Austin tech companies and startups made a lot of key personnel moves throughout June and early July. Below we wrap up the news from Austin Inno's recent Beat newsletters. To sign up for daily Beat updates, go here.
Legal tech startup CS Disco, which went public last summer, said June 6 that it appointed Tom Furr as chief marketing officer and Katie DeBord as vice president of product strategy. Furr was most recently vice president of brand marketing at MongoDB. He has also held that role at Vonage. DeBord was most recently global chief innovation officer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. Prior to that, she was at Kirkland & Ellis, LLP.
Venture capital firm Elsewhere Partners said June 7 it appointed Hannah Johnson as chief talent officer and Sean McDonell as head of investor relations. Johnson was previously head of human resources at private equity firm Thoma Bravo. Prior to that she was interim chief of people at CompTIA. McDonell most recently led growth equity investments for asset management firm Barings. Before that, he was at StepStone Group. The new hires follow Elsewhere's closing of a $175M second fund.
Subscription dental care company Membersy said June 7 it appointed Michael Shuman as its CEO. He was previously Membersy's CRO, and helped the company land a $66 million investment from Spectrum Equity last year. Membersy was founded in 2015 by Eric Johnson, who was CEO prior to Shuman.
Western footwear company Tecovas Inc. hired David Lafitte as CEO. He was previously chief operating officer of Deckers Brands, parent company for shoemakers such as Ugg, Hoka, Teva and Sanuk. He took over Tecovas on June 27 after seven years at California-based Deckers Brands. He is becoming chief executive of a company that was founded in 2015 with an e-commerce focus, although it later expanded into brick-and-mortar retailing and now counts 20 stores across 11 states. Lafitte replaces as CEO founder Paul Hedrick, who will become executive chairman and remain active in the company’s strategic direction and long-term vision.
Legal tech and human resources software maker Mitratech said June 14 it added Ian Huynh as its new chief technology officer. He was most recently in a similar role at California-based Green Street. He also holds two patents. Mitratech, led by CEO Mike Williams, was founded in 1987. Last year, it received a strategic investment from Ontario Teachers' Pensions Plan, which made its previous majority investor, Hg, a minority shareholder.
Careers site Indeed said June 15 it hired Priscilla Koranteng as its new chief people officer, overseeing the company's human resources, recruiting and real estate teams. She was most recently Kellogg Company's global head of talent and chief diversity officer. Koranteng has also held human resources roles at DXC Technology, T. Rowe Price and JPMorgan Chase. She also established the Janju Foundation in Ghana to help educate girls.
Austin Technology Council selected a new CEO who has a strong background in public speaking, including a TedX talk, podcasts and scores of corporate leadership events.The local tech organization announced June 21 that Thom Singer will take over the its top position, replacing Amber Gunst, who announced earlier this year she would step down to launch her new startup. Singer, who has a background in marketing, business development and corporate coaching, was most recently director at executive search firm Stanton Chase International. He co-founded New Year Publishing and has written 12 books focused on networking, public speaking and marketing, among other topics.
Coding platform SonarSource, which is based in Geneva and has its U.S. HQ in Austin, said June 21 it added Manish Gupta as its chief marketing officer. He was most recently vice president of global marketing for Java and GraalVM at Oracle. Prior to that, he was chief marketing officer at Redis. The hire follows SonarSource's $412 million funding round in April at a $4.7 billion valuation.
CPG accelerator SKU said in an email in June that George Bryson has joined its team as investment development director. He was already a lead mentor at SKU, and he previously founded Wild Poppy, a beverage maker, and is an operator and fractional chief operating officer with Graze Worldwide.
Harmonic Bionics, which makes robotic exoskeltons to assist with physical therapy, said June 23 it added Chris White as chief financial officer and Gusty Denis as chief commercialization and strategy officer. White was previously chief financial officer at Austin-based Ortho Kinematics. Denis, meanwhile, previously worked in business development and commercialization at Nuvasive, Inc., as well as Ortho Kinematics. The news comes on the heels of a $3 million strategic investment from Curexo, a South Korean medical robot maker. Harmonic Bionics, led by CEO Christopher Prentice, had previously raised a $7 million series A in May last year.
