Dec 07, 2022

NW Natural

For the third consecutive year, NW Natural scored the second-highest in customer satisfaction among large utilities in the West, according to J.D. Power. NW Natural received 773 points in the West large utility segment, which represents utilities serving 500,000 or more residential customers, as part of J.D. Power's Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study. This is the 19th time the company has scored in the top two in the West. NW Natural also scored in the top 10 in the nation among large gas utilities this year. The 2022 Gas Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 57,239 online interviews conducted from January 2022 through October 2022 among residential customers of the 84 largest gas utility brands across the United States, which represent more than 64.6 million households. The study, now in its 21st year, measures residential customer satisfaction with natural gas utilities across six factors: safety and reliability; billing and payment; price; corporate citizenship; communications; and customer service. NW Natural, a part of Northwest Natural Holding Company, is headquartered in Portland, and has been doing business for more than 160 years. NW Natural currently provides natural gas service to approximately 2.5 million people in more than 140 communities in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Standard Insurance

Portland-based Standard Insurance (The Standard) and Securian Financial Group announced the closing of the acquisition of Securian Financial's retirement plan recordkeeping business by The Standard, in accordance with the terms of the agreement reported on Oct. 18, 2022. The acquisition combines the recordkeeping business of two providers with expertise in retirement plan administration, customer service and a shared focus on fiduciary protections. The business will operate under The Standard brand and include Securian Financial's retirement solutions employees, management, client relationships and distribution networks. The Standard, in business since 1906, is a provider of financial protection products, including group and individual disability insurance, group life, dental and vision insurance, voluntary benefits, absence management services, and retirement plans and annuities for employers and individuals.

Rainier Partners

Pet Food Express and Rainier Partners announced the appointment of retail executive Denyelle Bruno as chief executive officer of Pet Food Express, an omnichannel pet retailer that sells healthy pet foods, goods, and services from over 60 locations throughout California. The company partnered with Seattle-based Rainier Partners earlier this year. Bruno brings 25 years of experience at companies such as Apple, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Tender Greens and Drybar. She currently serves as a board member for the American Veterinarian Group. Founded by Michael Levy over forty years ago, Pet Food Express has helped pioneer the evolution of the pet industry by offering high quality pet products and services while championing local pet shelters and charities. Rainier Partners is a private equity firm investing in lower middle-market services businesses.

Dec 06, 2022

TRInternational

Megan Gluth-Bohan, owner and CEO of Seattle-based chemical distributor TRInternational, was recently recognized with two honors for leaders in her industry. In November, she was named Distributor of the Year by the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) for “her authority on key policy issues facing the industry [and] her ability to create lasting connections” as a CEO. As a NACD member, Megan Gluth-Bohan has served on several NACD committees. She served as a spokesperson this year as the industry faced significant ocean cargo and shipping challenges. Currently, Gluth-Bohan serves as the first female member of the NACD board's executive committee and was just elected vice chair. Earlier this year, Gluth-Bohan was named by the Women Presidents Organization as one of 2022's Women 2 Watch, an annual list recognizing the 50 fastest growing women-owned companies within their membership. She obtained a law degree from the University of St. Thomas and worked primarily in the civil litigation before joining TRI in 2012 as the company's first general counsel. She later became TRI's president and then the company's second-ever CEO. Founded in 1994, TRInternational is a supplier of raw materials in all sectors, including pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, cosmetics and food additives, and works closely with manufacturers across the globe.

Fortive

Fortive has appointed Eric Branderiz to its board of directors with a term commencing on January 1, 2023. At that time, the size of the board will expand from eight to nine members. Branderiz most recently served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Enphase Energy, a renewal energy technology company. Prior to joining Enphase, Branderiz served as the chief accounting officer and corporate controller of Tesla, and in various senior roles, including as the senior vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, at SunPower Corporation, a solar energy system design and manufacturing company. Previously, Branderiz served in various senior roles with Knowledge Learning, Spansion, and Advanced Micro Devices. Branderiz is a Certified Public Accountant in California. Fortive is headquartered in Everett, and employs a team of more than 18,000 research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service and administrative employees in more than 50 countries around the world.

Dec 02, 2022

Fikso Kretschmer

Conway

Launius

Kelsch

Douglas

Seattle law firm Fikso Kretschmer Smith Dixon Ormseth announced several personnel moves. Emily Douglas joined Fikso from Jones Day in San Francisco. She is a graduate of University of Michigan Law School with specialties in real estate finance and purchase and sales, and is admitted to practice in both California and Washington. Bethany Kelsch joined Fikso in February 2022 from Stoel Rives. She graduated from Seattle University School of Law. Kelsch was named in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, and specializes in commercial leases, real estate purchases and sales and finance, broker licensing, and business transactions. Scott Launius joined the firm after recently graduating from the University of Washington School of Law. His practice areas include real estate transactions, commercial leasing, and working with home builders and planned communities. Previously, Launius worked as a Judicial Extern to the Honorable John C. Coughenour. Sydney Conway was promoted to partner following a five-year associate tenure. Previously, Conway was with DLA Piper in Seattle. She specializes in real estate transactions of all kinds, particularly commercial leases. She graduated from the University of Washington School of Law.

