Austin startups and tech companies ended 2023 with a flurry of hiring activity, adding new talent as they headed into 2024. In December, we covered 15 of the most important new executive hires in the local ecosystem. You can get this type of news as it emerges in the Austin Inno Beat newsletter by subscribing here for free.
Now, here's quick look back on last month's top tech hires.
Austin-based Autonomize AI, which develops generative AI platforms for health care and life sciences, said Dec. 5 that it has appointed Dr. Anthony Nguyen as its new head of strategy and chief medical officer. He was most recently chief clinical officer at Elevance Health. Before that, he was senior vice president of clinical services at UnitedHealth Group and chief medical officer at Cognizant Technology Solutions.
Autonomize, led by co-founder and CEO Ganesh Padmanabhan, emerged from stealth earlier this year with $4 million in seed funding.
Austin-based veterinary service network Thrive Pet Healthcare said Dec. 4 that it hired George Bchara as its chief financial officer. He was most recently CFO at Conn's HomePlus, where he also previously held the role of chief accounting officer. Prior to that, he was chief accounting officer at BankUnited, and he has also held several roles at PwC.
Austin-based digital education platform Aceable said Dec. 6 that it added Tony Perlak as the company’s general manager of health care. He was most recently CEO of Continued.com. The new hire follows Aceable's acquisition of Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare.
Aceable, led by founder and CEO Blake Garrett, last month appointed Neil Seth as CTO and Kevin Morris as chief product officer. The startup has raised about $105 million, including a $50 million round in 2020.
Local WordPress tech company WP Engine said Dec. 11 that it added Justin Mongroo as senior vice president of sales, leading its North American sales team. He was most recently vice president of commercial sales at Slack, and before that he was vice president of sales at Conga. WP Engine, led by CEO Heather Brunner, also announced 20 new job openings at its Limerick, Ireland, offices as the company continues to expand across Europe.
Austin-based Care.com, which has an online platform for managing family care, said Dec. 11 that it appointed Bill Chase as its new general manager for consumer operations. That division includes the company's child care, senior care, pet care, home care and other services. Chase was previously chief growth and chief marketing officer at Bellhop. Before that, he was general manager of marketing software company Koddi.
On Dec. 12, Scott Dewey was appointed as the chief managed care officer at Austin-based payor relationship management company PayrHealth. He was most recently vice president of managed care at Community Health Systems and has also previously worked in similar roles at Erie County Medical Center Corp., BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and Humana.
PayrHealth, led by CEO Armando Cardoso, makes software used by health care organizations for all sorts of payment management, including some limited credentialing tools. Last year, it acquired Supero Healthcare Solutions LLC and SilverCreek RCM for an undisclosed amount.
Austin-based software testing company Tricentis said Dec. 12 that it has appointed David Kimball as senior vice president of sales for the Americas. He was previously vice president of public sector operations at Veeam Software. Before that, he was senior vice president of public sector at SolarWinds, and he's also had stops at Trend Micro, Intellitactics and Remedy.
Tricentis was founded in 2007 in Silicon Valley and moved its headquarters to Austin in the past year or so. In March 2022, it was announced that the company had leased more than 42,000 square feet in the Uplands Corporate Center, off Southwest Parkway.
Austin-based software developer Epicor said Dec. 13 that it promoted Joe Ayers to executive vice president and CFO. He joined the company in 2021 as vice president of finance. He had been interim CFO for the past few months. Before that, he worked on the audit team at KPMG and on the SEC reporting and accounting team at PG&E.
Epicor, led by CEO Steve Murphy, builds custom software for the automotive, building supply, distribution, manufacturing and retail industries. The company, which is headquartered in Austin and has eight other offices, said it has surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue. Earlier this year, it acquired Elite EXTRA, which develops cloud-based last-mile delivery solutions. Overall, it has made 24 acquisitions, according to Crunchbase.
Austin-based Onramp Funds, which helps finance e-commerce businesses, said Dec. 13 that it hired Mike Kelly as its new head of finance. He was previously director of strategic initiatives at Dell Financial Services LLC and held several roles at the company since 2002.
Onramp, led by CEO Eric Youngstrom, has raised $45.5 million since its founding in 2020, according to Crunchbase. That includes a $42 million round of equity and credit in 2022.
Austin-based telecom startup Really said Dec. 14 that it appointed Jessie Scelzi as its chief revenue officer. She'll be a familiar face. Really was founded by Adam Lyons, who co-founded Austin insurtech startup The Zebra. Scelzi was previously chief commercial officer there. She was also instrumental in The Zebra's progressive parental leave programs and was an executive sponsor of Shebras, an employee resource group to support women in the workplace.
Really was founded in 2022 and earlier this year secured an $18 million seed round led by Polychain and Floodgate founding partner Mike Maples Jr. The startup is creating a blockchain-powered mobile network that's community-owned, affordable and provides privacy. It pays people and businesses to host small cell towers on their roofs and it has partnered with T-Mobile to provide coverage outside of Really's coverage areas.
Elligo Health Research, an Austin-based clinical trials company, said Dec. 19 that its former chief operating officer Barry Simms had been named CEO of the company. He takes over from founder and CEO John Potthoff, who became the company's chairman. Simms has been with the company since August, and he previously was interim CEO and COO at LabConnect.
Back in October, Elligo, founded in 2016, secured a $40 million venture loan from Connecticut-based Horizon Technology Finance Corp. Overall, the company has raised a total of about $211 million from backers including Morgan Stanley, Norwest Venture Parters and Piper Sandler.
Infinitum, which raised a $185 million funding round in 2023, said Dec. 20 that it named Bhavnesh Patel as chief strategy officer, Paulo Guedes-Pinto as chief technology officer and Mike DiNucci as chief revenue officer.
Patel and Guedes-Pinto both joined the company in 2019 as vice president of business development and vice president of technology, respectively. DiNucci, meanwhile, was most recently senior vice president at Xeal and previously was CRO at Netradyne.
Austin-based e-mobility company eBliss Global said Dec. 20 that it hired Dave Boyle as its president. He'll be focused on convincing auto dealers to offer the company's Always Brand e-bikes. Boyle was most recently CEO of TraXtion, which provides tire wear diagnostics. He was also a professional race car driver.
The company has already teamed up with Houston-based Petra Automotive Products to have their e-cargo and fat tire e-bikes distributed. It has also partnered with Tomberlin and The Ride.
