Dec 10, 2019

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann is stepping down after more than five years in the role to focus on health and family. The foundation appointed Mark Suzman as the new CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2020. Suzman is the foundation's president of Global Policy & Advocacy and chief strategy officer. He has been with the foundation for 12 years.

Molina Healthcare

Bothell-based Molina Healthcare picked 16 community-based organizations to receive nearly $1 million in grants through the inaugural year of the Molina Community Innovation Fund. The fund supports programs and initiatives that help reduce barriers to health care. The recipients are: Council for the Homeless; Friends in Service to Humanity; Neighborcare Health; YWCA Seattle King Snohomish; CHAS Health; Dave Purchase Project/Tacoma Needle Exchange; Hepatitis Education Project; Pregnancy Resource Center; Puget Sound Kidney Centers Foundation; Community in Schools of Tacoma; Family Health Centers; Family Solutions; Peer Spokane; Toddler Learning Center; Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho; and Tri Cities Community Health.

HomeStreet

Seattle-based HomeStreet Inc., the parent company of HomeStreet Bank, sold its interest in Penrith Home Loans to a subsidiary of Windermere Services. Penrith operates a single-family mortgage origination business. Windermere Services will continue to operate Penrith in conjunction with Windermere Real Estate Co. franchise owners. HomeStreet is refocusing on commercial banking.

Dec 06, 2019

SIFF

Haines

Andrew L. Haines will be the new executive director of SIFF, a Seattle nonprofit that runs the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema and SIFF Education. Haines has been director of marketing and communications and part of the leadership team at Seattle Rep since 2015. He starts his new role next month. Amy Fulford of management consulting firm enlight has served as SIFF's interim executive director since Sarah Wilke stepped down in March.

CWU

Tomlinson

Central Washington University hired Virginia “Ginny” Tomlinson as associate vice president and chief information officer. Tomlinson has been chief technology officer at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, since 2014 and has two decades of senior technology leadership in higher education. She starts next month at CWU.

Avalara

Seattle-based business tax software developer Avalara said CFO Bill Ingram will retire March 31 after four years with the company. The new CFO will be Ross Tennenbaum, Avalara's executive vice president of strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Avalara, Tennenbaum spent 10 years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. Avalara said Ingram will join the company's board after he retires.

Omeros

Seattle-based biopharmaceutical company Omeros announced it will issue $50 million in common stock priced at $13.10 per share. The offering is expected to close on Dec. 9. Omeros intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including funding clinical trials, pre-clinical studies, manufacturing and build-out of commercial infrastructure. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is managing the stock offering.

Dec 05, 2019

Sound Transit

Cummings

In Seattle, Sound Transit appointed Mary Cummings as chief administrative officer and deputy CEO. Cummings was senior vice president and interim CFO at Waynesburg University, a private school near Pittsburgh. Prior to that, she was an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University and served as program director of the Carnegie Bosch Institute.

Summit Bank

Hemmings

Eugene, Oregon-based Summit Bank promoted Chris Hemmings to senior vice president and chief administrative officer. Hemmings was vice president and controller at the bank, and is a member of the government relations committee of the Oregon Banker's Association.

Smartsheet

Mike Gregoire is the newest board member at Bellevue-based Smartsheet. Gregoire is a partner at Brighton Park Capital and a 25-year technology industry veteran. Prior to his investing career, Gregoire was chair and CEO of CA Technologies. At Smartsheet, he is also on the board's compensation committee. Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform for work execution.

Oregon Bioscience Association

In Portland, the Oregon Bioscience Association named four winners of its 2019 Research Fast Pitch and Company Pitch Fest competition. The winners were: Sparrow Pharmaceuticals of Portland (Company Pitch Fest award); Curadite of Beaverton (people's choice for Company Pitch Fest); Xinyue “Lucy” Lu, a Beaverton resident and graduate student researcher at Clemson University (Research Fast Pitch award); and Lael Wentland, a graduate student at Oregon State University (people's choice for Research Fast Pitch). Oregon Bio promotes growth and quality of the region's bioscience industry.

King County

King County is testing a six-month pilot program called King County Conservation Corps that hires people experiencing homelessness and poverty to pick up garbage in unincorporated urban areas. The county is partnering with the Millionair Club Charity on the program, which will send five-person crews to clean up areas in White Center, Skyway, Fairwood and east Federal Way. Workers will earn $18-$20 an hour.