James S.J. Liao, the president of Christiansen Capital Advisors, LLC, has been named executive vice president, finance and administration for The Jockey Club, it was announced today by Hans J. Stahl, president of The Jockey Club.

The appointment is effective immediately and it is part of a corporate restructuring at The Jockey Club that was first announced at The Jockey Club’s annual Round Table Conference in August.

The restructuring will feature the re-positioning of The Jockey Club’s Information Technology Group as a wholly owned subsidiary and the creation of a technology solutions company that will expand and enhance communications services provided to the industry.

Alan Marzelli, who has been the executive vice president and chief financial officer for The Jockey Club, will serve as chairman of the two new companies in addition to retaining his current role as chairman and chief executive officer of Equibase Company LLC. Liao will assume Marzelli’s responsibilities with The Jockey Club.

“We’ve known and admired Jim for a long time and we feel he is very qualified to assume these responsibilities at The Jockey Club,” said Stahl. “We’re confident he’ll make an immediate and significant contribution to The Jockey Club family of companies.”

Liao, who will be based in The Jockey Club’s New York office, received a B.S. degree in finance from Fordham University and a M.B.A. from New York University.

He served as vice president of Manufacturers Hanover Leasing Corporation before joining Touche Ross & Co. as a manager in the management consulting practice.

Liao later spent three years on his own as a management consultant before joining Siemens Corporation as the director of fiduciary & financial auditing.

He joined Chrisitansen Capital Advisors, LLC, a management consulting firm which serves the casino and pari-mutuel industries, in April, 1996 before accepting the new position with The Jockey Club.

Liao serves as a trustee of the Cabrini Medical Center in New York City and is chairman of its finance and audit committee.

He and his wife, Virginia S. Clark, reside in South Salem, N.Y. She is president of the Lewisboro Horsemen’s Association, a non-profit organization that maintains riding trails in Lewisboro, N.Y.