People In Business

St. Louis-based Oculus Inc., an award-winning, WBE-certified architecture and interior design firm, has expanded its architecture, interior design, and marketing department teams with the addition of four new team members: Aaron Grimes, Ann Seibert, Marlie Woods, and Natalie Bell. “We are excited to kick off the new year with the addition of Aaron, Ann, Marlie,…

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC recently announced the elevation of Tom Kammerer to Member, effective Jan. 1, 2026. Kammerer is based in the firm’s St. Louis office and focuses his practice on first- and third-party insurance defense, premises liability, property damage, personal injury, transportation and subrogation matters. He is a member of the Bar…

Jason Gasawski has joined Korte & Luitjohan Contractors Inc. (K&L) as vice president of Construction Management. A resident of Shiloh, Ill., Gasawski began his construction career in 2005 as a carpenter with Dessouard Commercial & Housing Improvement. He then spent the next 17 years at S.M. Wilson working his way up from project engineer to…

Simmons Hanly Conroy recently announced that Luke Pfeifer has been elevated to partner, effective Jan. 1, 2026. “We are delighted to announce Luke’s well-earned promotion,” said Simmons Hanly Conroy Managing Partner Laurence V. Nassif. “He is an esteemed firm ambassador who demonstrates our commitment to client-focused advocacy daily. I’m excited to see all he accomplishes as…

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has appointed Praveen V. Vadlani, Ph.D., MBA, as executive director of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC), effective Tuesday, Jan. 7. Vadlani will also hold a tenured faculty appointment as a professor in SIUE’s Department of Chemistry. Vadlani’s work spans biofuels, biochemicals, biomaterials, fermentation systems and scalable process development, with a focus on improving…

Prairie Cardiovascular and HSHS Medical Group recently announced that Megan Land, APRN, has joined its team at Prairie Cardiovascular O’Fallon, located at 3 St. Elizabeth Blvd., Suite 1800. Land is a board-certified nurse practitioner with extensive experience in cardiology. She specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and management of a wide range of heart conditions, including…

Husch Blackwell expands team by 18, includes two attorneys and 16 paralegals and business professionals National law firm Husch Blackwell recently announced that it has brought on an 18-person immigration team led by partner Thomas Arkell and senior counsel Jim Arkell. The group, which comes from Dunn Law Firm in Illinois, joins the firm’s Healthcare, Life…

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Riza Demirer, Ph.D., was featured in Institutional Investor for his ongoing research in emerging topics that are shaping the future of business and finance. Demirer is a professor in the Department of Economics and Finance in the SIUE School of Business. In the article, “Was the ESG Investment Boom ‘Impact-Washing?’” which he co-authored with Huacheng Zhang, Ph.D., MBA, of the University of…

Bradford National Bank recently announced that Chris Barth and Brandon Camp have both been promoted to vice president. The announcement was made by Bank President Michael Ennen. “Chris and Brandon have consistently demonstrated exemplary dedication to serving our customers, always placing the interests of our clients and the bank above their own,” noted Ennen. Barth…

Simmons Hanly Conroy, a national leader in the legal representation of mesothelioma patients and their families, has announced that Jenny Paulson has been elevated to partner, effective Jan. 1, 2026. “We are thrilled to announce this well-deserved promotion,” said Simmons Hanly Conroy Managing Partner Laurence V. Nassif. “Jenny truly embodies our firm’s foundational values, and I…