This is our monthly feature where we recap the biggest tech hires, departures and promotions in Chicago over the past month. Here’s our list of the top personnel moves in Chicago tech for December:
Hyde Park Angels
Chicago venture firm Hyde Park Angels promoted Alida Miranda-Wolff to the role of director of platform, where she will work to strengthen the HPA brand across all channels, the firm said. She will work as a conduit between HPA’s internal and external communities, and will "create and manage network relationships, content development and dissemination, educational resources, programs, and engagement." Miranda-Wolf was previously HPA's associate manager.
DialogTech
Chicago call attribution provider DialogTech announced it has hired Doug Kofoid as its chief operating officer. Prior to DialogTech, Kofoid was president of marketing company Publicis Groupe, where he led the data and innovation division, VivaKi, to over 10X growth in revenue and built the organization into a 500-person company. In 2004, Kofoid wrote the algorithm that was developed in DART Search, the first SEM platform, which sold to Performics. DART Search became a part of DoubleClick after the company was acquired by Performics, and then became part of Google when the search giant bought DoubleClick. Kofoid served as director of search at Google from 2004 to 2008.
Raise
Chicago gift card marketplace Raise announced it has hired Dave Hoover as its head of engineering. Hoover, who co-founded Chicago's Dev Bootcamp, spent a year as the senior engineering manager at Groupon in 2011 after it acquired Obtiva, where Hoover was a partner. At Raise, Hoover will be tasked with, among other things, helping the gift card marketplace combat fraud.
Tyson New Ventures
Tyson New Ventures, a new $150 million Chicago-based venture fund from Tyson Foods, officially launched in December and will be led by Mary Kay James, who was previously at DuPont Ventures. James was named vice president and general manager. The fund will invest in entrepreneurial food businesses and "leverage Tyson Foods’ expertise to boost their development," Tyson said.
Builders
In December, Chicago VC Paul Lee rebranded Roniin, the venture capital firm and startup studio he founded a year ago, and unveiled Builders, a $200 million fund Lee launched with Formation 8 Co-Founder Jim Kim. Builders will have offices in Chicago and San Francisco, and it plans to write checks between $3 million and $10 million, according to Tech Crunch. Roniin is being rebranded to Builders Studios.
Rise Movement
Sittercity founder Genevieve Theirs has launched Rise Movement, a new progressive political organization founded in response to Donald Trump's presidential victory. Rise Movement aims to create a new economic narrative that focuses on job creation in the time of automation, and it looks to unite people from both sides of the aisle. Theirs co-founded Rise movement with Ellie Bahrmasel, a former campaigner and staffer for Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
