Premier Laser Names Executive VP

* Tom Hazen has been named executive vice president of operations for Premier Laser Systems, an Irvine maker of medical lasers, fiber-optic delivery systems and associated products for the medical and dental industries. In his new position, he will direct development, manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, human resources and administrative operations. Hazen had been vice president of operations for Imagyn Medical Inc. in Laguna Niguel.

* James H. Cutburth has been named to the newly created position of vice president of communications and channel development for Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in Newport Beach. Cutburth joined Rockwell from the communications division of Diamond Multimedia Systems, where he was vice president of worldwide marketing. Before that, he was vice president of marketing for the personal communication division of U.S. Robotics.

* Tom Scott has been appointed to the newly created position of senior vice president of worldwide marketing and sales for AST Research Inc. in Irvine. He will join the company Nov. 10. Scott previously spent seven years at the computer systems division of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. Before that, he held senior-level positions at AST, including vice president of U.S. sales.

* Robert J. Hagel has joined US Digital, an Irvine Internet company focusing on the real estate market, as vice president of business development. He has previously worked with Merrill Lynch Relocation Management, Allied Chemical Corp. (now Allied Signal) and Pinnacle Group Associates.

* Mark Latimer has been appointed director of leasing for the Orange County region for Insignia Commercial Group Inc. in Irvine, a wholly owned subsidiary of Insignia Financial Group Inc. He previously spent 13 years with Seeley Co., becoming a partner in 1990.

* Veronica Vallejo and Devin F. Houlihan have joined Glenn M. Gelman & Associates in Irvine as staff accountants. Vallejo has three years of experience in private accounting. Houlihan previously worked as a computer consultant with San Diego State University.

* Allen I. Goldberg has joined the board of directors of Building Blocks Pediatric Home Health Services in Newport Beach. He is professor of pediatrics and director of Pediatric Home Health at Loyola University in Chicago.

* Philip L. Anthony, district director of the Orange County Water District, will serve on the Groundwater Guardian Team, a regional advisory committee designed to safeguard the ground water supply. It is one of nine such programs in the state.

* Melody Carruth has been elected to the board of directors of Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills. She was the first mayor of Laguna Hills.

* Michelle Petersen has been named a principal and vice president of public relations for Esprit Communications Inc. in Corona del Mar. She had been the acting director of public relations for a year.

* Larry E. Nelson has been named principal of real estate development and acquisitions for Davis Partners Inc. in Newport Beach. He was formerly vice president of development for a Dallas-based real estate firm.

* Russell A. Hertzberg has been appointed vice president of marketing for Scantron Corp., a Tustin provider of survey services, automated data entry systems, hardware, software and scannable documents. He previously served as marketing director of Clarion’s Advanced Technology division, and he held a similar position at NetSoft.

* Rick Thrasher has been named to the newly created position of account development executive for RiechesBaird Advertising in Huntington Beach. Before joining the agency a year and a half ago, Thrasher was a product manager for Interplay Productions, an interactive game developer and publisher.

* Peter Hutt has been appointed vice president, treasurer of HomeBase Inc., an Irvine-based home improvement chain. Hutt joined HomeBase in 1991 as financial planning and control director. Before that, he was manager of management consulting with Deloitte & Touche.

* Richard A. Darlow is the new president of Pacific Scientific Co.’s Instruments group in Newport Beach. Darlow was formerly president of Semi-Gas Systems Inc.’s Matheson Electronic Products group. Before that, Darlow held senior sales and marketing positions with several companies, including Asyst Technologies Inc. and VLSI Standards Inc.

* Wole M. Fayemi has joined Cruttenden Roth in Irvine as senior vice president and director of health care research. He was previously a partner, head of health care research and senior health care strategist at Genesis Merchant Group in San Francisco. Fayemi also was a senior biotech analyst at the New York office of Hambrecht & Quist.

* Michael R. Orton has been appointed executive vice president of American Custom Components in Anaheim. He was formerly at IBM, Micropolis, JTS Corp. and Laser Magnetic Storage International.

* James Jordan has been named vice president of sales for Scoop Inc., an Irvine Internet business news and information service company. Jordan was most recently director of sales at UMI in Oklahoma City, where he headed up the west region of the company’s corporate sales division.

* Paul M. Cohen has been appointed chief executive of HydroFuser Industries Inc. in Newport Beach. Robert G. Reese will remain chairman and president. Cohen’s primary responsibilities will be in finance, strategic planning and administration.

* Thomas S. Talbot has joined Voit Commercial Brokerage’s Irvine office as a marketing associate. He had been working in asset management and development with the Valley Entertainment Group in Hailey, Idaho.

* Daniel Hunter has been named vice president, general manager of consumer products for Yokahama Tire Corp. in Fullerton. He joined the company in 1995 as vice president of marketing. James W. MacMaster was appointed vice president, general manager for commercial products. MacMaster, who has been with the company 16 years, was most recently vice president of replacement sales.

* Ronald E. Blakemore has joined Berryman & Henigar as special programs manager in the landscape architecture division. He is based in the Santa Ana office. He had been with Ventura County for 11 years, serving in management positions in both the Harbor and Recreation Services departments.