Jan 26, 2023

LeoStella

Kienberger

LeoStella, a Tukwila-based specialized satellite design and manufacturing company, appointed Tim Kienberger to succeed Mike Hettich as CEO. Kienberger has three decades of aerospace and defense technology experience, leading market strategy, operations management, program execution and business growth in small spacecraft emerging markets at companies including Boeing and L3Harris. Hettich retired after leading the company since 2019. LeoStella is a 50-50 joint venture between Thales Alenia Space, a French-Italian aerospace company, and BlackSky, a provider of real-time geospatial intelligence.

Outbound AI

Greenhaw

Health care automation veteran Ryan Greenhaw joined Seattle-based startup Outbound AI as chief revenue officer. In his new role, Greenhaw will guide efforts to transform how the industry tackles administrative burdens, supporting the company's mission of elevating the human work experience in health care. Prior to joining Outbound AI, Greenhaw served in leadership positions at several companies in the revenue cycle management space, including WhiteSpace Health and Recondo Technology, the latter acquired by Waystar during his tenure. Outbound AI's inaugural offering, PayerVA Console, designed to perform phone-based tasks associated with claims work, is live at multiple sites throughout the country. Founded in 2021 as a spinout from Madrona Venture Labs, Outbound AI is Conversation AI built for health care.

Dorsey & Whitney

Hardesty

International law firm Dorsey & Whitney added Steve Hardesty to its Boise office as a partner in the firm's corporate and M&A practice. Hardesty is a veteran attorney in the Boise market with over 35 years of experience across a wide spectrum of corporate transactional work. He represents private equity and venture capital funds and their portfolio companies in a full range of mergers, acquisitions, financings, growth transactions, and general corporate matters. He also represents emerging growth companies and specialty finance lenders on a national basis, including corporate aircraft finance and commercial real estate finance. Hardesty joins Boise colleagues Nick Taylor, office head, and Richard Hall, leading mining partner, who established the Dorsey & Whitney Boise office earlier this month. Hardesty comes from Perkins Coie's Boise office. Dorsey has locations across the U.S., and in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

State of Washington

The state Department of Veterans Affairs appointed Dan Smith as the administrator of Washington Soldiers Home in Orting. Smith assumed responsibility of the facility last month. He is pursuing a master's degree in public health at Pennsylvania State University. Smith served as a nurse in the U.S. Army Reserve for 12 years. As a civilian, he worked in a federal VA-accredited longterm care facility for more than 20 years. Washington Soldiers Home is on 174 acres in the Puyallup Valley. Established in 1891, this was the first of four homes built for Washington state veterans.

Jan 25, 2023

IonQ

IonQ announced plans to open the first known dedicated quantum computing manufacturing facility in the United States in Bothell. The new facility will house IonQ's growing R&D and manufacturing teams. With public support from U.S. Senator Patty Murray and Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, U.S. representative from Washington's 1st congressional district, the announcement is part of IonQ's broader intent to invest $1 billion through expansion in the Pacific Northwest over the next 10 years. The 65,000 square foot facility will house IonQ's second quantum data center and be the primary production engineering location for IonQ in North America. IonQ hopes to add thousands of new jobs and opportunities to the region over the coming years. IonQ Vice President of Product Engineering Dave Mehuys, who joined IonQ in March 2022 from a senior leadership role at Psiquantum, will oversee the build out of the new facility. With over two decades of experience managing systems hardware engineering, module component engineering, customer service, and manufacturing operations, Mehuys will play an integral part of IonQ's growth in the region. IonQ was founded in 2015 by Christopher Monroe and Jungsang Kim based on 25 years of research.

The Matthews Group

UBS Private Wealth Management announced that The Matthews Group, an advisor team in the firm's Bellevue branch office, has been ranked the top team in Washington on the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams list for 2023. The team was also named to the Forbes America's Top Wealth Management Teams, Private Wealth list for 2022, as the only advisor team in Washington to be named to the list. The 19-member team, led by partners Michael Matthews, Tyler Matthews and Melanie Matthews, is responsible for managing $2 billion in investable client assets. Together, they bring a multi-disciplinary approach to delivering advice to ultra-high net worth individuals, business owners, entrepreneurs and multi-generational families. UBS has offices in more than 50 regions and locations around the world.

