A lot of Austin tech companies and startups have been making big hires as 2023 begins to wind down. We tracked 14 startups, venture firms and other organizations who made big moves in October.
Interested in getting hiring updates, along with funding announcements and startup trends, in our daily email newsletter? Sign up for the Austin Inno Beat right here.
Auctane, the Austin-based parent company of ShipStation, Stamps.com and others, said Oct. 2 it has added Alexander Stevenson as its new chief product officer. He was previously CPO at Samsara, which IPOed in 2021, and before that worked at Bain and Co.
Auctane also announced Kin Gill as its new chief legal officer. He was previously chief legal officer at Austin-based Upland Software. Prior to that, he held roles in the legal department at Bazaarvoice.
Austin-based digital signal processing startup SigmaSense said Oct. 4 that it named David French as its new CEO. French has a long history in the semiconductor industry, including executive roles at NXP Semiconductors NV and Cirrus Logic. Most recently, he has been an investor and advisor at semiconductor incubator Silicon Catalyst. French takes the place of co-founder and former CEO Rick Seger, who will continue on as chairman of the company's board. The company also said it has appointed semiconductor veteran John Teegen to its board.
“Today, AI is shifting the demands for reconfigurable mixed signal processing just as SigmaSense is preparing to ramp. SigmaSense is poised to emerge as a leader in the transition to advanced DSP-based sensing under Dave’s leadership,” Seger stated.
SigmaSense, founded in 2015, has raised $82.7 million in funding, including a $35 million round earlier this year, according to Crunchbase.
Austin-based clinical stage biopharma company Anebulo Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Oct. 6 that it appointed Richie Cunningham as its new CEO. He was most recently CEO at Tyme, where he led the company through a merger with Syros Pharmaceuticals. Before that, he held the top post at Icagen. He was also a placekicker in the NFL from 1994 to 2002.
Cunningham replaces Simon Allen. The company's news release didn't indicate why Allen is leaving or where he may be going next. Allen became CEO in January 2022.
Anebulo, which trades under the "ANEB" ticker, is working on drugs to treat acute cannabinoid intoxication and substance abuse disorders.
Austin- and Birmingham-based automation consultancy and services company Tquila Automation said Oct. 6 it has named Ryan Northington as CEO and senior VP of the Americas. He was most recently CEO of Simplus. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Cloud Sherpas, which was acquired by Accenture in 2015.
Tom Abbott, the company's co-founder acting CEO, will become chief revenue officer and executive board member.
Austin-based physical therapy company Restore Hyper Wellness said Oct. 10 it has appointed Steve Welch as CEO. Welch, who co-founded the company in 2015, was named interim CEO in February after Jim Donnelly stepped down, and he has been chairman of its board since its founding. The company sells cryotherapy, infrared sauna and several other skin and muscle therapies.
Later in October, the company named Benton Smith as COO. He was previously CEO of Austin's CardMyYard and is a former VP of operations at Anytime Fitness. Restore also appointed Howard Schaffer as VP of marketing. He was previously CMO at Camp Gladiator. And John Paul Vaith, a former director of franchise support at Anytime Fitness, was promoted to VP of franchise performance.
Austin-based TAU Systems, which has developed a compact laser-plasma accelerator, said Oct. 11 it added laser specialist Dr. Corneliu Catalin Neacsu as its VP of business development and Dr. Nikolaus Klaus Metzger as director of laser science and technology. Neacsu was most recently director of sales and development at Amplitude Laser Group. Metzger, meanwhile, was most recently lead optical physicist at Nomad Atomics in Australia. Before that he held similar roles at PureLiFi Ltd and Amphos Gmbh.
The new hires foreshadow the startup's plans to find customers for its laser plasma accelerators at its forthcoming service center in Carlsbad, Calif. Tau's small-scale laser technologies are expected to be used by researchers in the semiconductor and EV battery sectors.
Austin-based venture capital firm Elsewhere Partners said Oct. 12 it has promoted Cody Younkin to senior associate. He joined the firm as an associate in 2021, and before that was in investment banking at D.A. Davidson.
