Jul 29, 2020

Uwajimaya

Moriguchi

The selection committee for the 2020 Seattle-King County First Citizen Award named Tomio Moriguchi and family its 82nd honoree of the annual award, which celebrates community leadership, volunteerism and public service. Moriguchi is former chairman and CEO of specialty supermarket chain Uwajimaya. His daughter, Denise Moriguchi, now runs the business. The Moriguchis were cited for enhancing the quality of life throughout the area. Tomio is revered for his volunteerism, generosity and advocacy. He is still active with the company's real estate holdings, selling the site of the original family store in Seattle's International District where developers are now building the Koda condos. The award will be presented at a civic celebration at a date to be determined.

Roasters Coffee

Derek Tonn is the new president and CEO of Roasters Coffee, a 14-location coffee chain based in Richland. Tonn spent 15 years at Pacific Northwest National Lab, where he served in various roles, most recently as a financial specialist. He replaces founder Wes Heyden, who announced earlier this month that he was stepping down as CEO and transferred his holdings to a management trust operated by Collaborative Team Management. Tonn said he planned to join the company as CFO before Heyden decided to leave. Roasters was founded in 2009 and has stores in Richland, Pasco, Kennewick, West Richland and Walla Walla. Its website says three more locations will open over the next 12 months, in Airway Heights, Spokane Valley and Yakima.

CurvaFix

Bellevue-based CurvaFix raised $10.75 million in Series B private equity financing. CurvaFix is developing medical devices to repair fractures in curved bones. It plans to use the money to complete a clinical study and start production. Financing was led by Sectoral Asset Management of Montreal and included participation from existing investors, including Delta Dental Washington Seed Fund, and board members. As part of the deal, Michael Sjostrom and Marc-Andre Marcotte of Sectoral became board members of CurvaFix.

LeoStella

Tukwila-based LeoStella will build several satellites for upcoming space missions by Loft Orbital Solutions of San Francisco. Loft Orbital flies payloads as a service using common satellite design without mission-specific customization. LeoStella is a specialized satellite design and manufacturing company. It is a joint venture between Thales Alenia Space and BlackSky.

Lithia Motors

Medford, Oregon-based Lithia Motors acquired DCH Subaru in Thousand Oaks, California. The store is expected to increase Lithia's annual revenue by $60 million. Other financial details were not disclosed. Lithia owns car dealerships across the country.

Accenture and Avanade

Accenture and Avanade have been named Microsoft Global Alliance SI Partner of the Year for the 15th time. They were cited for excellence in customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Dublin-based Accenture has local offices and provides technology, business and management consulting. Avanade is a Seattle-based management consultant. The two co-develop solutions for clients using Microsoft technologies and services.

Jul 28, 2020

Pemco

Aspin

Seattle-based Pemco Mutual Insurance hired Lynne Aspin as a human resources business partner, serving as the primary HR contact and consultant for various internal teams. Aspin was senior HR manager for PCC Community Markets. Prior to that, she held leadership roles on HR teams for Starbucks and Sur La Table.

Silver Creek Capital

Seattle-based Silver Creek Capital named Art Zaske as deputy chief investment officer. Zaske joined Silver Creek in 2006 and previously was managing director and portfolio manager. In his new role, he is overseeing the firm's liquid hedge fund strategies. Prior to joining Silver Creek, Zaske worked at McKinsey & Co.'s in-house asset management group. Silver Creek is an alternative investment boutique firm with a focus on private credit, hedge fund and real asset strategies that include timber and aggregate reserves.

Estate Planning Council of Seattle

Steven Schindler of Perkins Coie is the incoming president of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle. Other officers for 2020-2021 are: Kathryn Haggitt Fisher of Fulcrum Capital, immediate past president; Jolene Cox of Deloitte Tax, president-elect; J. Kim Cacace of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, treasurer; and David Fain of MCM Financial, secretary. Here is the executive committee: William Jaback of Partners in Care; Bobby Gentry of Freestone Capital Management; Anna Cashman of Kutscher Hereford Bertram Burkart Brown & Cashman; and Allison Kollack of King & Oliason. Dan Halos of The Bailey Group is chair of the 2020 Estate Planning Seminar, which is set for Nov. 2-3 in Seattle.

ZoomInfo

Vancouver-based ZoomInfo donated over $100,000 to seven nonprofits in support of equal rights and racial justice, including Urban League of Portland and Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. A group of service firms — bankers, lawyers, accountants and other advisors — that put together ZoomInfo's recent initial public offering of stock also contributed to the cause. Other funds came from the IPO's travel budget for an investor roadshow that turned into a virtual event due to the pandemic. ZoomInfo sells access to its database of business people and companies to sales, marketing and recruiting professionals.

LeMay — America's Car Museum

In Tacoma, the LeMay car museum will show four drive-in movies during August at its Haub Family Field. The lineup is: “Frozen II” on Aug. 1; “Bumblebee” on Aug. 8; “Toy Story 4” on Aug. 15; and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” on Aug. 22. General admission is $20 per vehicle; museum members are free. Tickets are at http://www.tinyurl.com/LeMayDriveIn.