MasterCard Inc., the Purchase-based credit card giant, said that executive W. Roy Dunbar is leaving the company. Dunbar, 46, has been president of MasterCard’s global technology and operations since 2004. He will leave on Jan. 31 to become chief executive officer of a company outside the payments industry. Details of his new job will be announced soon, according to MasterCard.

Gamco Investors Inc. named Raymond C. Avansino, former president and chief operating officer at Hilton Hotels Corp., to its board of directors, the Rye-based money manager said today.

A former Gamco board member, Avansino served from 2000 to May 2006.

Gamco Investors Inc. director John C. Ferrara resigned Monday from the company’s board of directors, according to a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ferrara served as interim chief financial officer until July following the May departure of Chief Financial Officer Michael Anastasio.

Ferrara had served on the board of the Rye-based money manager since 1999.

For 67 years, Pleasantville Jewelers has been a place where customers buy gems for weddings, anniversaries or special occasions.

But in February, the store at 3 Wheeler Ave. is expected to close.

Michael Weinberg, the fourth owner of the store in its long history, said that the jeweler is still making money. But he is exiting the business to return to a marketing career. Corporate marketing had been his focus before he bought the jewelry store three years ago from Ben Nessim, who had owned it for 27 years.

“It was nice owning your own business,â€? Weinberg said. “But I miss marketing so much, working with big companies and coming up with promotions….I really wanted to get back to it. You really have to follow your dream.â€?

Leaving the jewelry business was not an easy decision, he added.

“The hardest part will be missing the people from the town,� Weinberg said. “Everyone has been so nice. Pleasantville is such a great town.�

Weinberg said it is possible that he may sell the store.

“It is up in the air,� he said. “Hopefully, someone will buy it and it will stay a jewelry store. It would be great to carry on the tradition. We just don’t know yet.�

Weinberg said the the store is offering deep discounts as it looks to clear its remaining inventory.

“We have a ton of things to sell,� Weinberg said. “There is at least $500,000 in jewelry, diamonds, gold and all that. We have a good 30 days to make it go all away.�

Bruce Ritell of Sleepy Hollow joined other shoppers in looking over the merchandise earlier this week.

“In the past, we have bought some nice pieces of jewelry here, mainly for my wife,� Ritell said. “We have done a lot of repairs here. I am sorry to see them go.�

Pleasantville-resident John Pizzarelli has been named chief executive at CIFG Holding Ltd., a Bermuda-based bond insurer, it said today.

The appointment was announced in connection with the completion of a $1.4 billion buyout of CIFG by two Paris-based bankers, Banque Populaire Group and Caisse d’Epargne Group.

Pizzarelli assumes his leadership duties as the company is evaluating its long-term strategic plan, CIFG said.

CIFG established its headquarters in Bermuda earlier this year.

Jacques R. Rolfo, who had served as CIFG’s chief executive, is no longer with the company, CIFG said.

Pizzarelli spent more than 20 years at Armonk-based MBIA Inc. as head of global infrastructure before moving to CIFG last spring, a spokesman said.

The Rockland County Board of Realtors recently installed its 2008 officers and directors. They are Raj Bajaj, president; Adam DiFrancesco, president-elect; Warren Switzler, secretary; Denise Murphy, treasurer; Nettie Price, immediate past president; Roberta Bangs, past president. Directors are Justine Aiello, Ben Glazer, Diane Wanamaker, Roland Hakim, Liz Rosenblatt, Marta Segarra-Allen, Linda Lipkins, Mike Nuzzo, Bill Thorne; Affiliates: Drew Kessler, Barry Dorfman.

ITT Corp., a defense contractor and manufacturer based in Harrison, named Robert L. Ellis as its chief inclusion and diversity officer to oversee workplace diversity programs. Ellis, 56, joins ITT from Northrop Grumman, where he established the strategic diversity program for its electronic systems & integration division. He also served as head of strategic diversity for Northrop’s integrated systems sector for eight years.

PepsiCo Inc., the Purchase-based soft drink giant, appointed Dr. Mehmood Khan to the new position of chief scientific officer. Khan has more than 20 years of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical field. Most recently, he served as president of Takeda Pharmaceuticals Global Research and Development Center. He previously worked at the Mayo Clinic as the director of diabetes, endocrinology and nutrition clinical trial unit. At PepsiCo, Khan will oversee the company’s long-term research strategy.

