Apr 24, 2024

The Standard

Briggs

Portland-based Standard Insurance Co. (The Standard) promoted Julie Briggs to vice president of strategic innovation and emerging markets and Asset Management Group actuary. In her new role, Briggs is responsible for the leadership of all AMG actuarial and finance functions, working closely with The Standard's corporate partners to balance growth, risk and the increasing contributions of AMG to the company. Briggs joined The Standard in 2005 where she has held actuarial positions in Retirement Plans working with defined benefits and product and risk management as well as a leadership role on the Corporate Actuarial team. Most recently, Briggs served as assistant vice president of retirement plans actuarial and finance. Prior to joining The Standard, Briggs worked nearly seven years at Towers Perrin and Mercer (now WTW) in benefits plan consulting.

Briggs earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and classical studies at Willamette University. She is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Silver Creek Capital

Seattle-based Silver Creek Capital Management, an alternative investment boutique focused on developing investment solutions for institutional and sophisticated investors globally, announced that Nathan Kelso has joined the Firm as chief technology officer. Kelso has nearly 30 years of experience serving in information technology roles in the investment management sector. For more than a decade, Kelso was chief information security officer of Research Affiliates. Prior to Research Affiliates, he was director of the platform and integration team supporting BlackRock Alternative Advisors, where he managed the deployment of a client tracking system across the platform. Kelso joined BlackRock in 2007 upon its acquisition of the core asset management business of Seattle-based Quellos Group, where he was associate director, product management. Bob Ratlife is president of Silver Creek. The addition of Kelso follows Silver Creek's recent hiring of David Matter as co-chief investment officer and Michael Callahan as managing director, business development.

NanoString Technologies

Bruker Corp. announced that it has entered into a definitive acquisition agreement with NanoString Technologies, headquartered in Seattle. Under the asset purchase agreement, Bruker expects to acquire substantially all of the assets and rights associated with NanoString's business product lines for approximately $392.6 million in cash, and the assumption of certain liabilities. In 2023, NanoString generated revenues of approximately $168 million. On April 19, 2024, the transaction was approved under a court-supervised Chapter 11 sale process pursuant to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and it is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions. NanoString is a provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research for spatial transcriptomics and gene expression analysis. Bruker expects to fund the acquisition with cash on hand and established debt instruments. Following the closing, the NanoString business will become part of the Bruker Spatial Biology business. By 2026, Bruker expects the NanoString business to have rebounded and to be near break-even with resumed revenue growth and margin improvements, also taking advantage of deal synergies, as Bruker is not acquiring NanoString's public company overhead in this asset deal. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and Goldman Sachs & Co. are serving as legal and financial / strategic advisors, respectively, to Bruker. NanoString is represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher as counsel, AlixPartners as restructuring advisor and Perella Weinberg Partners as restructuring investment banker.

Herrera

Webb

Lancaster

Herrera in January promoted Alice Lancaster to water practice director and Chris Webb to director of design. Lancaster and Webb have been with Herrera for 19 and 10 years, respectively, and have been instrumental in growing the company's Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning and Design practices.

As the water practice director, Lancaster oversees business strategy, project delivery, and staff development for Herrera's Water practice. Her team of engineers, scientists, and landscape architects deliver science, planning, and design projects up and down the West Coast.

As the director of design, Webb plays a pivotal role in ensuring the firm maintains a high standard of quality across all areas of engineering and design. Herrera's design practice includes solid waste facilities, mine site restoration, green stormwater facilities, stormwater treatment systems, parks and trails, site civil engineering for green buildings, and restoration designs for rivers, floodplains, wetlands, and marine shorelines. Webb has been practicing as a civil engineer for 30 years with a focus on green stormwater infrastructure and high-performance green building projects.

Otak

Belden

Multidisciplinary AEC firm Otak has appointed Rick Belden to its executive leadership team. Belden will now serve as the practice area leader for transportation and infrastructure. Belden has a rich background in engineering and community-centric projects and his career spans over 24 years, during which time he has managed projects exceeding $1 billion in value.

A native of the Pacific Northwest, he began working as an engineer in Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

In a previous role at Kiewit, he spearheaded pursuits and business development initiatives, along with nurturing in-house engineering capabilities.

At Otak, Belden will focus on infrastructure and market expansion and aims to secure significant highway projects that will pave the way for national growth. Belden envisions Otak evolving into a more comprehensive engineering firm, branching out from its current portfolio starting with additional rural highway projects and expanding from there.

PCS Structural Solutions

Rumann

PCS Structural Solutions has welcomed project manager, Rebecca Rumann to its team. Rumann holds a B.S. in civil engineering from University of Washington and brings 12 years' experience in structural design.

