Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay and MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski show off a MagniX test motor equipped with an Eviation Alice propeller. (MagniX Photo)

Roei Ganzarski, the CEO of Redmond, Wash.-based electric propulsion startup MagniX, is the new chairman of the board at Israeli electric plane company Eviation.

MagniX and Eviation are partnering to develop the Alice all-electric airplane, a nine-seater that could roll out commercially in 2022. Eviation is also gearing up for manufacturing and testing, with ground tests planned in Arizona and flight tests primarily targeted for Moses Lake, Wash.

Both MagniX and Eviation are owned by the Clermont Group, a privately held business group based in Singapore. Ganzarski is also chairman of Clermont Aerospace, the aviation division of the Clermont Group. He previously served as CEO of software firm BoldIQ.

“Eviation, MagniX and Clermont Aerospace are working together to realize the dream of sustainable regional travel and transform the future of aviation,” Ganzarski said in a statement. “Our vision is that our children and grandchildren will fly on clean, low-cost aircraft because of the innovations we are bringing to the industry today.”

In addition to its Eviation partnership, MagniX is also working with Richmond, B.C.-based Harbour Air to convert some of its planes to electric propulsion. The first flight tests of a converted Harbour Air plane are due to take place next month in the Vancouver area.

Brian Bogen. (Cascadia Photo)

Investment bank Cascadia Capital named Brian Bogen to the role of managing director for the firm’s private capital group. Bogen was formerly CEO of North Star Petroleum and an executive at Saltchuk.

“I’m honored to join Cascadia Capital at an exciting point in the Firm’s growth trajectory, and pleased to continue to serve family-owned businesses in the Northwest through the Firm’s Private Capital platform,” Bogen said in a statement. “As a Pacific Northwest native, I’m committed to and passionate about partnering with local business owners to drive success for their companies and our region.”

Cascadia Capital will invest up to $500 million in Pacific Northwest companies with the creation of its new “Investment Club,” a unique group of family offices and other backers interested in long-term deals.

Burley Kawasaki and Carlos Carvajal. (K2 Photos)

Seattle-area software firm K2 hired Burley Kawasaki as chief product officer and Carlos Carvajal as chief marketing officer.

Kawasaki was formerly executive vice president of products at Kony and held leadership roles at Avanade and Microsoft prior to that. “One of the many things drawing me to K2 is the team’s vision — to put innovation in the hands of the business user making the impossible easy,” Kawasaki said in a statement.

Carvajal also came from Austin-based Kony, where he led marketing. “K2 is an industry leader in low-code development and is poised to completely redefine how organizations approach their digital transformation initiatives with process automation,” Carvajal said.

K2 acquired SourceCode ANZ last month, giving the company a presence in Australia, and recently expanded a partner program for low-code application development.

Capital One demoted chief information security officer Michael Johnson in the wake of its data breach scandal. Johnson will remain at the company as senior vice president and special advisor dedicated to cybersecurity. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

Paige Thompson, a former Amazon engineer who pleaded not guilty to the hack, was released from jail this week pending her trial, which is expected to begin in March 2020. The decision reversed an earlier decision from a federal magistrate, who said Thompson should remain in custody after hearing arguments that she was a flight risk as well as a danger to herself and others.

Until Capital One finds a permanent replacement, the role of CISO will be filled by Mike Eason, CIO of the commercial banking division. The bank is facing costly fallout from the data breach, which exposed the personal data of more than 100 million people.

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