Sep 10, 2021

Sila

Sila, a fintech software platform that provides payment infrastructure as a service, appointed Rick Holt as the firm's first chief revenue officer. Holt has been with Sila for several months as the acting vice president of Sales. In his new role, Holt will be responsible for the cohesiveness of Sila's revenue-related functions including sales, marketing, and customer experience. Most recently, Holt led SOLE Financial, which was acquired by Comdata in July 2019, as the CEO, chairman and co-founder. Prior to leading SOLE Financial, Holt founded, operated and sold Aptus Financial, a payments company with several products, serving customers throughout the United States. Sila is headquartered in Portland.

Parcion Private Wealth

Parcion Private Wealth, a Seattle-area wealth management firm, announced that managing principal Terry Cook has been recognized as one of the top-ranked advisors in the country in Forbes' ranking of America's Top Wealth Advisors for 2021. Cook was ranked in the top 100 advisors. The award is drawn from independent analysis conducted by SHOOK Research, which employs an amalgam of telephone and in-person interviews, coupled with an examination of criteria from 2020, including industry experience, compliance, and assets under management. Cook founded Parcion Private Wealth alongside other principals at the firm in 2019 as an independent multi-family office that partners with entrepreneurs, business owners and their families to optimize wealth events.

Tola Capital

Seattle-based Tola Capital announced that Phil Sorgen has joined the firm as a venture partner. Sorgen will be part of the Tola investment team, serve on boards, and guide companies on their sales and growth strategies. Most recently, he was the chief revenue officer for RingCentral, where he led the company's global sales and partner organization. Prior to this role he spent 24 years at Microsoft, most recently as a corporate vice president, leading Microsoft's U.S. Enterprise Commercial Group, an organization responsible for helping the company's commercial customers in the U.S. navigate digital transformation. Founded in 2010 by ex-software operators, Tola Capital is a venture capital firm that invests globally across multiple stages and targets companies who are building essential software for enterprise customers.

NAVEX Global

NAVEX Global has appointed Sean Thompson as president and chief operating officer, reporting to CEO Bob Conlin. Thompson has also been named to NAVEX Global's board of directors. Thompson's responsibilities in this newly created role include leading go-to-market planning and execution as well as supporting customer success, product innovation and operational excellence strategies. Thompson joins NAVEX Global from SAP, where he most recently served as executive vice president and general manager of SAP Procurement Network & Ecosystem and led the company's strategy for business network and payments, including the Ariba Network. He was previously the chief revenue officer for SAP's SMB cloud and ERP business. Before joining SAP, Thompson was the CEO and co-founder of Nuiku, a natural language processing and artificial intelligence company. He also spent nearly 10 years at Microsoft in various leadership capacities and was a management consultant at Deloitte. NAVEX Global is a worldwide leader in integrated risk and compliance management software and services, and is headquartered in Lake Oswego, OR.

Sep 09, 2021

Bill Gates buys Four Seasons stake for $2B

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The Four Seasons hotel, with condominiums on top, opened back in 2008 at the corner of First Avenue and Union Street, where the Heliparker Garage once stood. About the same time, parent Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was taken private in a $3.7 billion deal, with the new owners including Bill Gates and Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Now Gates-related Cascade Investment LLC has announced its over $2.2 billion purchase of half the prince's 47.5% stake. Four Seasons announced the pending deal, and said Cascade will soon have an over 71% stake in the company, which will have a total value of about $10 billion. Gates' involvement with the company dates back to 1997, when he bought shares in the then-public entity. Four Seasons CEO John Davison said in a statement, “The unwavering support and partnership of our shareholders has and continues to be critical as we capitalize on growing opportunities to serve luxury consumers worldwide.” The deal is expected to close in January.

