McWhorter

Stuart McWhorter, chairman and co-founder of Clayton Associates, has been named president & CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.

The announcement follows a months-long national search, according to John R. Ingram, chairman of the board of directors of the NEC.

In addition to his chairmanship at Clayton Associates, McWhorter serves on the boards of directors of FirstBank of Tennessee, the Tennessee Business Roundtable, and the Nashville’s Agenda Steering Committee.

At the EC, he will succeed Michael Burcham, who announced his plans in December to leave the nonprofit for the private sector. He was the EC’s founding president and CEO, serving since 2010.

McWhorter is a graduate of Clemson University and earned his master’s in health administration from The University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Patterson Law welcomes new associate to firm

Ogden

Registered patent attorney Seth R. Ogden, Ph.D., has joined Patterson Intellectual Property Law as an associate. His practice will focus on litigation and patent prosecution.

Ogden was previously an associate in the Bio/Pharm practice group at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP, in Washington, D.C. He served as a professorial lecturer for the AIPLA Journal at the George Washington University School of Law.

Ogden earned his J.D. at American University Washington College of Law, in 2012, where he was Order of the Coif, and recipient of the Gillette-Mussey Fellowship Award and the Laura Reckman Memorial Scholarship. He was on the staff of the American University Law Review and a member of the Intellectual Property Law Society. He earned his Ph.D. in cancer biology at Vanderbilt University in 2009, and his B.A. in biology at the University of Virginia in 2003.

Richards & Richards CEO chosen president of group

Richards

Richards & Richards President & CEO R. Stephen Richards has been elected president of the National Association for Information Destruction, the nation’s premier records management organization for information destruction.

For the last 20 years, NAID has served as the international trade association for companies that provide information destruction services, representing more than 1,900 member locations globally. NAID’s mission is to promote the information destruction industry and the standards and ethics of its member companies.

Richards also serves on various local boards, including TSLAFriends, for which he previously served as president. He is a director of the Data Protection Association, president of the Nashville City Club and president of the Maplewood High School Alumni Foundation.

He previously served as vice president for the NAID board of directors.

McCuller promoted to partner-in-charge

McCuller

Brian McCuller has been promoted to partner-in-charge of LBMC’s State and Local Tax Practice.

McCuller has advised Fortune 500 and middle-market companies in diverse industries, such as manufacturing, retail, technology, and business to consumer services. He specializes in reviewing business models and state specific issues to help clients improve compliance and take advantage of opportunities. McCuller has represented clients on a variety of issues before state tax departments in Tennessee and across the country.

Prior to joining LBMC, McCuller was a managing director in the CBIZ National Tax Office for three years. He was the state and local tax practice leader for 12 years with Memphis-based Thompson Dunavant, PLC. Brian began his career in 1993, and held positions with Arthur Andersen, LLP, in Atlanta, GA, and Ernst & Young, LLP, in Memphis.

McCuller is a frequent speaker and author on the topic of multistate taxes. He has served as chairman of the Tennessee Society of CPAs State and Local Tax Committee, and as president of the Memphis Chapter of CPAs.

He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, and also holds a business administration in accounting degree from the University of Texas at Austin, with honors.

Captain D’s hires first chief people officer

Harkness

Captain D’s has hired Wendy Harkness as chief people officer. An industry veteran, Harkness brings more than 25 years of experience in developing and implementing resources and communication campaigns.

In the newly created position, Harkness will be responsible for executing company-wide human resources strategies, including culture development, administration, internal communications and compliance programs.

Previously, Harkness served as senior vice president of human resources at Advantage Waypoint, LLC, where she created and implemented proprietary human resources strategies. Additionally, she successfully launched a full-scale communication campaign designed to significantly improve employee trust and increase organizational readiness, which resulted in significant growth in employee engagement scores. Throughout her professional career, Harkness has also been actively engaged in the food service industry, and has served as the president of the Chain Restaurant Compensation Association and the steering committee chair of Organizational Readiness for the Women’s Foodservice Forum.

Harkness holds a bachelor’s degree in human resource administration from St. Leo University, as well as a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. She is certified in trial advocacy and formerly practiced in worker’s compensation and employment law.

