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Rehan Sheik, Google’s vice president of global silicon chip technology and manufacturing. (LinkedIn)
— Rehan Sheikh, Microsoft’s vice president of silicon manufacturing, has left the company for rival Google.
Sheikh called his almost four years with the Redmond, Wash., tech giant “the most rewarding and fulfilling of my long silicon engineering career,” but said it was time for a new opportunity.
Sheikh will serve as Google’s vice president of global silicon chip technology and manufacturing.
In his role at Microsoft, Sheikh helped lead the development of Maia 100, Microsoft’s first in-house processor chip, and its Cobalt 100 processor.
“The best part was the journey and working with the most talented people. We did it the right way working collaboratively, respectfully, and supporting each other,” Sheikh said.
Prior to Microsoft, Sheikh was at Intel for more than 24 years as an Intel fellow and tech executive.
Randa Minkarah, executive chair for the WTIA. (LinkedIn)
— The nonprofit Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) appointed Randa Minkarah as the its executive chair. The newly created role combines three board of directors positions: board chair; chair of Portalus, a for-profit subsidiary of WTIA; and chair of the WTIA Association Health Plan.
As executive chair, Minkarah will oversee WTIA’s collection of companies.
“Randa brings an exceptional track record of executive leadership and strategic governance to WTIA, positioning us to deepen our impact and elevate the support we provide to our members and partners,” said Dave Cotter, WTIA chair emeritus.
Minkarah is the co-founder and former president and chief operating officer of Seattle-area company Resonance AI, an artificial intelligence media company. She has also held multiple leadership roles at Fisher Communications, which was acquired by Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Todd Persen, co-founder of Era Software. (Era Software Photo)
— Era Software co-founder and CEO Todd Persen has left ServiceNow, which acquired his startup in 2022 for an undisclosed sum.
Persen launched Seattle’s Era Software in 2019 alongside Robert Winslow. The company helped developers manage and analyze large volumes of observability data across cloud-native workloads.
“I was privileged to be a part of one of the best-run software companies on the planet,” Persen said on LinkedIn.
He was previously a senior principal software engineer at Pivotal Software, and co-founder and former CTO of InfluxData.
Brian Young, deputy director of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2). (GeekWire File Photo)
— Brian Young is deputy director of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2), a federally supported, multi-state hub working to develop the hydrogen fuel sector.
The hub is one of seven selected in 2023 by the U.S. Department of Energy and could receive a total $1 billion of funding over time.
Young was previously the clean technology sector lead at the Washington State Department of Commerce for a decade. At PNWH2, Young rejoins Chris Green, president of PNWH2 and commerce’s former assistant director for the office of economic development and competitiveness.
Emeka Alozie is a principal at the Defense Innovation Unit. (LinkedIn Photo)
— Emeka Alozie is a principal at the Defense Innovation Unit, an organization within the U.S. Department of Defense connecting the military and the private sector to facilitate the department’s adoption of new technologies.
Alozie has held wide-ranging leadership, entrepreneurial and mentorship positions in the Seattle area. He was the director of marketing at IntuitiveX; co-founder of Lensbox+; founder of Chocolate Socrates, a philosophy publication; and board member and partner with Social Venture Partners, among other roles.
— Powell’s Books, Portland, Ore.’s beloved independent bookstore, announced Jeremy Solly as its chief marketing officer, a position Solly called a “dream come true” in a post on LinkedIn.
Solly was previously Powell’s director of brand and marketing. His other marketing leadership roles include work at biotech companies Absci and Zymergen, as well as Umpqua Bank and Vacasa.
— Jacob Laes is now a VC and accelerator partnerships manager at Deel, a payroll and HR platform. Laes was previously a program manager with Techstars Seattle and is the founder and CEO of YoungTech Seattle.
— Kevin Hagen is the founder and principal of Pilchuck Consulting, a Seattle company advising executives and company boards on sustainable business and energy strategies. His previous roles include interim CEO of the Clean Energy Buyers Association, Iron Mountain VP, and REI’s head of corporate social responsibility.
