Avista Advantage Hires Executives

Avista Advantage has added four executives to its management team as parent Avista Corp. nears a decision on an initial public offering.

Avista Advantage provides electronic billing and other e-commerce services to owners of 50,000 sites ranging from Post Offices to Nordstrom stores.

The company employs 210, most in the Rock Pointe East office building.

President Gerry Crooks said the executive additions are William “Willie” Wofford, Courtney Roman, Steve Wish and Robert Fallis.

Wofford, who will be the senior vice president for retail development, has been with the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association, of which he was the founder and president. He has also worked for Bombay Co. and Blockbuster.

Wofford is on the advisory board for the National Retail Federation.

Crooks said Wofford will remain in Texas because many of his Avista Advantage duties will be national.

Romano will be the new vice president for marketing and public relations. She has been with the international marketing and public relations firm of Fleishman-Hillard Inc., where she was vice president, as well as Publicis Dialog, a Seattle advertising and public relations firm.

Wish, new director of energy services, has been business manager at Florida Power and Light Energy Services. He has also been utilities manager for Extended Stay America.

Fallis, vice president of operations, has been with Avista 30 years, most recently as director of human resource operations.

Crooks said Avista Advantage continues to look for a chief financial officer, chief technical officer and vice president for sales.

The hiring of a CFO, probably within 60 days, should give the company the team needed to spin the company away from Avista, he said.

Goldman Sachs & Co., the Wall Street investment bank, has been retained to explore various ways of maximizing shareholder value.