Jun 08, 2022

Kiterocket

Amanda Foley assumed the role of CEO at communications agency Kiterocket, which she co-founded. Martijn Pierik, her predecessor and co-founder, has transitioned to executive chairman. Rebecca Holmes, the agency's third co-founder, is now chief operating officer. The moves support the company's growth plan. Foley in 2004 founded Duo Public Relations, which merged in 2016 with Pierik's agency, Impress Labs, and together relaunched in 2017 as Kiterocket. The agency also appointed Jamie Campbell as managing director of client services, Danielle Friedman as managing director of operations, and Amy Smith as managing director of the technology practices. Kiterocket has offices in Seattle and Phoenix, and upward of 40 employees.

Alpine Immune Sciences

In Seattle, Alpine Immune Sciences appointed Dr. Andrew S. Sandler as its chief medical officer. Sandler joins Alpine from Kiadis Pharma (a Sanofi company), where he was chief medical officer. He has over 25 years of industry and clinical practice experience, with stints at Medivation (Pfizer), Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. His first day at Alpine is expected to be Aug. 17. Alpine is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on developing treatments for cancer and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases.

Jun 07, 2022

Department of Commerce

Washington state Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown named 21 members to the state's new Manufacturing Council. The council will advise and consult with the department and its agency partners, including the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the state Board of Community and Technical Colleges, on the state of manufacturing and research and development.

The Manufacturing Council members are: Amit Arora, Jubilant HollisterStier; Allison Budvarson, Out of the Box Manufacturing; Susan Champlain, Boeing; Ted Cummings, United Steelworkers Local 338; Maud Daudon, Career Connect Washington; Jon Holden, International Association of Machinists 751; Kris Johnson, Association of Washington Business; Junus Khan, Carbitex; Jessica Koski, BlueGreen Alliance; Todd Mitchell, Heat and Frost Insulators Local 7; Greg Pallesen, Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers; Shana Peschek, Machinists Institute; Gaylan Prescott, United Steel Workers, District 12; Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction; Jessica Stiefel, Heritage Distilling Co.; Phil Stephenson, Paccar; Russ Vaagen, Vaagen Timbers; Dave Whitehead, Schweitzer Labs; Brenda Wiest, Teamsters Local 117; Deloit Wolfe, Impact Washington; and Jan Yoshiwara, state Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

The Building Economic Strength Through Manufacturing (BEST) Act, passed by the 2021 state Legislature, provides a framework for the state to add 300,000 new manufacturing jobs over the next 10 years. The BEST Act also seeks to double the number of small manufacturing firms and the number of manufacturing firms owned by women and minorities.

Carolyn Busch, workforce innovation sector lead, and Sarah Lee, manufacturing sector lead, will staff the new Manufacturing Council. The first meeting of the council will take place this month.

Jun 03, 2022

Estate Planning Council of Seattle

Halos

The Estate Planning Council of Seattle has appointed a slate of new officers to lead the council for 2022-2023, with Dan Halos, ChFC, CLU, with The Bailey Group, in Bellevue, as president.

Joining Halos is Immediate Past President Jolene Cox, CPA, with Deloitte Tax LLP, in Seattle; President-elect Debra Smiley, CTFA, with Laird Norton Wealth Management, in Seattle; Treasurer Teresa Byers, JD, with Ogden Murphy Wallace, in Seattle; and Secretary Allison Kollack, CPA, MST, with King & Oliason CPAs, in Seattle.

The executive committee includes Chris Downing, with Greene Wealth Management, in Seattle; Elizabeth McGrath, CFP, CTFA, with Key Private Bank in Seattle; Sara Berkenwald, JD, MBA, LLM, with Jeppesen Gray Sakai in Bellevue; and Nate Rothbauer, CPA, with Ascent Private Capital Management in Seattle. Johanna Coolbaugh, JD, with Karr Tuttle Campbell in Seattle, will chair the 67th annual Estate Planning Seminar on Oct. 24-25, 2022, and Chad Proctor, JD, LLM, CTFA, with BNY Mellon in Seattle, will co-chair the event.

The new slate of officers will take office on July 1, 2022.

The Estate Planning Council of Seattle is comprised of King County's top estate planning lawyers, Certified Public Accountants, trust officers, insurance agents, and financial planners. The council aims to promote the highest quality estate planning services in the Pacific Northwest by developing and improving the capabilities of its members, fostering cooperation among professionals, and by educating the public about estate planning matters.

Jun 02, 2022

United States Navy Band

Farmer

Chief Musician Antje Farmer, of Redmond, advanced to the rank of senior chief petty officer in the United States Navy May 25, during a promotion ceremony among friends, family and shipmates. As one of five chiefs in the United States Navy Band selected for advancement to senior chief, Farmer joins a prestigious list of just 2% of sailors that will reach the rank of E-8 throughout their career in a total force that exceeds 330,000 personnel.

“I could not be more proud of those selected for promotion. These individuals represent the best our command has to offer and the future of the Navy Band looks bright with these folks moving into more senior leadership positions” said Captain Kenneth Collins, commanding officer of the U.S. Navy's premier band. Keeping with tradition, select family members and shipmates ceremoniously removed the chief collar insignia of their sailors and replaced them with their newly earned senior chief devices.

Farmer joined the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters chorus in 2005 as a soprano vocalist. Prior to joining the Navy, she completed a bachelor of music in vocal performance and pedagogy from Brigham Young University and returned to her home state to complete a master's of music, cum laude, at the University of Washington. She also studied at the Musik Hochschule in Graz, Austria, for one year, and was engaged as an opera singer at the Tiroler Landestheater opera house in Innsbruck, Austria, for the 2003-04 season.

May 27, 2022

NAVEX

Thompson

Portland-based NAVEX, an integrated risk and compliance management software firm, announced that Sean Thompson has been appointed as the company's new president and chief executive officer. Thompson, an experienced SaaS technology leader, will succeed CEO Bob Conlin, who will assume the role of NAVEX's executive chairman. Thompson joined NAVEX as president and chief operating officer in September of 2021. Thompson's professional experience prior to NAVEX includes ten years at Microsoft, where he held a variety of roles, culminating with group product management for its database business, followed by a series of leaderships roles at SAP, where he rose to the position of executive vice president for the company's business network. Thompson was also the founder of a successful AI startup, Nuiku, which sold to Nortek in 2016. He began his career at Deloitte Consulting.

Daybreak

James Westmoreland, president and chief executive officer, announced that Daybreak Oil and Gas has completed its acquisition of Reabold California, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daybreak. Daybreak Oil and Gas is an independent crude oil and natural gas company currently engaged in the exploration, development and production of onshore crude oil and natural gas in the United States. The company currently operates in California's Kern, Contra Costa, and Monterrey counties, and owns a 3-D seismic survey in an oil producing area in Montcalm County, Michigan. Daybreak is headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington with an operations office in Friendswood, Texas.

Summit Bank

Summit Bank promoted Brian Thomas to senior vice president, commercial banking team leader for the bank's Portland and Southwest Washington team. The announcement was made by Craig Wanichek, chief executive officer and president of Summit Bank. Thomas has more than 13 years of experience in commercial lending with a focus on local manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and professional service providers. He will take a key role in building out the bank's community-based business, commercial real estate, and manufacturing client base. Summit Bank has offices in Eugene, Central Oregon, and downtown Portland.