Feb 15, 2023

City of Seattle

Chao

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that he will appoint Jenifer Chao to serve as the next director of the Department of Neighborhoods (DON). Chao, a community engagement leader, currently serves as the deputy director of strategy and administration in the city of Seattle's Finance and Administrative Services. Working with the city of Seattle since 2009, Chao previously served on the Department of Neighborhoods' Outreach and Engagement team, where she focused on developing relationships in the Chinatown-International District (CID) through work on the CID Community Vision Workgroup and Sound Transit 3 planning. Chao also served as the interim director of the Office of Civil Rights' Race and Social Justice Initiative and worked in the Human Services Department where she supported the Seattle Youth Employment Program. Chao served five years at the Seattle non-profit Neighborhood House, where she supported people looking to achieve their long-term education and employment goals. Chao's nomination follows the selection of Greg Wong to serve as deputy mayor of external relations in August 2022. Wong served as the interim director of DON after being appointed by Harrell in February 2022. The Department of Neighborhoods provides resources and opportunities for residents to foster community and improve their overall quality of life. Popular programs include the P-Patch Community Gardening Program and the Historic Preservation Program. The department also invests in community-led projects through the Food Equity Fund and Neighborhood Matching Fund; supports numerous boards and commissions; and engages with neighbors to strengthen relationships.

POSaBIT

Kirkland-based POSaBIT, a provider of payments infrastructure in the cannabis industry, named Sarah Mirsky-Terranova as the company's chief compliance officer. Mirsky-Terranova is a compliance C-suite executive and attorney, and has experience in managing and advising on in-depth case investigations pertaining to BSA/AML, financing and trafficking, sanctions, KYC, and fraud-related matters. In previous roles, she has managed regulatory reviews and mitigated gaps found in the financial crime investigative/escalation process that could pose a regulatory risk. In her role as chief compliance officer of the company, she will lead the POSaBIT team in designing, implementing, and monitoring processes to comply with all laws and regulations in the industry. Most recently, she served as chief compliance officer at Synctera.

Pioneer Square Brands

Pioneer Square Brands (PSB) has acquired VAULT, a manufacturer of mobile device enclosure solutions, mobile payment solutions, and high-quality kiosks for enterprise customers. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Pioneer Square Brands is the parent company of Brenthaven, Gumdrop, and TechShell. Founded in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, the company designs, manufactures and tests cases and accessories for mobile technology devices. Michael Ferren is CEO of PSB.

Feb 14, 2023

Russell Investments

Buchwald

Russell Investments hired Zach Buchwald to serve as chief executive officer and chairman of the firm's board of directors. Based in the firm's global headquarters in Seattle, Buchwald will take the helm effective May 1 as Russell Investments' eighth CEO in 87 years. He will succeed Michelle Seitz, who departed the firm late last year. Buchwald joins Russell Investments from BlackRock, where as the head of its institutional business in North America he was responsible for delivering BlackRock's investment capabilities to the firm's institutional clients. Prior to this role, he led BlackRock's Financial Institutions Group, and earlier he helped establish its Retirement Solutions and Financial Markets Advisory platforms. At BlackRock, he also served on the firm's Global Operating Committee, the US/Canada Executive Committee, and as sponsor of its LGBT employee network. Russell Investments provides investment capabilities to institutional investors, financial intermediaries, and individuals around the world. Russell Investments has offices in 17 cities around the world, including in New York, London, Toronto, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Ahtna Netiye'

Tansy

Ahtna Netiye' promoted Roy Tansy, Jr. to chief executive officer. He is responsible for providing strategic leadership for Ahtna's operational subsidiaries. Tansey is a longtime advocate of Ahtna's mission of responsible economic growth for future generations of Ahtna people. He has held positions with the Ahtna family of companies dating back 30 years, most recently serving as Ahtna Netiye's chief operating officer. Tansey succeeds Tom Maloney, who is retiring after eight years of service to the company. An Ahtna shareholder, Tansy is originally from the Ahtna village of Cantwell and a member of the Caribou (Udzisyu) clan. He brings over 20 years of executive-level experience in operations, business development, strategic planning, and corporate leadership. His professional background includes management of construction, oil and gas, facilities management, and security companies. Tansy sits on the boards of the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. Ahtna Netiye' is the business holding company for Ahtna, Incorporated, an Alaska Native regional corporation.

DexCare

Seattle-based DexCare named Jamie Gier as chief marketing officer, reporting to CEO Derek Streat. Gier has over 25 years of experience growing and scaling technology brands in healthcare, education and MarTech. Gire's hiring follows a momentous year for DexCare, which included a $50 million Series B funding round led by Transformation Capital and the acquisition of e-commerce and online merchandising technology company Womp Inc. Gier has held several executive-level marketing leadership positions at IDX, GE Healthcare, Microsoft's Health Solutions Group, and SCI Solutions. Gier is a founding member of CMO Huddles, a community of B2B marketing leaders whose mission is to drive and share marketing best practices. Incubated at Providence, DexCare is a data-driven intelligence company focused on making access to healthcare better for everyone. DexCare's core offering is a software platform, provided exclusively to health systems, that orchestrates digital demand and health system capacity across all lines of care.

Feb 10, 2023

Port of Seattle

Ghouse

The Port of Seattle named Arif Ghouse as the new chief operating officer for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The this role, Ghouse will lead significant projects and initiatives, including Operational Readiness Activation and Transition, Art and Innovation functions, and will be working closely with all aviation departments to provide guidance and support. The airport is currently undergoing a five-year, $4.3 billion capital project program called Upgrade SEA. This follows the openings of major projects in the International Arrivals Facility and the N Concourse expansion and modernization. Ghouse is joining SEA after eight years as the airport director of Paine Field/Snohomish County Airport. While overseeing general aviation and managing numerous services for aviation enterprises, including Boeing, Ghouse led the launch of commercial passenger service at Paine Field in 2019. The Port of Seattle owns and operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Fishermen's Terminal — home of the North Pacific fishing fleet — and public marinas. The Port also owns two cruise ship terminals, a grain terminal, real estate assets, and marine cargo terminals through its partnership in the Northwest Seaport Alliance.

Taqtile

Olson

Seattle-based Taqtile, an industrial augmented reality software platform, named Craig Olson, its chief operating officer. Olson, a longtime executive for gaming accessories company SteelSeries, will manage key partners and investor relations at Taqtile. He joined SteelSeries in 2012 as president of worldwide mobile. Leveraging augmented reality technology, Taqtile's Manifest software allows deskless workers to document maintenance and operational procedures, follow step-by-step work instructions, remotely collaborate with experts, and analyze job performance and history. Taqtile's software platform is currently being used by industrial workers around the world at organizations like the U.S. Army, Raytheon, PBC Linear, and Nokia.

Fluke

White

Fluke, a provider of industrial tools and integrated software, hired solar applications specialist Will White. White has nearly two decades of experience designing, installing, and managing photovoltaic, wind, and solar thermal projects. As director of business development at Solar Energy International (SEI), a non-profit organization accelerating renewable energy technologies through education and technical assistance, White helped clients identify training opportunities for their teams. Prior to this role, White served as a member of SEI's curriculum team, where he focused on updating and developing course content and teaching classes in-person and online. White will spearhead Fluke's solar education initiatives, including webinars, industry event sessions and other trainings. Fluke is based in Everett.