Peter Horadan, a seasoned Seattle tech executive, has been named as the new CEO of Vouched, an identity verification startup. Horadan previously worked at The Sage Group and was the executive vice president of engineering and CTO at Avalara before founding his own accounting software startup called Lockstep. Vouched, founded in 2018, helps companies verify the identity of customers and users by examining different forms of identification and providing fraud detection in real-time. Horadan’s career has focused on automating manual business processes to create value for customers, employees, and investors.
As CEO of Vouched, Horadan aims to create value for customers in industries such as banking and healthcare that require identity verification processes. He believes that with the proliferation of deepfakes and other AI-produced content, the need for identification will become even more critical for companies. Vouched, which spun out of Madrona Venture Labs, employs 25 people and has raised $18 million to date. Co-founder John Baird will transition to a role as chief strategy officer and chairman of the board, allowing Horadan to lead the company forward in addressing the challenges of identity verification at scale.
Dhaval Patel has joined Sana Biotechnology as the executive vice president and chief scientific officer after holding the same roles at UCB, a pharma giant based in Brussels. Patel brings a wealth of experience from companies such as Novartis, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University. Sana, which recently opened a new manufacturing facility near Seattle and went public in 2021, has four drugs in human testing for conditions such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, and type 1 diabetes. This move strengthens Sana’s leadership team and positions them for continued growth in the biotechnology industry.
Cloverleaf Infrastructure has appointed Aaron Bilyeu as its chief development officer. Bilyeu previously worked at Meta as the senior director of site development for data centers worldwide. Cloverleaf specializes in facilitating the construction of clean energy facilities that power data centers and other large electricity consumers. The company has offices in Seattle and Houston and is positioned to play a key role in the growth of renewable energy infrastructure.
Heather Rosentrater has been named CEO of Avista Corp., a publicly traded energy company in Spokane, Washington. She joined Avista in 1996 as a student engineering technician and has risen through the ranks to become president and chief operating officer. Rosentrater will succeed Dennis Vermillion, who is retiring, and also join Avista’s board. Avista provides electric service to 418,000 customers and natural gas to 382,000 customers across the Pacific Northwest. Rosentrater’s deep roots in the area and her long history with the company position her well to continue Avista’s legacy of supporting community vitality through energy.
Brady Paron has joined Mast Reforestation as director of carbon market partnership after spending over eight years at Shopify in various sustainability and community relations roles. Mast Reforestation, previously known as DroneSeed, specializes in restoring forests scorched by wildfires and is the largest seed supplier in the western U.S. Paron’s experience at Shopify will be valuable in helping Mast Reforestation expand its partnerships and impact in the carbon market. Founded in 2016, the company is a leader in environmental restoration efforts post-wildfires in the region.
