Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona is expanding its Silicon Valley presence by bringing on Jeff Mills as a partner and head of investor relations. With over two decades of experience in fundraising roles at various firms, Mills most recently served as managing director at Gryphon Investors in San Francisco. His background includes degrees from West Point and the Chicago Booth School of Business, and he also has experience in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot. Additionally, Mills is involved with a nonprofit organization focused on childhood apraxia of speech.
In 2022, Madrona opened a Silicon Valley office with Karan Mehandru, managing director, leading the office. Other significant personnel changes in the Pacific Northwest tech industry include Tom Kang and Stephen Saiz joining Nex, a motion-based entertainment company based in Silicon Valley. Both individuals have previous experience leading tech initiatives at Walmart and Amazon Games. Furthermore, Amperity CEO Barry Padgett is stepping down, with Chris Jones taking over as interim CEO. Stephanie Camp has joined Zendesk as vice president of global demand generation after holding previous marketing leadership roles at companies such as Qualtrics, Limeade, and Microsoft.
Craig Martell has joined Cohesity as chief technology officer, bringing experience from previous roles at the Department of Defense, Lyft, and Dropbox. Additionally, Forest Key, a longtime Seattle startup leader, has joined Code.org as vice president of international partnerships. Amy Padgett, formerly with SAP Concur, has joined Seattle-area travel expense management startup Center as senior vice president of travel ecosystem. Centific, a Redmond-based company focusing on AI applications, has hired Shiva Jayaraman as chief growth officer, with previous experience at Genpact and DoWhistle.
Adam Anderson, a seasoned marketing leader in the Seattle area, has joined Zscaler as senior vice president of growth marketing after roles at Twilio, Zipwhip, Expedia, and Microsoft. Athira Pharma, a Seattle biotech company, has hired Javier San Martin as chief medical officer, who brings experience from Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Alder Biopharmaceuticals, and Amgen. Additionally, Portland-based children’s apparel brand Hanna Andersson has hired Mike Frazzini as chief technology officer, who previously led tech efforts at FTD. These moves reflect a trend of experienced individuals transitioning to leadership roles in various tech companies in the Pacific Northwest region.
