MANAGEMENT Who's News PERSONNEL.

Phil Kayne marks his fifth year as director of land acquisitions with Kushner Companies, announced Jeffrey Freireich, managing director and principal of the firm. Kayne has been instrumental in the acquisition. of more than 3,000 units for the company.

Kayne joined Kushner Companies' real estate development team in 1993, with more than 30 years of experience in acquisition and development of residential and commercial projects. Prior to joining Kushner Companies,

Kayne worked for three decades as a private builder-developer throughout New Jersey, gaining expertise in site evaluation, zoning board approvals, land acquisition, and property subdivision. Among his more notable commercial developments were a 25,000 SF industrial building for Alside Aluminum and the Clifton Indoor Tennis Club.

Kayne received a B.A. in business from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, N.J. He resides in South Orange, N.J.

Robert J. Gold; managing director of Grubb & Ellis Company in Stamford, Conn., has been awarded the certified commercial investment member designation by the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. The designation was awarded during a recent institute meeting in Denver. It is earned upon completion of a graduate-level curriculum and attainment of a level of qualifying experience.

Gold has more than 18 years of commercial real estate experience, with an emphasis on corporate office leasing. Throughout his career, he has negotiated more than one million SF of lease transactions in the Fairfield county market-place alone, on behalf of tenants such as Advanstar Communications, internet.com, and e-Media. Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis' advisory services group in 1996, Gold was employed by Cushman & Wakefield's Stamford office.

Gold earned his B.A. in public administration from the University of Oregon. He is affiliated with the Connecticut Venture Group and the Connecticut Internet Association. Gold currently resides in Milford, Conn.

David Turino has been named director of leasing for Emmes Realty Services LLC, according to Richard Coles, senior vice president. Turino will be responsible for all commercial office leasing activities, including all new leases, renewals, and expansions at four of Emmes's properties -- 535 Fifth Ave., 545 Fifth Ave., 19 W. 44th St., and 417 Fifth Ave.

Turino joins Emmes Realty Services from RealtyIQ Corp, where he served as vice president. He has also held senior positions with Shorenstein Company, Grubb & Ellis, Solomon Equities, and Mendik Realty.

Turino holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a diploma from New York University's Real Estate Institute. He is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the Young Men's/ Women's Real Estate Association, the Urban Land Institute, and the Building Owners and Managers Association. Turino is a New York City native, and currently resides in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

Jarmel Kizel Architects & Engineers, Inc. announced the appointment of Natasha L. Suzansky as project manager. In this capacity, Suzansky will be responsible for designing and managing the development of interior projects for corporate clients.

Prior to joining Jarmel Kizel, Suzansky served as a job captain at Beer & Coleman Architects & Associates, LLC in Warren, N.J.

Suzansky received her master's degree in architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga. Ms. She resides in Linden, N.J.

Brett A. Sherman, senior vice president of Choyce Peterson, Inc., received the certified commercial investment member designation from the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. The title was awarded on May 3, 2001, during the Institute meeting in Denver.

Sherman has more than ten years of real estate experience in finance and brokerage. He is on the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Office Properties of Southwestern Fairfield County and on the board of The Volunteer Center of Southwestern Fairfield County.

Karl Piirimae, counsel to the law firm Drinker Biddle & Shanley LLP, has relocated his practice from Drinker's Philadelphia office to Drinker's Florham Park office. Piirimae specializes in complex business transactions, with an emphasis on project development, acquisitions/dispositions, finance, leasing, and construction.

Piirimae lectures on real estate topics and has contributed to updating the seminal text on real estate law in Pennsylvania. He is the immediate past president of the Columbia University Club of Philadelphia and is a member of the national council of Columbia College Alumni. He also is active in the Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Piirimae is a 1984 graduate of Columbia University, and a 1990 graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Conn., Penn., and N.J. He, his wife, Kristina, and their daughter, Alexandra, reside in Morris Plains, N.J.

Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Systems, Inc. has named Keith Itzler as its first president.

Itzler is an engineer with experience in the design of a variety of building structures, including high-rise office buildings, long span structures, industrial and residential buildings. As president of AACS, he is responsible for technical sales support, conceptualization of autoclaved aerated concrete designs, supervision of the production of shop drawings and design documents, business development, and overall quality assurance for the firm. Itzler joins Autoclaved Aerated Concrete from Goodkind & O'Dea, where he served as chief facilities engineer since 1990.

Itzler holds a BSCE degree from SUNY Buffalo, as well as an MSCE from Columbia University. He is a member of the Design Build Institute of America, the American Concrete Institute, the ACI Committee 523a, and the Autoclaved Aerated Concrete Products Association.

Eric N. Witmondt, CEO of GVA Williams of New Jersey, reports the appointment of Adam S. Bacall as chief operating officer. In this new capacity, Bacall will be responsible for overseeing all facets of the New Jersey office's day to day operations, including business development, brokerage operations, and human resources.

For the past five years, Bacall was the sales manager for the brokerage division of GVA Williams in New York. He is a member of GVA Williams' management committee and is a licensed member of the Real Estate Board of New York. Prior to joining GVA Williams, Bacall was the top grossing salesperson and sales manager for an executive search firm.

Bacall is a graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Mass. He and his wife, Alice, reside in New York.

David Kuperberg, president of Cooper Square Realty, Inc., has announced the appointment of Scott Schiller as managing director of the firm's sales. and leasing department. Scott will lead the development and management of this area at Cooper Square.

Prior to joining Cooper Square, Schiller acquired in depth knowledge of all aspects of sales and leasing. As an educator in the industry he has mentored many real estate entrepreneurs. His roster of clients includes political, luminaries, Hollywood stars, and Olympic athletes. He is the recipient of many industry awards, including Salesman of the Year and Agent of the Decade from his previous brokerage firm.

Schiller received his B.A. in marketing :management from SUNY Buffalo.

Robert D. Yaro has been elected president of the Regional Plan Association.

Yaro has served as RPA's executive director and head of its planning and research staff since 1990. During his 30-year career, he has worked to prevent sprawl, protect the environment, improve mass transportation, develop brownfield reclamation sites, and promote economic development in the tri-state region. Before joining RPA, Yaro served as director of the Center for Rural Massachusetts and associate professor of regional planning at the University of Massachusetts.

Yaro holds a B.A. in urban studies from Wesleyan University and a masters degree in city and regional planning from Harvard University. He is on the board of directors of the Institute for Urban Design and the Growth Management Institute in Washington, D.C. Yaro is a resident of New Canaan, Conn.

Grubb & Ellis Company announced that Mark R. Costello has been named chief operating officer.

Previously, Costello served as East Coast director for Ernst & Young's real estate advisory practice. He focused on strategic planning, capital redeployment, property performance enhancement, and operation and cost reduction strategies.

Costello earned his B.A. from the State University of New York and his M.A. in economics from New York University. He is a licensed real estate broker in New York and Connecticut. Costello has recently served as president of the New York Chapter of NAIOP.