Pioneer Square Labs hires CFO
ExtraHop CFO Palvi Mehta has joined Pioneer Square Labs as CFO. Mehta spent more than seven years at ExtraHop, a Seattle IT analytics startup that launched in 2007, and has 25 years of tech startup experience.
In her new role, Mehta will help manage financials for both PSL Studio, the startup creation arm, and PSL Ventures, its $80 million venture capital fund. She’ll work closely with founders of portfolio companies.
PSL launched in 2015, using the concept of rapidly testing and validating new ideas before recruiting an executive team to build out a spinoff company. The firm earlier this year expanded, raising a $80 million venture fund called PSL Ventures.
“Having worked alongside founders for most of my career, PSL’s entrepreneur-first approach is so refreshing,” Mehta said in a statement. “I hope that I can leverage some of my past operating experience to play a small part in making other entrepreneurs successful.”
Mehta is also a director and treasurer on the board of Seattle-based Code.org.
K2 hires three new executives
The Bellevue, Wash.-based low-code automation company announced John Ederer as CFO; Amede Hungerford as CMO; and Nellie Thompson as vice president of human resources.
Ederer was previously vice president of finance at MobileIron and before that held financial roles at TIBCO Software, SAP BusinessObjects, and Concur. Hungerford was a chief marketing officer at Dell Boomi before arriving at K2 and worked at NetSuite, HP, Intuit, and Sybase prior to that. Thompson spent 13 years at Avanade before coming to K2. She was most recently global head of talent and performance management at Avanade.
In January, K2 hired Evan Ellis as CEO.
Kymeta adds three sales leaders
The Redmond, Wash.-based mobile communications tapped Rash Jhanjee as its new vice president of sales for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent; Paul Mattear as vice president of sales and business development, and Scott Glass as sales director.
Jhanjee was previously a sales leader at Loral Cyberstar, Stratos, VT iDirect, O3B Networks, Intelsat Africa Limited, and Arabsat. Mattear, who served 22 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, has experience at the White House Communications Agency and at Intelsat. Glass held senior positions at NetApp, Nokia, Foundry Networks (Brocade), and VT iDirect.
Iinnovate Leadership Network launches advisory arm
The Seattle-based leadership consulting group announced a new advisory team: Iinnovate co-founder Joe Ottinger; former Microsoft executive Rick Maguire; and former PwC partner Sean O’Driscoll.
Iinnovate, which works with an array of companies ranging from Google to Les Schwab Tires to Kaiser Permanente, created the advisory arm after it heard from several of its CEOs that they wanted more hands-on support.
Barokas Public Relations names new CEO
Howie Barokas, founder of the Seattle-based PR shop, is passing along CEO reins to Karli Overmier, who joined Barokas just after it launched nearly 20 years ago. The firm also promoted Johanna Erickson to president; Morgan Bradley to vice president; and Ashley Allman to director of content. More details here.
