Dec 09, 2022

Laird Norton

McGuigan

Seattle-based Laird Norton Company appointed Brian McGuigan as chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2023. McGuigan will follow current CEO, Jeff Vincent, who is retiring after 22 years. Vincent will remain as an advisor to the Laird Norton Board of Directors to assist with the transition until he formally retires on June 30, 2023. McGuigan joined the seventh-generation family-owned firm in 2012. He and Vincent are the only non-family member CEOs since the company's inception in 1855. During Vincent's tenure, which began in 2001, the 167-year-old company has changed significantly. Vincent strengthened LNC's investment approach, diversifying into new lines of business, and leading the successful sale of Lanoga, a building material retailer. Today, Laird Norton Company focuses on real estate (Laird Norton Properties and Heartland) and wealth management (Laird Norton Wealth Management), and actively seeks to acquire profitable, capital efficient businesses. McGuigan, who most recently has been serving as the company's chief operating officer, started as LNC's manager, corporate investments; advanced to director, corporate investments in 2015; VP corporate investments and compliance in 2017; VP strategy and corporate development in 2018; and executive vice President, enterprise strategy and corporate development in 2021. As CEO, McGuigan will oversee the company's organization, investments, and strategic initiatives. Additionally, McGuigan will serve on the boards of Laird Norton Wealth Management and Heartland, and as chair of the Laird Norton Properties Real Estate Committee.

AIM Consulting

Mallahan

AIM Consulting, an Addison Group company, and technology consulting firm, promoted Mike Mallahan to president. Mallahan, based in Seattle, oversees the brand's technology solutions and strategic national geographic expansion. Mallahan, a 24-year veteran in consulting, has been with AIM for five years, starting as managing director of consulting prior to his current role as vice president of consulting. Mallahan led AIM Consulting to receive multiple recognitions, including Consulting Magazine's “Fastest Growing Firms for 2022,” American Business Association Silver Stevie Award for “Healthcare Technology Solution,” and National Association for Business Resources Pacific Northwest “2022 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.” Mallahan holds a degree in Management Information Systems from Washington State University and is a board member of CougsFirst!, a WSU business network. AIM Consulting will continue to maintain its headquarters in Seattle. With its new leadership structure, AIM plans to expand into new markets in alignment with Addison Group and its partner brands. Founded in 199, Addison Group is a professional services firm specializing in talent solutions and consulting.

Taqtile

Schwartz

Decorated 4-Star General Thomas Schwartz, USA, Ret., has joined Seattle-based Taqtile as a strategic advisor in Taqtile's growing global defense business. Schwartz will advise and support the evolution and adoption of the company's Manifest platform for use in the defense industry. Current usage of Manifest by military customers includes the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy, and other Allied defense forces, as well as OEMs and systems integrators around the globe. Manifest is designed to empower industrial workers and military personnel to complete often complex procedures more consistently and accurately by decreasing cognitive load and stress. Schwartz has held numerous leadership positions in Korea, Germany, and the U.S. Among his roles was the command of Fort Hood in Texas, the third largest military base in the U.S. Schwartz graduated from West Point in 1967, and received a Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart during his service in Vietnam.

Dec 08, 2022

Oggvo

Seattle-based Oggvo announced that Maureen Ezekwugo joined the company as chief executive officer. Ezekwugo brings experience at driving revenue growth, building high-performing teams, and delivering customer value in competitive business markets, having served most recently as chief customer officer at RealSelf, an online destination for consumers shopping in the aesthetic medicine space. Ezekwugo succeeded outgoing CEO Sam Cohen Brown. Cohen Brown will assume the role of president and remain active in the business along with Jordan Richter, who will continue as chief financial officer. Oggvo was founded in 2018 by Cohen Brown and Richter. The Oggvo platform simplifies the customer experience with tools that enable small to medium-sized businesses to grow their online reputation and increase visibility.

