Tech Moves: Syndio names 7 execs; Avante and Tanium add to the C-suite; Amazon leaders are leaving

– Syndioa Seattle startup that helps companies analyze and communicate pay equity, has announced seven new additions to its leadership team.

“This next phase of growth requires innovation and speed,” said Maria Colacurcio, CEO of Syndio, adding that the new hires bring “proven track records of turning innovative business solutions into industry-defining products.”

Several of the new hires are from BetterUp, a training and coaching platform. New leaders include:

• Erik Darbypresident, who previously founded Motive Software, a San Francisco Bay Area startup using AI to understand employee and customer experience acquired by BetterUp in 2021.
• Devin Luquistsenior vice president of product, was previously at BetterUp after holding technical and leadership roles at several companies.
• Erin McClintockSVP of marketing, joins from Workhuman and was previously at BetterUp.
• Elizabeth TemplesSVP of revenue, joined revenue platform Clari and was previously at BetterUp.
• Shonna WatersSVP of executive engagement and insights, is an organizational psychologist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and was at BetterUp.
• Manuj BahlVP and head of architecture, he joined Talent.com and previously held roles at Seattle-area companies Microsoft, OfferUp, Apptivate.IO and RealNetworks.
• Meredith ConroyVP of account management, joined Clari.

– Rajeev Rajan he joined The stripe serving as a business leader in the company’s payments company’s Revenue and Financial Automation (RFA) division, where he will oversee product and engineering.

“I’ve long admired the company’s focus on engineering, its developer experience, and its desire to grow the Internet’s GDP,” Rajan said on LinkedIn.

Rajan began his career at Microsoft, where he spent 22 years – starting as a software design engineer in 1994 and rising to the corporate VP of Office 365. He went on to serve as VP of engineering at Meta, leading the Pacific Northwest engineering hub, before joining Atlassian as chief technology officer. He resigned from that position last month amid company layoffs.

– Nick Cecil he was promoted to the position of chief technology officer avantea Seattle-based startup with software that helps companies reduce the administrative workload of HR and provide employees with an AI assistant for benefits guidance.

“What makes Nick unique as an engineering leader is that he is as passionate about the customer as he is about the code. He spends real time understanding the pain points our customers are asking,” said Rohan D’Souza, CEO of avante, on LinkedIn.

Cecil joined avante in 2023 as the founding head of engineering. Previous roles include leadership positions at Salesforce, Tableau Software and Yapta.

– Hélène Bouffard he is gone Amazon after more than 17 years, most recently serving as HR director for the Seattle company’s new Artificial General Intelligence division.

He told LinkedIn it was “the privilege of a lifetime” to work for the tech giant.

Bouffard is now the chief of the people Abouta Chicago-based market research and data analytics firm. His role will involve integrating the functions and skills of employees with Circana’s AI-driven efforts.

– Jake Oster, AmazonThe director of energy, environment and sustainability policy, has resigned. Oster joined the company in 2017, his tenure includes being in Belgium leading AWS policy.

“It’s never been dull and it’s always been rewarding. Every project, document, or accomplishment was the result of working with some of the smartest people I know,” he said on LinkedIn. Oster did not indicate his next move, saying he is “getting a break soon.”

Before Amazon, Oster worked at Seattle’s EnergySavvy, a startup that helped utilities manage their relationships with customers and was acquired in 2019.

– Carol MacKinlay he is the new chief of the people Taniuma Kirkland, Wash.-based cybersecurity company. MacKinlay, based in Carmel, Calif., joins from Pebl where he worked for two years.

MacKinlay has served as CPO and other HR leadership roles for over 20 years with previous roles at Binance, UserTesting and Matterport.

– Eric Emans he is now the chief financial officer Insurancea Connecticut startup that provides software for insurance carriers and consumers. Emans joins Insurity from Bellevue, Wash.-based workflow automation company Nintexwhere he was CFO for four years. He was previously CFO of Lighthouse and A Place for Mother.

– Paper Crane Factorya Seattle-based production agency that works exclusively with startups, named Stephanie Rogers as head of communications and public relations. Rogers will lead the new East Coast expansion and run its operations there. He joins from DataRobot and brings over 15 years of experience in communications and PR.

“As we continue to grow, bringing leadership across disciplines allows us to better support innovators at the earliest and most critical stages — from defining their story to scaling it in the marketplace,” said Cal McAllister, Paper Crane Factory’s founder and creative director, in a statement.

– Barbara Schmid he is leaving Starbucks after almost 22 years, he is stepping down as the manager of the Global Coffee and Cocoa Sustainability program. Schmid expressed his gratitude to the company and his colleagues in a Linked in post, adding that he is very grateful “especially to the coffee and cocoa producers, without whom none of this would have happened, and who remain the reason for it.”