The Cook's Nook has been addressing the crucial topics of food access and equity since it was founded in 2017 by Joi Chevalier. After five years, the company has entered a new phase, as Chevalier moved from CEO to president June 20 and welcomed Amy Bell as chief executive. Bell was previously senior principal of the strategic investment arm of Austin-based Whole Foods Market Inc. Prior to Whole Foods, Bell led the social finance business at JPMorgan Chase in New York and managed $100 million in service of low-income and underrepresented populations.
Austin-based customer engagement software company Khoros said June 29 it promoted Dillon Nugent to chief marketing officer. She was previously vice president of demand generation with the company. Prior to joining Khoros in 2019, she was executive director of revenue delivery at Austin-based Spiceworks. Khoros, led by CEO Jack Blaha, has been primarily owned by Austin-based private equity firm Vista Equity Partners since 2018. It has 11 offices, including its HQ in Austin.
Spot Insurance announced June 30 it hired Kevin Tsui as its chief revenue officer. He was previously a senior vice president at San Francisco-based software company Extend. Spot had about 65 employees as of early June. The company provides short-term insurance that covers injuries. It has partnered with major ski resorts including Ikon Pass, as well as many other organizations, such as USA Cycling, USA BMX and National Ski Patrol.
Austin fintech startup Abrigo said July 5 it hired Ravi Nemalikanti as its new chief technology officer. He was most recently chief technology of digital banking at NCR Corporation. Prior to that he worked in tax and accounting, global trade and risk management at Thomson Reuters. Abrigo, led by CEO Wayne Roberts, was founded by Daniel Cho in 2000. It's backed by private equity firms Accel-KKR and Carlyle.
Venture Capital firm Silverton Partners announced July 6 it promoted Matthew Saitta to principal and Alyssa Dadoly to chief financial officer and operating partner. The firm also added Aneesh Desai as an associate on the investment team. The new roles were announced as the firm completed a $248 million fundraise for its latest investment fund.
Virtual health care startup Wheel said July 6 it hired Shoshana Deutschkron as its first chief marketing officer. She was most recently chief marketing officer at health care automation company Olive. The startup, which raised a $150 million series C in January, also said it has appointed Brandon Castel as vice president of sales; Daniel DeSantis as vice president of partnerships and Brendon Kelly as business lead for behavioral health. Wheel, led by co-founder and CEO Michelle Davey, has developed a virtual care platform and nationwide clinician network. Wheel has raised $216 million since launching in 2018.
Redacted Inc., a cloud defense startup that moved from San Francisco to Austin earlier this year, on July 11 named Jim Hansen as its new CEO. Hansen was most recently co-founder and chief operating officer at cybersecurity company Mandiant. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer at Cofense, and he was also in the Office of Special Investigations with the U.S. Air Force working on counterintelligence and espionage operations. Hansen replaces co-founder and former CEO Max Kelly, who is becoming executive chairman of the company. Redacted, founded in 2015, has raised $60 million in funding.
Cybersecurity company Praetorian said July 13 it has appointed Alexander Pagoulatos as vice president of product. He was previously vice president of product at Aurea Software, and, before that, he was a senior consultant at Austin-based Vista Equity Partners. He was also a captain in the U.S. Army Cyber Command. Praetorian, founded in 2010, raised a $10 million series A in 2020 led by Bill Wood Ventures and McKinsey & Company. Praetorian was one of Austin Inno's 50 on Fire in 2020, and it has been on the Inc. 5000 list seven times.
Steven Pho has seen Austin cleaning services startup Spruce grow from his position on the company's board for the past two years, a stint that included an $8 million series A funding round. On July 19, the company said he's taking the reins as CEO just as the company closed a $26 million series B. Pho has held executive roles at Austin-based on-demand delivery startup Favor — which was acquired by H-E-B during his run there as chief financial officer and chief operating officer — and Austin-based digital discounts company RetailMeNot, which went public during his time there as a vice president of business development. Pho is taking over at Spruce Services Inc. from founder Ben Johnson, who becomes the company's president.