The firm also announced Joseph Braun, Ben Pfeffer and Ryan Wallace joined the team as investors who will work with Elsewhere's operating advisor network. Braun was previously in business development roles at Grata. Pfeffer was previously director of development at Austin-based Notley. And Wallace was a senior associate at Cypress Growth Capital before joining Elsewhere.
In May last year, Elsewhere closed on its second fund with $175 million. The firm, launched in 2016 by founders Chris Pacitti and John Thornton, invests largely in business-to-business software startups that are headquartered outside of traditional VC hubs.
Austin-based nonprofit Responsible AI Institute said Oct. 12 that it named Var Shankar as its new executive director. Shankar, a former associate at law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, has led the institute's policy, delivery and customer success team since March 2022. He's also a member of the World Economic Forum’s AI Governance Alliance, the Brookings Institution’s Forum for Cooperation on AI and the OECD.AI Expert Group on Risk & Accountability.
He replaces Ashley Casovan. Casovan, who helped the institute develop AI assessments and a certification program, plans to remain on the organization's governing board. In a LinkedIn post, she said she will become managing director of the International Association of Privacy Professional's new AI Governance Center.
Austin-based CPG accelerator SKU said Oct. 16 that it selected SKU mentor Buff Greebe as its new executive director. Greebe is co-founder of Austin-based CPG consultancy LaunchSpace LLC, and he has worked with and consulted for Unilever Global Beverage Group, Coca-Cola and several other food companies around the globe.
Greebe joins CMO Michelle Breyer and Program Directors Brooke Wilson and Maddie Serviente on SKU's leadership team. Learn more about Greebe in this Q&A.
Austin-based startup HiddenLayer, which helps secure AI models, said Oct. 17 that it named Malcolm Harkins as its chief security and trust officer. He most recently held that same role at Epiphany Systems, and he also held that role at Cymatic and Cylance Inc. Before that, from 2013 to 2015, he was VP and chief security and privacy officer at Intel Corporation. This year, he was also named a top chief security and trust officer by Cyber Defense Magazine.
HiddenLayer was founded in 2022 and is led by co-founder and CEO Chris Sestito. In September, the startup announced that it raised a $50 million series A co-led by M12, which is Microsoft's venture fund, and Moore Strategic Ventures.
Austin-based Pattern Bioscience, which has developed tests for critically ill patients with pneumonia and bacteremia, announced two big hires Oct. 17. It added Tim Skansi as CFO and Travis Davies as VP of operations. Skansi was previously senior VP and CFO at McKesson Medical-Surgical. Before that, he was CFO at Austin-based Magnitude Software. Davies comes from Luminex Corporation, where he worked for 27 years, most recently as VP of instruments, reagents and consumable manufacturing.
The new hires come on the heels of a $28.7 million series C round earlier this year, which brought its total funding to $68 million.
Claire Hansen has been named partner at Firebrand Ventures. The firm, which is based in Kansas City, established an Austin presence back in 2019. Hansen joined Firebrand in 2021 as a principal after several years in key roles at Capital Factory, the Central Austin Angel Network and Army Futures Command.
"According to a 2022 Pitchbook report, female decision-makers at venture capital firms represent only 16.1% of the national total," Firebrand Managing Partner John Fein said via email. "While this means Claire is in rare company today, we hope to see many more women in VC partner roles in the years to come."
Austin-based credit building startup Self Financial said Oct. 19 that it named Julie Szudarek as its new CEO. She was most recently CEO of European online pharmacy Atida. Before that, she was president of international at Groupon.
She takes over from James Garvey, the company's founder, who will remain on the company's board. Garvey founded in the company in 2015. It has raised $127 million in funding and is the official credit building partner of the San Antonio Spurs and the Moody Center.
Location-based mobile software company Phunware said Oct. 26 that it promoted its chief revenue officer, Mike Snavely, to CEO. Snavely joined the company as CRO back in September. Prior to that, he was general manager of Wisconsin-based Vidable AI and chief commercial officer at CBANC. Snavely also previously worked at Phunware from 2014 to 2016, and has held roles at Austin-based Mutual Mobile and Bazaarvoice.
Russ Buyse, who became CEO of Phunware in November 2022, has moved into a consulting role with the company. Phunware also announced that board member Kathy Tan Mayor has resigned from the board.
