This is our monthly feature where we recap the biggest tech hires in Chicago over the past month. Here’s our list of the top hires in Chicago tech for September:
Investment research giant Morningstar announced this month that its founder and CEO Joe Mansueto, who started the company from his Chicago apartment in 1984, is stepping down. The company is promoting Kunal Kapoor as the firm's next CEO. Kapoor joined Morningstar in 1997 as a data analyst and most recently serviced as president.
Fourkites, a Chicago logistics platform for truck tracking, announced that it has hired Craig Fiander as its Senior Vice President of Business Development. Fiander was most recently the Vice President of Strategic Alliances for the Enterprise Solutions business unit at ALK Technologies.
Chicago online small business insurance agency Insureon announced that it has hired Silicon Valley veteran Jeff Somers as its President and Head of Retail. Somers was most recently the Chief Product Officer at Ticketmaster, and has held leadership positions at eBay, Microsoft, Zillow, and Amazon.
Zebra Technologies announced this month that it has appointed its first ever CTO. Tom Bianculli was hired for the newly created position, having most recently served as vice president of Zebra's Emerging Technology Office where he testified on wearable technology before the U.S. House of Representatives.
Chicago-based digital agency Rightpoint announced that it has hired Celia Jones as its Group Director of Marketing and Brand. She comes to Rightpoint from Havas Worldwide, a top advertising agency in Chicago where she served as Group Brand Director.
Chicago online eye exam startup Opternative announced that it has appointed Pat Basu to its Board of Directors. Basu was previously the Chief Medical Officer of Doctor On Demand and is a former White House Fellow and Stanford Physician who has advised Fortune 500 firms.
Chicago media intelligence company Cision announced it has hired Sean O'Driscoll as its Chief Strategy and Insights Officer, and Robert Coppola as its Chief Information Officer. O'Driscoll was previously a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and before that held several senior leadership positions at Microsoft. Coppola comes to Cision from McGraw-Hill Financial where he was the Chief Information and Technology Officer.
SwervePay, a Chicago-based patient-centric healthcare payment solution, announced it has hired Mike Luessi as its Executive Vice President of Sales and Channel Development. Luessi previously served as Vice President of Product and Technology and Revenue Officer for the Optum unit of UnitedHealth Group.
Peanut Butter, a startup that helps companies implement student loan repayment benefits for their employees, announced it has hired Brian Cuttica as its VP of Client Solutions. Prior to Peanut Butter, Cuttica led Sales and Marketing for PointDrive through its acquisition by LinkedIn.
Tovala, a Y Combinator-backed multi-function smart oven, announced that it has hired Taryn Aronson as its Chief Operating Officer. Aronson was previously the Vice President of Finance at Redbox. Prior to that she was on the launch team that created Hulu at NBC Universal, and she also worked as an investment analyst at The Blackstone Group.
