Austin startups and tech companies are pretty much always on the hunt for new talent. And, despite a series of layoffs in the metro this year, dozens of local companies have added new executives to their ranks in the past month.
Let's check out some of the recent moves in our roundup of top tech hires in May.
Austin-based regulatory compliance software startup Red Oak Compliance Solutions said May 1 that it named Dave Dutch as its new CEO. He'll also take a board seat. Meanwhile, co-founder and former CEO Stephen Pope will remain on the board. Dutch is a board member at several companies and was most recently CEO at Dallas-based OrderMyGear and Paylease. Before that, he was CEO at San Diego-based Zego.
Red Oak also announced it has appointed Tripp Neville as its chief revenue officer. He was most recently head of sales at Lithic.
Red Oak, founded in 2010, landed a $51 million investment from Mainsail Partners last year. Also, last year the company acquired Utah-based SiteQuest Compliance, which makes compliance monitoring and website surveillance software.
Later in May, the company also named Mike Lubansky as senior vice president of product management. He most recently built the product team at RIA in a Box, which was acquired by Comply. He was also previously an advisor at Decipher Finance and a product leader at Dun & Bradstreet.
Austin- and Switzerland-based clean code company Sonar said May 1 that it added Lynne Doherty as president of field operations. She was most recently president of worldwide field operations at Sumo Logic. She also has held leadership roles at McAfee and Cisco.
Sonar, which develops open source solutions for developers, is led by Austin-based co-CEO Tariq Shaukat, who used to be president of Bumble.
Austin-based online family care company Care.com said May 2 that it appointed Amit Goyal as chief technology officer. He was previously CTO at Reputation.com, and before that he was at Overstock.com.
Care.com, led by CEO Brad Wilson, helps people manage family care, including in-home services for seniors and pets. In 2020, it was acquired by IAC (NASDAQ: IAC) for about $500 million.
Austin-based e-commerce platform company BigCommerce said May 6 that it appointed Travis Hess as its new president. He was most recently a managing director at Accenture where he led its direct-to-consumer commerce offering and go-to-market strategy. Before that, he was executive VP at The Stable, a commerce agency that was acquired by Accenture in 2022.
Hess replaces former President Steven Chung, who had been BigCommerce's president since August last year. He is now president at New York-based Starburst, according to his LinkedIn page.
BigCommerce also announced that it has added Thom Armstrong as VP of Americas enterprise sales. He was previously senior VP of sales at Stylitics, and has held senior sales roles at Amplience, Salesforce and Demandware.
Austin-based energy drink maker Nutrabolt said May 7 that it appointed Jason Lin as chief growth officer. He was previously chief digital officer at Vital Proteins from 2019 to 2021. Before that, he held roles at Walmart.com and eBay, as well as startups Upwork and Anker. He also co-founded app-based cab-share service Hitchsters.
Austin VC firm Next Coast Ventures said May 8 that it has promoted four team members: Kaitlyn DeBernardo, who started with the firm in 2022, has been elevated to chief operating officer; Michael Maloney was promoted to principal; Michael Tian has become vice president; and former controller Julia Holmes climbed to VP of finance.
Infinitum, an Austin-area high tech motor company, said May 9 that it has named Meredith Waters as its general counsel, overseeing all things legal. She was previously general counsel at Austin-based travel tech company Mondee. Before that, she was on the legal teams of Apple and Netspend.
Infinitum, led by CEO Ben Schuler, makes smaller, lighter and more efficient motors for industrial processes, HVAC systems, data centers and materials handling. Last November, it raised $185 million in series E funding, bringing its total raised to $350 million.
Austin-based hospitality check-in startup Virdee said May 14 that it appointed Paul Pellman as its CEO. He's the company's first CEO. As part of the change, co-founders Branigan Mulcahy and Nadav Cornberg will become chief operating officer and CTO, respectively.
Pellman was most recently CEO at Austin-based Kazoo, which is owned by Vista Equity Partners. He was also previously CEO of Austin-based Adometry, which was acquired by Google, and president of Hoovers Inc. The company said it has also named Kelli Lin as VP of product. She was previously in the same role at Narvar. And Virdee added Royi Haddad as VP of engineering. He had previously led engineering at Hippo Insurance.
