May was a busy month for Austin tech companies and startups. We tracked 10 key hires across the local ecosystem, including a few new CEOs.
Check out the top hires from the past month below, and sign up for the Beat newsletter to get daily updates on personnel moves, fundings and much more on the startup scene.
Austin-based health care data protection startup ClearData said May 2 it has appointed Jim Ducharme as chief technology officer. He was most recently chief operating officer at Outseer, a company fighting financial fraud. Before that, he held senior roles at RSA Security in its anti-fraud unit.
ClearData Networks Inc., led by CEO Rick Froehlich, was founded in 2011 and has raised $80.4 million, including most recently a $26 million round in 2018.
Austin-based uShip Inc., which specializes in shipping large items, said May 4 Heather Hoover-Salomon was appointed CEO. Hoover-Salomon joined uShip in 2005 as a public relations and marketing intern before becoming executive VP of operations and then, in 2019, COO. She is uShip's longest-tenured employee and took over as interim CEO in January after former CEO Kris Lamb stepped down to focus on family medical matters. In 2022, uShip said it was profitable and listed 795,000 shipments on its platform.
Austin-based security system management startup SiteOwl LLC said May 3 it appointed Jason Griffin as CTO. Griffin is founder of HubDesk.io and was most recently CTO at cf., a news and games app, and was previously senior vice president of engineering at Amherst Holdings and CTO at Bungalo. SiteOwl was founded in 2018 and is led by CEO Joseph Ndesandjo. Earlier this year, it reported raising $4 million in equity funding from four investors.
The Austin-based Silicon Integration Initiative said May 4 that it appointed Robert Aslett as president and CEO. He previously held leadership roles at Intel and most recently was an investment partner at Social Venture Partners in Portland. Si2, formed a couple decades ago, is a nonprofit research and development joint venture that helps with the interoperability of electronic systems; its 70-plus members include semiconductor and fabless manufacturers.
Coming off a $50 million series A round in late April, cybersecurity startup Halcyon Tech Inc. said May 11 it added Kris Lamb as chief product officer. Lamb was most recently general manager for cloud security at Austin-based Forcepoint. He had also been a founding VP of engineering at Bastille Networks and CTO at Arbor Networks.
The startup, based in Austin and San Diego, targets ransomware attacks before their initial intrusion, using artificial intelligence and exploiting ransomware features. About 20% of Halcyon's workforce is based in Austin, including co-founder and CTO Ryan Smith, a former Cylance Inc. vice president of research and adviser.
Austin-based CesiumAstro Inc., which makes technology for space-based communications, has added a former CEO of Volkswagen Group of America in a key role. The company on May 16 said Hinrich J. Woebcken, general partner at Trousdale Ventures, will help CesiumAstro "refine its vision for connected mobility and supporting the company's adoption of automotive mass manufacturing best practices."
Woebcken has 30 years of industry experience "contributing to the digitization and electrification of automobiles," the announcement said, and is expected to help CesiumAstro connect with "automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to support the future of connectivity."
Austin-based Thrive Pet Healthcare, which has a national network of 400 veterinary hospitals, said May 18 it appointed Tad Stahel as CEO. Stahel was previously group VP at kidney disease and dialysis company DaVita. He replaced Odis Pirtle, who was appointed CEO last September. The company said Pirtel stepped down from his role to pursue personal passions.
Thrive, led by founder and Chief Visionary Officer Dr. Jasen Trautwein, was founded in 2003.
There are big changes at BigCommerce Holdings Inc. The e-commerce company said May 24 that Daniel Lentz would become chief financial officer July 1. Lentz, who is currently senior VP of finance and investor relations, will succeed retiring CFO Robert Alvarez, who has been in that role since 2011. Meanwhile, Chuck Cassidy became general counsel June 2. Cassidy was promoted from VP and associate general counsel and took over from Jeff Mengoli, the retiring chief legal officer who was the company's first.
Auctane Inc., the Austin-based company that operates ShipStation, Stamps.com and several other delivery services with offices in Austin, on May 24 named Albert Ko as its new CEO. He was most recently CEO of Early Warning Services in Arizona. He'll start the new gig June 12, succeeding Nathan Jones. Auctane, which was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2021, has offices in Austin, El Segundo, London, Madrid, Zielona Gora and Atlanta.