The Production Network

The Production Network (TPN) and Evia announced their merger as Evia joins TPN to create a production agency with more than 63 years of combined experience. The transaction is effective immediately. TPN has roots in experiential design and production along with creating interactive immersive experiences in Unreal Engine 5. Evia brings 360-digital content strategy and production expertise with a focus on the remote audience journey — from promotion and registration through the event experience and on-demand content. Together, the agency will offer digital strategies to build solutions for clients across the globe. All members of the TPN and Evia executive teams will remain in leadership positions with Allison DeLeone serving as chief executive officer and Hilary Laney as chief revenue officer. TPN, based in Seattle, was founded over 30 years ago by John Vadino. With three decades of expertise is digital media, Evia offers scalable services to support onsite, hybrid, and virtual events.

Jan 24, 2023

Wilmar

Wilmar and Rainier Partners appointed Ken Hartman as chief executive officer. Wilmar is a supplier, distributor, and category manager of tools and equipment to the automotive aftermarket and other industries. The company partnered with Rainier Partners in late 2021.

Hartman has over two decades of leadership experience in the tool and equipment industry. Prior to joining Wilmar, Hartman served as vice president & general manager of ESAB, a global producer of welding and cutting equipment and consumables. Before ESAB, Hartman was president of Mac Tools at Stanley Black & Decker, vice president of aftermarket at Thermo King, and held various leadership positions at Chief Automotive Technologies and Snap-On Tools. Wilmar was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Kent. The Cantalini family will continue to be actively involved with operations and management. Rainier Partners is a Seattle-based private equity firm with over $300 million in assets under management that invests in lower middle-market services businesses.

Pace Material Handling

Miner, the dock and door division of OnPoint Group, acquired Pace Material Handling, an independent dock and door service provider in the Pacific Northwest. Based in the Greater Seattle area, Pace Material Handling has been providing design, install and service expertise for commercial docks and doors across Washington and Oregon for more than 30 years. This acquisition expands Miner's service reach on the West Coast into the Pacific Northwest. Since 1989, Pace Material Handling has been supporting material handling systems for the warehousing and distribution industries, as well as general contractors, construction companies and property managers. OnPoint Group's portfolio of companies includes Miner, TrueSource, Concentric, and TFS, providing services in everything from forklift fleet management to forklift power, critical backup power, docks, doors and many critical facility maintenance trades. OnPoint is headquartered in Perrysburg, Ohio.

Alliant Insurance Services

Alliant Insurance Services hired Aran Buchan as vice president. Based in Seattle, Buchan will design, implement, and manage insurance and risk management solutions to a client base in the Northwest region. Buchan joins Alliant with experience providing property and casualty insurance and risk management solutions to businesses across a range of industries and disciplines. Prior to joining Alliant, Buchan was a producer with a global insurance brokerage and consulting firm. He earned his bachelor's degree in public relations from Central Washington University. Alliant Insurance Services is a distributor of diversified insurance products and services that operates through a network of specialized national platforms and local offices.

Farmington State Bank

Farmington State Bank, d/b/a Moonstone Bank, announced that the bank is returning to its original mission as a community bank and is discontinuing its pursuit to develop banking services for industries such as crypto assets or hemp/cannabis. The change in strategy reflects the impact of recent events in the crypto assets industry and the resultant changing regulatory environment relating to crypto asset businesses. Farmington State Bank will cease using the Moonstone Bank name. The Farmington State Bank brand will feature prominently throughout the bank's branding. Farmington State Bank is a Washington State bank that specializes in serving the needs of the local community in and around Farmington, Washington. With roots in the community since 1887, the bank has operated out of the same building since 1911 where it operates its single branch.