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 July:
Optoro
One of Aspire's co-founders, Lily Cua, is now the director of channel developments and partnerships at Optoro, according to her LinkedIn profile on July 19. The same source also shows that Cua is no longer at Aspire as of May 2017. Cua founded Aspire, which helps companies connect with local vendors to offer more attractive employee perks and benefits, in December 2013 with co-founder Neil Shah. In 2014, the two Georgetown alums closed a $400,000 seed round. Optoro CEO Tobin Moore served as an advisor for Aspire in the past.
Lyft DC
D.C.'s Kate Glantz is on the move, again. After a stint as SEED SPOT D.C.'s Director of Entrepreneur Initiatives and taking her venture Heartful.ly part-time earlier this year, Glantz is now heading to Lyft as their Washington, D.C. Marketing Lead. Her first day was July 31. "For me, Lyft embodies the values that I’ve worked hard to develop within the startups, organizations, and teams I’ve been a part of," Glantz said in a statement. "This role combines my passion for building community with my excitement to leverage technology as a means to improve quality of life here in the District and surrounding areas."
Revolution
Revolution announced on July 12 that longtime D.C. tech investor Todd Klein is joining the venture capital firm as a partner. Klein currently sits on the board of local companies such as CustomInk, Optoro, Echo360 and Cava. Klein left his position at SWaN & Legend to join Revolution.
Mach37
Rick Gordon, Dan Wooley and Bob Stratton are all no longer at the cybersecurity accelerator as of July 7 after a move from their parent company, the Center for Innovative Technology, to modify the accelerator's structure. The changes come after Gordon attempted to buy Mach37 from CIT, but ultimately failed to follow through.
Under the new structure, CIT's managing director Tom Weithman is the accelerator's president; Jason Chen, the D.C. cybersecurity program director at Techstars, is Mach37's new managing director of operations; and CyberBridge Group managing partner Mary Beth Borgwing is the accelerator's managing director of cyber.
National Venture Capital Association
After three years at the National Venture Capital Association, Jessica Straus is leaving the company to join GE Ventures in Menlo Park as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence, according to an email from Straus in early July. While at NVCA, Straus, who was based in D.C., launched the NVCA Diversity Task Force, announced a venture diversity pledge at the White House, advanced the NVCA Corporate Venture Group and supported new research and communications initiatives.
Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning & Economic Development
Joaquin McPeek, the communications director for the Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning & Economic Development, left his post for a new job opportunity at Ygrene, a clean energy company in Petaluma, Calif., according to an email on July 13. McPeek had worked with the District government since January 2015, and he worked on Mayor Muriel Bowser's 2014 campaign as her communications director. Chanda Washington has been named the interim communications director.
Upside Travel
- Upside Travel, the startup geared towards finding discounts for business travelers, made some changes to its executive suite, according to LinkedIn. Emily Dresner, who was Upside's senior vice president of engineering, is now Chief Technology Officer for the company as of July 26. She's been with Upside since Feb. 2016.
18F
18F has a few new leaders in its ranks. Cyd Harrell will fill the newly created chief of staff position while Rebecca Piaaza was promoted to the new deputy executive director role on July 14. Harrell has been with the team for about a year, and she joined 18F from Code For America where she was a product director. Piazza joined 18F as a product manager in 2015 and worked her way up to her new position.
Fishbowl
Alexandria, Va.-based customer engagement platform Fishbowl has a new CEO. Jim Soss is now at the helm of the restaurant data company as of July 11. Soss' resume includes leadership roles at top tech companies, such as Resonsys, which was acquired by Oracle, and Red Aril, a SaaS company acquired by a company that is now owned by Hearst. Soss' hiring comes a few months after Fishbowl was acquired by private equity firm Symphony Technology Group.
