James L. Atkins is managing director of the general partner entities of Merlone Geier Partners and Merlone Geier Management. He serves as senior project partner on Merlone Geier Partners mixed-use development projects. Prior to this, he was managing director of The South Group, a Los Angeles-based mixed-use development company.
Mr. Atkins has an undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and served in the US Army Corps of Engineers until 1992. He sits on the executive committee of the Los Angeles Central City Association, as well as the Board of Los Angeles Streetcar, Inc.
Javier Cano is general manager of the JW Marriott Hotel Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE, where he oversees all aspects of the 878-room hotel scheduled to open in March 2010. With more than 32 years of hospitality experience, he previously served as the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii, and as the area general manager for the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel and the Marina Beach Marriott.
Mr. Cano has served on the board of the local convention and visitor’s bureau in almost every city in which he has lived, most recently rejoining the board of L.A. INC., the Los Angeles Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. In 2001, he was named “Volunteer of the Year” for Los Angeles County by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
Jerry Clute is president and chief executive officer for California Hospital Medical Center (CHMC). Mr. Clute had served as the chief operating officer for the hospital from 2007 to 2009. Under his leadership, CHMC has seen significant operational improvements in the Operating Room and Emergency Department with the development of multidisciplinary work teams. He has over 36 years of healthcare experience; and previously was the chief executive officer and chief operating officer at St. Vincent Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles. He has also been an associate professor at California State University, Northridge, teaching in the healthcare masters program.
Mr. Clute holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Northridge, and a Master of Arts in Health Administration from the University of La Verne.
Michael T. Pfeiffer is the executive director of the South Park Stakeholders Group, a nonprofit association of commercial and residential property owners, residents and business leaders in the South Park district of downtown Los Angeles, and the South Park Business and Community Benefit District. He was previously executive director of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Southern California Chapter, and has served as senior vice president and chief operating executive of the Central City Association of Los Angeles.
Mr. Pfeiffer serves in leadership roles with several community-based organizations. As an active member of the American Society of Association Executives, he has earned the organization’s prestigious Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. Mr. Pfeiffer has Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Business Administration from Woodbury University, Los Angeles.
David Yeager David Yeager is Vice President of Finance for both CHMC and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center. He has orchestrated the significant financial turnaround of CHMC over the last five years. Mr. Yeager has been instrumental in securing CHMC's recent designation as a Major Teaching Hospital, which has yielded favorable financial benefits.
He has more than 32 years of hospital industry experience, the last five with Catholic Healthcare West. His past experience includes various financial roles for non-profit; for-profit; and academic medical centers, including regional director of finance with oversight for 12 hospitals. He has been a finalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal CFO of the Year Award the past two years. Additional recognitions include two Outstanding Chief Financial Officer awards from Tenet.
