Agility Robotics Gets CFO; Microsoft security moves; Zap legal officer; New KEXP CTO – GeekWire
– Agility Robotics so called Michael Beer as its chief financial officer. Current CFO and chief operating officer Jennifer Hunter will transition to serve exclusively as COO.
“Michael brings outstanding experience in public company finance and capital markets, and Jennifer, with her previous experience as a publicly traded COO, will focus exclusively on growing our operational efficiency and manufacturing capabilities,” said CEO Peggy Johnson, in a statement.
The Salem, Ore.-based startup, which has been testing two-legged Digit robots inside Amazon warehouses, will become the first publicly traded US company dedicated solely to humanoid robots, the company announced last month.
Beers joins Agility Robotics from California-based energy storage company Energy Vault, where he was CFO for two years. Previous roles include partner at West Coast Capital and CFO at FreeWire Technologies.
– Technology veteran in the Seattle area Matt Fisher took on the role of London CTO Efekta Education. The company is building an agent education and learning platform.
“I have used technology to build my work that helps people learn, communicate and achieve more. What attracted me to Efekta was its clear vision of using AI to improve learning, support teachers and
to make quality education accessible to more people around the world,” said Fisher.
Last August, Fisher joined media startup Adventr as a late-stage founder. Prior to that, he was the founder and CTO at Daydream, a startup that raised $50 million in seed funding last year to shake up the way people find and buy clothing online. Other previous roles include leadership at Amazon, Microsoft, Nordstrom and Auth0.
– There is another word you can add to rafting MicrosoftSecurity leadership.
Rahul Prakashhead of product for Microsoft Security Copilot, shared that he is leaving his role after nearly ten years with the company.
“As any Identity expert will tell you, the world of [Identity Access Management] it’s more complex than people realize, and it’s being rewritten in the world of AI agents. At Microsoft, I had the privilege of going deep into this space…” Prakash said on LinkedIn.
On Monday, GeekWire reported that Rudra “Rudy” Mitrawho spent more than 27 years at Microsoft, was joining Amazon Web Services as vice president of security services. Other recent departures include Krishna Kumar Parthasarathywho resigned after nearly thirty years.
– Nancy Lipson you have joined Zap Power as a senior law officer. The Everett, Wash.-based company. pursues fusion power, and has recently expanded its scope to include the next generation of nuclear fission.
Former vice president and CLO of gold mining giant Newmont Corporation, Lipson left after 18 years in 2023.
“Nancy’s deep expertise in the areas of business strategy, governance, compliance, and sustainability will be valuable assets as Zap pursues its integrated approach to advanced nuclear,” Zap wrote on LinkedIn.
– Jyoti Shukla named chief product and technology officer at KEXPa non-profit radio station serving Seattle and the Bay Area. The station combines social and entertainment areas, and shows different genres of music.
“There’s a lot of meaningful work ahead, and I’m excited to continue learning, building, and collaborating with an amazing team as we plan what’s next,” Shukla said on LinkedIn.
Prior to taking on the role, Shukla served on the KEXP board of directors and was senior vice president of product development at SiriusXM. He has also served in technical leadership roles at Nordstrom and Starbucks, and began his career at Microsoft.
– ZEV Co-opa non-profit EV carshare alliance based in Washington, announced Ry Armstrong as its new director. Armstrong was previously at Sustainable Seattle, where he served as director.
– Tirzah VanDamme you have joined Gagen MacDonald as executive director of AI and digital transformation. He brings over 20 years of experience and was most recently at Microsoft.
— The Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) announced the election of four new board members. That’s right:
- Amanda Boydexecutive director of Native American Programs and Professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State Universit
- Mary Czerwinskiformer research manager at Microsoft Research
- John Steinformer director of science and research for NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- Judith Wasserheitprofessor from Global Health, Medicine, and Epidemiology at the University of Washington
WSAS also elected 30 new members, who will assist the organization in providing scientific and technical information to state policymakers.
They include 26 scientists and engineers selected by their WSAS peers and four members recently elected to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, or Medicine or awarded the Nobel Prize and who live or work in Washington state.
Members include 11 UW professors and 8 from WSU, five researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, three from the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and three from the private sector, with some participants holding roles at multiple institutions.
