Aug 20, 2020

Pemco

Kobashigawa

In Seattle, Pemco Mutual Insurance named Nancy Kobashigawa as a business systems solutions manager in the People and Brand department. She previously held a similar position as a senior business analyst on the IT team. Prior to joining Pemco in 2018, Kobashigawa held several business systems positions with Liberty Mutual Insurance, progressing in seniority over her nearly 20-year tenure with the company.

Symetra

Black

Bellevue-based Symetra Life Insurance Co. hired Lori Black as vice president and national voluntary practice lead in the Benefits Division, a new role for the company. Black is responsible for growing Symetra's presence in the group insurance market, executing critical investments already underway and refining the Benefits Division's ongoing voluntary benefits strategy. Black previously was vice president of strategic development at YouDecide, a voluntary benefits outsourcing firm. Before that, she was vice president of producer relations strategy and operations at Cigna.

Puget Sound Energy

Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy will buy power from the 200-megawatt Golden Hills Wind Farm in Sherman County, Oregon, that will be built by Avangrid Renewables. The project will help PSE meet its goals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions while providing additional capacity to serve customers, particularly during winter periods of high electricity demand. Avangrid expects to complete the wind farm by late 2021. An estimated 250 jobs will be created or supported during construction.

Aug 19, 2020

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson

Sharpe

Kelley Ebberson

Twenty-four attorneys at Seattle law firm Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson were named to the Washington Super Lawyers and Rising Star lists. In addition to being named Super Lawyers, Linda Kelley Ebberson and Lisa Ann Sharpe both made the Top 100 Lawyers in Washington State and the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Washington lists. They both specialize in family law. Other family law attorneys on the lists are Hillary J. Collyer, Danielle L. LaBelle, Tara K. Richardson, Maya Trujillo Ringe, Justin M. Sedell and James D. Stensel. Attorneys specializing in business litigation making the lists are Mario A. Bianchi, Robert J. Henry, Dean A. Messmer, Julie M. Pendleton and Paul J. Spadafora. Three estate and probate lawyers on the lists are George S. Holzapfel, Darin T. Jensen and Eric C. Reutter. Remaining lawyers on the lists are: Robin W. Phillips and Shannon L. Trivett (employment and labor); Shannon Sperry and Eugene W. Wong (real estate); Anthony J.W. Gewald (general litigation); Konrad Miernowski (tax); Karl A. Weiss (business/corporation); and Quentin Wildsmith (estate and trust). No more than 5% of the lawyers in the state are selected as Super Lawyers and no more than 2.5% are named Rising Star.

Leafly

Miyashita

Yoko Miyashita is the new CEO of Leafly, a Seattle-based cannabis technology company. Miyashita joined Leafly in 2019 as general counsel, leading the company's position and policies on key compliance and government affairs issues. Prior to that, she was general counsel at Getty Images. She replaces outgoing CEO Tim Leslie, who is staying on during a brief transition period.

Seattle Genetics

Bothell-based Seattle Genetics appointed Dr. Ted W. Love to its board. Love is president and CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics, and has over 25 years of experience in the health care and biotechnology/pharmaceutical industries. Concurrent with Love's appointment, Dr. Srinivas Akkaraju resigned from the board after serving 17 years on it.

Locomation

Portland-based Locomation and Springfield, Missouri-based Wilson Logistics have finished the first test using Locomation's human-guided autonomous convoying for transporting commercial freight. The test involved two Locomation trucks hauling Wilson Logistics trailers and freight in an autonomous relay convoy over a 420-mile route on Interstate 84 between Portland and Nampa, Idaho. Locomation's system allows one driver to pilot a lead truck equipped with technology augmentation while a follower truck operates in tandem through a fully autonomous system. This allows the follower driver to log off and rest during this time. Locomation estimates the system will reduce operating costs per mile by 30% and reduce fuel consumption by 8%. Wilson has local offices in Pacific and Portland.

Itron

Tech website IoT Evolution World awarded Itron of Liberty Lake with a 2020 IoT Evolution Product of the Year Award for its wastewater monitoring solution that it created with Utility Systems Science & Software and Avanti Co. The wastewater monitoring system uses Itron's multipurpose industrial internet-of-things network and connected wastewater sensors to identify conditions that cause sanitary sewer overflows.