Audere

Macharia

Seattle-based Audere, a digital health nonprofit developing solutions to advance health equity, announced the appointment of Dr. Doris Macharia to its board of directors. Macharia is the senior vice president of global programs at Orbis International. She has more than twenty five years of experience in global health and development, spanning managerial, operational, and technical roles throughout the industry. She has experience managing country-specific and regional programming for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, COVID-19, family planning, social behavior change, and other key areas of focus for disease prevention and control. In her current role at Orbis, Macharia manages a portfolio of 70 projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbeans and leads a global team to design, implement and manage eye health programs worldwide. Previously, she held senior positions at FHI360, Futures Group, RTI International, UNICEF, ICAP Columbia University and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Macharia will join existing Audere board members Dino Rech, CEO of Audere; John Halamka, president of Mayo Clinic Platform; Lauren Lavoie, director of engineering, health & wellness technology at Walmart; and Shyam Pather, CTO of Audere.

Dec 01, 2022

PABCO Roofing Products

Randolph

Hobdy

PABCO Roofing Products hired Brian Hobdy as vice president and general manager and David Randolph as director of manufacturing. The new executives will guide PABCO Roofing Products, a manufacturer of architectural asphalt shingles for residential and commercial applications, into the company's next phase of growth. Hobdy has held positions in the Pacific Coast Building Products family of companies, of which PABCO Building Products is a subsidiary, for 20 years. He is an accountant by training and veteran of the building products industry, and will interact directly with customers to identify opportunities to improve products and services. Prior to joining the company, Hobdy was an auditor at Price Waterhouse Coopers, where one of his clients was Pacific Coast Building Products. In his role as director of manufacturing, Randolph will apprise and bolster PABCO Roofing Products' manufacturing philosophies and processes to maximize product quality, pursue innovation, modernize equipment and processes, and improve safety for employees. Randolph's career includes leadership positions in building-products manufacturing companies, including Johns Manville and Owens Corning. Tacoma-based PABCO Roofing Products has been in operation since 1984, and is a division of PABCO Building Products which services the building industry in the western United States and Canada.

Emerald Downs

Emerald Downs has announced a 52-day live racing season for 2023, with opening day Saturday, May 6, and closing day Sunday, Sept. 17. The 2023 season features 20 Saturdays, 19 Sundays, 11 Fridays, and two Mondays. Opening day shares billing with the 148th Kentucky Derby with a special 1 p.m. first post at Emerald Downs. Post times are similar to recent seasons with Saturday post 2 p.m. May 13-June 24, and 5 p.m. July 1-Sept. 16. Sunday post is 2 p.m. throughout the meeting while Friday post (beginning June 9) is 7 p.m. Holiday racing is scheduled Monday, May 29, 2 p.m., and Monday, July 3, 5 p.m. The 2023 meet — the 28th at Emerald Downs — features the 88th running of the Longacres Mile. The stakes schedule will be released in December. Live racing dates were approved at the recent monthly meeting of the Washington Horse Racing Commission.

Northline Seafoods

Northline Seafoods has launched a new project to build a sustainable and efficient mobile commercial salmon processing platform, with construction planned to begin at the Port of Bellingham in January. The Hannah is vertically integrated vessel that will operate in Bristol Bay, Alaska, during the commercial fishing season. The Hannah will process salmon by deep freezing fish whole at the fishing grounds in Bristol Bay and hauling them back to its base of Pacific Northwest operations in Bellingham, where the fish will be stored, reprocessed and distributed year-round all from one vessel. The final product will be delivered to the market at a higher quality and with a more sustainable environmental footprint. The vessel will be built out of an existing barge hull that will be towed from the Gulf of Mexico to Washington. Northline Seafoods recently closed on a $40 million backed guarantee Food Supply Chain loan for the Hannah project that was made possible by the Biden Administration's “Build Back Better” initiative, and financed by Greater Commercial Lending, which provides loans to businesses and organizations in under-served and rural communities. Northline also teamed with Zachary Scott, a Seattle-based investment banking firm with ties to the seafood industry, to raise $62.5 million to support the company in its development. Northline Seafoods is a seafood processing company Headquartered in Sitka, Alaska, that freezes wild salmon at the source, starting in Bristol Bay.