Dec 09, 2022

Laird Norton

McGuigan

Seattle-based Laird Norton Company appointed Brian McGuigan as chief executive officer, effective January 1, 2023. McGuigan will follow current CEO, Jeff Vincent, who is retiring after 22 years. Vincent will remain as an advisor to the Laird Norton Board of Directors to assist with the transition until he formally retires on June 30, 2023. McGuigan joined the seventh-generation family-owned firm in 2012. He and Vincent are the only non-family member CEOs since the company's inception in 1855. During Vincent's tenure, which began in 2001, the 167-year-old company has changed significantly. Vincent strengthened LNC's investment approach, diversifying into new lines of business, and leading the successful sale of Lanoga, a building material retailer. Today, Laird Norton Company focuses on real estate (Laird Norton Properties and Heartland) and wealth management (Laird Norton Wealth Management), and actively seeks to acquire profitable, capital efficient businesses. McGuigan, who most recently has been serving as the company's chief operating officer, started as LNC's manager, corporate investments; advanced to director, corporate investments in 2015; VP corporate investments and compliance in 2017; VP strategy and corporate development in 2018; and executive vice President, enterprise strategy and corporate development in 2021. As CEO, McGuigan will oversee the company's organization, investments, and strategic initiatives. Additionally, McGuigan will serve on the boards of Laird Norton Wealth Management and Heartland, and as chair of the Laird Norton Properties Real Estate Committee.

AIM Consulting

Mallahan

AIM Consulting, an Addison Group company, and technology consulting firm, promoted Mike Mallahan to president. Mallahan, based in Seattle, oversees the brand's technology solutions and strategic national geographic expansion. Mallahan, a 24-year veteran in consulting, has been with AIM for five years, starting as managing director of consulting prior to his current role as vice president of consulting. Mallahan led AIM Consulting to receive multiple recognitions, including Consulting Magazine's “Fastest Growing Firms for 2022,” American Business Association Silver Stevie Award for “Healthcare Technology Solution,” and National Association for Business Resources Pacific Northwest “2022 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.” Mallahan holds a degree in Management Information Systems from Washington State University and is a board member of CougsFirst!, a WSU business network. AIM Consulting will continue to maintain its headquarters in Seattle. With its new leadership structure, AIM plans to expand into new markets in alignment with Addison Group and its partner brands. Founded in 199, Addison Group is a professional services firm specializing in talent solutions and consulting.

Taqtile

Schwartz

Decorated 4-Star General Thomas Schwartz, USA, Ret., has joined Seattle-based Taqtile as a strategic advisor in Taqtile's growing global defense business. Schwartz will advise and support the evolution and adoption of the company's Manifest platform for use in the defense industry. Current usage of Manifest by military customers includes the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the Royal Australian Navy, and other Allied defense forces, as well as OEMs and systems integrators around the globe. Manifest is designed to empower industrial workers and military personnel to complete often complex procedures more consistently and accurately by decreasing cognitive load and stress. Schwartz has held numerous leadership positions in Korea, Germany, and the U.S. Among his roles was the command of Fort Hood in Texas, the third largest military base in the U.S. Schwartz graduated from West Point in 1967, and received a Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart during his service in Vietnam.

Dec 08, 2022

Northmarq makes $20M loan in Crown Hill

The owner and original developer of the 80-unit Carkeek Park Place has secured a $20.8 million refinancing package from Northmarq, that company recently announced. The loan, which also supports the 15,430-square-foot retail portion of the property came carries a 35-year fixed rate via the FHA 223(f) program. Northmarq's Stuart Oswald led the effort, and said, “This cash-out refinance will partially fund a new multifamily development a block west of Carkeek Park Place. The borrower is a multi-generational family business that I began working with in the 1990s. They developed the Art's Grocery store in 1956, which subsequently became QFC in 1998.” Developer F.R. McAbee is meanwhile working with Clark Barnes on the nearby 63-unit apartment plan; that doesn't yet have its master use permit. Carkeek Place itself dates to 1999.

Colliers

Blankenship

Veteran broker Scott Blankenship has left Kidder Mathews to join Colliers, the latter firm recently disclosed. His new post will be executive managing director and market leader for Puget Sound. He said in a statement, “Colliers inspires an entrepreneurial and agile approach to business. The firm provides a very collaborative, inclusive and dynamic platform, and I look forward to being part of it and supporting our teams as we expand and enhance service to our clients.”

Kidder Mathews

Ford

A longtime fixture at Kidder Mathews, Stu Ford has been promoted to executive VP and managing director of the Seattle office. KM's Brian Hatcher said in a statement, “We are very excited to have Stu help lead our expansion in Seattle. Given his industry expertise and countless connections throughout the business community, he will be very successful building on the momentum we have.” Ford said he was actively “recruiting more top talent.”

