Oct 13, 2023

Inland Northwest AGC

NWAGC representatives accepted the award at national construction conference in Washington, DC.

The Inland Northwest AGC received a national construction award this month which honors organizations for their outstanding contributions to the local and national construction industries. The NWAGC earned the AGC Chapter of the Year Award for 2023, which recognizes chapters for outstanding programming, tangible accomplishments and overall excellence throughout 2022 and 2023. The Inland Northwest AGC is a membership organization dedicated to advancing the needs of commercial construction contractors throughout Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, and this year implemented its Trade Up 2 Construction campaign highlighting local workers and bringing attention to career opportunities in construction. The chapter was recognized for its significant accomplishments in workforce development, PAC fundraising, and construction education. Representing almost 400 companies in the region, The Inland Northwest AGC chapter was founded in 1921, and is one of 89 chapters of the Associated General Contractors of America.

TrueBlue

Schweihs

Tacoma-based TrueBlue, a provider of specialized workforce solutions, announced that Carl Schweihs has been promoted to chief financial officer from his position as president & COO of TrueBlue’s PeopleManagement division effective October 30, 2023. Schweihs will succeed Derrek Gafford who, after nearly two decades as CFO, is leaving to pursue other opportunities. To ensure a smooth transition, Gafford will serve in an advisory capacity through the end of the year. Schweihs has been with TrueBlue since 2014. Preceding his current role, he served as senior vice president of strategic accounts and before that vice president of finance and controller. Schweihs joined the company as part of its acquisition of Seaton in 2014, prior to which he served in a variety of financial leadership roles at Seaton and Grant Thornton. In conjunction with Schweihs’ appointment as CFO, Jerry Wimer has been promoted to general manager of PeopleManagement’s on-site staffing business and will serve as acting president of PeopleManagement. Wimer has been with TrueBlue since the acquisition of Seaton in 2014, most recently serving as general manager and senior vice president of global operations for staff management | SMX, which he joined in 1996. In 2022, TrueBlue served 84,000 clients and connected approximately 611,000 people to work. Its PeopleReady segment offers on-demand, industrial staffing; PeopleManagement offers contingent, on-site industrial staffing and commercial driver services; and PeopleScout offers recruitment process outsourcing and managed service provider solutions to a wide variety of industries.

City of Bellevue

Miyake

After 33 years of service, Bellevue’s city manager Brad Miyake has announced his retirement. Miyake has worked at the city in a multitude of positions, including utilities director, budget manager, and most recently, city manager. His last day with the city will be December 1, 2023.

Oct 12, 2023

Explore Seattle Southside

Messey

Singh

Explore Seattle Southside (Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority), the regional destination marketing organization serving SeaTac, Tukwila, and Des Moines, added Navdeep Singh and Cindy Messey to its board of directors. The SeaTac City Council appoints RTA board members. Seven members are appointed directly, and four more are chosen from RTA board nominations. They represent various stakeholders including businesses, lodging, restaurants, retail, entertainment, and transportation. As the assistant general manager at Westfield Southcenter, Navdeep oversees relationships with over 240 stores and restaurants that occupy the 1.7 million square foot retail center. In this role, Navdeep manages retailer engagement programs, supports positive tenant relations, facilitates local community/non-profit outreach, and establishes service provider partnerships. Previously, Navdeep managed several security companies and currently is a franchise restaurant owner in Maple Valley. Navdeep is also a member of the board of directors at the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce. Messey began work at The Museum of Flight in 2007 and served as private events manager before moving into the role of director of sales and events. Messey graduated from Auburn University with a degree in marine biology. She spent the next three years aboard crab and fishing boats in the Bering Sea, collecting data and conducting research as a contractor for NOAA. She later spent eight years planning events and galas at the Pacific Science Center. Explore Seattle Southside was established in 1999.

