Tech Moves: Carbon Robotics’ new CFO; GM of Microsoft games goes to Netflix; Nordstrom gets VP of AI
Agtech Company Carbon Robotics the nominee Kevan Krysler as chief financial officer. Seattle, known for removing weeds with lasers, reports that it has exceeded $100 million a year. Carbon has been re-examined twice by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with its pesticide-free approach to weed control.
Krysler joins Carbon from Silicon Valley-based Pure Storage, where he also served as CFO.
Carbon CEO Paul Mikesell said in a statement that Krysler “fits our culture and brings public company financial and management experience to complement our team. This is an indication that Carbon Robotics is moving forward and developing our leadership to match our increasing maturity in the market.”
Founded in 2018, Carbon has raised $177 million to date and employs approximately 260 people. The company operates a manufacturing facility in Richland, Wash., and ranks No. 10 on the GeekWire 200, our list of the top privately held startups in the Pacific Northwest.
— A lawyer Keith Dolliver he has retired after more than thirty years Microsoftwhere he worked on projects including LinkedIn, GitHub, Activision, Mojang (Minecraft) and others. He serves as vice president, deputy general counsel and business secretary.
Dolliver thanked the senior leadership, his partners and legal colleagues, and the corporate legal team, which he led.
“I will miss you all and will be encouraging you as you continue to take this important company forward,” he said on LinkedIn. He also praised his family, “who made the home a place of positive energy, treated me with patience and kindness, and lived in my corner.”
– Haiyan Zhang leaving Microsoft to Netflixwhere he will participate in sports. Zhang spent more than 13 years at Microsoft, holding positions across Microsoft Gaming, Microsoft Research and Xbox Studios, most recently as general manager and partner of Gaming AI.
“Looking back, I still remember walking through the doors at 30 Great Pulteney Street on March 27, 2013, entering the Xbox game studio in London,” Zhang said on LinkedIn. At the same time I felt happy, nervous and hopeful. As I move into this next chapter, I find many of the same feelings coming back as I look forward.”
Zhang is also the founder and CEO of Thriven Foundation Labs, a non-profit organization that promotes AI for the benefit of society. His varied career includes roles at the BBC and IDEO in the United Kingdom.
– Vinit Tople he is now vice president of AI and developer platforms at Seattle’s Nordstrom. He previously spent over 12 years at Amazon, most recently as head of product for Alexa, and most recently worked at JPMorgan Chase, helping to lead the adoption of AI agents.
“Nordstrom, often referred to as the ‘turn of the century,’ has reinvented itself over and over again for 125 years – emerging before each new retail era – and now dares to put AI at the center of its next chapter,” Tople said on LinkedIn.
– Chronos so called Sanjay Parmar as the chief AI of a Seattle-based educational software platform. He joins from Degree, where he was CTO of the San Francisco Bay Area company.
Chronus CEO Ankur Alowalia, who took over in January, praised Parmar’s background in business SaaS and AI-powered workforce solutions, saying in a statement it will help the company “make life-changing advice accessible to everyone.”
– Law firm Dorsey and Whitney the nominee Cyrus Ansari as a technology commercial partner in its Seattle office. He previously owned two other Seattle firms: Perkins Coie and Davis Wright Tremaine.
“For several years now, my work has focused on commercial agreements for cloud, AI, gaming and other technology businesses,” Ansari said on LinkedIn. “That’s Dorsey’s focus.”
– Seattle Richard Molds – self-described car restorer, consultant, advisor and investor – joined the board of directors QuiX Quantuma Netherlands-based developer of photonic quantum computing systems. Molds has left his role as general manager AWS last year and now works as a strategic advisor for quantum startups QEDMA and Nu Quantum.
