Pamela Maynard, the former CEO of Avanade, has joined Microsoft as the chief AI transformation officer for the Customer and Partner Solutions business. Maynard spent 16 years at Avanade, which provides digital, cloud, and AI-related services across the Microsoft ecosystem. She expressed her excitement for her new role at Microsoft on LinkedIn, stating that Microsoft is at the forefront of AI innovation. Rodrigo Caserta, a longtime veteran of Avanade, will replace Maynard as CEO of the company.
In other news, veteran game designer Jordan Weisman, known for games such as BattleTech and Shadowrun, is working on a new game project titled Sea of Legends. Based on his son’s successful board game, Sea of Legends is described as an open-world pirate CRPG set in a reimagined Caribbean filled with magic and mayhem. Weisman, who previously co-founded Harebrained Schemes and sold it to Paradox Interactive, is also working on Adventure Forge, an AI-driven toolset for game development.
Shankha Sen has joined Responsive (formerly RFPIO), a Portland-based RFP software company, as its new chief financial officer. Sen brings experience from PowerSchool and Red Hat to his new role. Additionally, Alex Day, a Seattle entrepreneur and former leader of Modus, has joined customer information verification startup Authentive as co-founder and COO. Day expressed his enthusiasm for building another company and noted the early customer traction at Authentive.
Joseph Williams, the Information and Communications Technology Sector Lead for the state of Washington, has been named co-chair of the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity vendor forum. This role will involve leading efforts to enhance cybersecurity practices for small businesses. The appointment highlights Williams’ expertise and leadership in the cybersecurity space. His new role will involve collaborating with NIST to improve cybersecurity standards for small businesses across the country.
