Apr 11, 2023

Dorsey & Whitney

Murphy

Grace

Bavand

Marisa Bavand, Mike Grace, and Allison Murphy joined Dorsey & Whitney's Seattle office as partners in its Construction and Design and its Government Contracts practices. Additionally, attorneys Tamara Comeau, Christian Ferrin, and Emily Yoshiwara joined Dorsey, along with two staff members. All of these new additions to Dorsey's Seattle office were formerly with Seattle-based Groff Murphy, which is ceasing operations. Bavand provides counsel to construction industry and government contracts clients and has served in contracting and dispute roles in national and international projects. Her practice includes representing public and private owners, general contractors, and engineers with pre-project planning and risk assessment, contract drafting, claim management and preservation, and litigating disputes. She also has extensive experience defending clients in United States Department of Justice investigations and False Claims Act litigation. Grace provides counsel and litigation services to contractors, developers, design professionals, and other construction industry clients. He drafts and negotiates a wide variety of contracts and agreements, helping clients resolve issues during all phases of the construction process. Murphy focuses her practice on government contracts, construction law, and complex commercial litigation. She has handled litigation in state and federal courts and has participated in mediations and arbitration hearings involving complex construction and government contract disputes. Dorsey has locations across the United States and in Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Nike

Wilkins

Nike named KeJuan Wilkins, vice president of enterprise communications, as the company's new executive vice president, chief communications officer. In his new role, Wilkins will lead all global corporate, consumer, and employee communications for Nike. He succeeds Nigel Powell, the company's long-time EVP, chief communications officer, who will retire this summer. As a member of the company's executive leadership team, Wilkins will report directly to John Donahoe, president and CEO of Nike. Wilkins, a 17-year veteran of the company, most recently led corporate and employee communications globally for Nike. He has previously led communications for Nike's North America geography and the Jordan Brand. Before Nike, Wilkins held roles in the athletic footwear industry and with the New York Knicks. Powell joined Nike in 1999 and held leadership positions in EMEA and North America before taking on the EVP, CCO role. This leadership change is effective June 1. Nike is headquartered in Beaverton.

Apr 07, 2023

King County Library System

Yamasaki

The King County Library System (KCLS) Foundation hired Lisa Yamasaki as executive director. She will lead fundraising, development and outreach efforts, and will report to the KCLS Foundation board of directors. Prior to joining the KCLS Foundation, Yamasaki served as the director of development for Encompass, a nonprofit organization that partners with families to build a healthy foundation for children of all abilities. She has also worked as a corporate affiliates associate at the University of Washington and a special events manager at Childhaven. Yamasaki volunteers at the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank and serves on the City of Snoqualmie Community Center advisory committee. She holds a bachelor's degree in communication from Western Washington University.

Symetra

Girard

Byrne

Symetra appointed Kevin Byrne and Thomas Girard to its board of directors. The appointments were effective March 31, 2023. Byrne retired from Pacific Life in January 2022. From 2018 to 2021, he served as chief executive officer of Pacific Global Asset Management, and from 2012 to 2017, he was senior vice president and chief financial officer for Pacific Life's Retirement Solutions Division. Prior to Pacific Life, Byrne spent over 20 years with Equitable Life Insurance, ultimately serving as executive vice president and chief investment officer for AXA Equitable Life Insurance, with responsibility for the strategy and oversight of insurance investment portfolios, corporate finance, and corporate treasurer. He is a member of the board of directors for New York Community Trust, serving as chair of the Investment Committee. Girard retired in 2018 as the chief investment officer, fixed income, for NYL Investors, a wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company. He oversaw the management of $145 billion in fixed income assets and was responsible for setting investment strategy and overseeing risk management of all fixed income portfolios. He was a member of NYL Investors board of directors and senior leadership team and was responsible for providing annual reviews to the Investment Committee of the New York Life board of directors as well as credit rating agencies. Prior to joining NYL Investors, Girard served as a managing director and head of fixed income for Robeco Investment Management, Weiss Peck & Greer. He is a member of the advisory board at Hollow Brook Wealth Management, and formerly served as an advisory board member at Schultze Asset Management, and at the Fixed Income Forum.

Emerald Communities

Wood

Emerald Communities announced the promotion of Michelle Wood from corporate controller to vice president of operations. Wood will provide leadership and strategic and daily operational support to the executive directors at Emerald Heights and Heron's Key. She will ensure proper management, planning, organization evaluation, and control in all operating departments for each community. She will also oversee Emerald Communities' director of food and beverage services and serve as Emerald Communities' corporate risk and compliance officer. This is the first time in Emerald Communities' history to have a women-led and operated executive team. Wood joined the Emerald Communities leadership team in 2013 as the corporate controller. In 2020, her role expanded to oversee accounting and information systems. Wood earned her Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Seattle University where she is now pursuing an MBA. Emerald Communities is a nonprofit senior housing and service organization that has been serving seniors at its resort-style Life Plan communities, including Emerald Heights in Redmond and Heron's Key in Gig Harbor.

Apr 06, 2023

Foster Garvey

Kyle

Tina Kyle joined Foster Garvey as a Seattle-based principal in the Municipal, Health & Housing practice, where she will focus on the federal income tax aspects of public finance transactions. Prior to joining Foster Garvey, Kyle was a partner at Houston-based Allen Boone Humphries Robinson. She has more than two decades of experience advising governmental issuers, 501(c)(3) organizations, private borrowers, and other public finance transaction participants on tax-advantaged financings. Kyle's experience includes reviewing, structuring, and advising on tax-exempt financing transactions ranging from less than $1 million to more than $700 million involving governmental, tax-exempt and private business users. A member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, she has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America in Public Finance Law annually since 2013. Kyle earned her J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Foster Garvey has offices on both coasts, and offers an extended national and international reach to serve companies, government entities, and individuals across a full spectrum of legal services.

98-9 KPNW

Fisher

New Hubbard radio station, Seattle 98.9 KPNW, announced the first addition to its on-air line-up. John Fisher will air each weekday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting April 8. Fisher has been a Seattle radio mainstay for almost 30 years since arriving from Chicago in the early 1990s to join 103.7 The Mountain. Started in 1923, Hubbard Broadcasting is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minnesota. Hubbard Broadcasting operates radio stations and television stations in 10 states. Scott Mahalick is the Hubbard Seattle operations manager.

Factor

As the company celebrates its 10-year anniversary, Factor appointed veteran consulting executive, Gwen Hall, as its first-ever CEO. Hall joins Factor after more than 20 years with global consulting firm Point B. Hall takes the leadership reins from co-founders, Bram Wessel and Gary Carlson, and will focus on developing and implementing strategic growth and brand building initiatives as the company moves into its second decade. Hall will be based in Seattle. Hall is also the co-owner of a home services company and a Sniffspott host, enabling dogs and their owners to have a safe place to roam. Factor is an information architecture consultancy that helps organizations extract value from their data, content, and information.

Marchex

Seattle-based Marchex, an AI-powered conversation intelligence company, hired Troy Hartless as chief revenue officer. Hartless has extensive experience as an executive officer for both private and publicly traded technology companies, and will lead Marchex's sales, marketing, business development, solutions consulting and customer success organizations. Most recently, Hartless was COO of Govplace, a cloud, cybersecurity, and perimeter security solutions company. Previously, he served as CRO of Callis Communications. Hartless also served as the COO of InfoData.