While Covid-19 altered personnel plans for many, the state’s top technology companies and startups continue to hire during the pandemic.
We track the major player personnel moves in our daily newsletter, the Beat. Below, we’ve listed the top Colorado technology and startup hires reported in June.
Following its $40M funding round in January, Denver-based Swimlane has announced three appointments to the leadership team. The cybersecurity automation company brought on Tony Thompson as chief marketing officer, Charles Constanti as chief financial officer and David Anthony as SVP of customer experience.
Westminster-based Health Scholars, a provider of virtual reality clinical training for high-acuity care, announced that Scott Johnson has joined the company as its new CEO. You'll likely recognize Johnson's name as he most recently served as the president and COO of Denver text-first virtual care startup CirrusMD.
Denver-based smart sprinkler startup Rachio has named a new CEO with executive experience at Walmart and Home Depot. The news comes as Rachio reported a record year of growth and sales in 2020, with customers saving 36 billion gallons of water. Kim Sentovich takes over the top executive position, replacing co-founder Chris Klein. Klein will remain with the company and shift to the chief product officer role.
Denver security technology company Ping Identity announced the addition of Jason Wolf as chief revenue officer. Prior to Ping, Wolf's most recent role was as chief revenue officer at SAP.
Westminster-based Reven Holdings, a clinical-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical company, announced that co-founder Brian Denomme will be stepping into a full-time role as the company's president. Replacing Denomme as COO will be Daniel Hoffman, the company said in a release. Reven is focused on the discovery and development of treatment for cancer, viral illnesses and inflammatory disorders.
Loveland-based Lightning eMotors, a provider of commercial zero-emission vehicles for fleets, has named a new head of its Lightning Energy division. Brandon McNeil was appointed VP of Lightning Energy, which provides customers with charging infrastructure products and services.
Colorado-based Alchemer, a startup previously known as SurveyGizmo, announced that it has hired Brandi Vandegriff as the company's new CTO. Vandegriff was previously CTO at KPA, where she led the company's digital efforts for its 10K enterprise customers.
Icon Source, a Denver startup connecting brands with athletes, has brought on former professional snowboarder Matt Ladley to lead its new professional services division. In the role, Ladley will work with brands on athlete marketing programs, assisting in things like campaign ideation and planning.
Fruition, a digital design, development and marketing agency in Denver, announced that it has brought on Nathan Smith as the company's chief technology officer. Prior to joining Fruition, Smith held various technology roles at DDEV and RiotLabs.
Denver's Voyager Space Holdings announced the appointment of Tom Ayres as chief legal officer and general counsel. Ayres most recently served as the 20th General Counsel of the U.S. Air Force and oversaw the legislation creating the Space Force. The space-focused holding company launch in October 2019 and is focused on supporting the growth needs of commercial space companies by offering an alternative to traditional private capital, serving instead as a longer-term provider of permanent capital.
Two weeks after it raised a $150M Series E financing round that brought its valuation to roughly $3.75B, Denver edtech unicorn Guild Education announced a new advisory board with some notable names. The group is made up of business and education leaders, including Christine Deputy, chief people officer at Pinterest; Rob Lauber, the former chief learning officer at McDonald's; and Sara Martinez Tucker, the former under secretary of education at the U.S. Department of Education, among others.
As it prepares for a commercial launch, Boulder-based non-invasive alcohol detection and screening system startup SOBR Safe announced the hiring of Scott Bennett as the company's VP of operations. Prior to SOBRsafe, Bennett co-founded cybersecurity firm Centennials' GBprotect, serving as its COO until its sale to Nuspire.
Vail-based investment firm Manna Tree announced several additions to its management, investor relations and operations teams as it increases its deal flow. The company brought on Sylvio Petto Neto as director, as well as Shannon Flahive and Ben Tabah as vice presidents. In April 2020, Manna Tree raised $141.5M for its first fund to invest in companies focused on human health and wellbeing.
