Working Geek

Working Geek: Brian Paulen leads tech consulting firm West Monroe Partners’ Seattle operation

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 at 2:05 pmComment

Brian Paulen has been advising clients on how they can use technology to improve their business operations for nearly 20 years. He spent eight of those years as CEO of… Read More

Working Geek: Renaissance woman Anna Hong is a rocket scientist, entrepreneur and nonprofit founder

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 13, 2017September 13, 2017 at 4:27 pmComment

Anna Hong has worn a lot of hats over the course of her career. After interning for Microsoft Research’s Asia division, she took an aerospace propulsion engineer position at the… Read More

Working Geek: StrataCore founder Aaron Loehr doesn’t believe in the open floor plan

by Monica Nickelsburg on September 2, 2017September 7, 2017 at 1:04 pm 3 Comments

As CEO and president of StrataCore, Aaron Loehr manages a team of about 20 IT professionals dedicated to helping enterprise clients identify and implement best practices in the cloud. But… Read More

Working Geek: ‘Cirkled in’ founder Reetu Gupta aims to streamline college admissions

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 26, 2017August 26, 2017 at 10:09 am 5 Comments

Three years ago, Reetu Gupta found herself asking the agonizing question that plagues thousands of parents of high school students: How can I help my child get into the college… Read More

Working Geek: Socrata product lead Franklin Williams makes it easier for citizens to access public data

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 17, 2017August 17, 2017 at 11:47 amComment

Franklin Williams believes he has “the best job in the world.” That’s because he spends his days leading Socrata‘s product managers, designers, and engineers — a team that builds tools… Read More

Working Geek: Amazon manager MaryBeth Pecha and colleagues create card game to break down gender barriers

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 11, 2017August 11, 2017 at 7:18 am 5 Comments

During nearly a decade working in finance and accounting, MaryBeth Pecha experienced the challenges that come from gender inequity at the office first-hand. She bonded over those challenges with colleagues… Read More

Working Geek: With $10M in new cash, LiveStories CTO Eric Dillon is ready to take the civic data startup to the next level

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 2, 2017August 2, 2017 at 3:59 pmComment

As Chief Technology Officer of LiveStories, Eric Dillon has spent that last two years deeply immersed in code so that government agencies don’t have to be. LiveStories is a platform… Read More

Working Geek: Why Remitly Product Chief Karim Meghji has different workspaces for different tasks

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 27, 2017July 27, 2017 at 3:28 pm1 Comment

When Karim Meghji joined Remitly in late 2016, CEO Matt Oppenheimer said he was “ecstatic” that someone with such a “unique set of experiences scaling up and managing large businesses”… Read More

Working Geek: Redfin VP of Engineering Jennifer Chao relieves stress by playing hooky every few weeks

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 21, 2017July 21, 2017 at 11:04 amComment

Jennifer Chao has an unconventional strategy for relieving stress from her demanding job as Redfin’s vice president of engineering. Taking a page from a mentor’s playbook, she takes a day… Read More

Where these 10 tech managers get their best ideas

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 15, 2017July 15, 2017 at 3:14 pmComment

Inspiration can strike at unexpected times but in the working world, we don’t always have the luxury of waiting around for that million dollar idea. That’s why we’ve compiled a… Read More

Working Geek: How Seattle’s economic development guru Brian Surratt is quietly shaping the city’s business and tech future

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 6, 2017July 6, 2017 at 3:12 pmComment

When it comes to local government, some players shine in the limelight while others exercise their influence from the wings. Brian Surratt, director of the City of Seattle’s executive office… Read More

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Working Geek: How this theater major became an engineering lead at Chef

by Monica Nickelsburg on June 22, 2017June 22, 2017 at 3:14 pmComment

Nell Shamrell-Harrington isn’t your typical software engineer. She studied theater at the University of Puget Sound and uses those skills to talk about her work in open source governance at… Read More

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Working Geek: Business vet turned UW vice provost helps professionals learn in-demand tech skills

by Monica Nickelsburg on June 14, 2017June 14, 2017 at 10:06 amComment

Technology is constantly changing nearly every industry and the skills professionals learn in college aren’t always current enough to keep up. Many pursue post-graduate education to fill the gaps and… Read More

Working Geek: Srikant Vemparala captains the 9Logic Technologies ship, with focus on new game

by Kurt Schlosser on June 8, 2017June 8, 2017 at 10:27 amComment

It’s worth wondering whether Srikant Vemparala walks around the offices at 9Logic Technologies saying “argh” all day. After all, the co-founder and president of the young company has been devoting… Read More

Working Geek: Arlan Collins’ architecture firm uses VR and ‘modular building’

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 31, 2017May 31, 2017 at 12:05 pmComment

Arlan Collins has been in architecture for more than 40 years. For the past 30, he’s owned his own firm, CollinsWoerman, with his college buddy Mark Woerman. “I still enjoy… Read More

Working Geek: Paul Allen’s climate change guru Spencer Reeder moonlights as a musician

