PC maker Lenovo hired a veteran Microsoft executive to head sales efforts in the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Effective Dec. 3, Scott DiValerio will take over as senior vice president and president of Lenovo's Americas Group, reporting directly to CEO Bill Amelio.

DiValerio, 45, replaces Rory Read, who served as acting president of the group since January 2007, when former Americas chief Scott Smith left the company to pursue other interests. DiValerio will remain based in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft's hometown, and travel frequently to Lenovo world headquarters in Morrisville.

Since acquiring IBM's PC division in 2005, Lenovo has invested heavily in sales, marketing and distribution in the United States and Latin America. The company, which dominates China's PC market, is trying to gain a much larger share of the U.S. consumer and small-business markets.

DiValerio was most recently vice president of Original Equipment Manufacturing at Microsoft, where he was responsible for the company's relationships worldwide with PC, device and systems makers. Prior to that, he headed finance and administration and was chief accounting officer.

DiValerio joined Microsoft from The Walt Disney Co., where he was a corporate vice president. Before that he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the United States and Europe.

"One of our key strategies is to grow our business in the Americas, and Scott has a wide range of business experience and is well-suited to the task," Amelio said in a statement.

In other moves ...

Christopher H. Cabell joined the medical and scientific services group in global clinical development services at Quintiles Transnational in Durham.

Nate McGee was promoted to regional sales manager for the Raleigh office of PrimePay, which specializes in payroll processing and tax filing.

J. Ray Cox, vice president and chief operating officer for Highfill Infrastructure Engineering, has been elected president of Professional Engineers of North Carolina.

Darrell Parker joined PeakLogix as a regional director working in Raleigh. He will be responsible for business development for new and existing clients. PeakLogix provides equipment solutions, design and engineering, project management and technology integration.

Douglas Hill was appointed chief information officer at Drug Safety Alliance in Durham.

Bob Pickens was hired as managing director of Savvy Marketing Group's Resolute Ventures. Savvy Marketing Group in Research Triangle Park advises senior management through two service offerings: Resolute Ventures and Chief and Crew for Hire.

Bill Moore was promoted to vice president, account executive, at Rutherfoord, a risk management and insurance brokerage firm in Raleigh.

Catherine Walters joined JDavis Architects in Raleigh as a CAD technician.

Cynthia Edwards has been selected to serve as Meredith's associate vice president for academic programs. She is a professor of psychology and recently served as director of Meredith's honors program.

Timothy J. Mihalovich and Nikunj "Nik" P. Wasudev joined Wake Radiology Consultants as musculoskeletal radiologists. They will provide consultation at Wake Radiology offices throughout the Triangle.

Susan M. Lee was hired as director of interior design in the Research Triangle Park office of Perkins+Will, an architecture and interior design firm.

Jon D. Hensarling of Raleigh joined law firm Ragsdale Liggett as an associate attorney in the litigation department.

Mark Burling joined accounting firm Batchelor, Tillery and Roberts in Raleigh as a senior manager, tax. John Haney joined as a tax manager.

Timothy S. Day was hired as executive vice president and chief credit officer at TrustAtlantic Bank in Raleigh.

Lisa McNeill was hired as social media strategist at Ignite Social Media in Cary.

On the boards ...

Laurie Bowser-Sever, an account manager for Interprose Public Relations, was elected president of the International Association of Business Communicators Triangle chapter. Joining Bowser-Sever on the executive board are Shannon Helm, marketing communications manager for ABB; Larry Miller, director of business operations for the global drug discovery division of GlaxoSmithKline; Dawn Stuart, president of Wordspring Communications; Kelly Duffort, communications manager with GSK; and Rob Brittain, Golden Corral's franchise east marketing director.

Don Bailey, distinguished fellow at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, has been elected president of the board of directors for the National Fragile X Foundation.

Marlene Spritzer, principal of Spritzer Commercial Properties in Durham, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors of the N.C. Certified Commercial Investment Member Chapter.

Dan Headrick and Pam Guthrie, owners of Wag Pet Boutique in Raleigh, have been appointed to the Pet Product News International National Retail Advisory Board.

Chapel Hill financial advisor Linda Patchett has been elected to oversee education for the 2007-08 national board of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Scott Chinery of Mulkey Engineers & Consultants has been elected the 2007-08 secretary of the American Society of Highway Engineers, Carolina Piedmont Section.

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