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.

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.

Apr 19, 2024

Harborstone Credit Union

Harkley

Harborstone Credit Union selected Jimese Harkley as its new chief community engagement officer. In this role, Harkley will shape the organization's community engagement strategies and corporate social responsibility initiatives. Harkley most recently served as vice president of membership for CUES and brings over 15 years of industry experience to her new position. She began her career as a teller for America's First Federal Credit Union and progressed to serve as the group's philanthropy and community relations manager. Harkley earned her juris doctorate from Birmingham School of Law and her bachelor's degree in mass communication/media studies from Jacksonville State University. Lakewood-based Harborstone has 15 branches across western Washington.

Lane Powell

Flickinger

Jesse Flickinger joined Lane Powell as an associate on the Commercial Litigation team. Flickinger counsels individuals and businesses in commercial litigation matters. Prior to joining Lane Powell, Flickinger dedicated several years developing his legal skills as a law clerk at the appellate and trial court levels, where he conducted comprehensive research and analysis across various federal and state cases. Flickinger's experience as a law clerk provided him with an understanding of the appellate process and considerable exposure to all stages of litigation. Flickinger obtained his juris doctorate from the University of Montana School of Law.

Lighthouse

Seattle-based Lighthouse, a provider of technology-enabled eDiscovery, compliance, and information governance services, announced the launch of its new antitrust practice and related technology offerings. The Lighthouse Antitrust Practice (composed of attorneys, technologists, linguists, eDiscovery project managers, and document review consultants and staff) develops and uses technology that manages antitrust compliance, including merger clearance, competitor disputes and regulatory compliance. Earlier this year, the company launched Lighthouse AI Privilege Review, which uses generative and predictive AI to identify privileged content and create privilege logs. Lighthouse was founded in 1995 as a local document copy shop, and has evolved with the legal technology landscape. Ron Markezich is the firm's CEO.