Rumann is currently working on a warehouse for Seattle Public Schools, a private residence in Seattle, and an evaluation for Renton School District.

Schweitzer Engineering

Urrea

Costello

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) chief sales and customer service officer David Costello will retire on May 17, 2024, after 28 years with the company.

Costello joined SEL in 1996 as a field application engineer providing customer, technical and sales support. He went on to serve in a variety of roles, including regional service manager, technical support director and senior vice president of sales and customer service.

After earning his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, Costello began his career as an engineer at Central Power and Light in Corpus Christi, Texas, then moved to Central and Southwest Services in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is where he first learned about SEL.

Costello says he is looking forward to focusing on health, family, travel, mentoring and ranching.

Gerardo Urrea has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and customer service and will lead the global sales and customer service organization following Costello's retirement. Like his predecessor, Urrea brings more than 20 years of technical expertise and experience at SEL. He joined the company in 2003 as a protection design engineer and has served in a number of roles in multiple locations related to engineering and sales. In 2019, he was promoted to vice president of the sales and customer service division, leading its technical sales, customer service and technical support activities.

Costello and Urrea will continue to work together over the next few weeks to ensure a smooth transition.

Apr 23, 2024

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Varnes

BCLP (Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner) appointed Trevor Varnes as the firm's new chief financial officer. Varnes joins BCLP from Perkins Coie, where he served as CFO for the past seven years. At BCLP, Varnes will work closely with the leadership team to pursue the firm's goals around financial operations and business performance. As CFO, he will oversee the firm's accounting and financial reporting, financial analysis, budgeting, billing and collections, treasury functions, taxes, and audits. With more than 25 years of experience in the legal industry, Varnes spent two decades at Perkins Coie, where he began his career with roles in the conflicts, business development, practice management, and finance departments. He went on to join Seattle-based law firm Ogden Murphy Wallace, serving as executive director for three years, before rejoining Perkins Coie and going on to lead its financial operations as CFO. Varnes will be based in BCLP's Seattle office. Earlier this month, BCLP tripled its presence in Seattle, combining with law firm Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen, while also adding litigator Erin Ehlert. BCLP has 31 offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

SheerID

Miller

SheerID promoted Dave Miller to chief financial officer. In his new role, Miller will oversee all global aspects of SheerID's accounting, finance, and investor relations. Miller has been with SheerID for almost 3 years, and will continue to report directly to Jake Weatherly, SheerID's chief executive officer. Previously, Miller was head of finance & corporate controller at AWS Elemental and vice president of finance & accounting at FinancialForce. Prior to that, he held various accounting and finance leadership roles at Ernst & Young and Zynga. Portland-based SheerID is a global provider of identity verification for commerce.

Floor & Decor

Floor & Decor, a retailer specializing in hard-surface flooring for homeowners and professionals, announced the grand opening of its fourth warehouse location in Washington, with the addition of its newest location in Bremerton at 4324 Wheaton Way. The warehouse store and design center will open on April 26th with a team of about 36 full-time and part-time associates led by Tommy Paasche, the store chief executive merchant. Floor & Decor is one of Fortune's 100 fastest-growing companies, and in April 2023, Floor & Decor was named to Yelp's “Most Loved Brands” list, which honors the most loved brands on the consumer reviews platform. Founded in 2000, Atlanta-based Floor & Decor operates more than 220 warehouse-format stores and five design studios across 36 states.

Hensel Phelps

Petersen

Cummins

Davis

May

Hensel Phelps promoted Morgan May to operations manager, Christie Davis to design manager and Kyle Cummins to virtual design and construction manager; and hired Michael Petersen as a design manager in the Pacific Northwest region. May has been with Hensel Phelps for 14 years and joined the Pacific Northwest team in 2019. He spent much of his career working on alternative project delivery health care projects in Southern California, delivering over $1.6 billion in work. Davis, an 11-year industry veteran, has been with Hensel Phelps for six years, where she has been an integral part of managing the design/preconstruction phase of the progressive design-build SEA Alaska North Main Terminal redevelopment team over the past two years. She also has a background in architecture. Since starting with the company in 2015 — and throughout his time in field, office and VDC roles — Cummins has been driving innovation and finding solutions to deliver project success. He has experience across many vertical markets including higher education, aviation, ground transportation and health care. Petersen is working on the ARS/WSU Biosciences Research Building, collaborating with project stakeholders to prepare the design for construction. He has comprehensive experience as a construction administrator with LMN Architects, and has been working on projects in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years.

ABC of Western Washington

Seattle Pacific Construction is the newest member of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington. The general contractor specializes in siding, interior and exterior painting, repairs, decks and remodeling.