Virdee, founded in 2020, develops touchless and remote hotel check-in using smartphones or kiosks. It raised a $12.4 million series A led by Moneta Ventures last November, bringing its total funding to over $21 million.
Austin-based Workrise, a supply chain platform for the energy sector, said May 14 that it has hired Dave Moxey as its first chief marketing officer and SVP of strategy. He was most recently CMO at Cloudera, where he had risen through the ranks since 2017. Before that, he was VP of product and portfolio marketing at Citrix, where he held several roles from 2003 to 2017.
Moxey's work history coincides with that of recently appointed CEO Mick Hollison. The two worked together at Citrix and Cloudera. Hollison took over the top executive role, replacing co-founder and former CEO Mike Witte, in March.
Solar engineering and software company FTC Solar Inc. said today that it has made three key leadership appointments. Patrick Cook, who joined the company as CCO in 2022, has been named senior VP of capital markets and business development. Alberto Echeverria, former CEO of STI Norland, was named senior VP of international sales. And Tamara Mullings, founder of AFARA Governance Inc., was appointed senior VP of North American sales.
FTC, founded in 2017, is led by Chairman of the Board Shaker Sadasivam.
Austin's Atlas Technical Consultants Inc. said this week that it has named Sarah Kinnick Hilty as its new chief legal officer. She was previously in that role at edtech company Skillsoft Corp. Before that, she was executive VP and general counsel at National CineMedia Inc.
Atlas, led by CEO Jacque Hinman, develops infrastructure and environmental solutions, including testing, inspections and engineering in the transportation, commercial and industrial markets.
Austin-based fintech startup Cofi.ai said today that it has appointed Aaron Kizer as its new president. He was previously VP of platform technology at Workiva. Before that, he was a delivery principal at Dell, as well as CTO and founder at GenerationBridge. Cofi, led by co-founder and CEO Alex Irigoyen, was founded in 2020. The company's platform automates financial planning and risk analysis for investment firms and other technology companies.
Tech advisory and media firm The Futurum Group said May 20 that it has appointed Dion Hinchcliffe as VP of the company's CIO practice. He was most recently VP and principal analyst at Washington, D.C.-based Constellation Research. He's also an executive fellow at Dartmouth's Center for Digital Strategies.
Edtech startup Interplay Learning said today that it has appointed Jim Clor as its VP of education and workforce development. Clor was most recently VP of state and national partnerships at Tampa Bay area edtech company Pathful Inc. Before that he was a senior consultant at SignUp.com and a VP of sales at DimensionU.
Interplay, led by founder and CEO Doug Donovan, uses videos, AR and VR to develop training for skilled trades. It was founded in 2016 and has raised $24.5M, according to Crunchbase.
Austin-area real estate software company dynaConnections said May 22 that it appointed Rudyard Henry as a senior product manager. He was previously in that role at Black Knight, a Florida-based real estate data and analytics company. Before that, he held similar roles at Fidelity National Financial.
DynaConnections, led by CEO Tim Ford, was founded in 2001. It doesn't appear to have raised venture capital.
Non-alcoholic winemaker Surely has a new CEO who's ready to usher in a new era of growth for the 4-year-old business. Austin-based Surely, a subsidiary of Forward Food Inc., has capitalized on a growing popularity for non-alcoholic wines in recent years, quadrupling its presence from 370 retail stores nationally in March 2023 to 1,500 this year. The company expects to continue growing in the non-alcoholic space, but it also plans to tap into the low-alcohol wine sector with a new product this fall. Leading the charge is Brandon Joldersma, who was appointed as CEO in February. He's was previously chief operating officer at Still Austin Whiskey Co. and general manager at Coppercraft Distillery. Keep reading.
Austin-based wireless company Aviat Networks Inc. said today that it has named Michael C. Connaway as senior VP and CFO. He was previously VP and CFO of Honeywell's energy and sustainability solutions segment. Before that, he was CFO of ABB's industrial solutions business
The publicly traded company, led by President and CEO Peter A. Smith, moved its headquarters from Milpitas, Calif., to Austin in 2019.
