Austin is a tech talent powerhouse. The city’s blend of software and business minds is one of the reasons companies including Apple, Google and Facebook have made Austin one of their primary hubs. It’s also why Austin is able to produce such a steady flow of promising startups.
We track these movements of human capital in our daily newsletter, the Beat.
Below, we’ve listed the top Austin technology and startup hires reported in February.
Square Root, a store relationship management software startup, added Ranjini Chandirakanthan as CFO and VP of business development. She was previously managing director at Cassel Salpeter & Co. and held strategy roles at Dell and corporate development roles at Sun Microsystems.
Athleisure clothing startup Outdoor Voices hired Pamela Catlett as president at COO, the ABJ reported. She was previously senior VP at Under Armour. Before that she was VP of women’s apparel at Nike.
Austin software and data company ESO hired Omar Qassom as its VP of operations. He was most reently COO at Nix Healthcare System. Last month, ESO announced it has doubled its office space in Austin and has space to add about 130 employees to the 130 employees it already has in Austin.
Local e-commerce pillar RetailMeNot announced three major executive appointments this morning. Joshua Platt, the former vice president of product for Nordstrom.com, was named the company’s new chief product officer and RetailMeNot followed that up with two internal promotions, naming Scott Sundheim as senior vice president of North America marketing and Seth Randle as chief counsel and compliance officer.
Pivot3, an Austin-based provider of intelligent infrastructure solutions, announced that it has added Dan Flood as its new vice president of U.S. sales. Flood, who previously served as the vice president of sales for Dell EMC‘s Modern Datacenter Division, will be leading Pivot3’s U.S. sales team to drive growth in the enterprise and commercial datacenter markets.
Indeed, an Austin-based careers site that is owned by Recruit Holdings, named Chris Hyams as its new CEO. In April, he will replace Hisayuki Idekoba, who has been CEO since 2013 and will now be on the board of directors in addition to his role as COO. Hyams was previously president at Indeed, and he was senior VP of product before that.
Matt Glazer, who was previously executive director of the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce and, more recently, community director forWeWorkin Austin, is re-joining boutique consulting firm Blue Sky Partners, where he was a co-founder along withNathan Ryan and Tim Seaton.
Mood Media, an Austin in-store and customer experiences company, appointed David Hoodis as CEO, effective tomorrow. He was most recently president of retail at IRI. He’s also held roles as VP of software strategy and innovation at NCR and he was CEO and co-founder of Snack Box. Additionally, the company announced Ken Eissing, who has been president of Mood’s in-store media division, is the new president of Mood Media.
Liveoak Technologies, an Austin startup that integrates a variety of software used to complete financial transactions in the digital space, announced it appointed Tim Ramza as its new CEO. He was previously CIO at John Hancock/Manulife and president of Manulife Ventures. He takes over for co-founder and CEO Andy Ambrose, who is now president and head of business development and partnership initiatives.
Bloomfire, an Austin marketing and social sharing startup, announced Mark Hammer as its new CEO. He has been Bloomfire’s COO since 2014. He previously held senior management positions at SmartBear Software, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and CompassLearning.
SourceDay, an Austin procurement and purchase order automation software company, announced it added two new board members. Lead Edge Capital Operating Partner and former Dell exec Paul Bell and ATX Seed Ventures General Partner Christopher Shonk joined the companies board. The moves follow a $6.5 million Series A round in December last year that was led by Silverton Partners, Draper Associates and ATX Seed Ventures.
The Crypsis Group, a Virginia-based cybersecurity advisory firm, is expanding its office in Austin and hired Director Billy Evans Jr., a former special agent with the Air Force‘s special investigations branch. The company’s HQ is in McLean, Va., and it has offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Austin startup ESO provides software for emergency services, so it’s fitting that it added former Leander Fire Department Chief Bill Gardner as its new director of fire products. He just left his post in Leander earlier this month after nine years.
InfiniteIO, a hybrid cloud storage company appointed former Cleversafe Chairman Christopher Galvin as chairman of its board of directors. He is the former CEO of Motorola.
Quake Capital, a startup accelerator and venture capital firm that operates in Austin, New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, announced it’s raising a new, $100 million fund to invest in early-stage startups in Austin and beyond. It also brought on Jason Fernandez as managing partner. Fernandez, a former director of global online solutions and venture capital at Dell, has played a variety of roles in the local tech and startup scene — as well as on Wall Street. That includes stints at Bryker Partners, Holtzman Partners and BASE Equity Partners.
Datical, a database release automation company, raised a $10 million Series C funding round led by Cincinnati-based River Cities Capital Funds, a new investor. As part of the investment, River Cities Vice President Adam Midkiff has joined Datical’s board of directors.
