— Andrea Chartock is now the pinnacle of Washington’s Workplace of Financial Improvement and Competitiveness, a division of the state Division of Commerce.
Chartock spent greater than 21 years with worldwide growth firm DAI, engaged on United States Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID) initiatives in nations together with Liberia and Moldova. Her most up-to-date efforts targeted on financial progress in Ukraine earlier than USAID was defunded this yr.
Commerce Director Joe Nguyễn stated that Chartock “has the expertise and dedication wanted to raise our present enterprise neighborhood and foster progress in modern methods.”
The division earlier this yr scaled again a key financial growth program amid the state finances crunch. The division presently manages greater than $8 billion throughout 485 applications, Nguyễn stated in April.

— Julie Brill, Microsoft’s former chief privateness officer, has joined the board of administrators of the enterprise software program firm Ethyca.
“Ethyca’s strategy places privateness, safety, and coverage on the coronary heart of enterprise information infrastructure. I’m excited to assist information the corporate as it really works with international organizations to scale AI responsibly,” Brill stated in an announcement.
Brill left Microsoft in July after greater than eight years. Her title included company vp for International Privateness, Security, and Regulatory Affairs. Brill can be serving as an knowledgeable in residence at Harvard College. She beforehand shared plans to open a consultancy this fall.

— Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella named Rolf Harms, a company vp on the tech big, as an advisor on AI economics to work with the corporate’s high leaders. Enterprise Insider obtained a November memo from Nadella to Microsoft executives saying Harms’ expanded position.
Harms has been with Microsoft for practically 20 years and penned a foundational whitepaper in 2010 addressing the economics of cloud computing.
“We have to quickly rethink the brand new economics of AI throughout the corporate — simply as we as soon as did with the cloud,” Nadella wrote, in keeping with BI. “This platform shift is all about constructing a brand new AI manufacturing facility and household of Copilots and brokers that drive diffusion and utilization throughout the complete stack.”

— Seattle Reign FC and Seattle Sounders FC introduced Sean Coury as chief monetary officer. Coury joins the soccer golf equipment from Bezos Academy, the place he served as CFO of the tutorial nonprofit launched by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He beforehand labored in monetary roles on the Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis and Apptio, the place he helped the Bellevue, Wash., firm go public.
The Reign and the Sounders final month employed Ro Vega as chief advertising officer.
— Francois Ajenstat is leaving his place as chief product officer on the software program firm Amplitude. Ajenstat was beforehand CPO at Seattle’s Tableau Software program, the place he spent 13 years, adopted by a quick run at Salesforce that led to 2023. Earlier in his profession, Ajenstat was with Microsoft for a decade, holding titles together with technical evangelist, product supervisor and senor director of environmental sustainability.

— The College of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD) has a number of management modifications.
UW biochemistry professor Neil King is now IPD’s deputy director as Lance Stewart, former interim govt director, retires from the group. King was beforehand an affiliate professor at IPD, and Nobel Laureate David Baker will keep in his position as director.
“Once I joined the IPD in 2013, it was clear that serving to to construct the IPD can be a once-in-a-lifetime alternative to contribute and observe firsthand the event of a complete new trade primarily based on computationally designed proteins,” Stewart stated on LinkedIn.
The IPD made three further hires:
- Jenny Cronin is now director of translational analysis, becoming a member of IPD from AI2 Incubator, a Seattle-based startup group. Cronin can be a enterprise associate with Pack Ventures, a fund that backs startups with UW connections.
- Roseanne Hampton Reich is assistant director of administration. Her previous roles embrace positions at lululemon, UW’s Division of Nephrology, Seattle Kids’s and others.
- Justin English is director of strategic growth, beforehand working as an assistant professor on the College of Utah. English holds a PhD in pharmacology.
— Alex Pettit is returning to Oregon to function the state’s digital transformation tasks director. Pettit has beforehand held high know-how roles for Oregon, Texas and Oklahoma, and was most not too long ago Colorado’s chief know-how officer for practically six years.
“This subsequent chapter permits me to deliver hard-won expertise from the sphere and apply it to acquainted soil. I’m honored to as soon as once more contribute to Oregon’s know-how future — serving to modernize legacy platforms, evolve our enterprise structure, and put together for the calls for forward,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
— Brian Bishop is CEO of Portland, Ore.-based Skip Know-how, a startup constructing long-duration, grid-scale batteries. Bishop takes over for Brennan Gantner, who co-founded the hydrogen bromine battery firm seven years in the past.
Bishop has greater than 30 years of engineering, manufacturing and administration expertise in a wide range of electronics-focused companies. He was beforehand with Salt Creek Capital, which acquires and recapitalizes small firms.
— Kelly Goetsch has taken a brand new title at e-commerce logistics startup Pipe17, transferring from chief working officer to president. The Seattle startup introduced a $17.5 million Sequence A spherical earlier this yr.
Goetsch has additionally helped lead the creation of the first open customary to unify how commerce programs talk, together with AI-powered promoting channels and funds, logistics and achievement. The hassle was overseen by the nonprofit Commerce Operations Basis, which launched the preliminary customary this week.
— Tom Mara, govt director of SIFF, has left the nonprofit following the choice to not renew his contract, the Seattle Instances reported. Mara beforehand ran the favored Seattle radio station KEXP, then joined SIFF in 2022.
The next yr Mara introduced the group’s buy of the historic Cinerama, a movie show beforehand owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen that ceased operations throughout the pandemic. The acquisition was celebrated by many, however the venue has struggled financially.

