NATIONAL

Blockbuster chairman to quit by year's end

The chairman and CEO of Blockbuster Inc. will leave by the end of the year, ending a high-profile salary squabble with the movie-rental company's board, the company said Tuesday.

John Antioco, who has led the company since 1997, has repeatedly clashed in the past two years with billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who is on the board and holds about 10 percent of Blockbuster's stock. In the most recent dispute, Icahn and the rest of the board tried to withhold a chunk of Antioco's 2006 bonus.

OFFICEMAX TO EXPAND OfficeMax Inc., the third-largest U.S. office-supplies retailer, will accelerate store openings in key markets and expand printing services to compete with Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc.

OfficeMax in 2007 plans to expand the number of stores by about 7 percent, add midsized corporate customers, offer more printing and copying services, and pare costs to run stores and distribute goods.

FOUR STARS FOR TUNDRA Toyota Motor Corp.'s redesigned Tundra, battling full-size pickups from U.S. automakers, didn't get the top rating for frontal crash safety achieved by rivals.

The Tundra fell one star short of the perfect five-star rating for driver safety in head-on collisions in a test by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Big pickups from General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. earned five stars.

LOCAL

Former Janus CFO joins Calif. firm

Dave Martin, who recently left his post as Janus Capital Group's chief financial officer, has joined fast-growing money manager Dimensional Fund Advisors as CFO.

Janus, the Denver-based mutual fund firm, said in February that Martin was leaving to pursue "a career opportunity outside of Denver" and that he would be replaced by controller Greg Frost. Martin joined Janus in mid-2005.

Santa Monica, Calif.-based Dimensional Fund Advisors said the company and its affiliates manage more than $130 billion for clients in 25 countries.

GIFT TO MINES Noble Energy Inc. on Tuesday announced a $500,000 gift to the Colorado School of Mines to support construction of Marquez Hall, a new petroleum engineering building in the school campus.

The 75,000-square-foot building will include a lab to enable the transmission of real time, multidimensional images of exploration, drilling and production operations. The school has a campaign to raise $40 million for the building and endowments.

SOLERA BANK IN LAKEWOOD Solera National Bancorp has received a key approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to open a commercial bank in Lakewood, said CEO Mark Martinez.

The company is focusing on the Hispanic market, though "we're serving the needs of everyone in the community," he said. It is evaluating options for a second location.

NONPROFIT NAMES CEO A local nonprofit that helps rural farmers emerge from poverty in developing countries has appointed a new chief executive to take the reins from its founder.

International Development Enterprises named Rosalind Copisarow to become the second CEO in its history. Paul Polak will have the title of founder.

The Lakewood-based group recently received a $13.4 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

ECONOMY

Home building up in Feb.

Construction of new homes rebounded in February after a big decline in the previous month, but building permits slid further, indicating more problems down the road for the troubled housing industry.

The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments rose by 9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.525 million units. That represented a better- than-expected rebound after construction activity had plunged by 14.3 percent in January to the slowest pace in more than nine years.

But builders' applications for new permits, considered a more reliable gauge of future activity, continued falling in February, dropping by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.532 million units.

That marked the 12th decline in the past 13 months in building permits and underscored the construction industry's steep slump.

The 9 percent rebound in housing in February was expected, given that construction had fallen so much in January, a month when a return to more normal winter weather had pushed construction activity lower after an unusually warm December.

THIS JUST IN...

• The Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will honor its 2007 business award winners at its 21st annual meeting and business awards luncheon April 12. Ivette Dominguez will receive the Business Woman of the Year Award; Jerry Natividad, Business Man of the Year Award; Virginia Quinones, Government Advocate of the Year Award; Perla Gheiler, Corporate Advocate of the Year Award; and Gracie Casias, Chamber Advocate of the Year Award.

• The law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck named Amy Venturi as community relations manager.

• Key Equipment Finance named Kenneth A. Turner senior vice president of sales for its bank and middle market segments.

• Real estate firm Equis Corp. has added John Reynolds and David Wyatt as vice presidents in the Denver office.

• Hollie Campenella was promoted to associate director of nursing education at Platt College.

• Gateway Natural Medicine and Diagnostic Center has opened in Berthoud.

• PGM Integrated has added Annie Schlax as account supervisor and Leslie Buck as graphic designer.

• Louisville-based Front Porch Digital has named Dave Polyard as senior vice president of sales for the Americas.

• Western Union Co., headquartered in Greenwood Village, added Anne M. McCarthy as executive vice president, corporate communications and public affairs.

• Denver-based ProLogis, an owner, manager and developer of distribution facilities, appointed William E. Sullivan as chief financial officer.

• The city and county of Denver's Division of Theatres and Arenas has named Jenny Schiavone as director of communications, effective March 27.

• Karen B. Mulloy has joined Denver Health as medical director of the Occupational Health and Safety Clinic, and the Medical Clinic at Denver International Airport. She will also have a teaching appointment at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

• Michelle P. Fulcher joined Colorado Public Radio's news team as a producer for Colorado Matters, the KCFR-AM daily news interview program.

Rocky staff and wire reports

Back to Top