Apr 23, 2021

Northwest Kidney Centers

Plancich

Northwest Kidney Centers named Danielle Plancich as vice president of information technology. Plancich brings more than 25 years of experience in project implementation and operational management in health care information technology to her role with Northwest Kidney Centers. She has worked for several health care organizations, including Catholic Health Initiatives, Franciscan Medical Group, and MultiCare. Prior to joining Northwest Kidney Centers, Plancich worked as a senior manager for Deloitte Consulting. Northwest Kidney Centers is a regional, not-for-profit, community-based provider of kidney dialysis, public health education and research into the causes and treatments of chronic kidney disease. Founded in Seattle in 1962, it was the world's first dialysis organization.

The Climate Pledge

Amazon and Global Optimism announced that more than 100 companies have now signed The Climate Pledge. Among the 52 new signatories joining The Climate Pledge include Alaska Airlines, Colgate-Palmolive, Heinken, PepsiCo, Telefónica, Visa, and Seattle-based digital freight network, Convoy. Pledge signatories in total generate more than $1.4 trillion in global annual sales and have more than 5 million employees across 25 industries in 16 countries — demonstrating the collective impact The Climate Pledge can have in addressing climate change. The Climate Pledge is a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early and achieve net-zero carbon by 2040.

Avalara

Avalara, a provider of tax compliance automation for businesses of all sizes, announced it has acquired the operational assets of Davo Technologies, a company that helps emerging small businesses automate the daily and ongoing requirements for sales tax. Davo provides merchants, restaurants, and sole proprietors with an automated sales tax compliance solution that also ensures available funds for tax obligations to avoid unplanned or underfunded expenses. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Davo supports more than 4,000 small businesses in the United States. Integrated within point of sale systems such as Clover, Square, and more, Davo extends Avalara's strategy of integrated sales tax compliance processes to alleviate the burden of compliance as small businesses focus on their core operations and customer service. Headquartered in Seattle, Avalara has offices across the United States and around the world in Brazil, Europe and India.

Apr 22, 2021

Jeweler moves to Unico space

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Turgeon Raine recently vacated its old location on Fifth Avenue near Union Street, which is bound for redevelopment as a hotel by Masterworks Development. The jeweler has landed a block south at a new 7,000-square-foot corner location in the historic Skinner Building, at 1300 Fifth, owner Unico Properties recently announced. That corner space, at University Street, was vacated by Gucci. It's part of the over 10-acre Metropolitan Tract, which is ground leased from the University of Washington, and mostly managed by Unico. Jerry Raine founded his shop in 1982, and said in a statement, “We're very proud and excited to be a part of this historic location. Understanding that the pandemic has temporarily changed the nature of downtown, I still believe in the long-term outlook for Seattle. As Mark Twain once said, ‘The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.'” (In other downtown jewelry-related news, Ben Bridge recently moved from the Fourth & Pike Building, now being renovated by new owner LBA Realty, and landed in the former Fifth Avenue home of Brooks Brothers, which last year went into bankruptcy and was sold. That storied clothier has now disappeared from our market.)

JLL

Van Liere

JLL announced the recent addition to its design and construction team: Carmen Van Liere, who joins the firm as VP. She makes the move from Katerra. She brings a 15-year background in technology, lean delivery methods and sustainability. JLL's Julie Hyson said in a statement, “Leaders like Carmen can thrive in the entrepreneurial culture of JLL, where we are trusted to collaborate and solve the dynamic needs of our clients.” Said Van Liere, “As part of one of the only all-female leadership teams in Pacific Northwest commercial real estate and project management, I look forward to partnering as a team to thrill our clients and continue to drive growth in the Pacific Northwest.”

Vulcan adds public art

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At its recently completed Jackson Apartments, Vulcan Real Estate announced the addition of a new piece by local artist Paul Rucker to its public art collection. His 78 anchors a large public plaza facing South Jackson Street, with its large vinyl record-shaped bearing spiraling text that honors local musicians associated with South Seattle and the Rainier Valley. It's one of 13 installations throughout the 532-unit development on the corner of 23rd Avenue South, which also includes local retailers and, soon, an Amazon Fresh grocery store. In all its projects, Vulcan says it commits half of 1% of all construction costs to public art commissions.

POSaBIT

Kirkland-based POSaBIT appointed Don Tringali to its board of directors. Tringali is the founder and chief executive officer of Augusta Advisory Group, a U.S.-based boutique financial and business consulting firm providing a full range of advisory services to public and private companies in a wide array of industries. Tringali holds a BA in Economics from UCLA and a JD degree from Harvard Law School. Along with Tringali's addition to the board, Jeff Dossett will continue working with POSaBIT but will move from a POSaBIT board member to a non-voting board advisor. POSaBIT is a financial technology company that delivers blockchain-enabled payment processing and point-of-sale systems for cash-only businesses.

Tanium

Tanium, a provider of endpoint management and security for IT environments, announced that Ash Carter has joined the company's board of directors as an independent director. Carter is the director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School, and an Innovation Fellow at MIT. He served as the 25th United States Secretary of Defense from 2015 to 2017. Carter also serves on the board of Delta Air Lines, GE and The MIT Corporation, and advises the MITRE Corporation and Lincoln Laboratories on technology matters. In addition, Tanium recently appointed Mark Fields, former CEO of Ford, David Rowland, executive chairman of Accenture, and Matt Thompson, former executive vice president of worldwide field operations at Adobe, to its board of directors.

Albertsons

Albertsons Companies announced its commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and will set an emissions reduction target that supports the goals of the United Nations' Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions. Albertsons will evaluate energy use and procurement, refrigerants, transportation, and its supply chain to submit an emissions reduction goal to SBTi for approval. The initiative is a partnership between CDP, UN Global Compact, WRI, and WWF that helps companies take meaningful climate action through its science-based framework. Boise-based Albertsons operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia.

City of Tacoma

Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards will address the state of the city in a four-part series, focusing on economy, neighbors, community and the path forward. The 2021 State of the City Address will be delivered using an alternate format. A new installment will air and stream on TV Tacoma each of the first four Mondays in May, and also be cross-promoted on the city's official social media channels. Mayor Woodards' remarks can be viewed on TV Tacoma or tvtacoma.com, and on Facebook Live at facebook.com/cityoftacoma. Community members are invited to tune in and join the conversation on social media using #SOTC253.