Jun 09, 2020

POSaBIT

Mike Apker joined the board of Seattle-based POSaBIT, a financial tech company focused on point-of-sale systems for cash-only businesses, especially those in the cannabis industry. Apker was founder and CEO of Oberon Financial Technology, an investment management software company that was acquired by Envestnet. He recently retired from Envestnet after 15 years in a variety of executive capacities. Apker is serving as board chair, replacing Bruce Jaffe, who continues as a non-voting board advisor.

Ethernet Alliance

In Beaverton, Oregon, Ethernet Alliance announced its officers and board for 2020. They include: Peter Jones of Cisco Systems, chairman; Greg McSorley of Amphenol, president; Jeffery Maki of Juniper Networks, treasurer; Nathan Tracy of TE Connectivity, secretary; Craig Carlson of Marvell, board member; David Chalupsky of Intel, board member; Pete Del Vecchio of Broadcom, board member; Dave Estes of Spirent, board member; Mark Nowell of Cisco Systems, board advisory chair; David J. Rodgers of Teledyne LeCroy, events and conference chair; David Tremblay of Aruba by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, power over Ethernet certification chair; and George Zimmerman of CME Consulting, technical chair. Ethernet Alliance is a global consortium advancing Ethernet technologies.

Amazon

Amazon Web Services inked a deal with Slack Technologies that allows the Slack Calls feature to use Amazon Chime, a video conferencing service. Slack is also using AWS' global infrastructure to offer its customers data residency — the ability to choose which country or region their data is stored in. AWS is an Amazon company.

Oregon Bancorp

American Banker magazine ranked Oregon Bancorp as No. 1 on its Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks and Thrifts list. It's the second year in a row that the Salem, Oregon-based bank has been at the top of the list for banks with under $2 billion in assets. The rankings are based on three-year average return on equity. Oregon Bancorp is the parent company of Willamette Valley Bank.

Crux Diving

Ulrich

Kenmore-based Crux Diving hired Sterling Ulrich as lead diver and senior level diving supervisor, in charge of Northwest diving operations. Ulrich has been in the commercial diving industry over 19 years — with expertise in salvage, heavy lifting, and inland and offshore marine construction — and has completed major diving projects around the globe. Crux provides diving services on heavy civil and marine construction projects throughout the Northwest and the world.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity Seattle — King County last week raised a record $1.42 million from its Beyond the Build affordable housing event, which was a virtual campaign this year instead of a luncheon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group raised an additional $185,000 for its Resiliency Fund to support families affected by the coronavirus. During the event, Habitat recognized HomeStreet Bank with its Community Leader of the Year award, and Nicki Gates with its Volunteer of the Year award for dedicating more than 3,300 hours in building or repairing homes. Habitat has a goal of building or preserving 400 homes over the next five years to serve 1,000 families in King County. It currently has about 170 homes in various stages of development, including 52 homes in the Fort Lawton redevelopment project in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood.

Jun 05, 2020

Saykara

Efron

Seattle-based startup Saykara hired Joy Efron as vice president of marketing. Efron has 20 years of experience as a strategist and business leader in health care, where she has helped commercialize care management, evidence-based guidelines, predictive analytics and electronic health records. Saykara has developed an artificial intelligence-powered assistant for physicians called Kara. The voice-enabled mobile app “listens” as doctors converse with their patients and then transfers the salient content into patients' electronic health records.

Silverback Therapeutics

In Seattle, biopharmaceutical company Silverback Therapeutics appointed Vickie L. Capps as director and audit committee chair. Capps was CFO at DJO Global, as well as several other public and private companies. She holds a CPA designation and sits on the boards of several companies. Silverback is developing ways to eradicate solid tumors.

ZoomInfo

Vancouver-based ZoomInfo Technologies set the initial public offering price of its common stock at $21 per share and the stock opened trading yesterday at $40 per share under the symbol ZI. Underwriters were targeting an IPO price of $16-$18 per share for 44.5 million shares. ZoomInfo sells access to its database of business people and companies to sales, marketing and recruiting professionals.

Expeditors International

In Seattle, Expeditors International of Washington acquired Portland-based Fleet Logistics' digital platform to support Expeditors' online shipping platform called Koho. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Koho helps small shippers quote, book, manage and track their less-than-truckload shipments.

Ponzi Vineyards

Federal regulators approved the Laurelwood District American Viticultural Area in Oregon's Willamette Valley. The area includes over 33,000 acres on parts of the Chehalem Mountains where Ponzi Vineyards and Dion Vineyards operate. Both vineyards sought to have the area classified as an AVA.