May 06, 2021

Carvana

Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, has debuted in Washington, and is now offering as-soon-as-next-day touchless home delivery to Longview area residents. Customers can shop more than 30,000 used cars for sale, secure financing or use the car loan calculator, purchase, trade in, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day vehicle delivery in as little as five minutes. Customers can also sell their current vehicle to Carvana and receive a real offer just as quickly, even without purchasing a vehicle. Founded in 2012 and based in Phoenix, Carvana offers vehicle delivery to customers in 281 cities across the U.S.

Seattle Public Schools

Brent Jones, Ph.D., was sworn in as superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, marking the start of a 14-month term he will serve while leading the state of Washington's largest school district. Jones replaces Denise Juneau, who served as superintendent from July 2018 to April 2021. The board search for a permanent superintendent will begin this fall and board directors will make a final selection in spring 2022. Serving as superintendent is a return to SPS for Jones. Up until early 2019, he served as the district's chief of equity, partnerships and engagement and helped lead the creation and adoption of the SPS strategic plan, Seattle Excellence. Prior to that role, Jones served as the district's chief of human resources. He has also served in executive roles with King County Metro, Kent School District, Seattle Colleges, and Green River College.

UBS Wealth Management

UBS Private Wealth Management announced that Michael Matthews, a financial advisor and senior portfolio manager in the firm's Bellevue office, has been ranked the No. 1 advisor in Washington on the Forbes/SHOOK Research Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list for 2021. This is the fourth year that Matthews has been named to the list, and the second that he's been ranked No. 1 for the state of Washington. With over 30 years of experience, Matthews provides comprehensive advice for individuals, business owners, entrepreneurs, multi-generational families, and retirees. This year's Forbes/SHOOK Research Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list is comprised of over 5,000 advisors across the country. Each advisor is chosen based on measures including phone and in-person interviews, compliance records, and revenue generated for their firms.

Standard Insurance

Standard Insurance Company has promoted Lara Robertson to second vice president of talent management. In her expanded role, Robertson will assume responsibility for the company's Change Management Office. Robertson joined The Standard in 2010 as a human resources business partner. In 2014, she was selected as director of talent management and was promoted to senior director in 2015. Prior to joining The Standard, Robertson held roles in human resources and business operations at Jacobs (formerly CH2M Hill), a global engineering and consulting firm. Additionally, Standard Insurance has promoted Melissa Oliver-Janiak to second vice president of total rewards. Oliver-Janiak will lead the company's total rewards strategy along with leading the benefits, compensation and human resources direct teams. Oliver-Janiak joined The Standard in 2014, initially serving as in-house employment counsel, and 2017 she joined the human resources department to lead the benefits team.

May 05, 2021

City of Kenmore

Palaña

The city of Kenmore hired Leonora Palaña in the newly created role of human resources manager, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. Palaña, a Kenmore resident, brings over 20 years of experience in the field of human resources, including 13 years of government agency experience working as a senior talent acquisition representative for the Port of Seattle. Prior to the Port of Seattle, Palaña was the human resources manager in New York City for W Times Square hotel and W Seattle. In addition to managing employee recruitment, training, and personnel policies, Palaña will support the city of Kenmore’s DEI initiatives, a Kenmore City Council priority for 2021-2022. Palaña will serve as the lead on community outreach, administering a DEI advisory committee, and implementing DEI policies and programs.

Russell Investments

Russell Investments announced that Kate El-Hillow has joined the firm as global chief investment officer, and Kevin Klingert has been hired as president. El-Hillow, who held several senior investment leadership roles at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, brings expertise in portfolio management, trading, and outsourced CIO and multi-asset investment solutions. Klingert comes to Russell Investments with industry experience in managing global operations and distribution. He has held leadership roles at Morgan Stanley Investment Management and BlackRock. Klingert will focus on day-to-day business execution, and work alongside Russell Investments' leadership team, overseeing the firm's sales and support functions. Both El-Hillow and Klingert will serve on Russell Investments' executive committee and report to chairman and CEO Michelle Seitz. In addition, chief operating officer Rick Smirl has accepted a position at another asset management firm, and Klingert will oversee the firm's operations functions. Pete Gunning, Russell Investments' CIO since 2018 and a 25-year veteran of the firm, will take on a new role as vice chairman and strategic relationships officer. Headquartered in Seattle, Russell Investments has offices in 19 cities around the world.

