Cara Kuhlman
Britt Provost leaves Accolade to become Siteimprove’s first CHRO; Membrion adds Joe Zuback to advisory board
Seattle HR executive Britt Provost left Accolade to become Siteimprove's first chief human resources officer, remaining based in Seattle; Membrion added Joe Zuback to its advisory board and Seattle search firm Herd Freed Hartz promoted three partners.
GeekWire revises GeekWire 200: firms >15 years old and majority PE-owned ineligible, rankings shift to quarterly in 2022
GeekWire is changing the criteria for its GeekWire 200 startup rankings: beginning in 2022, majority private-equity-owned companies and companies 15 years or older will be ineligible, and the index will move from monthly to quarterly updates, which will reshape the top ranks including removing Blue Origin.
Brian Goldfarb named Tenable CMO; Elizabeth Hamren becomes Discord COO; Kurt DelBene confirmed as VA CIO; Madrona adds three strategic directors
Several tech industry hires and appointments: Brian Goldfarb is CMO at Tenable; Elizabeth Hamren is COO at Discord; Kurt DelBene confirmed as VA CIO; Madrona Venture Group added three strategic directors; Christina Mautz joined Panopto.
Flexe hires Amazon biometrics lead Lara Rogers as SVP/GM; Magnify names ex‑Amazon Sajo Jacob CTO; Schuster joins Open Systems board
Several Seattle-area tech companies announced senior hires and board moves: Flexe hired former Amazon biometrics leader Lara Rogers as SVP and GM; Magnify named Sajo Jacob as CTO and co‑founder after a $6M launch; Open Systems added ex‑Microsoft exec Gavriella Schuster to its board; Fabric and Scener also announced senior appointments.
Deal mania reshuffles GeekWire 200: M&A, IPOs and SPACs push top firms out while Blue Origin stays No. 1
A surge of M&A, IPO and SPAC activity — labeled 'deal mania' — reshuffled the GeekWire 200 rankings, removing several top-10 companies that went public or were acquired and creating openings for new entrants; Blue Origin remains No. 1 while more deal-making and rule changes about private equity-owned companies promise further shake-ups.
OfferUp appoints Melinda Starbird as first chief people and diversity officer; Steve Hobbs named Washington secretary of state; Convoy engineering VP Tim Prouty moves to Headway
OfferUp named Melinda Starbird as its first chief people and diversity officer; she previously held senior HR roles at Auth0, Avanade, Whitepages and Hiya. The brief also reports Washington Gov. Inslee appointed State Senator Steve Hobbs as secretary of state effective Nov. 22, and Convoy VP of engineering Tim Prouty left to become VP of engineering at mental-health platform Headway.
Convoy appoints John Morrow as general counsel effective Nov. 1; ex-AWS VP Steven Shure joins Neeva as chief business officer
Convoy named John Morrow as general counsel effective Nov. 1, following multiple legal leadership departures in 2021; Morrow previously served at Apptio and Paymentus. Separately, former AWS VP Steven Shure joined ad-free search startup Neeva as chief business officer and will remain based in Seattle.
Gopuff adds Sanjay Shah, Dan Beranek and Komal Kashiramka to Seattle leadership as company valued at $15B after $1B funding
Gopuff expanded its Seattle leadership team by hiring three executives — Sanjay Shah (SVP North America fulfillment), Dan Beranek (VP product for fresh food) and Komal Kashiramka (director of engineering for Gopuff Kitchen) — after a $1 billion funding round that valued the company at $15 billion. Other regional moves include Vinayak Hegde promoted to president of Wheels Up and FlavorCloud hiring Telved Devlet as VP of customer success and operations.
Cloudentity Names Jason Needham as CEO After $13M Series A; Leafly Appoints Suresh Krishnaswamy as CFO; Chris Suh Joins Cardlytics Board; Three Named HHMI Investigators
Seattle startup Cloudentity named Jason Needham, ex-CloudCoreo and VMware multi-cloud security lead, as CEO and board member after a $13M Series A; Leafly hired Suresh Krishnaswamy as CFO as it prepares for a SPAC, and Microsoft CVP Chris Suh joined Cardlytics' board. Trevor Bedford, Frederick Matsen IV and David Veesler were named 2021 HHMI Investigators, each receiving roughly $9M over seven years.
