Tech Leaders on the Move: Strategic Shifts in Healthcare, AI, and Beyond
Healthcare Tech Gains Momentum with Strategic Leadership Appointments
Lisa Gurry, a seasoned tech leader with over 23 years at Microsoft, has taken on the role of chief business officer at GeneDx. After helping launch Seattle health tech startup Truveta as its chief marketing officer in 2020 and later leading its operations and growth to unicorn status (following a $320 million funding round), Gurry is bringing her expertise to Maryland-based GeneDx. The company has built an impressive rare disease dataset linking patients’ genomic information with illnesses. Gurry sees tremendous potential in this combination, noting that it can “accelerate diagnoses for families, fuel drug discovery for biopharma, and deliver data-powered value to health systems.” Meanwhile, healthcare veteran Kim Baggett has joined the Cancer AI Alliance (CAIA) as director of operations. This Seattle-based consortium led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center includes prestigious institutions like Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Johns Hopkins University. Baggett brings over 15 years of experience from Seattle Children’s, where she served as vice president of center business operations, and most recently worked as chief operating and financial officer at Sage Bionetworks.
Leadership Changes and New Ventures in Faith-Based Tech and Developer Tools
Significant leadership transitions are occurring across various tech sectors. Bellingham-based Bible study platform Logos (previously known as Faithlife) has appointed Chris Migura as its new CEO, succeeding Bill McCarthy who will now chair the organization’s board of directors. Migura, based in Dallas-Fort Worth, previously served as the company’s chief financial officer since 2023. Founded in 1992, Logos has grown to serve more than 6 million users globally. In other news, Microsoft board member Carlos Rodriguez will step down following the company’s annual shareholder meeting in December. Rodriguez, who joined the board in 2021, previously served as CEO of Automatic Data Processing (ADP) for 12 years. Seattle-based developer tools startup Temporal has made two key appointments: John Bonney as chief financial officer (joining from Harness with previous leadership roles at FinancialForce and SAP) and Jonathan Chadwick (VMware veteran) to its board of directors. The company also closed a $105 million secondary transaction led by GIC, boosting its valuation to $2.5 billion.
AI and Data Infrastructure See New Leadership Talent
The artificial intelligence and data infrastructure sectors continue to attract top talent with several key appointments. Jennifer Prenner has joined data infrastructure company NetApp as senior vice president of product marketing, bringing marketing leadership experience from Amazon, Rivian, Meta, and Verizon. Prenner expressed enthusiasm about “shaping the story: turning breakthrough technology into clear, inspiring narratives that spark imagination about what is possible.” Justine Hastings has taken on the role of chief AI economist at Bellevue-based logistics startup Auger. Previously, Hastings spent seven years at Amazon, most recently as a chief scientist overseeing human resources data, and she maintains an affiliate professor position in economics at the University of Washington. Auger CEO Dave Clark (former Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO) highlighted Hastings’ ability to build “models that turn macroeconomic and geopolitical signals into intelligent supply chain decisions.” The startup, which announced a $100 million Series A round in December, continues to recruit former Amazon leaders.
AWS Veterans Move to New Opportunities in Infrastructure and Blockchain
Former Amazon Web Services leaders are finding new homes in emerging tech sectors. Stephen Jenkins, previously a director and general manager at AWS, has joined Rowan Digital Infrastructure as chief development officer. The Denver-based company designs and builds sustainable hyperscale data centers for global tech giants. Jenkins will work with Rowan CEO Charley Daitch, also an AWS alumnus, who praised Jenkins’ “unmatched” leadership in “building new AWS regions” and “designing and deploying hyperscale data centers around the world.” Bill Platt, who led AWS’s agentic AI division, has moved to San Francisco-based Alchemy as COO. His mandate involves “weaving AI agents deeply into blockchain infrastructure.” Platt had spent nearly 12 years at AWS over two stints, most recently based in Boston. These moves highlight how AWS veterans are bringing their expertise to specialized infrastructure and blockchain companies aiming to push technological boundaries.
Startup Ecosystem Sees Transitions and New Ventures
The startup ecosystem continues to evolve with notable transitions. Austin Hay, co-founder of Seattle AI startup Clarify, has announced his departure from the company, which launched last year to build an AI-powered customer relationship management platform. Despite the startup securing $15 million in new funding in June, Hay expressed feeling “pulled down a different path” than he had envisioned when starting Clarify, noting he felt “torn about my role as we grew, and at odds with the changing nature of the beast we created.” In other startup news, Chris Duranti has joined Govstream.ai as a founding engineer after spending seven years at Socrata and a stint at Coverage Cat. Govstream.ai, launched last year by Socrata executive Safouen Rabah, uses artificial intelligence to improve government permitting and urban development processes. Additionally, serial entrepreneur Zachary Cohn has joined Wizards of the Coast as principal technical product manager for Dungeons & Dragons, bringing experience from Tomorrow, Spark Hire, Cephalofair Games, and DemandStar.
Government and Foundation Leadership Appointments Round Out the Transitions
Complementing the corporate leadership changes, Washington Research Foundation has appointed Senator Jamie Pedersen to its board of directors. Pedersen, who serves as the Washington Senate majority leader, brings nearly two decades of experience as a Democratic leader in Olympia—first as a state representative before becoming a senator 12 years ago. Earlier in his career, Pedersen worked as an attorney at Preston Gates & Ellis (now K&L Gates). This appointment highlights the ongoing interchange between government, research foundations, and the technology sector in Washington state, creating connections that can help foster innovation and collaboration across public and private domains. As the tech landscape continues to evolve rapidly across healthcare, AI, infrastructure, and other critical sectors, these leadership appointments and transitions reflect both strategic industry shifts and the continuing cross-pollination of talent that drives technological advancement.
