Briefly ...

• America Retold has expanded its senior management team.

Ines Rode has joined the company as chief operating officer and oversees all operating functions including planning and sourcing, inventory management, finance & controlling, human resources and IT. Rode most recently was with IBM Business Consulting working on international assignments for Gillette, Xerox and Konica-Minolta.

Heather Beckel Guntert has joined America Retold as the vice president of sales and marketing with a goal of developing the brand while increasing sales through existing and new points of distribution. Guntert previously worked for Waterworks and Polo Ralph Lauren.

The company also has relocated its headquarters from the Catskill Mountains to Hudson, N.Y.

• Danny McDonald has joined Regency International as a partner and vice president of sales & marketing. Most recently, he was a partner and senior vice president of sales and marketing for Direct Export Co.

In his new post, McDonald will address current and future business strategies related to sales and marketing.

"With his strong understanding of Regency's primary customers combined with his global experiences in marketing, merchandising, new product development and operations, Danny will be extremely instrumental in helping guide Regency through ever increasing customer expectations and through the challenges of a changing marketplace," said Dick Merhige, president and CEO.

• Sea Gull Lighting Products, the makers of Ambiance Lighting Systems, has announced the winners of the first Ambiance Design Competition. The five award winners were selected based upon their innovative, fashion-driven and trend-setting applications using Ambiance lighting systems.

First place was awarded to Professional Lighting & Design of Greensboro, N.C., for the firm's use of Ambiance rail, pendant and fluorescent lighting in the redesign of a luxury kitchen in local Greensboro.

Other winners in the competition included a second place honor for Michelle Mangan of Michelle Mangan Designs for her redesign of a library in a showcase luxury home based in Denver. Honorable mentions in the competition were awarded to Kimball Derrick of The Kitchen Design Studio in Cincinnati; John McNicholas of McNicholas Lighting Restoration in Barnegat, N.J.; and Al Thomas of Seattle Lighting Corp. of Seattle.