PeopleReady

Staffing company PeopleReady was named the winner of gold, silver and bronze Stevie Awards in the 19th annual American Business Awards for innovation and creativity in connecting people and work. The American Business Awards received a record number of nominations this year in a wide range of categories. PeopleReady's JobStack app was recognized for its role in helping job seekers connect to opportunities amid the pandemic and aiding businesses in navigating an unpredictable climate, winning both a gold award in the business and government services category and a bronze award for best user experience. The company's branding refresh, which focuses on its new Work Within Reach brand and commitment to providing solutions that meet candidates where they are and enable companies to connect with the quality workforce they need, was awarded a silver award for brand renovation of the year. PeopleReady specializes in quick and reliable on-demand labor and highly skilled workers, and supports a wide range of blue-collar industries.

May 04, 2021

Pilot Ventures

McLeod

Seattle-based Pilot Ventures, a real estate investment company, hired Evan McLeod. McLeod is an investment specialist whose primary focus is on the sale of multifamily properties in the Puget Sound region. Prior to joining Pilot, he spent four years at a national brokerage firm where he successfully closed over $300 million in transactions. His current client base include publicly traded institutions, private equity firms, family offices, local developers, and private investors.

Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank elected Craig Dawson and Jinyoung Englund to its board of directors. Dawson is the founder, CEO and president of Retail Lockbox, which specializes in payment processing, online payments, digital image capture and retrieval services, and financial reporting for customers. He chairs the board of directors for the Washington Roundtable, and in 2020, founded the Black Business Warehouse, a clearinghouse of information about Black-owned businesses. Additionally, Dawson is the immediate past chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco-Seattle branch, and is a member of the Seattle Advisory Board for the Consulting and Business Development Center at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. Englund serves as a digital service expert at the Defense Digital Service (DDS) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Department of Defense. Prior to her service appointment to DDS, Englund was a Fellow with the Strategic Innovation Group at Booz Allen Hamilton. She is a candidate for the Public Leadership Executive Certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education. Headquartered in Spokane, Washington Trust currently has 42 branches and offices in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

Itron

Itron announced that GridWise Alliance (GWA) Chair, Gil Quiniones has appointed Itron CEO Tom Deitrich to join the GWA's new Grid Infrastructure Advisory Council (GIAC). The 29-member GIAC supports the Alliance's call to modernize the U.S. electric power transmission and distribution systems. GIAC and GWA will work with the Biden Administration to address areas where grid modernization benefits the economy and community. The Alliance's support includes at least $50 billion in U.S. federal spending toward grid modernization. The council includes leaders from the electric utility industry, environmental groups, labor unions and other interested parties in the public and private sectors. Deitrich joins the GIAC with more than 20 years of experience in global operations. Itron has been a member of the GWA since its founding in 2003. The GWA represents the stakeholders that design, build and operate the electric grid. Itron, headquartered in Liberty Lake, enables utilities and cities to deliver infrastructure solutions to communities in more than 100 countries.

Impinj

Impinj announced that Brian Wong will join its executive leadership team as chief product officer. Wong has over 35 years' experience in the technology sector. As CPO, Wong will continue developing Impinj's product organization. He will focus on advancing Impinj's platform and enabling the company's global partner ecosystem to develop RAIN RFID products and IoT solutions that enable and drive digital transformation at enterprises worldwide. Before joining Impinj, he served as CEO of four companies, including TriLumina, Enevate, D2Audio and Primarion. The Impinj platform uses RAIN RFID to deliver data for business and consumer applications.