Jigar Thakkar is now vice president of Amazon Quick Suite, a platform that uses agentic AI to automate business workflows, research and data access. Amazon launched the tool in October 2025.

Thakkar is returning to Seattle after more than seven years at New York-based financial services firm MSCI, where he worked as chief technology officer and head of engineering.

Before MSCI, Thakkar spent nearly two decades at Microsoft where he was the founding engineering leader of Microsoft Teams and held the title of corporate VP. He joined the tech giant in 1999 as a software developer on the Microsoft Money team.

“I’m excited about Jigar’s customer-centric approach and ability to scale transformative products, his passion for agent technology, and his experience building platforms that serve millions of users,” said Swami Sivasubramanian, VP of agentic AI at AWS, in announcing the news.

— Sara Vaezy joined healthcare consulting firm Chartis as chief product and technology officer. Vaezy previously spent nearly a decade at Providence, where she was chief transformation officer with the Renton, Wash.-based multi-state healthcare provider.

This is Vaezy’s second stint at Chartis — she previously worked at the Chicago-based company from 2010 to 2015.

“We viscerally know the healthcare system is broken and needs to change. Clinicians are overburdened, patient care isn’t always well coordinated or affordable, and costs continue to increase unsustainably,” Vaezy wrote on LinkedIn. “This is an opportunity to help Chartis navigate a landscape that’s rapidly changing and actually do something about it, along with clients.”

Vaezy is also a clinical assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health.

— After raising $60 million last year, legal-tech startup Supio has named two new executives:

• Niki Hall is now chief marketing officer, joining the Seattle-based company from Five9, a startup that helps brands connect with customers. She was previously CMO at the French startup Contentsquare. 

• Kelli Dragovich, who has worked in HR for more than two decades, has taken the role of chief people officer. Dragovich was mostly recently CPO at Pendo and has served in leadership at companies including Google, GitHub, Yahoo, Intuit, Quizlet and others.

— Chronus named Ankur Ahlowalia as CEO of the Seattle-based mentoring software platform.

“I’m delighted to lead a company that has pioneered mentoring software and is now leveraging artificial intelligence to make mentorship more accessible, personalized, and impactful for all employees,” Ahlowalia said in statement.

Ahlowalia joins Chronus from the Dallas-based software company Korbyt, which he led for more than five years.

— Variant Bio has appointed Dr. Craig Basson as chief medical officer and president of research and development. The Seattle-based drug discovery company is working with genetically diverse populations globally to develop new therapies.

“Craig’s career uniquely spans deep human genetics, rigorous clinical science, and successful drug development at scale,” said Andrew Farnum, Variant’s CEO. “His leadership and experience translating genetic insights into medicines will be instrumental as we move our programs into the clinic.”

Basson has worked for more than 25 years biotech and academia. He joins Variant from Bitterroot Bio, which is focused on using immunotherapy to treat cardiovascular disease. Other past roles include leadership at Boston Pharmaceuticals and Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and instructional roles at Harvard Medical School and Weill Cornell Medical College.

— Longtime Seattle-area tech leader Larry Colagiovanni is now leading AI product innovation at outdoor gear retailer REI. Colagiovanni’s career has included multiple stints at Microsoft, most recently as lead of product vision and strategy for Microsoft Shopping where he launched the company’s first conversational shopping assistant.

Other past roles include partner at Madrona Venture Labs, C-suite roles at Limeade, and leadership titles at eBay and Decide.

Colagiovanni said on LinkedIn that the role “brings together my passion for the outdoors with my belief in human-centered AI that supports better discovery, decision-making, and experiences.”

— Diego Oppenheimer is now an executive fellow with the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. The serial entrepreneur founded Algorithmia, which was acquired by DataRobot.

“Couldn’t be more excited to continue helping to build companies, invest in founders, and now helping shape the next generation of AI-native entrepreneurs,” he said on LinkedIn.

— Smarsh, a Portland, Ore., company that helps customers manage their business communications to identify regulatory and reputational risks, announced multiple leadership changes:

• Ian Goodkind is now chief financial officer after previously working as CFO of Jamf where he successfully led the organization through its 2020 initial public offering.
• Kamesh Tumsi is chief product officer, joining from HealthEquity where he was senior VP and head of product.
• Goutam Nadella, former CPO at Smarsh, is now the chief strategy officer.

— Northwest Quantum Nexus (NQN), a group supporting quantum research and innovation across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, named three leaders serving in a volunteer-capacity to spearhead its transition from an informal partnership into a formalized organization:

• Joseph Williams is executive director, having served as an NQN co-founder and co-chair. Williams was previously the interim director of the Washington State Broadband Office within the Department of Commerce. Williams has held various leadership positions for government agencies.
• Charles Marcus, a University of Washington physics professor who holds the Boeing Johnson Endowed Chair in Materials Science and Engineering, will serve as NQN chief scientist.
• Arry Yu is now NQN’s director of external affairs. Yu co-founded the Cascadia Blockchain Council, established the U.S. Blockchain Coalition, and was on the board of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA).

— Sarah Clifthorne is now interim director of the Washington State Department of Commerce as a permanent leader is being sought. Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed Clifthorne to the role following the recent resignation of Joe Nguyễn.

Clifthorne has served as deputy director at Commerce since February 2025 and was previously a policy director with the Washington State Senate. She has also worked in union leadership.

— Rachel Fukaya is now vice president of marketing at Textio, the Seattle startup that helps companies write job listings and other communications. Fukaya has been with Textio for more the two years and previously worked at multiple public relations companies. She was formerly VP of PR at Walker Sands.

