Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Larry Mankin, 62, announced his retirement last week and the chamber announced that Ed Masterson will step in as interim director.

Mankin served the Santa Clarita Chamber for 7 years and worked for chambers across the country for 35 years.

Mankin and his wife will return to the Midwest where their family is located so they can spend more time with their grandchildren.

“My wife and I missed the growing up of our two grandchildren,” Mankin said. “We don’t want to do the same for the third. We’re going back to the land of snow [in the Midwest].”

Masterson, who Mankin praised as “world class,” works as a field representative for Assemblyman Cameron Smythe and has previously emceed luncheons for the chamber.

He begins his one-year term as interim director May 3.

“Masterson is great in business and he gets it when it comes to government,” Mankin said.

Masterson is well qualified to fill the critical leadership role because of familiarity with the chamber staff and board members, said chamber Chairman of the Board John Shaffery.

The chamber will continue working with local community colleges and partners as it had under Mankin’s stewardship, Masterson said.

“It should be smooth and congenial,” Masterson said of the transition from Smythe’s office to his new position at interim director at the chamber.

Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Larry Mankin, 62, announced his retirement last week and the chamber announced that Ed Masterson will step in as interim director.

Mankin served the Santa Clarita Chamber for 7 years and worked for chambers across the country for 35 years.

Mankin and his wife will return to the Midwest where their family is located so they can spend more time with their grandchildren.

“My wife and I missed the growing up of our two grandchildren,” Mankin said. “We don’t want to do the same for the third. We’re going back to the land of snow [in the Midwest].”

Masterson, who Mankin praised as “world class,” works as a field representative for Assemblyman Cameron Smythe and has previously emceed luncheons for the chamber.

He begins his one-year term as interim director May 3.

“Masterson is great in business and he gets it when it comes to government,” Mankin said.

Masterson is well qualified to fill the critical leadership role because of familiarity with the chamber staff and board members, said chamber Chairman of the Board John Shaffery.

The chamber will continue working with local community colleges and partners as it had under Mankin’s stewardship, Masterson said.

“It should be smooth and congenial,” Masterson said of the transition from Smythe’s office to his new position at interim director at the chamber.

Ann Kinzle, executive director of the Reseda Chamber of Commerce and well-known figure in the Reseda community, passed away March 20.

“She did so much and was involved in almost every aspect of Reseda,” said Diane Taylor, friend and board member of the Reseda Chamber. “There was nobody that Anne didn’t know.”

Kinzle was found unresponsive in her home, Taylor said.

Further details were not immediately available but Taylor said Kinzle had been struggling with some health problems.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority opposes proposed Metrolink cuts that would eliminate stops at the Bob Hope Airport station.

Cutting service to the airport diminishes the value the station brings to the transit agency and its passengers as it creates connections with other forms of transportation at the airport, the airport authority said in a letter to the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.

Rail authority board members will consider on April 2 a plan to drastically scale back train service to and from Ventura County, which includes the Bob Hope Airport stop, and to the Antelope Valley, as well as raising fares.

The airport board encouraged Metrolink to find ways to increase ridership and offered to help fund advertising along train routes to show its commitment to promoting use of Metrolink trains.

“We don’t think Metrolink is adequately promoting the connectivity it has with the Airport, and creating more awareness of how great rail and air Travel work together at Bob Hope Airport is the key to long-term sustainability of both Metrolink and the Airport,” said Airport Executive Director Dan Feger.

Restaurant operator and franchisor DineEquity Inc. narrowed its net loss in the fourth quarter when compared to the previous year.

The Glendale-based company, owner of the IHOP and Appelbee’s brands, said a write down of Applebee’s intangible assets contributed to the quarterly results.

DineEquity reported a net loss of $48.2 million, or $2.84 per diluted share, on revenues of $355.2 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. For the same period in 2008, the company had a net loss of $137.1 million, or $8.15 per diluted share, on revenues of $355.5 million.

For fiscal 2009, net income was $9.2 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, on revenues of $1.4 billion. For the previous fiscal year, the company reported a net loss of $154.5 million, or $10.09 per diluted share, on revenues of $1.6 billion.

Same store sales decreased for the quarter and fiscal year at both IHOP and Applebee’s, a reflection of fewer customers and lower average guest checks.

Shares in DineEquity closed up at $1.20.

Glendale-based Nestle caused a ripple in the world of chocolate lovers when it recently announced it was making changes “to improve” its secret Nestle Crunch recipe.

