F5, a Seattle-based application security and delivery company, announced the appointment of Lyra Schramm as the new chief people officer and Kunal Anand as the chief technology officer. Schramm comes from Google, where she held various human resources leadership roles, while Anand has experience as the former chief technology officer and chief information security officer at Imperva, a cybersecurity company. Both new executives will hold executive vice president titles at F5, which reported $693 million in revenue for its most recent quarter. Other key personnel changes in the Pacific Northwest tech industry include Kyle Piskel being named as the new CFO at Adaptive Biotechnologies and Bryan Copley joining the City of Redmond as a planning commissioner.
Adaptive Biotechnologies also announced the restructuring of its Minimal Residual Disease and Immune Medicine businesses, with Kyle Piskel taking over as CFO. This follows the departure of Tycho Peterson, who is leaving to pursue another opportunity. Additionally, Seattle real estate data startup CityBldr’s CEO Bryan Copley has taken on a new role as a planning commissioner for the City of Redmond. Meir Lakhovsky, a product leader, has joined Gradient as vice president of product management. Leafly, a cannabis software company, saw changes in its board leadership with Michael Blue resigning as chair and new appointments being made.
Former Techstars Seattle leaders Marius Ciocirlan and Sarah Studer are exploring new opportunities outside of Techstars following the shutdown of the startup accelerator in February. Ciocirlan, who was the managing director of Techstars Seattle in 2022, is moving on from the company after it was announced that he would become managing director for the Techstars Anywhere program. Studer, who was the director of platform at Techstars Seattle, had the opportunity to remain with Techstars but has also decided to move on. Studer is currently working as a “chief storyteller” for TrueMedia, a Seattle-based nonprofit combating misinformation and identifying deepfakes.
The Techstars Seattle accelerator, which launched in 2010, has seen over 160 startups participate in the program. In response to the shutdown of Techstars Seattle, Carson Nye, previously an investment manager at Techstars, has joined Two Ravens, a new venture firm in Seattle led by former Techstars Seattle managing director Isaac Kato. The closures of Techstars Seattle have prompted changes in leadership roles and new opportunities for individuals like Marius Ciocirlan and Sarah Studer, who are now exploring different paths within the tech industry.
Overall, the Pacific Northwest tech industry is experiencing a wave of executive appointments, board changes, and personnel restructuring within companies like F5, Adaptive Biotechnologies, and Leafly. The closure of the Techstars Seattle accelerator has also led to shifts in leadership roles and opportunities for individuals previously associated with the program. These changes reflect a dynamic and evolving tech ecosystem in the region, with professionals transitioning to new roles and organizations as they pursue their career goals and objectives.
