May 28, 2026

Skanska

Gabales

Skanska, a global construction and development firm, has hired Ivi Gabales as senior director-business development strategist for its Seattle office. Gabales brings nearly 20 years of experience across architecture, engineering, marketing and business development leadership in the architecture, engineering and construction industry, including roles at Rice Fergus Miller, Glumac and BCRA, as well as leading her own AEC consulting practice.

In her new role, Gabales will lead strategic business development initiatives focused on strengthening client relationships, expanding market opportunities, and supporting long-term growth across key sectors in the Pacific Northwest.

“Ivi's experience across the AEC industry, combined with her strong relationships throughout the region, makes her an important addition to our team,” said Don Kowalchuk, executive vice president and general manager, Skanska USA Building in Seattle. “She brings the strategic mindset and market understanding needed to help us build on our momentum in Seattle and identify new opportunities across the Pacific Northwest.”

Gabales began her career as an architect before moving into marketing and business development leadership.

Gabales holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of the Philippines and serves on the boards of the Seattle Architecture Foundation and the Filipino American Construction Professionals of the Northwest (FACPROS).

May 27, 2026

Port of Bremerton

The Port of Bremerton has been honored with the Washington Public Port Association's Community Outreach Award, recognizing the port's public outreach efforts tied to its Airport Feasibility Study.

The award highlights the port's commitment to transparency, accessibility, and meaningful public participation in evaluating the potential introduction of passenger and/or cargo service at Bremerton National Airport. This initiative displays long-term implications for both regional economic development and local quality of life, and in recognizing the significance of this project, the port prioritized robust community engagement from the onset.

The port used a multi-channel outreach strategy to ensure that residents and stakeholders of Kitsap County had opportunities to learn about the project and share feedback. These efforts included a community-wide survey that exceeded response expectations, a hybrid public open house, and ongoing communication through social media, newsletters and dedicated project websites. The port used these means to identify and directly address key community concerns, and those insights are helping shape the continued work of the study.

May 22, 2026

Deacon Construction

Peeples

Deacon Construction has added Steven Peeples as division manager for Special Projects in its Seattle office.

Peeples brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in real estate development, construction management, and operations across multifamily, mixed-use, hospitality, and commercial projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. His background spans both owner/developer and general contractor perspectives, giving him a well-rounded command of preconstruction, budgeting, scheduling, entitlement strategy, and full-cycle project execution.

Known for building collaborative, high-performing teams and delivering strong outcomes for clients and stakeholders, Deacon says that his proactive approach and deep industry relationships make Peeples a valuable addition.

Mutual of Enumclaw

Peterson

Mutual of Enumclaw recently hired industry veteran Joe Peterson as its new vice president of claims and chief claims officer.

Peterson joins the MOE team with more than 20 years of claims leadership experience, most recently serving as vice president – P&C Claims at Zenith Insurance Company. In that role, he was responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the Agribusiness Claims organization, with a focus on performance, innovation, and organizational alignment.

Previously, Peterson held senior leadership roles at Zenith, including assistant vice president and director of casualty claims, with oversight of complex casualty and litigation portfolios. Over the course of his career, Peterson has a reputation for building strong culture with a focus on the development of the claims team. He also held multiple claims leadership positions at Allied/Nationwide Insurance, where he built and led high-performing teams and reinforced technical excellence.

Mutual of Enumclaw is a Washington-based regional insurer specializing in personal, business, and farm and ranch coverage.

May 21, 2026

ACI Mechanical & HVAC Sales

Keller

ACI Mechanical & HVAC Sales has named Tyler Keller vice president, Data Center Solutions. Keller brings more than 17 years of experience driving revenue growth, with expertise in hyperscale, colocation and AI infrastructure, combined with a strong engineering background. Keller will lead ACI's data center solutions division, focusing on expanding the company's presence and supporting both existing and emerging client relationships.

Prior to joining ACI, Keller served as global account manager, Enterprise Solutions on Carrier's Global Data Center team. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Automated Logic, a Carrier company, managing large-scale automation projects for global enterprise clients across various markets.

Headquartered in Seattle, an ESOP company, ACI Mechanical & HVAC Sales is an the Pacific Northwest's premier partner for commercial HVAC applications. ACI collaborates with consulting engineers, contractors, and their customers to deliver solutions in data centers, industrial, education, commercial office, and healthcare. ACI is a team 55 degreed sales engineers and project professionals working with over 50 equipment manufacturers.

May 20, 2026

Liberty Bank

Woods

Liberty Bank announced the appointment of Rob Woods as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Woods brings decades of financial leadership and community banking experience to Liberty Bank, which is based in Poulsbo. Prior to joining the organization, he spent more than 20 years with SaviBank, where he was a founding member and chief financial officer.

Earlier in his career, Woods held the role of chief financial officer at Columbia Trust Bank in Kennewick and gained additional experience with several financial institutions, including the Federal Home Loan Bank.

Woods holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Western Washington University and a Master of Finance from Seattle University. He also completed advanced banking studies at the University of South Carolina's Graduate School of Bank Investments and Financial Management.

Liberty Bank is a locally owned community bank.

May 19, 2026

Foster Garvey

Randles

Flichtbeil

Foster Garvey announced the promotion of two senior leaders: Scott Flichtbeil was promoted to chief executive officer (CEO), and Andrew Randles was promoted to chief financial officer (CFO).

Flichtbeil previously served as the firm's chief operating officer for nearly five and a half years and before that, as CFO. Based in Seattle, Flichtbeil focuses on the long-term strategy of the firm and oversees the day-to-day operations and administrative functions. He works closely with other firm leaders on efforts impacting strategic growth and sustainability, including budget management, recruiting, capital structures and attorney compensation. Prior to joining Foster Garvey, he worked at other Seattle-based law firms, as well as professional service firms. He earned his MBA from Seattle University.

Randles was previously the firm's director of finance and accounting. As CFO, he works closely with Flichtbeil, the firm's co-chairs, the Executive Committee and other key stakeholders on the firm's financial operations. Based in Portland, he leads the development and execution of the budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis processes across the firm's six offices. He previously served as the president of the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC).

Foster Garvey PC has offices in Seattle, Portland, Washington, D.C., New York, Spokane and Tulsa.

May 15, 2026

Sate Insurance Commissioner

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer is visiting Eastern Washington communities in May as part of her Community Connect outreach events, focusing on meeting residents of wildfire-threatened areas and discussing their issues with home insurance.

“Large-scale wildfires are becoming more commonplace, and wildfire risk is an increasingly important aspect of home insurance,” Kuderer said, in a news release Monday.

The first of two events is set for May 16 in Deer Park at the Wildfire & Forestry Safety Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Deer Park Fire Station 41, at 315 Crawford St. The second is on May 20, 6-8 p.m., at Medical Lake City Hall, at 124 S. Lefevre St.

State insurance officials say home insurance nonrenewals and cancellations have more than doubled since 2021, largely in response to increased wildfire risk in parts of the state.

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) recently added Washington to its list of states in which its Wildfire Prepared Home designation is available. The Wildfire Prepared program is a set of research-based mitigation actions that help homeowners and builders in high-risk areas better protect their homes and neighborhoods from wildfire. These home-hardening standards drive insurer confidence and market stability by directly reducing the likelihood of a home igniting.

More can be found at https://www.insurance.wa.gov/.