“Nestle Crunch lets fans of all ages feel like kids again, so you can bet they have definite opinions about what we’ve changed in our secret recipe,” said Tricia Bowles, spokesperson, Nestle Confections & Snacks.

Originally launched in 1938, the new version of the “Crunch” product was launched with an ad campaign whose theme is “What’s behind the even more scrumptious taste?”

So what exactly is different about the new Nestle Crunch? The company is not exactly saying. In fact, Nestle wants to fuel “…further speculation,” while pointing consumers to its Facebook page to share feedback.

“We first mentioned our new recipe on the Nestle Crunch 800 number and we’ve been blown away by the more than 400,000 calls that have poured in from fans,” said Bowles.

Valencia-based U.S. HealthWorks has acquired the three healthcare centers of Tucson Occupational Medicine.

The acquisition expands the firm’s medical center numbers nationwide to 131, including six in Arizona.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is already in effect.

The three new centers diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses and provide preventive services, exams and testing, as well as return-to-work programs.

The fourth quarter of 2009 saw an uptick in companies registering to do an initial public offering (IPO). Thirty companies entered the pipeline, considered the most activity in two years, and the average size of proposed deals was $191 million, said Ernst & Young.

A large number of pipeline companies are from California. And two are from the greater San Fernando Valley region, including the Woodland Hills-based Internet marketing firm ReachLocal and Burbank-based healthcare of Today.

Following a sluggish 2009, hopes are high 2010 will see a continued increase in IPO activity. But the first couple months haven’t quite been boom times. Some local companies are still optimistic. But at least one has shelved its IPO plans altogether.

“We are seeing IPOs go through,” said Jackie Kelley, Ernst & Young’s Americas IPO Leader out of Los Angeles. “And there are a number of companies that have re-engaged their filings.” There were 86 active registrants at the end of Jan. 2010, she added.

technology companies, real estate investment trusts, pharmaceutical firms and biotech companies are some of the prominent players. Kelley said it’s a positive sign that the pipeline has a variety of industries represented.

The market is still volatile, she said, but it has stabilized enough to see new entries. There’s a lot of capital interested in investing in IPO companies and there are a lot of companies talking about going public that have not yet entered the pipeline.

But firms need to be rock solid.

“The bar is higher for investors these days and companies need to have strong financials and growth plans,” said Kelley. “As a result, companies have to be well prepared when going into the IPO process.”

Venture backed exits also showed some positive signs of life in Q4 2009, with 13 venture-backed IPOs and 262 merger and acquisition transactions, according to the National Venture Capital Association.

Many VC firms slowed new investment activity in recent years, opting instead to deploy more capital to existing portfolio companies. Increased IPO activity gives them an opportunity to exit companies, realize their return on investment, and re-invest.

ReachLocal officials could not comment for this story, because the company is still in a quiet period following its registration with the Securities Exchange Commission at the end of December. Its proposed IPO is for up to $100 million.

But healthcare of Today, which acquires and develops companies primarily within the healthcare industry, shelved its IPO plans and is attempting to go public via non-traditional means.

In early January the company entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with SK3 Group, Inc. (Ticker symbol: SKTO). The two companies plan to merge into a newly-formed Nevada corporation that will apply for the NASDAQ listing.

“The decision doesn’t have to do with the favorability of the current IPO market,” said Lilly Ghahremani, spokesperson for Healthcare of Today, adding going public via merger is simply more appropriate for the company to accomplish its long-term goals.

Principals of Agoura Hills-based BeyondTrust, an information security firm, have their eyes on the IPO markets. The firm, which is not yet in the pipeline, hopes to go public in early 2011.

In 2009, activity slowed because there was a lot of concern about the economy, said Steve Kelley, executive VP of Corporate Development for BeyondTrust. But in the second half of the year, a number of quality companies that solve “mission critical” needs in their respective markets were able to go public.

“What we see is windows tend to open and close…sometimes rather quickly,” said Kelley.

What seems to be happening now is the IPO markets look better when news about the economy is on an upward trend, he added. Unemployment numbers, among other macro Economic issues, are likely to have a big affect on the markets in 2010.

In the meanwhile, BeyondTrust is focusing on building a strong track record of growth.

The company’s new license revenue growth was 56 percent in its last year over year figures. And it’s expecting 40 percent growth in new license revenue this year. Kelley said the company is also putting all of the necessary corporate governance elements in place for when it does decide to go public.