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 at 2:55 pm1 Comment

It’s easy to see why Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen brought on Spencer Reeder to run Vulcan’s climate change-focused philanthropic initiatives. Reeder holds two engineering degrees, he’s done geophysical field research in… Read More

Working Geek: Expedia VP Noah Tratt Snapchats his kids from around the world

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 19, 2017May 19, 2017 at 10:28 am1 Comment

As Expedia senior vice president of regional brands, Noah Tratt is constantly traveling the world. He’s been with Expedia for 15 years, first joining the company in 2002 to lead… Read More

Working Geek: Amazon media chief Robin Mendelson is living a childhood dream, writ large

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 12, 2017May 12, 2017 at 4:26 pmComment

Robin Mendelson is one of the few people who actually became what she wanted to be when she grew up, more or less. She always wanted to own a bookstore,… Read More

Working Geek: How Expedia’s Local Experts VP Jen O’Twomney makes time for family

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 at 2:11 pm 2 Comments

Jen O’Twomney helped Expedia navigate some of the most acquisition-hungry years of the travel giant’s life. Expedia gobbled up Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif, and HomeAway while O’Twomney was serving as Vice… Read More

Working Geek: Why Aravind Bala left a lead engineer role at Microsoft to launch Nextio

by Monica Nickelsburg on April 25, 2017April 25, 2017 at 12:45 pmComment

Aravind Bala had been at Microsoft for nearly 15 years when he met Anoop Gupta, his manager on the Office Mix team. After working together for a couple of years,… Read More

Working Geek: Madrona’s growth guru Ryan Metzger uses data to stay organized at work and at home

by Monica Nickelsburg on April 19, 2017April 19, 2017 at 3:07 pm1 Comment

As Madrona Venture Group’s in-house growth advisor, Ryan Metzger supports more than 60 companies at any given time. He’s also a father of two, a runner, hiker, and avid sports fan.… Read More

Working Geek: Ossia CEO Mario Obeidat takes organizational cues from his kids

by Monica Nickelsburg on April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 at 2:42 pmComment

It’s been a little over two months since Mario Obeidat took over as CEO of wireless charging company Ossia. He took the position to help Ossia commercialize its technology, which allows… Read More

Working Geek: What Fjuri’s new Chief People Officer Tammy Perkins learned from Microsoft and Amazon

by Monica Nickelsburg on April 6, 2017April 6, 2017 at 3:26 pmComment

A few weeks ago, Tammy Perkins joined marketing and digital strategy firm Fjuri, bringing with her more than 20 years of HR and recruiting experience. She’s held leadership roles at… Read More

Working Geek: TUNE’s marketing VP Jennifer Wong moonlights as a UW instructor

by Monica Nickelsburg on March 30, 2017March 30, 2017 at 1:36 pmComment

During her four years at TUNE, Jennifer Wong has risen from a member of the startup’s three-person market team to the top marketing executive managing a team of 26. In… Read More

Working Geek: FlowPlay CEO Derrick Morton relieves stress by going totally off the grid

by Monica Nickelsburg on March 24, 2017March 24, 2017 at 3:29 pm 2 Comments

Derrick Morton knows how to keep it all in balance. He’s spent the past decade as CEO of multi-platform game developer FlowPlay while still making time for his interests —… Read More

Working Geek: What Outreach CPO Andrew Kinzer thinks startups can learn from racecar drivers

by Monica Nickelsburg on March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 at 4:12 pm 3 Comments

Andrew Kinzer, Chief Product Officer of Seattle startup Outreach, is religious about time management. He sees time as the most valuable capital a person has and, in a startup, efficiently… Read More

Working Geek: When Adobe Marketing Manager Dana McAlexander isn’t in the air, you’ll find her on horseback

by Monica Nickelsburg on March 3, 2017March 3, 2017 at 1:28 pmComment

Most new hires spend their first day learning software tools and hanging pictures. On Dana McAlexander’s first day with Adobe, she flew to New York City. She’s constantly jet-setting because… Read More

Working Geek: Gates Foundation Chief Strategy Officer Mark Suzman takes leadership cues from former boss Kofi Annan

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 23, 2017February 24, 2017 at 7:35 amComment

Mark Suzman’s resume includes a doctorate from Oxford to top off a bachelor’s from Harvard, a correspondent gig for the Financial Times in Johannesburg, London, and D.C., and an advisory… Read More

Working Geek: How Gabe Frost balances building a startup and running a Microsoft engineering team

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 17, 2017February 17, 2017 at 1:53 pmComment

With two full-time jobs and a toddler, Gabe Frost knows a thing or two about the importance of time management. But he doesn’t necessarily think about “work-life” balance in traditional… Read More

Working Geek: How Amplero’s Olly Downs is ‘learning to be a good CEO’

by Monica Nickelsburg on February 8, 2017February 9, 2017 at 8:02 am1 Comment

In early 2016, Globys spun out its A.I. marketing software business Amplero. The plan was to hire a new CEO to bring the product to market, but things started accelerating… Read More