Moe, Longtime Santa Margarita VP, Resigns

Donald E. Moe, senior vice president of corporate affairs and governmental relations at the Santa Margarita Co., said Friday he was resigning after 11 years to start a consulting firm.

The 53-year-old Moe said he was ready to “make a great step into the world of the entrepreneur.”

Anthony R. Moiso, president and chief executive officer of the Santa Margarita Co., called Moe “an asset and valued employee.”

Moe, who came to Orange County in 1972, worked for 12 years at the Irvine Co., where he was responsible for marketing some of Southern California’s most successful master-planned communities, including Turtle Rock and Woodbridge.

He then joined Santa Margarita Co., where he directed the marketing efforts for Rancho Santa Margarita, the 5,000-acre master-planned community in south Orange County that opened in 1986.

A former president of the Orange County Building Industry Assn., Moe is on the board of directors for the Building Assn. of Southern California and the Claremont Institute.

“I’ve had a great run with this company, but I need to make these changes now,” said Moe, who plans to continue consulting for the Santa Margarita Co. as well as other clients. He said he would like to spend more time with his family.

“Although I will miss him as a full-time employee, I am pleased to announce that he has agreed to be retained as one of our consultants,” Moiso said. “I wish him the very best in his new endeavor.”

No successor has been announced, said Diane Gaynor, company spokeswoman.