Biz News: Kawasaki USA moving headquarters from Irvine

Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA announced Wednesday that it will move its headquarters from Irvine to the Foothill Ranch community of Lake Forest, effective next summer.

The company has a 15-year lease on a 200,000-square-foot facility four miles from its current location.

“Our purpose in securing a new corporate headquarters is centered around two primary objectives,” President and Chief Executive Masa Nakagawa said in a statement. “First, with more than 300 of our staff being based in or around Orange County, it is critical that our new location remain central to the community. Second, as Kawasaki celebrates its 50th anniversary in the U.S. in 2016, we wanted to cultivate a new environment that creates and exemplifies the Kawasaki brand and products, and we believe this new space will do just that.”

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Hotel Irvine hires sales and marketing director

Allison Lesser, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the Southern California hospitality industry, has been named director of sales and marketing at Hotel Irvine.

Lesser was part of the original marketing team for the 536-room hotel and has served as vice president of business development at BTS Hospitality, a vice president of event sales for Patina Restaurant Group and vice president of sales for the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau. She also was director of sales and marketing for W San Diego and director of sales for Westin Long Beach.

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Real estate veteran joins Koll Co.

The Koll Co. said this week that veteran real estate executive Scott Lanni has joined the Irvine-based commercial real estate firm as a principal.

Lanni will work to help enhance Koll’s portfolio of office and industrial real estate in the western United States, the company said.

He previously led acquisition and investment efforts for the Irvine Co. and the investment management group for Newport Beach-based Lyon Communities.

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Newport video game developer to open studio in New Orleans

Newport Beach-based InXile Entertainment plans to open a video game development studio in New Orleans, marking the company’s first expansion.

The 3,900-square-foot studio is expected to create 50 jobs over the next five years, with an average annual salary of $75,000, the New Orleans Advocate reported.

InXile specializes in developing interactive software for game systems including PlayStation 4 and iOS and Android smartphones. Its titles include “Torment: Tides of Numenéra,” “The Bard’s Tale” and “Wasteland 2.”