MCKEON LEAVES HSN

Kevin J. McKeon stepped down from his position as chief financial officer of The Home Shopping Network and HSN Inc. in January after the company’s purchase of Silver King Broadcasting and SF Broadcasting.

“Following the completion of the recent merger, I felt this was the right time for me to leave the company to pursue other opportunities,” McKeon said in a prepared statement.

McKeon joined The Home Shopping Network in 1986 as assistant controller and, after several promotions, was named chief financial officer in 1996. He will continue to act as a consultant to The Home Shopping Network for the next several months.

Jed Trosper was appointed to replace McKeon. Trosper was previously chief financial officer of several portfolio companies of General Atlantic Partners, including Record World Inc., Comprehensive Learning Concepts Inc. and Blessing White, where he served as president.

WATCH PIONEER DIES

Fred Lip, a pioneer of electronic watchmaking, died Nov. 9 in his hometown of Besançon, France. He was 95.

Lip studied watchmaking in France and the United States in the 1930s and learned to mass-produce watches. In 1953, he introduced a wrist watch operated by an electric power cell to the British Horological Institute according to The History of Clocks and Watches by Eric Bruton. He teamed up with a U.S. company but could not begin production of the watch quickly enough. Other manufacturers learned to make the electronic watch. By 1956, the Hamilton Watch Co. in the U.S. began to mass-produce electric watches before the Lip watch could be produced in great numbers.

Lip also tried to perfect quartz technology in the 1970s, but was quickly overtaken by large Japanese and Swiss manufacturers.

OTHER OBITUARIES

Modeste Canton, 93, of Mobile, Ala., died Dec. 26. He was a retired engraver and jeweler, and a former bailiff at the Mobile County Courthouse.

APPOINTMENTS

Candace Marandola was promoted to associate editor/communications at AJM magazine, published by the Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths of America, Providence, R.I. She will continue to prepare columns and write feature articles for the magazine.

Jay W. Jackson was appointed vice president of sales at Stuller, Lafayette, La. Also at Stuller, Darrell Warren was named director of the newly created Tools and Supplies Group, which offers jewelry tools and supplies to Stuller customers.

Larry Bennett is the new marketing and product development director at Imperial-Deltah Inc., East Providence, R.I. He will coordinate marketing strategies, product design and collateral support for the company’s network of agents.

The Precious Metals Marketing Division of Johnson Matthey in New York, N.Y., appointed John Cullen as platinum sales and marketing manager. The company also named Kieran Conlon as office manager.

B&N Jewelry, Marietta, Ga., hired Michael Pavlakos as regional sales manager. He is responsible for new market expansion and product development.

Gem Quality Institute in Los Angeles, Cal., added Andrea McShane to its executive management team. McShane, formerly with the Gemological Institute of America, will assist with the day-to-day operations of Gem Quality Institute’s grading laboratory.

Louis Aponte joined G&W Castings, New York, N.Y., as director of the casting department. He oversees the expansion of the private-label casting division.