Skanska promotes Frey to senior superintendent

Frey

Skanska USA has promoted Scott Frey to senior superintendent.

Frey, who previously served as superintendent, will oversee on-site construction and coordinate and manage quality control, safety and scheduling for a variety of projects. Frey is currently overseeing the tower portion of HCA’s Capitol View project, a 16-story office building on Charlotte Avenue.

He has 27 years of industry experience and started his career as a carpenter. He joined Skanska in 1994 as a superintendent and worked on several projects in the health care industry, including the seven-story patient bed tower at the William Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., and the surgery center addition for the Garden City Hospital in Garden City, Mich.

During his time in Michigan, Frey was involved with Habitat for Humanity Detroit and was active with the Michigan Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society by participating in its fundraising cycling series, Bike MS, a 150-mile bike ride benefiting the society.

A native of Pierron, Ill., Frey graduated from Southwestern Illinois College in Bellville, Ill., with an associate’s degree in construction management.

EOA Architects announces principals

Sheila Dial-Barton, AIA, LEED AP, Tracey Ford, AIA, LEED AP, and Michael Murdock, AIA, LEED AP have become principals at EOA Architects.

Dial-Barton

Dial-Barton has led the design of many recognizable projects around Nashville, including the renovation of the 1906 Stahlman building into downtown apartments, the first floor conversion of the St. Cloud building into Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant, the mixed-use development Fifth & Main, and the interior build-out of the Bridge Building, which houses the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Cumberland River Compact and The Bridge Building Event Spaces.

She earned her bachelor of architecture from the University of Tennessee in 1997 and studied urban planning through UT’s foreign exchange program in Krakow, Poland. She serves on the interior design advisory board at O’More College of Design, is on the board of The DISTRICT, where she previously served as Board Chair, and serves on the Metro Public Arts Committee. She is a member of Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Nashville Civic Design Center.

Ford

Ford has focused on high-profile public projects for Metro Parks and Recreation, including the Sevier Park Community Center, East Park Community Center and the Three Nature Centers project, all award-winning. Other notable local projects include the Shelby Park Master Plan, Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management and Meharry Medical College Lyttle Hall.

She earned a master of architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997, where she placed third in the international design competition, the Paris Prize for Public Architecture. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from Centre College.

Murdock

Murdock has worked in architectural practices in Texas, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Nashville. His local projects include Meharry Medical College Lyttle Hall, Three Nature Centers, Sevier Park Community Center, Bellevue YMCA, MDHA-Gernert Cottages Renovations, Providence United Methodist Church and various projects for the Metro Transit Authority.

He is a 1985 graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Design, with a master of architecture. He earned a degree in architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington in 1981. Murdock has served as chairperson for the AIA Middle Tennessee Programs Committee and as an AIA TN Convention instructor.

Centerstone names regional VPs for Tennessee

Hail

Centerstone, a not-for-profit organization and one of the nation’s largest behavioral health care providers, has named Beth Hail, Matt Hardy and Ken Stewart to regional vice president positions overseeing its mental illness and addiction treatment operations across Tennessee.

Hardy

Stewart

Hail serves as regional vice president of the central region, which encompasses Davidson, Wilson, Williamson and Rutherford Counties. Previously director of Centerstone’s school-based services, as well as child and adolescent services, she’s a 23-year veteran of the organization. Hail holds a master’s degree in social work administration from the University of Louisville and is a licensed clinical social worker.

Hardy is the northern area’s regional vice president, including Montgomery, Stewart, Houston, Humphreys, Dickson, Cheatham and Robertson Counties. He joined Centerstone 14 years ago as a therapist. Hardy holds a doctorate in psychology from Wheaton College and is a licensed clinical psychologist in Tennessee.

Stewart serves Hamilton, Franklin, Coffee, Moore, Bedford, Lincoln, Maury, Lewis, Giles, Lawrence, Marshall, Perry, Hickman and Wayne counties - all of which form Centerstone’s southern region. He joined Centerstone 28 years ago, holds a master’s degree in psychology from East Tennessee State and is licensed as a senior psychological examiner.