New tenant at Woodin Creek Village

Woodin Creek Village is the mixed-use development by Weidner Apartment Homes and GGLO in downtown Woodinville. One of its central features is the so-called Wine Walk, which is filling up fast with tasting rooms and restaurants. Woodinville Wine Country will open up shop at 13590 N.E. Village Square Drive. A formal opening and ribbon cutting are expected soon. Dean Weidner said in a statement, “We worked with intentionality to bring an outdoor experience in an urban setting while preserving natural habitats, enhancing walkability, providing for al fresco social activities, and curating commercial tenants that are regional leaders in their respective sectors.” The Wine Walk and larger development now has 11 wineries and eight cafes and restaurants. Among them are Truth Teller, Woodin Creek Kitchen & Tap, Adams Bench Winery, Ancestry Cellars and the Rusty Pelican Cafe. W.G. Clark is underway of Phase III on the 20-acre development. Two more phases of construction will eventually up the residential tally to around 800 units.

StoryBuilt names project for rescued seal

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StoryBuilt, of Austin, has a few multifamily projects in varying stages of progress in our market. One townhouse project just got a new name: Stanley, with 19 units to be sold after completion at 6600 Carleton Ave. S. in Georgetown. (That's the former home of Hope Christian Community Church, which StoryBuilt acquired two years ago for $2.5 million.) StoryBuilt generally acts as its own designer and contractor, and will break ground this fall, the company says. Prices will run from the low $300,000s for a 400-square-foot studio to the low $800,000s for a 1,750-square-foot, three-bedroom townhouse. The complex will feature a mural from Will Schlough and Urban Artworks to honor Stanley the seal and other marine life. StoryBuilt's Ben Rutkowski said in a statement, “We want to engage with the community by giving back through our non-profit partners as much as we can, to create awareness and help others, animals, and the environment. We have a long-term plan to build big here in Seattle, and this is just the beginning.” Stanley the seal was rescued and later returned to the wild by the local nonprofit SR3. StoryBuilt is nearing completion on the 16-unit Winston in Ravenna, and is planning 215 units in Columbia City.

King Conservation District

Mendez-Perez

King Conservation District (KCD) announced the selection of Rosa Mendez-Perez to fill the position of executive director. Mendez-Perez has a background in environmental and climate advocacy focused on issues of equity and community empowerment. She served most recently as the director of the Office of Environmental Justice for New York's Department of Environmental Conservation where she led the agency's Environmental Justice and Indian Nations Affairs programs. She also chaired the Climate Justice Working Group and worked with communities to address their environmental challenges. King Conservation District is a nonregulatory, special purpose district that works with individuals, communities, nonprofits and local governments on a voluntary basis to steward natural resources.

Carney Badley Spellman

Vermillion

Jared Vermillion has joined Seattle law firm Carney Badley Spellman. Vermillion's practice primarily focuses on advising startups and emerging companies through a variety of matters such as entity formations, raising capital through venture and angel investment financings, commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, M&A and corporate governance.

710 ESPN Seattle

Hasselbeck

710 ESPN Seattle, owned by Bonneville Seattle Media Group, announced “The Matt Hasselbeck Show” as a weekly program on 710 ESPN Seattle. The new, one-hour show will air each Wednesday at 9 a.m., with the 2021 Seahawks Ring of Honor member joining morning host, Mike Salk. A three-time Pro Bowler, Hasselbeck played for the Seahawks from 2001-2010, including leading the Seahawks to their first ever Super Bowl appearance in 2005. Hasselbeck enjoyed a 17-year NFL career including other stops in Green Bay, Tennessee, and Indianapolis. The inaugural show will air Wednesday, Sept. 15, and will also be offered as a weekly podcast at 710Sports.com.

Kymeta

Redmond-based Kymeta announced that Walter Berger and S. Douglas Hutcheson have been named co-chief executive officers. Berger, formerly Kymeta's president and chief operating officer, will serve as president and co-CEO. Hutcheson, formerly Kymeta's executive chairman, will serve as executive chairman and co-CEO. Berger and Hutcheson joined Kymeta in May of 2019 and began their co-CEO duties effective September 1, 2021. Kymeta's connectivity solutions provide mobile connectivity on satellite and hybrid satellite-cellular networks to customers around the world. Kymeta was recently named 2021's Top Ten Hottest Companies in Satellite and Hottest New Mobility Solution for 2021.