Austin's tech ecosystem continues to expand, despite the pandemic. And as local startups grow and businesses continue to relocate their headquarters here, top talent keeps moving through the city.
Below, we've put together a rundown of the hires and departures that caught our eye in July.
Want to get updates on new hires, funding rounds and other local startup news? Sign up for our daily email, the Beat.
Now, let's check out those people on the move...
Local AI startup KungFu.AI said in July it's building its team here in Austin, as well as in new locations including Colorado and Virginia. As part of its growth, it has promoted Dwayne Stoltz, who joined the company in 2019, from head of operations to chief operating officer. It also added former AMD Senior Manager Peter Nuernberg as VP of engineering. Other additions include Jeremy Kidd as senior director of business development; Tate Noster as director of government services; Endurance Idehen as software architect; and Eileen Nothcutt as director of finance and accounting.
Two Austinites have been selected for the new cohort of Digital Inclusion Fellows, a program created by Google Fiber and NTEN to improve digital literacy and internet access. The new group includes Elizabeth Endres, program manager at Feeding Texas, as well as Emmanuel Zapata, an adult education program manager at Foundation Communities.
Dosh founder and former CEO Ryan Wuerch has departed the Bee Cave-headquartered financial technology company to pursue his “next chapter,” he said. What that will be remains to be seen. The announcement comes after Cardlytics announced in early March plans to acquire Dosh for $275 million in cash and stock.
AlertMedia, an emergency communication tech startup, announced July 20 that it hired Laura Woolford as the company’s first chief people officer. She was previously VP of human resources at GoDaddy. Prior to that, she was senior director of HR at Tesla. The move comes a few months after AlertMedia secured a major round of private equity funding from Austin-based Vista Equity Partners.
Clifford Chiu was named to the board of directors for the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce. He is a retired partner at KKR, where he founded and led capital raising for the Asia-Pacific region. Chiu is also a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and a director or trustee of the Seton Fund, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and St. James Settlement.
CynergisTek, an Austin cybersecurity and compliance company, has a familiar face back at the helm. The company re-appointed its founder, Mac McMillan, who announced his retirement in 2019, as president and CEO. He replaces Caleb Barlow, who has been CEO since August 2019. Barlow will stay on for 30 more days during the transition. Before joining CynergisTek, Barlow was VP of threat intelligence at IBM Security.
Austin-based subscription book club startup Literati on July 27 named Nathan Sutter as VP of engineering. He was most recently head of e-commerce engineering at Houzz, and, before that, he worked on Hulu's ad platform and held positions at Raytheon and NASA. Literati, founded in 2016 and led by co-founder and CEO Jessica Ewing, has raised $54 million to date.
Austin startup Strap Technologies, which makes a wearable device for people with vision impairments, said July 27 it had added Natalia Ferriz as marketing director. She was previously head of communications at Makken and has a consulting firm called Leadit.mx. Back in April, Strap raised a $1.3 million round of funding led by Platform Capital. The company, led by founder and CEO Diego Roel, has also raised money from International Accelerator and angel investors. Strap's chest-worn device helps people by scanning surroundings and communicating back to users. The company also has offices in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Tyson Tuttle, a longtime Silicon Laboratories Inc. executive and its CEO for nearly a decade, is retiring. Come Jan 1., 2022, the fabless semiconductor company will be led by Matt Johnson, currently its president, the company said July 28. In a blog post, Tuttle touted the company's shift in focus to internet of things technology — the chips that connect everyday items such as refrigerators and clocks to the web. That transition was cemented July 26, when Silicon Labs completed the $2.75 billion sale of its infrastructure and automotive business to Skyworks Solutions Inc.
Austin digital health startup Point Health added DJ Nguyen as its CTO. He was most recently director of software engineering at Austin-based smart home tech company Resideo, and has worked at Sony Electronics and American Specialty Health. Point Health, led by CEO Matt Dale, offers shop and compare tools for the health care industry. Last year, the company acquired The Karis Group.
