Clark County Biz Briefs

Jaret Sutherland

Nicki Spike

Ami Bennett

Don Pearson

Les Baron, a Vancouver businessman, has been appointed vice president of business development by Indigina USA. Baron is responsible for managing the growth of Indigina’s customer base on the West Coast. Indigina offers supply chain management consulting and software solutions.

Barbara Brace has been hired as vice president and commercial relationship manager for Umpqua Bank. For the past six years, Brace held the same position at Columbia River Bank and First Independent Bank.

Jaret Sutherland has been named general manager at Electrix, a Vancouver-based full service electrical contractor. He will oversee all project management operations, focus on providing additional customer services and help accelerate growth in new industries and geographic markets.

Nicki Spike, who works for MacKay & Sposito, has passed her professional human resources exam. Spike, with the company since 1999, works in the Vancouver office.

Wells Fargo Bank has named Don Pearson its regional president for Southwest Washington and Oregon. Pearson will oversee the customer service, sales and community involvement activities of 1,625 employees at 132 banks and eight business banking offices. James Tang, a personal banker with Wells Fargo, has obtained licensure to join Wells Fargo Investments as an investment consultant. Tang worked as a mortgage consultant at a local mortgage company before joining Wells Fargo in 2007. Wells Fargo has 10 bank branches in Clark County and deposits at those branches total more than $327.3 million.

Donald Zabudsky, a financial advisor in the Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management office, has completed a investment consulting training program conducted jointly by Morgan Stanley and The Wharton School. Zabudsky has been a financial advisor for more than 13 years and earlier this year formed The Zabudsky Group, a financial advising team in the Portland branch.

Paradise Cafe, 1304 Main St., has opened a new wholesale business, Nor’West Coffee Roasters, becoming the only coffeehouse roaster in Vancouver. The company is accepting applications for wholesale accounts. Nor’West will offer an informal coffee tasting at 3 p.m. Saturdays at Paradise Cafe.

Ami Bennett opened a new Allstate Insurance agency Nov. 1 at 516 S.E. Chkalov Drive, Suite 35. The agency offers a complete line of products and services, including auto, property, commercial and life insurance. Bennett, who lives in Vancouver, has more than 12 years of industry experience. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and evenings and weekends by appointment; 360-253-9696.

The Vancouver office of subcontractor Scheffler Northwest Inc. has secured $5 million worth of work in three road projects for the Oregon Department of Transportation. The largest of the projects is a $3 million job to repair landslide areas along Oregon state Route 6, which connects the city of Tillamook to the Oregon Coast. Scheffler Northwest, a drilling and shoring contractor, employs between 30 to 45 people out of its Vancouver office at 351 S. Grand Blvd. The company is a division of D.J. Scheffler Inc., headquartered in Pomona, Calif.