Smartsheet Welcomes New Security Chief as Tech Leaders Make Career Moves Across Seattle

In a significant leadership addition, Bellevue-based enterprise software giant Smartsheet has appointed Ravi Soin as its new chief information security officer. Soin brings an impressive background to the role, having served on the leadership team at Edifecs for over 14 years, following nearly a decade at Microsoft where he managed Bing social initiatives. The timing of this appointment is strategic, as Smartsheet recently returned to private ownership in an $8.4 billion deal earlier this year. Chief Technology Officer Cynthia Tee highlighted the importance of Soin’s role, noting that “as we continue to scale and expand our AI capabilities, Ravi’s leadership will be instrumental in reinforcing our commitment to security excellence and delivering a trusted enterprise experience for our global customers.” This appointment underscores Smartsheet’s focus on security as it navigates its next chapter as a private company expanding its AI offerings.

The Seattle tech scene continues to see notable movement among its senior talent pool, with Amazon losing a long-standing legal executive. Mark Hoffman, who served nearly 16 years at the e-commerce giant, most recently as vice president and associate general counsel of corporate and securities and head of legal operations, has departed the company. Before his tenure at Amazon, Hoffman built his career at several prestigious law firms, including roles as partner at both Gray Cary and DLA Piper. In his farewell message, Hoffman expressed gratitude for his time at Amazon, saying he was “fortunate to have found such a wonderful group of smart, dedicated, creative, fun, and honorable people with whom to work.” Looking ahead to his next chapter, Hoffman plans to focus on “travel, family time, board service, obscure hobbies, and all that the next chapter brings,” suggesting a well-earned shift in priorities after his significant corporate career.

Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence sector in Seattle continues to attract accomplished talent, with former Carbon CEO Derek Tu joining Stacklok as director of product management. Tu, who co-founded Carbon in 2022 before its acquisition by Perplexity last December, brings substantial experience from roles at Italic, Wayfair, Flywire, and 6sense. At Stacklok, Tu explained the company’s mission on LinkedIn: “We’re building a centralized control plane that gives security and IT leaders full visibility and governance over how agents access data and invoke tools — unlocking safe, scalable AI adoption in the enterprise.” In a related AI leadership move, Himanshu Tayal has taken on the role of resident expert at AI House, a Seattle hub supporting AI startups and the broader AI ecosystem. This position falls under the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2), a nonprofit that employs approximately 225 people, including some of the field’s leading researchers. Tayal’s background includes working with generative AI at Amazon Web Services, as well as positions at Microsoft and Amazon, bringing valuable big tech experience to this innovative nonprofit space.

The transportation and autonomous vehicle sector is also seeing leadership changes, with Joseph Sunga’s promotion to director of product management at Waabi, a Toronto-based autonomous vehicle startup with a Seattle engineering presence. Sunga’s extensive background includes management positions at several Seattle companies, including Aura, Mighty AI, Amazon, and TeachStreet, positioning him well to help drive Waabi’s technological development. In other Seattle tech news, E8 Angels, a climate-focused investment organization, has welcomed Sarah Bell as its new pipeline and portfolio lead. Before joining E8, Bell spent nine years as an operating partner and chief of staff at LeapSheep, where she assisted startup founders with business development challenges. E8 Angels highlighted Bell’s passion for “accelerating the clean energy transition while expanding opportunities for both investors and entrepreneurs,” noting her expertise across climate tech, agricultural technology, and space technology sectors.

The clean energy and sustainability sphere in Seattle is experiencing its own leadership transitions, with Christin Camacho departing her role as vice president of marketing at LevelTen Energy after nearly seven years with the company. During her tenure, Camacho helped build awareness for LevelTen’s innovative approach to clean energy deals, contributing to the company’s facilitation of over $25 billion in clean energy transactions and more than 150 power purchase agreements since 2018. Her departure comes at a challenging time for the company, which disclosed layoffs of 60 employees in August. Looking ahead, Camacho is seeking opportunities in clean energy, corporate sustainability, regenerative agriculture, or social impact, continuing her commitment to environmentally focused work.

Finally, the maritime and climate sectors are benefiting from cross-pollination of talent, as Nori co-founder Ross Kenyon takes on the role of executive in residence at Washington Maritime Blue, an organization supporting the maritime industry’s sustainability efforts. Kenyon’s background is particularly relevant, having helped launch Seattle-based Nori in 2017, which created a marketplace enabling farmers to sell carbon removal credits for implementing climate-friendly agricultural practices. Though Nori closed last year after raising $17.25 million from investors, Kenyon has continued to work with multiple organizations that support climate tech startups and their founders, bringing valuable experience and perspective to Washington Maritime Blue’s sustainability mission. This move represents the ongoing migration of talent within Seattle’s interconnected tech, sustainability, and innovation ecosystems, as leaders apply their expertise to new challenges across different sectors.