Todd Owens. (LinkedIn Photo)

Seattle-based Appuri, a startup using big data in an attempt to predict customer dissatisfaction, has appointed a new CEO: former Talentwise CEO Todd Owens.

Owens replaces Appuri co-founder Damon Danieli, who served as CEO for the past five years. Danieli will now be the company’s chief technology officer.

Owens had been president and CEO for Talentwise since it was founded by Seattle entrepreneur Naveen Jain in 2006. He led the company through its acquisition last year by SterlingBackcheck.

“TalentWise was an amazing journey,” Owens told GeekWire via email. “Once the merger was largely complete, I was anxious to get back to building and scaling a business again.”

Owens said the vision of Appuri co-founders Danieli and Bilal Aslam attracted him to the company.

“An opportunity to build a business, with a great team, leveraging the best technology has to offer, and a focus on customer success? Sign me up!” he said.

He also said that scaling the company will be a big priority over the next few years and, as always, will pose challenges as Appuri grows.

“It is critical that we continue to build the best team possible, and develop a culture brimming with creativity and a passion for customer success,” Owens said. “What we are doing is new but broadly applicable — we need to carry our message and our solution to the mainstream market.”

B.J. Moore. (Zipwhip Photo)

Zipwhip, a startup that provides text messaging services from desktops and over the web, announced the addition of mobile tech veteran Brendan (B.J.) Moore as the company’s first VP of enterprise sales.

Moore joins Zipwhip from mobile location sharing company Glympse, where he served as VP of enterprise sales and business development. He formerly held leadership positions at telecommunications companies AT&T and Cingular.

“I wasn’t out looking for this job, but after getting to know the Zipwhip team and seeing the proof point of the massive adoption in SMB, the consumer-to-business texting trend is undeniable,” Moore said in a news release. “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to help crack F500 enterprise.”

— CTI BioPharma, a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies for blood cancers, announced the appointment of Dr. Adam Craig as the company’s new CEO. Craig replaces interim CEO Richard Love, who will remain on the company’s board of directors.

Craig has over a decade of experience in health sciences executive leadership and has spent the last year working as an independent consultant for CTI and other biotechnology firms working on blood cancer treatments.

“On behalf of CTI BioPharma’s board, I am pleased that Adam has joined as the next president and CEO as his leadership in hematology/oncology clinical development and our experience working with him over the last several months make him the right person to lead the company forward,” Love said in a news release. “I am confident in Adam’s ability to advance the company’s candidates forward, execute the strategic plan to improve the lives of patients with blood related cancers, and enhance shareholder value.”

Timothy Nelson.

— Seattle-based biotechnology company Impel NeuroPharma announced the addition of pharmaceutical vet Timothy Nelson as the independent director of the company’s board.

Nelson formerly served as the president and CEO of MAP Pharmaceuticals from 2005 until 2013, when it was acquired by Allergan for $960 million. He has held executive and leadership positions in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries for the past two decades.

“Impel’s unique, cutting-edge technology has the potential to make a substantial step forward in more effective delivery of drugs which can mean better outcomes for millions of patients who are underserved by existing therapies,” Nelson said in a news release. “I am very pleased to be able to contribute to Impel’s mission and growth.”

Impel is developing a unique drug delivery platform that can bypass the blood-brain barrier and recently raised $36 million to develop the platform and accompanying drugs.

Tableau board of directors member Forest Baskett is stepping down from his role there, according to an SEC filing.

Baskett had been on the company’s board since 2008, and is also a partner at investment firm New Enterprise Associates, where he focuses on information and energy technology investments.

“On behalf of the entire board, I want to thank Forest for the many contributions he has made over the past 13 years as a Tableau director. The management team and the board have valued his insights and opinions and greatly appreciate his many years of service to Tableau,” Christian Chabot, chairman of Tableau’s board, said in the filing.

Lucas Welch. (Lucas Welch Photo)

— Lucas Welch, formerly the director of communications for software automation provider Chef, told GeekWire that he is leaving the company. He will start a new position as director of communications for cloud services provider Skytap on March 14.

“After five incredible years at Chef, I have an opportunity to help bring greater awareness to Skytap’s thriving business. While ‘cloud’ has long been part of tech lexicon, the game is still in its early days. I’m bullish on Skytap’s market opportunity and eager to broaden the evolving cloud dialogue with fresh perspective,” Welch told GeekWire in an email.

Mark Chestnut. (Laurel Group Photo)

Faithlife, a Bellingham, Wash.,-based startup developing software to serve church communities, has added Mark Chestnut as the company’s VP of sales and customer support.

Chestnut comes to the company after more than 30 years in the tech sales world, including a 15-year tenure at Microsoft where he served as everything from an account manager to the company’s GM of marketing and business development.

Chestnut’s addition was announced by executive talent firm the Laurel Group.

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