NAVEX

NAVEX, a provider of integrated risk and compliance management software, hired Florian Haarhaus as the company's international general manager, reporting directly to CEO and president, Sean Thompson. Haarhaus is responsible for leading NAVEX's international business, spearheading strategic initiatives to extend NAVEX solutions across high growth markets. Prior to joining NAVEX, Haarhaus was the general manager and vice president, sales EMEA at Seattle-based Nintex, where he directly oversaw all go-to-market activity across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Haarhaus has 30 years of international experience in the software and SaaS industry, having built and run teams across Europe, the Middle East and Asia for companies like Oracle, Lotus-IBM, Salesforce, Box and, most recently, Nintex. His key areas of focus include setting international go-to-market strategies, M&A integrations, international expansion and developing partner ecosystems. NAVEX is based in the Portland area.

Lasher Holzapfel

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson announced that Amanda Kuehne has joined the firm's Corporate & Business Law, Estate Planning Trusts & Probate and Tax Law practice groups. Kuehne will assist clients on a range of estate planning, trust and business issues. In addition, she will advise business clients on entity selection and formation as well as negotiating business agreements and related transactions. Lasher Holzapfel was founded nearly 50 years ago in Seattle.

Mary Bridge Children's Hospital

Festival of Trees, the largest annual fundraiser for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, returned in person this year for its two signature events, Tinsel on the Town and Festival Gala. The events raised over $1.97 million for critical programs and services at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. Festival of Trees is organized by the Mary Bridge Children's Foundation in partnership with the Mary Bridge Brigade. The Brigade is the hospital's largest donor and, since its founding in 1921, has raised more than $50 million for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital programs and services. Presenting sponsors for this year's Festival of Trees were E9 Brewing Company and Tom & Meg Names Family Foundation. The Mary Bridge Children's Foundation supports uncompensated care and clinical and community programs not covered by insurance for patients and families at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. Mary Bridge Children's serves more than 300,000 children each year. More than half of the families served at Mary Bridge Children's are low-income, and more than 60 percent of families are on Medicaid. Founded in 1955, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital is the state-designated Level II Pediatric Trauma Center for Western Washington, and also provides primary, specialty and urgent care services at its outpatient centers and clinics across the South Sound, including Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Olympia, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Bonney Lake and Poulsbo.

Dec 07, 2022

NW Natural

For the third consecutive year, NW Natural scored the second-highest in customer satisfaction among large utilities in the West, according to J.D. Power. NW Natural received 773 points in the West large utility segment, which represents utilities serving 500,000 or more residential customers, as part of J.D. Power's Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. This is the 19th time the company has scored in the top two in the West. NW Natural also scored in the top 10 in the nation among large gas utilities this year. The 2022 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 57,239 online interviews conducted from January 2022 through October 2022 among residential customers of the 84 largest gas utility brands across the United States, which represent more than 64.6 million households. The study, now in its 21st year, measures residential customer satisfaction with natural gas utilities across six factors: safety and reliability; billing and payment; price; corporate citizenship; communications; and customer service. NW Natural, a part of Northwest Natural Holding Company, is headquartered in Portland, and has been doing business for more than 160 years. NW Natural currently provides natural gas service to approximately 2.5 million people in more than 140 communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Standard Insurance

Portland-based Standard Insurance (The Standard) and Securian Financial Group announced the closing of the acquisition of Securian Financial's retirement plan recordkeeping business by The Standard, in accordance with the terms of the agreement reported on Oct. 18, 2022. The acquisition combines the recordkeeping business of two providers with expertise in retirement plan administration, customer service and a shared focus on fiduciary protections. The business will operate under The Standard brand and include Securian Financial's retirement solutions employees, management, client relationships and distribution networks. The Standard, in business since 1906, is a provider of financial protection products, including group and individual disability insurance, group life, dental and vision insurance, voluntary benefits, absence management services, and retirement plans and annuities for employers and individuals.

Rainier Partners

Pet Food Express and Rainier Partners announced the appointment of retail executive Denyelle Bruno as chief executive officer of Pet Food Express, an omnichannel pet retailer that sells healthy pet foods, goods, and services from over 60 locations throughout California. The company partnered with Seattle-based Rainier Partners earlier this year. Bruno brings 25 years of experience at companies such as Apple, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Tender Greens and Drybar. She currently serves as a board member for the American Veterinarian Group. Founded by Michael Levy over forty years ago, Pet Food Express has helped pioneer the evolution of the pet industry by offering high quality pet products and services while championing local pet shelters and charities. Rainier Partners is a private equity firm investing in lower middle-market services businesses.