Jeremy Korst
Jeremy Korst. (LinkedIn Photo)

Seattle-based Avalara, a cloud-driven tax automation startup, announced today that former Microsoft and T-Mobile exec Jeremy Korst will join the company as its new chief marketing officer and executive vice president.

Korst joins the startup from his position as general manager of Windows marketing at Microsoft, where he oversaw the global launch of Windows 10. He previously held executive positions at T-Mobile, and also serves as a startup mentor and advisor, including his position as an advisor to Seattle’s 9MileLabs accelerator.

“Avalara is at an exciting inflection point. It has the ideal combination: a terrific executive team; a cohesive, unique culture that embraces the ‘power of Orange;’ a proven platform; and a massive, global market opportunity. I look forward to helping drive its continued growth and success,” Korst said in a press release.

At Avalara, Korst will oversee marketing operations including the company’s branding and international, product, and customer marketing. The company has been growing quickly since its founding in 2004, and recently announced plans to lease a massive 100,000-square-foot office in Pioneer Square for its growing team.

Bryta Schulz
Bryta Schulz. (LinkedIn Photo)

Janrain, a heavily funded Portland-based startup that allows companies to enable and track social media sign-ins on their own sites, has announced the addition of tech veteran Bryta Schulz as its vice president of marketing.

Schulz comes to the startup from her position as VP of marketing at payment services provider Vindicia. At Janrain, she will oversee the company’s global marketing initiatives.

“Breakthroughs in technology are presenting unprecedented opportunities in personalized marketing and customer service,” Janrain CEO Jim Kaskade said in a press release. “The winners in tomorrow’s business world will be the companies that use digital identity to activate a single unified view of customer but without compromising security. Bryta has a long history of leading customers into this breakthrough ecosystem of innovative companies, making her the ideal executive to take Janrain and our clients to the next level.”

“As Gartner predicts the Identity and Access Management market to hit $18.30 billion by 2019, we are preparing for a tremendous growth phase fueled by the advancements being made in cloud computing, analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and more,” Schulz said in the release. “Companies are starting to realize if you don’t get identity right, you’ll get your marketing wrong, and nobody has time for such costly missteps.”

Vanessa Soriano Power. (Stoel Rives Photo / Stuart Isett)

— Portland-based law firm Stoel Rives announced that Vanessa Soriano Power will take over as managing partner of its Seattle office following the retirement of Jeffrey Leppo, who has led the office for the past two years, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports

Power has served as an attorney at the firm for the past 13 years, and works with clients including Amazon. In her new role, Power will also oversee all 86 employees at the Seattle office, which is the second largest in the firm’s network.

Stoel Rives also has offices in Anchorage, California, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City, and provides legal services to businesses of all types. It has a particular focus on energy, climate and natural resources law.

Cindy Bolton. (Seattle Art Museum Photo / Natali Wiseman)

— The Seattle Art Museum has added Cindy Bolton as its first chief financial officer. She has held executive positions at several Seattle startups as well as Microsoft and Booking.com. 

Bolton most recently served as the head of finance at Seattle startup TINYpulse, and spent a 10-year stint in various finance positions at Microsoft.

“Cindy is a seasoned executive who brings to SAM an impressive and varied background in finance and operations management with start-ups and corporations,” SAM CEO Kimerly Rorschach said in a press release. “As SAM’s new CFO, Cindy’s expertise will help the museum develop and achieve its financial goals, including our real estate commitments. In addition, her genuine passion for the visual arts make her an ideal partner in our ongoing mission to enrich lives and engage diverse communities through art.” 

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