Tech Moves: Microsoft leader named CEO at WPP; Snowflake taps SVP; Absci adds board member

Geek Wire

4 days ago

Cindy Rose. (LinkedIn Photo)
— Cindy Rose, Microsoft's chief operating officer for global enterprise sales, is leaving the tech behemoth to become CEO of WPP, a London-based advertising company. Rose is departing Microsoft after nine years and roles that include CEO of Microsoft UK and president of Microsoft Western Europe.
'It's tough to leave such an extraordinary organization, especially now in the middle innings of the AI transition. But some opportunities are so special and unique that you just have to go for it!' Rose said on LinkedIn.
She called WPP 'a company I know and love,' adding that she has served six years on its board and was a client and partner with the business.
Wall Street Journal reports that WPP is struggling 'with challenges from artificial intelligence and seeks to turn the page on a string of client losses.'
— Christopher Niederman is now senior vice president of alliances and channels for Snowflake, a Montana-based cloud giant that provides data storage, processing, and analytics services. Niederman worked at Amazon Web Services for 11 years, most recently as managing director of AWS Industries and Solutions. Snowflake recently opened a new office in Bellevue, Wash.
— Absci, a Vancouver, Wash.-based company that uses AI to develop drugs, added Mary Szela to its board of directors. Szela has nearly 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, serving as CEO at multiple corporations and overseeing the development of Humira, a popular drug for treating autoimmune diseases.
Adrianna Burrows (left) and Shahan Parshad. (LinkedIn Photos)
— Avalara, a tax compliance software giant, announced two C-suite appointments:
Adrianna Burrows is now executive vice president and chief marketing officer, coming to the role from Shopify. Burrows, based in Seattle, was CMO at PayScale and held general manager positions at Microsoft. She was at We. Communications for more than 11 years.
is now executive vice president and chief marketing officer, coming to the role from Shopify. Burrows, based in Seattle, was CMO at PayScale and held general manager positions at Microsoft. She was at We. Communications for more than 11 years. Shahan Parshad is now senior vice president and chief information officer. Parshad comes to Avalara from Airtable, and has held leadership roles at Confluent, Salesforce and McKinsey & Company.
Avalara, acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2022, was based in Seattle but relocated last year to North Carolina.
Dan Frechtling (left) and Pamela Slea. (LinkedIn Photos)
— Boltive, a Seattle startup helping brands and publishers comply with online privacy laws and adhere to the choices of internet users, is shaking up its top leadership spot. CEO Dan Frechtling is leaving the company after more than four years, making way for Pamela Slea to take the helm.
'The journey has been incredible … fundraising, launching a fast-growing privacy business, earning the trust of customers around the world, and ultimately being acquired a year ago,' Frechtling said on LinkedIn. 'After a year of transition to new ownership, the business is stronger than ever.'
Slea, who is based in the San Francisco Bay area, is now president of Boltive. She held leadership roles at InMobi, Index Exchange, AppNexus and Google.
Frechtling was previously president of G2 Web Services, which was acquired by Verisk. He did not announce a new role, saying that he's 'lending a hand to a few business projects and then am off to Europe for a bike-and-tour vacation.'
Cynthia Williams. (LinkedIn Photo)
— Funko, an Everett, Wash.-based pop-culture collectibles company, replaced CEO Cynthia Williams and appointed Michael Lunsford as interim chief executive. Lunsford previously served in the role from 2023-'24 and will retain his seat on Funko's board of directors.
Williams came to Funko from Hasbro and was previously president of Wizards of the Coast, the Bellevue company offering games including Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. She also held leadership roles at Microsoft and Amazon. Williams was named CEO last year.
'We believe a change in leadership is necessary to deliver full shareholder value and believe Mike [Lunsford]'s appointment positions us accordingly. Mike is experienced in leading several companies, including Funko, through successful corporate transitions,' Charles Denson, Funko's board chairman, said in a statement.
— And speaking of Wizards of the Coast, Dan Ayoub is now leading the company's Dungeons & Dragons franchise. The move comes after an internal restructuring that put all of Wizards' D&D content including books, video games, film, and TV into a single organization.
'This game has forged my friendships over the years and ultimately is what got me into game development,' Ayoub said on LinkedIn. 'I've loved D&D since the first roll of the dice.'
Ayoub was at Microsoft for 11 years and worked on Halo.
— Seattle-based marketing tech company Banzai International named Dean Ditto as chief financial officer. He replaces interim CFO Alvin Yip, who will transition to chief accounting officer.
Banzai made headlines last month when its $53.2 million acquisition of fellow marketing-tech company Act-On Software unraveled after its funding fell through.
Ditto has held multiple CFO roles for companies including Akerna, Mydecine Innovations Group and Sigue, all of which are based in Denver.
In announcing Ditto's hire, Banzai CEO Joe Davy called the company 'privileged to have someone of his caliber and financial skill set serve as our CFO.'
Jessica Sahney. (LinkedIn Photo)
— AdventureTripr, a Seattle startup developing a marketplace for group travel, announced Jessica Sahney as chief operating officer. Sahney was previously at Amazon for 15 years, most recently serving as a director with Amazon Web Services where she focused on data center infrastructure planning and operational efficiency.
Sahney said on LinkedIn that her decision to join AdventureTripr, which supports active travel such as mountaineering, sailing, trekking and other activities, aligns with her passion for adventures that have included climbing Kilimanjaro and hiking in Italy's Cinque Terre.
— Washington State Green Bank named Eli Lieberman as its first executive director. The nonprofit bank is developing financial products including residential clean energy loans and commercial offerings to help deploy clean energy technologies.
Lieberman will join GeekWire reporter Lisa Stiffler and other panelists in Seattle on July 17 for a PNW Climate Week discussion about climate funding.
— Scowtt, a Kirkland, Wash., customer acquisition startup, named Eric Schwartz as its first chief revenue officer. Scowtt has developed marketing software to analyze potential customers leads and predict which ones will result in sales, as well as using AI to interact with prospects and schedule calls. Schwartz is based in New York City and his previous jobs include leadership roles at MiQ and Scibids.
— Stephen Poole is now senior vice president of Addison Avenue Investment Services. Poole succeeds Kelly Corah, who was president of Hillsboro, Ore.-based Addison Avenue and is retiring from the company after 27 years. Poole comes to the role from Columbia Wealth Advisors and will report to First Tech Federal Credit Union President and CEO Greg Mitchell.
— Fluke has appointed Parker Burke to two roles: Fluke president and group president of Fortive's Connected Reliability Group. Fluke is an Everett-based subsidiary of Fortive and sells tools and software used for measuring and monitoring in electrical, industrial, medical and calibration applications. Burke has been with Fortive for nine years, including six in leadership roles at Industrial Scientific, which is an operating company of Fortive.
— Cherodeep Goswami, chief information and digital officer for Providence, was appointed to the American Board of Surgery's board of directors for a three-year term. The organization provides provides board certification to surgical clinicians.
— The Youth Marine Foundation, a Tacoma, Wash., effort promoting maritime skills, named Karina Martija-Harris as director of community partnerships. Her previous roles include program manager at Washington Maritime Blue, which advocates for the maritime industry, and a position with Defense Innovation Unit.