— Jon Pollock is now chief product officer of Acumatica, the Bellevue, Wash.-based enterprise software giant that was acquired last year by Vista Equity Partners.

Pollock joins Acumatica from childcare management software company Procare Solutions, where he was CPO and general manager of Procare’s ChildPlus division. He previously held leadership roles with Worldpay, Asurion, Dell, Polaroid and others.

“Jon has the experience, vision, and strong track record of leading dynamic teams to execute our product strategy and empower the people who use our software every day,” John Case, CEO of Acumatica, said in a statement.

Case succeeds Ali Jani, who was with the company for 16 years. Early in his career, Jani co-founded a PC manufacturing startup and a company providing software for business management operations.

— Mo Malakoutian is now the mayor of the City of Bellevue. Malakoutian joined the Bellevue City Council in 2023, was elected by his colleagues to serve as deputy mayor beginning in 2024, and was chosen as mayor this month.

Malakoutian previously worked at Amazon for more than eight years, leaving the role of senior manager of learning and development in October. He is currently the executive director of the University of Washington’s Consulting and Business Development Center with the Foster School of Business.

Malakoutian replaces Lynne Robinson, who was mayor since 2020. She remains on the Bellevue City Council.

City councilmember Dave Hamilton was appointed deputy mayor of Bellevue.

— Software engineering leader David Bettis is leaving Amazon after two decades. Bettis was most recently with Amazon Web Services, including roles focused on the company’s telehealth initiative. Earlier in his career, Bettis worked on the company’s Halo product, Amazon Go’s cashierless “Just Walk Out” technology, Kindle and other initiatives.

Bettis said on LinkedIn that he stayed at Amazon for so long because of the opportunity to work on emerging businesses, which provided “new and exciting opportunities, while staying under the same roof.”

More recently he had “explored a couple paths internally, but nothing sparked the same excitement I’d felt in previous roles. That’s when I realized it was time for a bigger change.”

The engineer added that he’ll spend most of this year deciding what full-time role comes next — maybe a smaller company, teaching, something entrepreneurial — and that he’ll be staying in Seattle.

— In another Amazon departure, Steven Hatch has resigned from his role as head of engineering with AWS Bedrock. Hatch, based in New York City, has been with Amazon for nearly 18 years, working in areas including with Audible, Amazon Prime delivery experience, computer vision and most recently in AI.

Hatch said on LinkedIn that he’s “closing a chapter that changed how I think, lead, and build. I’m proud of my achievements. But the real story was about the people, the learning, and the craft.”

Hatch did not disclose his next move, but said there would be “more soon.”

— Warren McNeel left T-Mobile after more then 25 years with the Bellevue-based telecom juggernaut. McNeel has been in the wireless sector for three decades, and most recently served as T-Mobile’s senior vice president of information technology.

McNeel said on LinkedIn that he wanted to spend time with his family “and begin thinking about the next chapter of my professional journey.”

“I’ve had the privilege of leading some of the best technology and product teams in the industry,” he added. “I couldn’t be more proud of the innovations, technology transformations, and results these teams delivered.”

— Seattle-based Gates Foundation appointed Sri Mulyani  Indrawati to its governing board. Indrawati was Indonesia’s first female minister of finance and the former managing director and chief operating officer of the World Bank.

“She adds fresh perspective for the board as it guides the foundation’s direction over the next 20 years,” said CEO Mark Suzman.

The Gates Foundation announced two additional leadership changes:

• Hari Menon is now president of the organization’s Global Growth and Opportunity Division. Menon has been with the foundation for nearly 20 years.
• Ankur Vora is president of the newly-created Africa and India Offices Division as well as retaining his role as chief strategy officer.

— Reverb, a Seattle-based HR consulting and leadership development firm, is officially expanding into the Colorado market with the hiring of Renee Fischer. Fischer, who resides in Denver, is a business development and human resources consultant.

— Sabah Öney joined the board of directors of Seattle’s Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Öney is the president and CEO of Dispatch Bio, a Bay Area startup that is developing a treatment for solid tumors. He is also a co-founder of the protein design company Vilya.

— Seattle-based Cascadia Capital, an investment bank serving clients globally, promoted Kerri Hagen to managing director within the its Financial Sponsors Group. Hagen has been with the firm for more than three years.

— Seattle software engineering startup FlintLab named Diwakar as its head of engineering. Diwakar, who was previously based in India, joins from the semiconductor company AMD. Past employers include Ericsson, RSA Security and others.

FlintLab launched in 2024 and describes itself as an “AI-powered infrastructure platform as a service” company. Co-founders Krishna Seerapu and Jinesh M.D previously held roles at Amazon and elsewhere.

— Life Science Washington announced four new members of its board of directors:

• Arden Yang, vice president of Innovation at the Allen Institute
• LisaMarie Curda, a partner focused on audit and assurance with Deloitte
• Jie D’Elia, CEO of the bio-pharmaceutical company SystImmune
• Chris Holt, vice president of cell therapy external manufacturing with Bristol Myers Squibb

The Supreme Court will hear a case that could invalidate the Federal Communications Commission's authority to issue fines against companies regulated by the FCC.

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile challenged the FCC's ability to punish them after the commission fined the carriers for selling customer location data without their users’ consent. AT&T convinced the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to overturn its fine, while Verizon lost in the 2nd Circuit and T-Mobile lost in the District of Columbia Circuit.

