Sep 08, 2021

Biggs Insurance Services

Alliant Insurance continues to expand its footprint in the Pacific Northwest, acquiring Biggs Insurance Services. Biggs has an 86-year history of providing personal, commercial, and employee benefit solutions to businesses and individuals in Washington, Oregon, and throughout the Pacific Northwest Region. Biggs is one of the largest locally owned, independent agencies in both Vancouver, WA and Portland. Biggs and its team of almost 60 insurance professionals will join Alliant and will continue servicing clients from its Vancouver headquarters. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Alliant Insurance Services is a leading distributor of diversified insurance products and services.

Pacific Market International

The HAVI Group, a global, privately-owned company that operates businesses providing services in supply chain, sourcing, and consumer engagement to global brands, announced it has acquired Pacific Market International (“PMI Worldwide”). Founded in 1983, PMI Worldwide provides beverageware and food container solutions to global foodservice brands and retailers. PMI Worldwide employs more than 700 people in seven countries. Under the new structure, PMI Worldwide will continue to be managed by the existing leadership team and will operate as a new HAVI business unit reporting to HAVI CEO Frank Ravndal. Headquartered in Seattle, PMI Worldwide has offices in San Francisco, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Amsterdam, Manila, Rio de Janeiro, and Bentonville, Arkansas. Additionally, PMI Worldwide has ownership in three manufacturing facilities, one in China and two in Brazil.

ModusBox

Seattle-based ModusBox announced a partnership with DocFox, an SaaS-based automated business onboarding tool for financial institutions. The two companies provide solutions that enables banks and credit unions to unlock access to banking core data and rapidly onboard any new business. DocFox provides a white-labeled, paperless experience that handles document collection and validation through automated analysis, performs enhanced review and screening of high-risk customers, and a single point of view for real-time tracking of Bank Security Act compliance. DocFox is used by over 200 financial institutions to automate their account opening processes. It provides intelligent, highly customized workflows for any type of client. ModusBox is a financial services technology company focused on open banking solutions that unlock access to banking core data and eliminate vendor dependencies.

Sep 03, 2021

Symetra

Deep

Estep

Symetra Life Insurance announced the appointments of two new vice presidents to its group Benefits Division. Craig Deep joins Symetra as vice president, Life, Disability and Voluntary Underwriting, and Michael Estep joins the company as vice president, Voluntary Practice Lead. Both executives report to Lisa Marecki, senior vice president of Symetra's Life and Disability and Select Benefits voluntary benefits product lines. Estep will be responsible for growing Symetra's presence in the voluntary benefits marketplace. Deep will head all underwriting activities across both the life and disability and voluntary lines. Most recently, Estep was vice president, group product and voluntary practice lead at the Guardian Life Insurance. Deep joins Symetra from The Hartford, where he was assistant vice president of priority and regional account underwriting. Symetra Life Insurance is a subsidiary of Symetra Financial, a diversified financial services company based in Bellevue.

Fortive

Fortive has completed its previously announced acquisition of ServiceChannel Holdings. As a result of the acquisition, ServiceChannel has become an operating company within Fortive's Intelligent Operating Solutions segment. ServiceChannel is a global provider of SaaS-based multi-site facilities maintenance service solutions with an integrated service-provider network. The company serves more than 500 enterprise customers in over 70 countries across the globe, while also maintaining an integrated network of more than 70,000 facilities maintenance service providers. Fortive is a provider of essential technologies for connected workflow solutions across a range of end-markets. The company is headquartered in Everett, and employs a team of more than 17,000 research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service and administrative employees in more than 50 countries around the world.

Avalara

Seattle-based Avalara, a provider of tax compliance automation software for businesses of all sizes, announced the appointment of Marcela Martin to its board of directors. Martin is chief financial officer of Squarespace, an all-in-one website building platform, where she oversees the company's finance and corporate development functions. Prior to Squarespace, she was chief financial officer at Booking.com, where she led finance operations, risk management, corporate development, and M&A. Martin brings more than 25 years of global finance and leadership experience across consumer technology, software, and SaaS verticals with high-growth companies to Avalara's board. Avalara also announced that Chelsea Stoner, a partner at Battery Ventures, has resigned from the board of directors.

Sep 02, 2021

Curator

Garza

Christopher

Curator, a Seattle-based public relations agency specializing in lifestyle and consumer brands, announced the hiring of two new strategic communication specialists. Jessica Christopher has joined the agency as a senior account executive based in Philadelphia, and Xiamara Garza has joined the firm as a Phoenix-based assistant account executive. In their new roles, Christopher and Garza will be responsible for communication strategies for clients including Ziply Fiber, Washington's Lottery, Skanska USA, Gesa Credit Union and Delta Air Linee. Christopher joins the firm from Allied Global Marketing, a full-service integrated marketing agency working with entertainment, consumer and lifestyle brands. Garza is a recent graduate of Northern Arizona University. Previously, she interned at a national non-profit organization and assisted with their public relations and marketing efforts. Before landing this role, Garza was an intern at Curator.

710 ESPN Seattle

Salk

710 ESPN Seattle, owned by Bonneville Seattle Media Group, announced a new morning show, “The Mike Salk Show,” will begin Sept. 7. In addition, “Jake & Stacy” will expand their weekday show by one hour, with the new broadcast time of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Salk is also co-host of the “Brock & Salk” Podcast with Brock Huard. For the new show, Salk will be joined by executive producer and on-air contributor, Justin Barnes and producer, Maura Dooley.

Urbanova

Kim Zentz, CEO and co-founder of Urbanova, notified the board earlier this year of her desire to move toward semi-retirement while continuing to serve as an executive consultant and board member. Urbanova is evaluating proposals from executive recruitment firms and will launch a national search this month. Zentz's 40-year career spans executive, entrepreneurial and project leadership, including CEO of Innovate Washington and of the Spokane Transit Authority, as well as founding president and COO of Avista Labs (now ReliOn/Plug Power). She is also director of urban innovation for Washington State University and previously served as director of the Engineering and Technology Management online graduate program for WSU's Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. Headquartered in Spokane and incorporated in 2016, Urbanova is an urban innovation partnership focused on driving equitable solutions for midsize cities.