People in business People in business (November 10, 2004)

Attorney Todd Roberts named insurance chair

Todd A. Roberts, a resident of Menlo Park and a partner in Redwood City office of the Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley law firm, has been appointed chair of the insurance coverage section of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel.

At Ropers Majeski, Mr. Roberts focuses on defense of complex litigation, including employment, insurance and business contract disputes.

Bob Macdonald named marketing chief

Menlo Park resident Bob Macdonald, who has 20 years of marketing and sales experience with business software companies, has been named chief marketing officer of InQuira Inc., a San Bruno-based maker of software designed to improve communication with customers via the Web.

Arena Solutions named 'hot company of 2004'

The Menlo Park software company Arena Solutions has been named one of the "Hottest Companies of 2004" by Start magazine, an Illinois-based publication for manufacturing executives.

This is the second straight year the magazine has recognized Arena Soltuions for innovative applications for the manufacturing industry.

Founded in 2000, Arena Solutions makes and markets software called Product Lifecycle Management, which provides a single repository for information about a manufactured product -- linking customers, engineers and product managers, said spokesman Derek Kober.

Recently, Martin Humi of San Francisco was named board chairman of Arena Solutions, based at 120 Marsh Road in Menlo Park. Mr. Humi is founder and managing partner of the San Francisco-based Runway Capital LLC.

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