— Stephen Delano is now principal software engineer at Seattle’s Yoodli, an AI roleplay startup recently landed a $40 million investment.

Delano joins Yoodli after five years at Tomo, a digital mortgage startup launched by former Zillow executives, where he was a founding engineer.

He previously spent more than a decade at Chef, a Seattle-based automation technology company that was acquired in 2020 for $220 million.

— Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is replacing Seattle City Light CEO and general manager Dawn Lindell. The new mayor has selected Dennis McLerran, the former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head for the Pacific Northwest region, for the role pending confirmation by the Seattle City Council. Lindell served as CEO for two years.

Wilson on Wednesday announced additional leadership changes within the City of Seattle with the selection of these acting directors:

• Quynh Pham at the Department of Neighborhoods
• Amy Nguyen at the Office of Arts and Culture
• Beto Yarce at the Office of Economic Development
• Lylianna Allala at the Office of Sustainability and the Environment
  

— Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for the real estate platform Redfin, joined the board of governors of Center for Land Economics. The education and research organization promotes equitable land and property assessments.

— WestRiver Group announced that Craig Lange has joined the Seattle-based firm as managing director and lead of the Disruptive Growth Fund. Lange spent more than three decades with the heavy machinery company Caterpillar.

This story first appeared in the Washington State Standard.

Joe Nguyen is stepping down as director of Washington state’s Department of Commerce and is expected to be named the next leader of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber.

Nguyen told Commerce employees on Tuesday that he is leaving but didn’t disclose his new job. He said he didn’t anticipate taking off “until sometime in January.”

“Although I can’t tell you where I’m going just yet, I will be working in Seattle, closer to home,” he wrote in an agencywide email. “Sometimes opportunity knocks, even when you haven’t invited anyone to your door. Recently I was offered an opportunity outside of Commerce that I have accepted because it was the right thing to do for my family.”

The chamber, an independent business organization with 2,600 members, plans an announcement Monday concerning its chief executive officer position. A spokesperson declined further comment.

Rumors of Nguyen’s selection had begun circulating online and among business lobbyists in recent days. Nguyen did not return multiple phone calls for comment.

The job has been open since Rachel Smith left as the organization’s president and CEO to become president of the Washington Roundtable.

Nguyen, a White Center Democrat, was in his second term in the state Senate representing the 34th Legislative District when Gov. Bob Ferguson named him to the high-ranking post. He is the first member of Ferguson’s executive cabinet to quit, though others have retired. 

Nguyen led an agency with a $7.9 billion budget and that administers more than 100 programs in the areas of housing, energy, community and economic development, local government and business services. One of its largest portfolios is promoting development of affordable housing, a top priority of Ferguson’s.

In his email to employees, Nguyen wrote he was “honored” that Ferguson “put his faith in me nearly a year ago and I thank him for that trust.” He said he did not know if Ferguson would install an interim leader or hire a new director right away.

In a statement, Ferguson praised the outgoing director and didn’t say how he plans to replace him.

“I spoke with Joe, and it’s clear he received an offer he couldn’t refuse,” Ferguson said. “I deeply appreciate Joe’s work this past year. Joe always has an open invitation to join my administration in the future.”

Republished from Washington State Standard under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson is setting aside $350,000 from an economic development fund to support Portal Space Systems’ expansion into a new 50,000-square-foot satellite manufacturing facility in Bothell, Wash.

Ferguson announced today that he’s directing the state Department of Commerce to award funds from the Governor’s Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund to Economic Alliance Snohomish County. The funding will help Portal transition from testing and development to scalable production, with a goal of building four spacecraft a month by 2027.

The expansion is expected to create more than 100 jobs in the next two years, and more than 700 jobs by 2030.

“Strategic Reserve Funds are targeted investments that create good paying jobs and spur innovation across Washington,” Ferguson said in a news release. “This project not only achieves those goals, it also reaffirms our state’s role as a leader in the space industry. I am proud to support pioneering projects like this in Washington.”

Portal already operates an 8,000-square-foot facility in Bothell, where it’s been developing the hardware for its flagship Supernova in-space mobility platform and a smaller spacecraft dubbed Starburst. Supernova will feature an innovative solar thermal propulsion system, which uses concentrated sunlight as a heat source for its thrusters. Both spacecraft are designed to provide greater mobility for commercial and government payloads in orbit.

“We’ve spent the last year proving what’s possible. Now we’re scaling to deliver it,” Portal co-founder and CEO Jeff Thornburg said. “This support from Washington isn’t just about growth. It’s about building a strategic capability for the nation and doing it right here in Bothell.”

Revenue for the Strategic Reserve Fund comes from unclaimed lottery prize money. The funds are intended to attract and retain jobs and economic investment in Washington, limited to highly strategic projects that deliver significant job creation and capital investment. These projects are considered in partnership with local associate development organizations, such as Economic Alliance Snohomish County. The governor determines awards based on recommendations from the Department of Commerce.

“Portal Space Systems represents the kind of bold, future-facing innovation we’re proud to see growing in Washington,” said Commerce Director Joe Nguyen. “With the governor’s new investment, Portal is better equipped to scale up its cutting-edge operations. This strengthens Washington’s position as a hub for world-class talent and national space infrastructure.”

Grants from the Strategic Reserve Fund must be accompanied by private investment. Since its founding in 2021, Portal has raised more than $22 million in venture capital financing and grants, and received a commitment of $45 million in public-private funding through the U.S. Space Force’s STRATFI program.