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.
— 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.
— 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.
— 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.
