CoCensys CEO Nichol Adds Chairman to Title

CoCensys Inc. President and Chief Executive F. Richard Nichol has been named chairman of the Irvine biopharmaceuticals company. He succeeds Lowell E. Sears, who has been chairman since 1995. Sears remains on the board. Nichol joined CoCensys as president and CEO in January 1997.

* A. James Meader has joined Systems Source Inc. in Newport Beach as vice president, operations. He was previously director, general administration at Cox Communications PCS LP.

* Jon Knartzer has been appointed vice president of operations for Alyn Corp. in Irvine. Knartzer joined the company from CoastCast, a manufacturer of golf club heads, where he served as vice president of operations. Before that, he was vice president of operations for Enertech, a manufacturer of products for the nuclear power industry.

* Carol J. Kurimsky has been named vice president of marketing for Sage Software Inc. in Irvine, formerly State of the Art Inc. She was previously vice president of marketing for Hunt-Wesson Inc., where she ran the Orville Redenbacher business.

* Gregory J. West has been named senior vice president of Johnson Capital Group Inc. He had been vice president in the Irvine office since 1994. Before that, West was with Northland Financial Co. and Weyerhaeuser Mortgage Co.’s income property division.