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 November:
Cars.com
Chicago-based Cars.com announced it has hired Brooke Skinner Ricketts as the company's CMO. Skinner Ricketts most recently served as VP of brand and design at Avant, and before that was head of brand strategy at Twitter. She's married to Laura Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs and the sister of Tom Ricketts, the team's chairman.
DialogTech
DialogTech, a call data platform for marketers, announced it has hired Bob Burns as its CFO. Burns joins DialogTech from HERE, the mapping technology company previously owned by Nokia that was sold to a German car consortium for $3 billion in 2015. Burns was HERE's CFO, and he helped lead the company through its acquisition. Burns has also worked at Motorola, Aerial Communications (which later sold to T-Mobile), and Accenture.
Caremerge
Caremerge, a care coordination and communication software platform for senior care, announced it has hired Jeffrey Niles as its VP of sales and marketing. Niles was previously the VP of sales and marketing for ShiftWise, the largest provider of SaaS based VMS technology in the healthcare industry. The hire comes after Caremerge's recent $14 million funding round led by Insight Venture Partners.
M1 Finance
M1 Finance, an automated online broker that emerged out of stealth earlier this year, announced it has hired Matthew Witt as its CMO. Witt comes to M1 Finance from creative agency Trisect, where he was VP of strategy. The hire comes after M1 recently raised $9 million in funding.
Accenture
Accenture announced that it has promoted senior managing director Pallavi Verma to lead the company’s US Midwest region. Verma will oversee Accenture's business in 12 Midwest states. Accenture's Midwest region is home to several hubs of innovation, including the Accenture Digital Hub, the Accenture Customer Innovation Center and the Accenture Financial Services Innovation Center.
Current
Current, a non-profit that launched this year by the City of Chicago, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and World Business Chicago to develop and commercialize next-generation water solutions, announced it has hired Steve Frenkel as its executive director. Frenkel was previously the chief policy advisor for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
McDonald's
Atif Rafiq, the first chief digital officer at McDonald's, is leaving the golden arches to join Volvo. Rafiq's exit is a big tech departure for McDonald's, who hired the Yahoo and Amazon.com veteran three years ago to focus on digital and mobile.
Belly
Chicago loyalty platform Belly announced that COO Daniel Gloede was being promoted to chief executive after its founder and previous CEO Logan LaHive said he was stepping down.
NextCapital
Chicago-based NextCapital, a financial software company, announced it has hired Matt Clink as its chief investment officer. Previously, Clink served as North American chief investment officer for Aon Hewitt Investment Services.
Image via Accenture
