Apr 30, 2021

Amazon

LinkedIn named Amazon the No. 1 company where Americans want to work in 2021, up from No. 3 in 2019. Amazon ranked first on LinkedIn's Top Companies list, an annual list that identifies the most sought-after places to work. Using data from LinkedIn's 740 million members, LinkedIn's Top Companies list is designed to help professionals identify the best companies to grow their careers. LinkedIn's methodology evaluates how companies attract and retain the best talent, including through promotions, funding opportunities for employees to learn new skills, gender diversity, and hiring people from all backgrounds and levels of education. LinkedIn also looked at how much recruiters from other companies search for employees currently working at Amazon. Amazon currently employs more than 950,000 people in the U.S. at its headquarters in the Puget Sound region and in Arlington, Virginia; the Amazon campus in Nashville, Tennessee; its 18 Tech Hubs; and the company's network of logistics, retail, and data center facilities across more than 40 states.

Ally.io

Ally.io, a technology company specializing in goal-setting and business execution software, hired three new senior leaders, Rebecca Clements, senior vice president of people and culture; Kirsten Smith, vice president of growth marketing; and Rajiv Arunkundram, vice president of product. Clements will lead the people operations team and spearhead the company's global approach to company culture and values. Before Ally.io, Clements held leadership roles at Getty Images, Varolli and most recently at Moz where she served as chief people officer. Smith joined Ally.io from Gladly, where she served as head of growth marketing. Prior to that, Smith led growth marketing for Glassdoor. Arunkundram brings more than 15 years of experience to Ally.io and leads the product team, driving the software's vision and go-to-market strategy. Prior to Ally.io, Arunkundram served as a senior product leader at Smartsheet and held senior product and marketing roles at Microsoft. Ally.io was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Seattle.

ExtraHop

Seattle-based ExtraHop, a leader in cloud-native network detection and response, announced the appointment of cybersecurity industry veteran Mark Bowling as its new vice president of security response services. Bowling's career in cybersecurity spans two decades with the FBI where he worked on major cybersecurity initiatives across different divisions. After leaving the FBI, Bowling served as the associate special agent in charge for the U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General. Most recently, he's served as a security consultant for numerous private sector clients across industries including finance, manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and technology. Bowling also serves as a national examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and has advised member organizations of the North American Energy Reliability Corporation on cybersecurity risk management and critical infrastructure protection.

Sendle

Sendle, a 100% carbon neutral shipping service designed for small businesses, has expanded its executive team with the appointment of Dennis Oates as chief logistics officer, and Ned Sizer as chief financial officer. The expansion follows a year of record growth for Sendle, as demand for eCommerce shipping surges around the world. Oates brings with him 25 years of experience in shipping and logistics, including a 16-year tenure with FedEx, and five years with Amazon. Sizer has more than 20 years of senior financial leadership and joins the company from Turo, a car sharing marketplace. Sendle was founded in Australia in 2014 by CEO James Chin Moody, and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia and Seattle.

Apr 29, 2021

Evergreen Home Loans

Evergreen Home Loans has named a new chief marketing officer and director of marketing. Carolyn Garris has been promoted to director of marketing. She previously served as the company's senior marketing manager and has been with the company nearly seven years. In this new role, Garris will continue to oversee field marketing for Evergreen Home Loans and lead a marketing team responsible for the creation of thousands of custom marketing pieces each year. Jeanne Hussin has been promoted to the role of chief marketing officer — the first in the company's history. Hussin previously served as vice president and director of marketing for more than eight years. Hussin will be responsible for providing both strategic oversight and hands-on, tactical execution of the company's marketing communications efforts. Evergreen Home Loans has offices in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Tacoma Maritime Innovation Incubator

The Tacoma Maritime Innovation Incubator (TMII) will begin accepting applications to complete its inaugural cohort of seven companies. Based out of the Center for Urban Waters on the Thea Foss Waterway in the Tideflats region of Tacoma, the program assists early stage companies in growing their business. TMII offers a professional space for companies focused on trade/logistics, clean water, clean energy, and other maritime-related fields. It also provides professional services such as engineering assistance, web development, and sales consulting, plus access to the Washington Maritime Blue network of investors, potential customers, and partners. All of this is done at no cost to the companies. This project is the fulfillment of over a year of collaboration between the city of Tacoma, Washington Maritime Blue, and a collection of community members. Applications are open until May 15. Interested companies may apply at http://www.maritimeblue.org/tacoma or through the F6S platform under Tacoma Maritime Innovation Incubator ‘21.

Convoy

Digital freight network Convoy was named to FourKites' Premier Carrier List for the first quarter of 2021, the eighth consecutive quarter Convoy has been recognized since the award was introduced. For the first time, the list highlights organizations that are registered as partners in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's SmartWay program. SmartWay helps companies advance supply chain sustainability by measuring, benchmarking and improving freight transportation efficiencies. Convoy has been a partner of SmartWay since 2017. FourKites' latest PCL showcases 366 carriers, brokers and 3PLs that have achieved the highest standards of visibility-related operational excellence, as demonstrated by their ability to provide high-quality, consistent, accurate data on the vast majority of their loads. Convoy moves thousands of truckloads around the country each day through its optimized, connected network of carriers.

Apr 28, 2021

Vector Remote Care

Vector Remote Care, a cardiac digital health provider, has closed a $12.5 million Series A investment led by Updata Partners. The funding will be used to accelerate product, engineering, and patient engagement to support the rapidly growing demand for the company's remote cardiac monitoring solutions. Vector provides the software to manage device reporting, patient connectivity, and medical billing. Vector also aims to use the funding to double its headcount with strategic focus on engineering and product development. Recent executive-level hires include Tony Titus, senior vice president of revenue, Ryan Michel, vice president of product, Sarah Fink, vice president of marketing, Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president of business operations and Kristin Stitt, chief clinical officer. Updata Partners is a technology growth equity firm based in Washington, DC. Vector is headquartered in Bend, Oregon.

Goldendale Observatory State Park

Washington State Parks has reopened the newly renovated Goldendale Observatory State Park Heritage Site on a limited schedule. To comply with the state's Phase 3 order, the observatory will open at a reduced capacity. The free observatory programs will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays only. Visitors must register online for the programs. The facility will not open for drop-in visitors, and staff will not offer private tours. Afternoon programming will include the opportunity to tour the newly upgraded facility. Registered participants will be able to view the sun through the observatory's solar telescopes. The Goldendale Observatory is located two miles north of the town of Goldendale. The observatory houses one of the world's largest publicly accessible permanently mounted telescopes. Last year, Washington State Parks completed work on an extensive multi-year renovation of the observatory and grounds.