Juma Technology Corp. of Farmingdale recently named two Westchester County residents to its senior management team. Anthony M. Servidio of Bronxville was appointed chairman and chief executive officer. Joseph Fuccillo of Pleasantville was promoted to president and will also continue in the position of chief technology officer.

One to One Leadership, a management consulting firm based in Pelham, announced that it has named Sean O’Neil as its new principal. O’Neil will oversee the design of new corporate training formats, including Leading Lawyers, a program that helps lawyers improve their leadership skills. O’Neil previously spent three years managing real estate transactions for Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s New York office.

Schott Corp., a specialty glass manufacturer based in Elmsford, said that Gerald J Fine has been named president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1. Fine came aboard as vice president/business development of Schott North America Inc. in June after a previous career at Corning. Fine most recently was an engineering professor at Boston University. Fine earned a bachelor’s degree at Amherst College and a Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology.

Frank W. Whalley has been named the vice president of operations for United Parcel Service’s metro New York district. The job includes the oversight of more than 4,600 employees and eight facilities serving Manhattan, the Bronx and southern Westchester County. Whalley began his career with the company in 1976 as a part-time loader in the west Long Island district. He most recently was district manager in northern Ohio.

Hudson Valley Holding Corp. of Yonkers said that Bruno J. Gioffre has retired from the boards of the holding company and its subsidiary, Hudson Valley Bank. Gioffre, who was elected a director in November 2006, retired to devote more time to “personal pursuits,� according to the bank. Gioffre, a resident of New Canaan, Ct., is the former chairman of Sound Federal Savings Bank in White Plains. Hudson Valley Bank, with more than $2 billion in assets, has 24 branches in Westchester, Rockland, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Stamford, Ct. Bank officials could not be reached for comment about their plans for a board member to replace Gioffre.

JMT Consulting Group, a Patterson company that helps nonprofit organizations with their technology systems, said Kent Hollrah has been named president. Hollrah will report to Jacqueline Tiso, the chief executive and and founder of the company. He has more than 25 years of experience of management with technology companies, JMT said. Hollrah most recently served as president and chief operating officer at Periscope Holdings, an Austin-Texas-based company. He is a former chief executive of MIP Inc., also of Austin.

The man who was the first chairman of the Rockland County chapter of SCORE, an organization that provides volunteer counseling to small businesses, has been named district director for the Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island region. Mark D. Rothenberg, who has been with SCORE since 2003 and an assistant district director since last year, will seek to expand the region’s counseling programs. Rothenberg has more than 40 years of business, management and operational experience in retail and distribution on Long Island and worked as chief operating officer of United Water New York.

Dr. Steven M. Safyer, a New Rochelle resident, has been named president and chief executive of Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College, in New York. Safyer, 58, will replace the retiring Dr. Spencer Foreman starting Jan. 7, 2008.

Safyer, who has worked at the center for 25 years, has been senior vice president and chief medical officer since 1998. He is a professor of medicine and a professor of epidemiology and population health at Einstein college of medicine.

Christopher Furey, chief executive at Another 9 LLC, has left the Eastview-based technology consultancy “to pursue new ventures,� the company said yesterday.

Prior to joining Another 9, Furey was CEO at Savvy Networks, a predecessor to Another 9.

Houlihan Lawrence has hired Sena Baron and Nancy Zucker as Licensed Real Estate Associates in the Chappaqua office.

Baron began her career in real estate in 1994 at Perry Kennedy Realty. After working there for four years, she joined Prudential Holmes & Kennedy. Zucker began working in the real estate industry in 1995 after leaving a long-term career in marketing and advertising. Her first job was with Randolph Properties in Chappaqua, where she worked for four years, before moving to Prudential Holmes & Kennedy, where she worked for the past six years.

Commercial office brokerage CB Richard Ellis Inc. said Tim Donohue of White Plains, formerly an associate at Jones Lang LaSalle, has joined the company as a senior associate. Donohue will be based in the Stamford, Conn. office and work with clients in Westchester and Fairfield counties. He is a board member of The Rotary Club of White Plains and a member of the Business Council of Westchester.

The New York Business Hall of Fame is accepting nominations of New York state companies and business leaders through Jan. 31 for its second annual hall of fame induction.

Nominations can be made online the Hall of Fame’s Web site (www.newyorkbhof.com). There are nine categories, including business leaders from small, medium and large size businesses; companies of various sizes; nonprofit organizations; and corporate volunteers.

Nominations cost $50 each. For more information, including nominee qualifications, go to www.newyorkbhof.com or call Ron Dresner at 800-990-6685.