Four High School Interns Analyze GeekWire 200 Rankings with UW Bothell Dean via SparkSIP
Four high school students worked with UW Bothell Business Dean Sandeep Krishnamurthy through the SparkSIP program to analyze the GeekWire 200 startup rankings over a summer, using the April update, past lists and public data. They aimed to apply data analysis to understand factors behind successful Pacific Northwest startups and gain entrepreneurial and regional startup insights.
AI2 Adds Bioengineer Jenny Cronin to Incubator; Icosavax Names Bekiroglu, Russo and Two Board Members; Proprio’s CMO Browd Expands Role
AI2 hired bioengineer Jenny Cronin as a principal for its startup incubator, bringing experience from s2s Public Relations, NanoString, and a UW bioengineering Ph.D.; AI2 has incubated startups like Ozette, Modulus and MajorBoost. Seattle biotech Icosavax named Elizabeth Bekiroglu general counsel, Thomas Russo CFO, and added Heidi Kunz and Ann Veneman to its board; pediatric neurosurgeon Samuel Browd is taking partial leave from UW/Seattle Children’s to expand as CMO of surgical tech startup Proprio.
Chloe Harford Joins Roofstock Board as Kymeta Names Walter Berger and Doug Hutcheson Co-CEOs
Chloe Harford, a former Zillow and OfferUp executive, joined Roofstock's board as the fintech firm continues to expand after acquiring Great Jones and raising $133 million; Kymeta named Walter Berger and Doug Hutcheson co-CEOs and partnered with OneWeb to test mobile satellite broadband. Seattle startups Optimize Health and CityBldr announced leadership moves: Todd Haedrich became Optimize Health CEO, and Convoy CEO Dan Lewis joined CityBldr’s advisory board.
Aseem Datar leaves Microsoft to join Madrona Venture Group as partner; Madrona promotes Chris Picardo and hires Birkan Uzun; Jaime Teevan promoted to Microsoft CVP
Microsoft Azure GM and COO Aseem Datar is leaving Microsoft to join Madrona Venture Group as a partner later this month, while Madrona also promoted Chris Picardo to partner and hired Birkan Uzun as an investor; separately, Microsoft promoted Chief Scientist Jaime Teevan to corporate vice president. The article notes Datar’s 17+ years at Microsoft and prior roles, Picardo’s and Uzun’s backgrounds, and Teevan’s reaction to her promotion.
Mason founders Jim and Nancy Xiao swap CEO and President roles as startup, backed by $25M Series A, tops 50 employees; Microsoft CVP Gavriella Schuster departs to focus on DEI
Seattle IoT startup Mason is swapping CEO Jim Xiao and President Nancy Xiao, with Nancy becoming CEO after the company raised $25M in Series A and grew to 50+ employees; longtime Microsoft CVP Gavriella Schuster has left Microsoft to focus on DEI work.
Outreach names Melton Littlepage CMO and adds Stefan Schulz to board; ShelfEngine hires Kane McCord; Kaskada promotes Charna Parkey
Seattle sales enablement company Outreach (valued at $4.4B) named Melton Littlepage as CMO and added Stefan Schulz to its board; ShelfEngine hired Kane McCord as president and CRO after a $41M Series B; Kaskada promoted Charna Parkey to VP of product. The article lists several executive moves across Seattle-area startups and tech companies.
GeekWire 200 update: Remitly No. 3 as proposed IPO looms; Hootsuite debuts No. 6, Convoy rises to No. 7
GeekWire updated its GeekWire 200 list highlighting Pacific Northwest private tech startups amid record investment and M&A activity, with trends toward virtual experiences, at-home healthcare, remote education, and e-commerce. Notable rankings: Remitly at No. 3 (last valued $1.5B, proposed IPO), Hootsuite debuted at No. 6, Convoy rose to No. 7 (valued $2.75B in 2019), and Fabric jumped 26 spots to No. 95.