Tarragon

Purdue

Tarragon recently announced a new addition to its land development group: Chad Purdue, who makes the move from Pulte Homes. Tarragon's Mark Enebrad said in a statement, “I am absolutely thrilled to have Chad join the development team! His experience in the industry, along with a strong desire and determination to expand his knowledge in land development and master plan design, will have an immediate impact.” He'll begin work immediately on the planned 320-acre Uplands project in Pierce County.

New faces and titles at Heartland

Heartland announced a recent bevvy of staff moves at the firm. Promoted within the office to principal and project director are Lee Striar and Mark Goodman. And there have been four new hires. Joe Shea becomes director of asset management, following a stint at BentallGreenOak. Mitch Sontra is a new asset manager; he makes the leap from Holland Partner Group. Formerly working in architecture, Divya Kapuria becomes an project manager. And recent U.W. graduate Eric Kang is a new research analyst.

Gantry arranges over $12M loan

As the DJC first reported in October, a nearly 67,000-square-foot Woodinville industrial building sold for $24.5 million to local investors. The tech firm Redapt has its headquarters there. Now Gantry has announced its role in the deal, having secured a $12.5 million loan from Symetra Life Insurance. Gantry's Mike Wood and Alex Saunders secured the 10-year, fixed-rate loan. Wood said in a statement, “Life company lenders continue to be a stable resource for attractive fixed rate, long-term financing for acquisitions or refinances in this current environment. We continue to see the best rates offered to industrial assets that feature strong tenants with long-term leases in place.”

Deeper into data centers

PGIM Real Estate announced the recent hiring of Jim Footh as managing director of data center investments and portfolio management. He makes the move from Amazon Web Services, and will be based here in Seattle. PGIM's Morgan Laughlin said in a statement, “I'm truly excited to have him on board. The availability of large amounts of low-latency data processing capacity is becoming increasingly critical to the global economy.”

Oggvo

Seattle-based Oggvo announced that Maureen Ezekwugo joined the company as chief executive officer. Ezekwugo brings experience at driving revenue growth, building high-performing teams, and delivering customer value in competitive business markets, having served most recently as chief customer officer at RealSelf, an online destination for consumers shopping in the aesthetic medicine space. Ezekwugo succeeded outgoing CEO Sam Cohen Brown. Cohen Brown will assume the role of president and remain active in the business along with Jordan Richter, who will continue as chief financial officer. Oggvo was founded in 2018 by Cohen Brown and Richter. The Oggvo platform simplifies the customer experience with tools that enable small to medium-sized businesses to grow their online reputation and increase visibility.

NAVEX

NAVEX, a provider of integrated risk and compliance management software, hired Florian Haarhaus as the company's international general manager, reporting directly to CEO and president, Sean Thompson. Haarhaus is responsible for leading NAVEX's international business, spearheading strategic initiatives to extend NAVEX solutions across high growth markets. Prior to joining NAVEX, Haarhaus was the general manager and vice president, sales EMEA at Seattle-based Nintex, where he directly oversaw all go-to-market activity across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Haarhaus has 30 years of international experience in the software and SaaS industry, having built and run teams across Europe, the Middle East and Asia for companies like Oracle, Lotus-IBM, Salesforce, Box and, most recently, Nintex. His key areas of focus include setting international go-to-market strategies, M&A integrations, international expansion and developing partner ecosystems. NAVEX is based in the Portland area.

Lasher Holzapfel

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson announced that Amanda Kuehne has joined the firm's Corporate & Business Law, Estate Planning Trusts & Probate and Tax Law practice groups. Kuehne will assist clients on a range of estate planning, trust and business issues. In addition, she will advise business clients on entity selection and formation as well as negotiating business agreements and related transactions. Lasher Holzapfel was founded nearly 50 years ago in Seattle.

Mary Bridge Children's Hospital

Festival of Trees, the largest annual fundraiser for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, returned in person this year for its two signature events, Tinsel on the Town and Festival Gala. The events raised over $1.97 million for critical programs and services at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. Festival of Trees is organized by the Mary Bridge Children's Foundation in partnership with the Mary Bridge Brigade. The Brigade is the hospital's largest donor and, since its founding in 1921, has raised more than $50 million for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital programs and services. Presenting sponsors for this year's Festival of Trees were E9 Brewing Company and Tom & Meg Names Family Foundation. The Mary Bridge Children's Foundation supports uncompensated care and clinical and community programs not covered by insurance for patients and families at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. Mary Bridge Children's serves more than 300,000 children each year. More than half of the families served at Mary Bridge Children's are low-income, and more than 60 percent of families are on Medicaid. Founded in 1955, Mary Bridge Children's Hospital is the state-designated Level II Pediatric Trauma Center for Western Washington, and also provides primary, specialty and urgent care services at its outpatient centers and clinics across the South Sound, including Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, Olympia, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Bonney Lake and Poulsbo.