Ramana Thumu has been appointed as the chief technology officer for Expedia Group, where he will be overseeing engineering operations for the Seattle-based company. Expedia Group consists of several brands, including vrbo, Orbitz, Hotwire, Trivago, and Hotels.com, in addition to the flagship Expedia.com. CEO Ariane Gorin praised Thumu’s experience and people-centric leadership style, stating that his expertise in building and managing multi-tenant tech platforms will be invaluable for the company’s future. Thumu is joining Expedia Group after the departure of the former CTO Rathi Murthy and Sreenivas Rachamadugu, who were removed from their positions due to a violation of company policy. Thumu previously worked at Fanatics and eBay, bringing with him a wealth of experience in technology leadership. He will be based in San Francisco and is set to start in December.
At Humanly, a Seattle startup specializing in automating recruiting functions, Tara Mitchell has been named as the vice president of sales. Mitchell has a background in the employment sector, having previously worked at Fountain, iCIMS, and CareerBuilder. Humanly recently acquired Teamable, a San Francisco startup offering similar AI-boosted HR tools. F5, a Seattle-based company providing application delivery and security technologies, has added Maya McReynolds and Julie Gonzalez to its board of directors. McReynolds is the chief financial officer for the Client Solutions Group at Dell Technologies, while Gonzalez is the senior vice president of Business Finance at Workday. The addition of these two members brings a wealth of financial expertise and operational experience to the F5 board.
Viral Thacker is now leading a new ad sales and product group for Amazon’s Twitch, a live-streaming service acquired by Amazon in 2014. Thacker had previously overseen the emerging business team at Amazon Ads. Twitch, known for its video game and esports competitions, has reportedly undergone multiple rounds of layoffs and is currently unprofitable. Thacker will report to Alan Moss, Amazon’s vice president of global ad sales. Prosper Portland, a government agency promoting economic development in Portland, Ore., has announced two new roles. Andrew Fitzpatrick is now the interim economic development director, while Mitch Daugherty will manage Prosper Portland’s Office of Small Business, launching early next year. Fitzpatrick previously served as the director of economic development for the Portland Mayor’s office, while Daugherty is the co-founder of Built Oregon.
Kristen Hamilton has taken on the role of advisor to the CEO of formX, a software company specializing in designing accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Hamilton, a general partner at Enjoy The Work and an advisor to various startups, is also working with the CEO of Joon and others. Bob Davidson, President and CEO of the Seattle Aquarium, has announced his retirement after over 22 years with the organization. The Seattle Aquarium is a world leader in marine conservation and restoration, and recently celebrated the opening of its Ocean Pavilion expansion. Davidson will continue in his role until a replacement is found next summer, expressing pride in the achievements made during his tenure.