Verizon petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse its loss, while the FCC and Justice Department petitioned the court to overturn AT&T's victory in the 5th Circuit. The Supreme Court granted both petitions to hear the challenges and consolidated the cases in a list of orders released Friday. Oral arguments will be held.

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— T-Mobile appointed Jon Freier as its new chief operating officer. He succeeds Srini Gopalan, who was named CEO of the Bellevue, Wash., telecom giant in a surprise move that took effect last month.

Freier joins the C-suite from his previous position as president of the T-Mobile Consumer Group, a title he has held since 2021. But he has been with the company for much longer: Freier began his professional career at Western Wireless in 1994 when he was 19 years old. That business became T-Mobile after Germany’s Deutsche Telekom took over as majority shareholder in 2001.

The company disclosed Freier’s promotion in a filing. T-Mobile has undergone additional leadership reshuffling in recent months, expanding the role of its chief technologist and marking the departure of its chief communications and corporate responsibility officer and its business group president.

— Alex Berezhnyy is now chief technology officer for RentSpree, a Seattle company that supports the rental application and screening process, and helps manage lease documents and payments.

Berezhnyy was previously at the real estate platform Redfin for more than a decade, leaving the role of vice president of engineering. Prior to that, he was at Amazon where he served in a variety of software development manager roles in retail systems and Kindle education.

“[Berezhnyy] brings deep technical expertise, a track record of building strong teams, and a bold vision for how AI will shape the future of renting,” RentSpree posted on LinkedIn.

— Paige Johnson has left her role as Microsoft’s vice president of Education. She is relaunching EdCatalyst Group, an Oregon-based consulting business that she previously ran for nearly three years that supports companies, nonprofits and public organizations in using AI to expand their impact.

“My years at Microsoft were an extraordinary chapter. I learned so much about how AI is reshaping industries — from education and media to public sector and financial services,” Johnson said on LinkedIn.

Earlier in her career, Johnson was with Intel for nearly two decades, creating and scaling a professional development program that trained millions of teachers worldwide.

— James Newell is chief financial officer of WayTrade, a commodity trading company focused on renewable fuels including sustainable aviation fuel.

Newell, who will work remotely from Seattle, was previously a general partner with Voyager Capital, an investor in early stage companies in the Pacific Northwest.

“I found the perfect opportunity to make a meaningful impact at a company that itself makes a meaningful impact, and I get to do so alongside incredible people,” Newell said on LinkedIn.

— After 15 years with Amazon Web Services, Julien Ellie has resigned from his job as senior principal engineer. Ellie praised his colleagues who helped shape cloud computing, but said the company he joined and what AWS has become are no longer the same.

“From where I sit, process has taken precedence over customers, and rules have replaced high judgment. The culture has shifted from high trust to low trust, and from impact-driven to ‘who you know.’ That doesn’t align with the builder mindset that brought me here,” Ellie said on LinkedIn.

Prior to Amazon, Ellie was at Microsoft for nearly a decade.

— Jonathan Assayag has left his Sunnyvale, Calif., role with Amazon where he served as general manager and director of the company’s smart eyewear program. During more than nine years at the tech giant, Assayag worked on products including Echo Frames and Smart Delivery Glasses.

“These were true zero-to-one efforts that pushed ambient computing, Voice AI, and AI-assisted workflows into new territory. They challenged me both as a builder and a leader, sharpening how I think, make decisions, and drive impact,” he said on LinkedIn.

Assayag also thanked his team members and company leaders. He did not share his next move.

— Gravyty, a Seattle-based company that facilitates alumni donations and higher ed student engagement, named Lisa Haubenstock as its new chief customer officer. Haubenstock joins Gravyty from shipping logistics company Truckstop, and has held roles at Amazon and the education company Everfi.

“Gravyty presents an opportunity to tie together so much of my previous experience with a truly dedicated global team working to build something great,” Haubenstock said on LinkedIn.

— Bobby Franzo is now CEO of WatchMeGrow, a Lacey, Wash.-based company that provides cameras and live video streaming in the childcare, pet-care and senior-care spaces. He succeeds John Lewison, who led the company for 24 years and is now a board member and advisor.

Franzo is the founder of PB&J TV (Peanut Butter and Jelly TV), a streaming service that merged with WatchMeGrow earlier this year.

“What started as an idea to give families peace of mind has evolved into a company shaping how technology supports safety and quality during the most important years of a child’s development,” Lewison said on LinkedIn. He added that Franzo “is exactly what the company needs at this moment, and I’m thrilled he’s at the helm.”

— CreateMe, a California-based clothing manufacturer using robotic assembly lines, announced two leadership changes:

• Nick Chope, who is located in Portland, Ore., has been promoted to chief engineer and head of manufacturing. Chope has worked in robotics and automation at Microsoft, Apple, his own firm and elsewhere.
• Seattle’s Natasha Chand is now executive advisor, having previously worked as the global CEO of Amazon Softlines Private Label, which includes clothes, footwear and accessories.

— Lauren Weinberg is now a board advisor at Adora, a Seattle-based marketing technology startup that emerged from stealth in October. Her past roles include leadership positions at Peleton Interactive, Square, Yahoo and elsewhere.

Once more, it's time for Shakespeare's words: Once more unto the breach...