Here are 12 recent hires and promotions we noticed in the technology and startup space.
• Terradepth Inc., an Austin startup that equips submarine drones with hardware and software to map underwater topographies, has hired Kris Rydberg as its first chief operating officer. He was previously vice president of service operations at internet of things company Savigent. It also announced Evan Martzial and Andrew Burcham as vice presidents of business development; and Doug Lambert as vice president of engineering. The hiring news comes a bit less than a year after Terradepth completed its phase-one trial collecting data from the floor of Lake Travis back in March.
• Austin startup Studio X LLC, which operates an innovation studio focused on the future of work in energy exploration, said Jan. 18 it has appointed Jeff Allyn as its CEO. He was most recently vice president of operations as Simpler Trading. Before that, he was CEO at NXTBoard and chief revenue officer at Carnegie Technologies. He replaces Paul Genberg, who had been interim CEO since last January and is now head of product.
• Austin automated testing company National Instruments Corp. (Nasdaq: NATI), now going by NI, said Jan. 13 it has appointed Drita Roggenbuck as senior vice president and general manager of its transportation business unit. That puts her in charge of its automotive test business, which focuses on electric vehicles and driver assistance systems. She was most recently senior vice president and chief customer and strategy officer at HFI, an Ohio-based supplier of interior automotive products. The new hire comes after NI acquired MonoDrive and NH Research to expand its EV capabilities.
• Jeff Bray, a former finance executive at Rapid7, has been named chief financial officer of Invicti Security Corp., which is based in Austin and has major offices in Boston. Prior to his role as senior vice president of financial planning and analysis at Rapid7, he was director of investor relations at Imprivata. The hiring comes several months after the company sold a majority stake to Boston-based growth equity firm Summit Partners for $625 million. Invicti was born in 2018 out of a merger of Netsparker and Acunetix, which had established a presence in Austin in 2017.
• Austin-based last-mile shipping company uShip Inc. said Jan. 13 it has added Keith Varga as its chief technology officer. He was most recently vice president of solution architecture and design at Pitney Bowes. Prior to that he was at Newgistics as a vice president of software development. The company also noted its year-end growth stats, including growing revenue 67% year-over-year.
• Elizabeth Loucheur is the new chief operating officer at AlertMedia Inc. The hire, announced Jan. 11, is the first COO for the private equity-backed Austin-based emergency communications company, a spokesperson said. She was previously chief product officer at Kazoo, an Austin-based company making software for rewarding and and managing employees that was once known as YouEarnedIt. While at Kazoo, Loucheur led “a complete rebuild of the company’s core product,” according to the announcement. Loucheur was also vice president of customer success at Kazoo. She has prior leadership experience at Fox Sports and UFC. AlertMedia, which a spokesperson said now employs 316, claims to have thousands of customers in 130-plus countries, including Fortune 500 companies such Walmart.
• Austin-based insurance comparison startup The Zebra, which operates legally as Insurance Zebra Inc., has hired John Wojcik as its new chief marketing officer, marking the company's first outside hire for the role. Wojcik is charged with building up The Zebra's marketing team during a year that's expected to bring extreme growth. Wojcik has previously worked at consulting firm NorthStar Partners, furniture manufacturer Brown Jordan Inc. and consumer goods company Newell Brands, among other experience. “It’s an exciting time to be a part of The Zebra, and I’m thrilled to join a team that truly values its users, partners, and employees,” he said in a statement.
• Austin-based ZenBusiness Inc., which helps entrepreneurs form businesses, on Jan. 7 announced it had hired Michael Fanuele to lead brand marketing. Fanuele has more than 20 years of marketing experience, according to the announcement, including roles at Fallon, Havas and General Mills. “We’re living in the era of entrepreneurs, and I couldn’t be more stoked to join the movement. ZenBusiness is revolutionizing the fundamental physics of our economy by liberating people with big ideas to transform those ideas into life-changing businesses,” Fanuele said in an announcement. ZenBusiness announced a $200 million funding round in November that made it one of Austin's newest unicorns.
• Tech veteran Tom West wrote on LinkedIn that he's the new CEO of Onelive Inc., an e-commerce software company. According to its website, Onelive makes tools to help other companies with marketing, customer service and fulfillment. It also specializes in working with businesses in the fashion, sports, cosmetics, fresh foods and entertainment industries. "It is not often in life that you can combine all your passions in one company (music, sports and ecommerce)," West wrote on social media. West was previously CEO of AffiniPay and before that was chairman of Springbox, a digital marketing agency acquired in 2019.
Apogee, an Austin-based managed technology service provider for higher education organizations, said Jan. 18 that it has hired Louis “Lou” Delzompo as its chief technology officer. He was previously CTO and enterprise architect at the California Community Colleges Technology Center. Before that, he was CTO at higher education credentialing company Parchment. Apogee, founded by Charles “Chuck” Brady in 1999 and led by CEO Scott Drossos, serves more than a million students and administrators nationwide.
Austin-based digital ad platform KERV Interactive said Jan. 19 that it has added Michael Fleischman as its chief financial officer. Fleischman, who is an executive in residence with Progress Partners, was previously CTO of Digital Remedy. Prior to that, he was SVP of corporate finance and strategic planning for Cablevision and Rainbow Media Holdings. KERV, founded by Andrew Welch in 2017 and led by CEO Gary Mittman, has raised about $22 million in venture funding, according to Crunchbase.
