From new hires and promotions to industry awards, here’s a roundup of achievements by businesses and individuals in the greater Ann Arbor area:

• Brian McGowan was recently promoted to vice president of lean for Con-way Freight, a less-than-truckload carrier and subsidiary of Con-way Inc. headquartered in Ann Arbor. In his new role, McGowan will oversee the rollout of "lean" practices throughout the company's service center network, as well as institute these processes for human resources, marketing, sales and maintenance.

• Ann Arbor-based real estate management firm McKinley has promoted David Rohlfs to director of commercial real estate. In his new role, Rohlfs will report to Vice President and Managing Director of Commercial Real Estate Thomas Gritter.

• The Michigan Department of Community Health has appointed Dr. Matthew M. Davis, as Michigan’s chief medical executive effective March 18. In this role, Davis will provide professional medical leadership, expertise and coordination in addressing public health issues, workforce issues, and health policy development to the MDCH. Dr. Davis is associate professor of pediatrics and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, and associate professor of public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan.

• NovoDynamics, an Ann Arbor-based developer of pattern recognition and analytics technologies, recently announced that Art Nicholas has joined the company as vice president of global sales. Nicholas will drive sales initiatives for NovoDynamics software products.

• Ann Arbor City Attorney Stephen Postema was recognized as one of Michigan’s “Leaders in Law” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. He and other attorneys receiving the recognition will be honored at a ceremony Thursday, March 21 in Troy.

• Two Ann Arbor-based firms have teamed to release the book "Renewing Michigan's Economy," based on Michigan 2013 Economic Outlook results, which were unveiled at the Detroit Economic Club Jan. 8. The Michigan 2013 Economic Outlook Survey, conducted Nov. 12 to Dec. 7 2012 by Baker Strategy Group in partnership with CFI Group of Ann Arbor, generated nearly 3,000 responses from 70 businesses, government and nonprofit organizations. The survey is grouped into the three sectors: business, nonprofits and public. The results of the Michigan 2013 Economic Outlook Survey are available at www.michigan2013.com.

• Ann Arbor-based Advanced Photonix, a supplier of optoelectronic components, sub-systems and systems, has booked an order for more than $1.5 million for a custom photodiode to be used for the U.S. Navy's guided missile systems.

• The Washtenaw Contractors Association announced the winners of its 16th annual PYRAMID Awards March 8. Winners were selected by an independent jury composed of industry experts in Massachusetts. Best Project Team Award under $3 Million went to the Phoenix Contact building in Ann Arbor. The architect for the project was The Heil Partnership of Southfield, and the contractor was JS Vig Construction of Taylor. Best Subcontractor Award - Contracts under $500,000 went to Acoustic Ceiling & Partition of Ann Arbor for the University of Michigan Yost Ice Arena Renovation. Best Subcontractor Award - Contracts over $500,000 was a tie between two companies who both worked on the expansion of U of M's Crisler Arejna: Edwards Glass Co. of Livonia and John Darr Mechanical of Ann Arbor. The Best Innovation award went to J.S. Vig for the U of M Clements tunnel decommissioning project in Ann Arbor.

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