The Social Tables team
Every month we recap the biggest tech hires and departures in the D.C. area over the past month. To get hiring and other local innovation news daily, sign up for The Beat newsletter. Here’s our list of the top hires in D.C. tech for April:
IBM
- IBM's Washington office has a new head for its external relations team as of April 5. Rachel Thomas is taking the helm, and previously, she was the communications director for EMILY's List and a former member of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's communications office, Politico reports.
Hustle
- Hustle, which just launched a D.C. presence in January, announced a big hire in its local office on April 6, according to a press release. Mike Cassesso of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is joining the team to build up its civic engagement efforts. Cassesso comes to Hustle after a decade of experience with campaigns and Capitol Hill. Most recently, he was the national field director for the DSCC. Hustle is the messaging app used by both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns for voter outreach and volunteer coordination.
OmniStudio
- OmniStudio founder and president Eileen Kessler retired April 7, and the agency hired Drew Mitchell, founder and president of Fathom Creative to take the reigns as president of OmniStudio, per an email. Mitchell will continue to serve as president of Fathom and the two companies will operate as sister companies. Kessler will stay on as an adviser and project consultant in the coming months. D.C.-based OmniStudio has done work for the National Science Foundation, the Architect of the Capitol, American Public Health Association and more in the past few years.
Social Tables
- Fabio Rosati joined the board of directors on April 10 at event management tech startup Social Tables. Rosati was previously the CEO of Elance from 2001-2014 and Upwork, which was formerly Elance, until 2015. The online work platform grew to be 14 million users strong in 180 countries during his time at the helm, and the company brought in more than $1 billion in annual billings.
IST Research
- Fredericksburg, Va.-based IST Research named Amy Dalton as its Chief Operating Officer on April 11, according to a press release. A veteran intelligence officer and data management expert, Dalton brings nearly 20 years of experience in U.S. Army intelligence, defense contracting, data analytics and project management. Dalton most recently served as senior director at nContext, a part of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. Dalton's addition to the team ends a larger corporate reorganization that started when the company received funding in 2016. The expansion included hires such as company president Michael Paley and chief technology officer Madison Bahmer.
Whiteboard Advisors
- D.C.-based Whiteboard Advisors named Anna Kimsey Edwards as its new Chief Advocacy Officer, per an email on April 12. Edwards joined the firm in 2005 and most recently was the firm's Executive Vice President and Director of Advocacy. Whiteboard Advisors supports mission-oriented and social impact companies in their communication, policy and advocacy needs. Some of their clients include Code.org, General Assembly and the University Innovation Alliance.
TrackMaven
- TrackMaven added a few new members to its board on April 12. According to a press release, Opower CEO and co-founder Dan Yates and New Enterprise Associates partner Patrick Kerins joined the board. Yates oversaw Opower through its IPO and later its acquisition by Oracle. Kerins serves on the board at BuzzFeed, ChannelAdvisor, Millennial Media and more.
SEED SPOT
- Social entrepreneurship accelerator SEED SPOT hired Duane Rollins as its national director of product and impact, according to a release on April 13. While SEED SPOT is Phoenix based, Rollins is based out of the new D.C. office. The hire comes as the accelerator continues to expand its new local operations and welcomes a new cohort in the D.C. area. Rollins will focus on "the big picture" by broadening the group's reach, developing new products and tracking the right communication metrics, per an email release. Previously, Rollins was the UX and Instructional Designer at 18F.
Deloitte
- Deloitte announced the hiring of Linda Walsh to the Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory's Cyber Risk Services practice as managing director on April 25. Walsh recently retired as the Federal Bureau of Investigation's supervisory special agent after 21 years of service.
ServiceNow
- ServiceNow named Brian Marvin as its new Vice President of Federal Sales, based out of its D.C. offices, on April 18. In his position, Marvin will oversee all federal sales and marketing for the cloud computer company based in Santa Clara, Calif. "As the federal government shifts its efforts toward modernizing its IT systems, Marvin will drive efforts to educate federal agencies on the benefits of using automated IT solutions to maximize productivity, reduce costs and make work go faster," according to an email release.
TransitScreen
- D.C.'s TransitScreen is bringing on Connie Moore as a board member and strategic advisor, per an email on April 25. Moore was president and CEO of BRE Properties before it merged with Essex Property Trust in 2014. Moore brings more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience to the team.
