolinas, for the business markets group at Level 3 Communications, a fiber optics company in Raleigh.

Bill Howard III was hired as service director at JC Harris Pontiac-Cadillac in Wilson.

Joel Duke joined Exceptional IT Services in Cary as director of sales. The company provides information technology solutions for the greater Triangle area.

Jason Martin joined Gray & Creech Water Systems in Raleigh as account manager. Gray & Creech supplies office drinking water purification systems.

Elisha Farrow, Addie Preston and Jenna Webb joined the Select Group in Raleigh as technical recruiters. The Select Group is a technical recruiting firm that specializes in technology, engineering, sales, marketing and executive-level positions.

On the boards ...

Brooks Raiford, president and chief executive officer of the N.C. Technology Association, has been appointed to the advisory board of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at N.C. State University.

Stephen Piccot, director of advanced energy and transportation technologies at Southern Research Institute in Durham, has been named to the board of directors at the Biofuels Center of North Carolina.

Robin K. Vinson, a partner with Smith, Anderson, Blount, Mitchell & Jernigan, has been named to the downtown Raleigh board of directors of North State Bank.

Lawrence Wittenberg, a partner at Roberti, Wittenberg, Lauffer and Wicker in Durham, was elected vice president, president-elect of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant's Representatives.

Rebuilding Together of the Triangle announced its new executive committee and a new board member. Wayne Maiorano, partner at Smith Anderson, is chairman; Malcolm White, director of marketing and leasing commercial real estate at Self Help, is vice chairman; Todd Jones, vice president of Captrust Financial Advisors, is treasurer; and Evelyn Contre, managing director of Springleaf Strategies is secretary. Holton Wilkerson, manager of brokerage services for Empire Properties, has been elected to the board.

Wake County SmartStart welcomed five community leaders to its board of directors: Arvelis Byrd, director of N.C. Head Start, Shirley Herndon of Bright Beginnings, Giang Le of Wake County Human Services, Michael Smith of Western Wake Pediatrics and Jerrae Williams of the city of Raleigh.