BUSINESS PEOPLE
Keith Breitbach has joined the integrated communications firm Sunny505 as senior communications strategist. Most recently, he worked as marketing coordinator for the city of Albuquerque Transit Department. Breitbach has nearly 30 years media production experience in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Breitbach has a bachelor’s degree in geography with an emphasis on urban and regional studies from the University of Iowa.
◆◆◆
Santa Fe attorney Adam Rankin has become partner of the Denver law firm Holland & Hart, which has a Santa Fe office. He has worked for Holland & Hart since 2010 and previously for Justice Edward Chávez of the New Mexico Supreme Court. Rankin received his bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, two master’s degrees from Columbia University and his law degree from the University of New Mexico.
◆◆◆
David G. Morgan came out of semi-retirement to become president of the Los Alamos National Laboratory spin-off company, Pebble Labs. He retired in 2017 from Syngenta AG, where he was global head of the Vegetables Business Unit with stints in Singapore, Basil, Switzerland and Minneapolis. Earlier, Morgan was head of bioscience at Bayer Crop Science in Lyon, France. Morgan has a master’s degree in agriculture and forestry sciences from Oxford University.
◆◆◆
Mark Epstein has been appointed CEO of the True Health New Mexico health insurance company. Previously, he was chief medical officer at New Mexico Health Connections. He also was medical director in several capacities at Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Lovelace Health System. Epstein also was an emergency physician at Presbyterian and Lovelance. He has a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University, an MBA in the Physician Executive MBA Program at the University of Tennessee and a medical doctorate from the Yale School of Medicine.
◆◆◆
Lois Sury, a Realtor and broker associate at Sotheby’s International Realty in Santa Fe, is serving as the Northeast District vice president of the New Mexico Association of Realtors. She is also the chairwoman of the NMAR Legislative Committee. Sury has been with Sotheby’s for 24 years and in 2019 was in the top 100 of 1,001 active brokers. Last year, she also earned her Certified International Property Specialist designation and Commitment to Excellence certification from the National Association of Realtors. She was 2007 Realtor of the Year and 2010 president of Santa Fe Association of Realtors.
◆◆◆
John T. Chavez and David Jessen are two honorees with Santa Fe connections inducted in the Anderson School of Management Hall of Fame at the University of New Mexico. Chavez is vice president and chief financial officer at Alvardo Realty Co., which owns Ski Santa Fe, Sandia Peak Ski Area and the Sandia Peak Tramway. Jessen is executive in residence in the Department of Accountancy and Business Law at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Jessen opened the Ernst & Young office in Santa Fe in 1975 and worked in Santa Fe until 1982. The 31st annual Hall of Fame honorees also included Alicia Gutierrez, an attorney at the law firm of Moses, Dunn, Farmer & Tuthill in Albuquerque, and Stephen Harper, a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
◆◆◆
Santa Fe-based Frank Crociata has become a shareholder in the law firm of Gallagher & Kennedy, which has offices in Phoenix and Santa Fe. Crociata joined the firm in 2017 and practices tax law, government affairs law and Native American law. Gallagher & Kennedy has 52 shareholders. He received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and his law degree from the University of Colorado.
◆◆◆
Sara Gutiérrez is the new deputy division director of the Economic Development Division within the New Mexico Economic Development Department. She was promoted from the department’s manager of the Job Training Incentive Program, a position she held for eight of her 12 years with the department. A lifelong Santa Fe resident, Gutiérrez received an associate degree in business administration and management from Santa Fe Community College and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. Max Gruner is the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s new Region 3 representative on the Community, Business & Rural Development Team. Region 3 serves Santa Fe, Bernalillo, Valencia and Torrance counties. Gruner previously was executive director of East Boston Main Streets in Massachusetts. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at St. John’s College in Santa Fe. Lucas Pedraza is the department’s new MainStreet project coordinator. Pedraza previously managed the small business office in the city of Albuquerque’s Economic Development Department and before that was the department’s economic development manager. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a master’s degree in community regional planning from the University of New Mexico.
◆◆◆
The Santa Fe Group has named David J.
Perez as its new CEO. He replaces company founder Catherine A. Allen, who had served as chairman and CEO. She will remain chairman of the board. Santa Fe Group is the managing agent of the membership-based Shared Assessments Program. Perez is founder of Seamless Medical Systems, which created an iPad platform for improved patient experience and medical-practice efficiency. He also founded
Latin Force, a consumer digital marketing agency. Perez has a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Vermont.
◆◆◆
Edward Graves became the new CEO/publisher of New Mexico Magazine on Jan. 6. He previously was publisher of Lifestyles After 50, the largest senior publication in Florida. Before that, he co-owned the magazine and was CEO and president of News Connection USA LLC, the parent company of Lifestyles After 50. Graves has also held several senior-level publishing roles at Gatehouse Media and Gannett Co., including senior vice president for Gannett’s USA Weekend magazine. Graves has a bachelor’s degree in general education from Eastern Kentucky University.