San Francisco-based Thunder is making a big investment in Seattle.
The company announced Wednesday that it has hired longtime Seattle tech leader BJ Fox as VP of engineering, and said it plans to grow its Seattle office aggressively over the next year.
Thunder, which develops software for digital advertisers, opened an engineering office in Seattle several years ago, one of more than a hundred companies from outside the Seattle region that have set up shop in or near the city. Thunder’s office, focused on product and engineering, employs 30 people.
Fox will now lead the company’s product development team from its Seattle office. A Thunder spokesperson said the company is planning to grow its headcount by 25 percent in the coming year, with the majority of the growth happening in its Seattle office.
Fox most recently served as the VP of engineering at location data sharing company Glympse and formerly held the same role at mobile ad network company Getjar, which was acquired by Sungy Mobile in 2014. He also spent five years as a director of software development at Microsoft, serving in key roles in Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Research and Xbox.
“Thunder has long been an industry leader; the first Creative Management Platform, it is now paving the way for true people-based marketing with Experience Measurement,” Fox said. “I have tremendous respect for [Thunder CEO] Victor [Wong] and am thrilled to join his team of boundary-pushing thinkers and innovators.”
— Ryan Hartman has left his role as CEO and president of Insitu, the Boeing-owned drone maker, to become CEO of Hood Technology Corp., according to his LinkedIn bio. An 18-year veteran of the company, Hartman had been president and CEO for the past 3-and-a-half years.
Insitu, based in Bingen, Wash., is conducting a search for a new CEO and does not plan to appoint an interim chief executive, the company told the Puget Sound Business Journal, which first reported the news. GeekWire has contacted Insitu for additional information.
Boeing acquired Insitu in 2008. The company makes unmanned aerial systems including ScanEagle, Integrator and RQ-21A Blackjack for military and commercial use. Hood Technology, based in Hood River, Ore., makes products including stabilized camera turrets for use on drones and piloted aircraft.
— BitTitan, a managed services automation startup, has tapped a big name to join its executive team: Pam Cory, the former head of marketing for Dell EMC. She will serve as BitTitan’s VP of marketing.
Cory spent three years leading marketing at Dell EMC, one of the largest IT systems and data storage providers in the country. She was formerly the VP of global marketing for ProQuest, an education and academic technology company.
“I have yet to meet a CEO or founder as passionate as [BitTitan CEO] Geeman [Yip], and the team he’s assembled here reflects such a unique energy, talent, and drive,” Cory said in a press release. “I’m excited to dig into this scrappy startup culture, further hone BitTitan’s story, and continue building on the great experiences for BitTitan customers.”
BitTitan was founded in 2007 and was named the Next Tech Titan at the 2017 GeekWire Awards.
— Mobile tech startup Apptentive added three new leaders Wednesday, including longtime startup executive Pat Goodwin, who joins the company as its VP of finance and operations.
Goodwin was most recently the chief financial officer at IT consulting company AltaSource Group. He previously held CFO positions at marketing technology company Moz and video game powerhouse Valve.
Microsoft vet Ken Clements joins the company as its VP of marketing. He spent seven years at Microsoft, eventually serving as the group manager of small and medium-sized business online customer experience. He went on to spend three years as the group manager of digital marketing for Avanade and most recently served as the VP of marketing at mobile technology company Sitrion.
Apptentive’s new director of engineering, Melody Jones, was most recently the VP of data science and enterprise architecture at communication tech company Cision. She previously spent eight years as a principal engineer at Visible Technologies, where she was the startup’s first engineer.
“To find not one, not two, but three leaders of the caliber of Mel, Ken, and Pat is a game-changer for our product, our team, and our customers,” Apptentive Co-founder and CEO Robi Ganguly said in a press release. “Mel and Ken’s experience developing and marketing transformational software, and Pat’s financial expertise will be instrumental as Apptentive continues to evolve.”
— Longtime Perkins Coie Partner Kha Dang is moving on to a new role after almost two decades with the law firm, GeekWire has learned. Dang said he has joined renewable energy startup Drift Marketplace as the company’s general counsel.
“Drift’s value proposition of delivering sustainable energy to the consumer at a lower price using AI, machine learning, proprietary trading algorithms and the blockchain is a no brainer to me,” Dang said in an email. “I’ve been outside counsel to Drift since its inception and I have been amazed and inspired by the team, and especially Greg Robinson (CEO and co-founder).”
His addition comes just a few months after the startup raked in a new $7 million funding round, bringing its total funding to $10 million.
Dang said he first got to know Robinson as a running buddy. His connection to Robinson was a driving factor in his decision to join the company, along with the company’s approach to the renewable energy market.
“Greg and I started running together a few years ago and we have spent hundred of miles running the trails around here, all the while talking about the company he was building,” Dang said. “Greg has built a team based on ownership, trust, big thinking, diversity, and risk taking. He’s been tenacious in pursuing the mission and vision and Drift reflects these values. I am looking forward to diving deeper and getting involved in the aspects of the business that I otherwise wasn’t privy to as outside counsel.”
— San-Francisco based job search and employer review site Glassdoor announced several additions to its executive suite Wednesday, starting with executive Jim Cox, who joined the company as its chief financial officer.
Cox was most recently the CFO at customer experience company Lithium Technologies. He formerly spent ten years at Advent Software, which makes enterprise software for investment firms. He served as that company’s CFO for more than six years.
Glassdoor also announced that former VP Christian Sutherland-Wong was tapped to be the company’s first chief operating officer and longtime Glassdoor employee Samantha Zupan was promoted to serve as VP of communications.
“Jim’s leadership, vision and rich expertise in both public and private financial matters will prove invaluable, particularly as Glassdoor continues to experience significant business expansion,” Glassdoor CEO and Co-founder Robert Hohman said in a press release. He continued: “Under Christian and Samantha’s leadership, Glassdoor will continue to scale as a global business to deliver on our mission of helping people everywhere find jobs and companies they love.”
— OtoNexus Technologies, a medical device startup, added biotech entrepreneur Charlie Corredor to its executive team, GeekWire has learned. Corredor is serving as the company’s VP of operations. He was most recently the co-founder and CEO of medical device startup Phoresa.
“It is an honor and privilege to join OtoNexus’ team. I believe that the company’s technology presents a unique opportunity for early diagnosis of middle ear infections–the most common condition for which antibiotics are prescribed and number one cause of surgery in children,” Corredor said in a statement. “As the company advances and further develops its technology, I look forward to leveraging my experiences to work together with OtoNexus’ team to reinvent how diagnosis of middle ear infections take place–one ear at the time”