Icertis names ex‑SAP marketer Gretchen Eischen as CMO amid $2.8B valuation; Apollo partner David Sambur exits Expedia board
Icertis hired former SAP marketing executive Gretchen Eischen as CMO while moving Seth Nesbitt to a newly created culture role; Icertis was valued at $2.8B after an $80M round. Apollo partner David Sambur resigned from Expedia Group’s board after a $1B investment, and Remitly named Vishal Ghotge EVP of North America.
Sally Jewell named Edward V. Fritzky chair at UW Foster; Riveter CEO Amy Nelson relocates to Columbus; other exec moves
A roundup of leadership moves: former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will be the Edward V. Fritzky endowed chair at UW Foster School for 2021–22; Riveter CEO Amy Nelson is relocating to Columbus but will remain with the company; and several other executives (including Jeff Blackburn, Randy Tinseth, and Vinayak Hegde) are taking new roles or joining boards.
GeekWire Awards finalists highlighted as voting closes; virtual winners announced May 20
GeekWire's annual Awards event will be held virtually on May 20 after nearly 200 community nominations and over 6,000 reader votes; finalists are being highlighted for their rising positions on the GeekWire 200 ranking of Pacific Northwest private tech companies. Several finalists have 'exited' the ranking through IPOs or acquisitions, including Auth0, Accolade, Rover, and Sana Biotechnology, while others are not yet ranked.
Headset raises $1.8M led by Silverleaf to expand cannabis data platform into newly legalized U.S. markets
Seattle startup Headset, which offers a business-intelligence platform for the legal cannabis industry, raised $1.8 million to expand into newly legalized markets; the round was led by Silverleaf Venture Partners with WGD Capital and Poseidon participating. Founded in 2015 by former Leafly co-founders Cy Scott, Brian Wansolich and Scott Vickers, Headset has now raised nearly $20 million after a $3.2 million raise last year.
Former Rover CTO Scott Porad named Dolly’s first CTO as Dolly plans headcount, sales expansion; Regi Vengalil to become Metromile CFO in May
Scott Porad, former Rover CTO, has joined Seattle peer-to-peer moving app Dolly as its first chief technology officer as the startup plans to double headcount and sales; Regi Vengalil will leave Egencia in May to become CFO of Metromile, a pay-per-mile insurer.
GeekWire opens community voting for UX Design of the Year finalists — Boundless, Joon, Qumulo Core, Tagboard Producer, Voodle — voting closes April 30
GeekWire’s UX Design of the Year recognizes startups for meaningful, usable product experiences; five finalists — Boundless, Joon, Qumulo Core, Tagboard Producer, and Voodle — are open for community voting through April 30 with winners announced May 20 at the virtual GeekWire Awards.
Techstars Seattle launches 12th virtual cohort of 10 startups in January, achieves gender parity for first time
Techstars Seattle launched its 12th cohort as a fully virtual 3-month accelerator in January, applying lessons from the pandemic to expand investor outreach and eliminate commutes while accepting trade-offs in-person networking. The cohort of 10 startups — led to gender parity for the first time — includes alumni-backed ecosystem growth and highlights founders like Afriblocks operating across Harare and Los Angeles.
Rad Power Bikes co-founder Ty Collins steps down to advisory role; WRF CEO Ron Howell to retire end of April
Rad Power Bikes co-founder and former CMO Ty Collins has stepped down and moved into an advisory role while remaining involved; the company is profitable and raised $150 million earlier this year. Washington Research Foundation CEO Ron Howell will retire at the end of April after 29 years, with CFO Jeff Eby serving as acting CEO.
GeekWire 200: Auth0, Rover Among Top 10 but Set to ‘Graduate’ as Tanium and Outreach Climb
GeekWire’s monthly GeekWire 200 ranking shows established Pacific Northwest startups like Auth0 and Rover among the top 10 but poised to “graduate” after Okta’s acquisition and Rover’s SPAC IPO, while companies such as OfferUp, Moz, PayScale, Puppet and Clio are positioned to move up. The list highlights movers like Tanium and Outreach and notes recent major funding and leadership news across the region’s startups.