Jensen Investment Management

Jensen Investment Management, a 100% employee-owned active equity investment management firm based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is celebrating its 35th anniversary. With a team of 40 employees, Jensen serves investors across institutional, intermediary and high-net-worth channels. Jensen portfolio manager Tyra Pratt was presented the “Rising Star” award at this year's With Intelligence Mutual Fund and ETF Awards, and the complany was named one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2022 by Pensions & Investments.

Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson

Seattle law firm Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson announced that it has achieved a Midsize Mansfield Certification. The certification, awarded by Diversity Lab, a research and consulting organization in legal diversity and inclusion, recognizes HCMP's role in promoting inclusivity in the legal community. To attain initial Midsize Mansfield Certification, HCMP underwent a review process, ensuring its commitment to affirmatively considering people from historically underrepresented groups, including women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities, for entry-level and lateral hiring, partnership promotions, significant firm leadership positions, and advancement opportunities. HCMP has also increased transparency in its leadership advancement criteria and processes. HCMP has been in business since 1971, and now employs over 50 attorneys and other professionals. It offers a broad array of legal services providing counsel to individuals and organizations in the Puget Sound region.

Oct 11, 2023

Orca Security

Portland-based Orca Security, a provider of agentless cloud security, appointed two new executives to its leadership team. Oded Edri joins the company as chief financial officer, effective Nov. 1, 2023. In addition, the company promoted Arie Teter to chief product officer to succeed co-founder Gil Geron in the role following his appointment to CEO earlier this year. Edri brings more than 15 years of experience in executive leadership, financial management, human resources management, and operations. Prior to joining Orca Security, he was chief accounting officer at Payoneer, a global financial technology company, where he was instrumental in leading the company through its initial public offering. Prior to Payoneer, Edri was CFO at MakerBot. His career also spans senior financial and operations leadership experience at Stratasys and PwC. Prior to his promotion to chief product officer, Teter held the role of vice president of research and development for more than three years. Prior to Orca, Teter led engineering teams at Symantec and Check Point, after starting his career at Intel and Cisco. In his new role, Arie will be responsible for defining and executing the product roadmap that is closely linked to Orca’s customer needs and strategic objectives, while fostering alignment across teams and ensuring that product development remains closely aligned with the company’s overall mission.

Oct 10, 2023

Sila

Sila, a next-generation battery materials company, announced it has appointed Rosendo Alvarado as the company's plant manager for its first mass scale production facility in Moses Lake. Alvarado, a Moses Lake native with over 30 years of industry experience, transitions from his role as head of operations at Sila.In his new role, Alvarado will oversee all aspects of the plant functions from staffing and commissioning to orchestrating operations and engineering support. He had a 26-year stint at REC Silicon, where he managed the REC Butte facility, and has experience in commissioning new technology, and plant startup operations at the REC Moses Lake facility. The Moses Lake plant is expected to begin production in 2025. As Sila continues to grow its operations in Moses Lake, the company expects to hire 100 to 500 full-time employees and is working with local high schools, vocational training programs, and community colleges to train and recruit talent for this location. Sila was founded in 2011. Major investors include 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Coatue, In-Q-Tel, Matrix Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates.

Lattice

Lattice Semiconductor's Lattice Drive solution stack won a 2023 AutoTech Breakthrough Award. Honored in the “Automotive Infotainment Solution of the Year” category, Lattice Drive is designed to accelerate the development of advanced, flexible automotive system designs and applications. The Lattice Drive solution stack provides comprehensive application-specific solutions that combine reference platforms and designs, demos, IP building blocks, and FPGA design tools to accelerate automotive application development and time-to-market. Lattice Semiconductor is based in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Pierce County

The Pierce County Community Navigator team and the city of Lakewood are hosting a free Pierce County Thriving Together Small Business Resource event on Oct. 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the McGavick Conference Center at Clover Park Technical College, 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W. This event will offer small business owners and entrepreneurs the opportunity to connect with Pierce County non-profit organizations, government agencies, and community lenders that offer small business support programs and services. Additional details are available at available at http://www.piercecountywa.gov/8165/Thriving-Together-Event