Dave Asprey steps down as Bulletproof CEO; Microsoft names chief U.S. digital officer; Accolade adds former Microsoft CFO to board – GeekWire


Dace Asprey
Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey. (Twitter Photo)

Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof 360, is stepping down from his role as CEO.

Asprey announced that he’d be handing the reins of the company, known for its butter-filled Bulletproof Coffee, to Larry Bodner starting Oct. 1. Asprey will stay on with Bulletproof as executive chairman.

“Over the past six years, Bulletproof has rapidly grown from a small blog to a multi-million-dollar company that has served more than 200 million cups of Bulletproof Coffee and transformed the way we think about using food to gain control over how we feel,” Asprey said in a statement. “Larry has what it takes for Bulletproof to become a large company that makes it easy for all of us to get food worth eating because it makes us feel good.”

Bodner was most recently CFO of Sovos Brands, which owns Rao’s Homemade pasta sauce and Noosa Yogurt. Prior to Sovos, he led finance at Big Heart Pet Brands and held senior finance roles at the Walt Disney Company and Del Monte Foods.

“Bulletproof has rapidly established itself as the go-to brand for anyone aiming to better themselves through science, nutrition and wellness,” Bodner said.”I look forward to working with Dave to identify new ways to share the Bulletproof lifestyle while accelerating profitability.” Bodner will also serve on the Bulletproof’s board of directors.

The company said the move would allow Asprey “to continue to innovate in the world of biohacking, evangelize the Bulletproof brand and lifestyle.”

Earlier this year, the company announced it was bringing its food and beverage lineup to thousands of retail locations across the U.S.

Jacky Wright. (Microsoft Photo)

Jacky Wright is heading back to Microsoft as chief digital officer of Microsoft U.S., two years after leaving her former employer to work in the British government’s tax department.

In her previous role at Microsoft, Wright was a corporate vice president of the core services engineering platform. For the past two years, she worked at HM Revenue and Customs as chief digital and information officer.

“We are excited to bring someone with Jacky’s extensive technical expertise and background to the US business,” said Kate Johnson, president of Microsoft U.S, in a statement. “Her experience in solving some of the most complex business and governmental challenges will further enable us [to] deliver on our mission to empower every person and organization to achieve more.”

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Peter Klein. (Accolade Photo)

Healthcare tech company Accolade named former Microsoft chief financial officer Peter Klein to its board of directors. Klein also serves on the boards of F5 Networks and Denali Therapeutics.

“Peter is a seasoned finance executive and drove many of Microsoft’s acquisitions in the communications space, introducing technologies that have had a major impact on the way consumers, businesses and customers communicate and get things done,“ said Accolade CEO Rajeev Singh in a statement. “Peter’s experience in recognizing growth opportunities is vital to the direction we see for Accolade, and his 25-year finance background rounds out important expertise on our board.”

Accolade also announced the opening of a health assistant center in Seattle this October. The Seattle team will join similar centers in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. and Scottsdale, Ariz. in acting as the first point of contact for Accolade’s healthcare customers. The company said it is hiring hundreds of health assistants and nurses across those locations.

Laurie Cansler. (Syndio Photo)

Syndio Solutions, a Seattle startup that is working to eliminate unfair pay practices through software, hired Laurie Cansler as chief financial officer. Cansler previously held CFO roles at security risk consultancy Concentric Advisors, healthcare tech startup 98point6, and Likewise Software.

“I’m eager to begin working with the Syndio team, especially as a female executive, given the significance behind the company’s unrelenting vision for pay equity and corporate fairness,” Cansler said in a statement. “After working with a number of technology-based startup companies throughout my career, the vast potential of Syndio’s business goals is clear.”

Backed with $5.2 million in seed funding, Syndio is led by Smartsheet co-founder Maria Colacurcio.

Desney Tan. (GeekWire Photo / Kevin Lisota)

Health tech startup incubator IntuitiveX landed Desney Tan, general manager at Microsoft Healthcare, as a senior advisor and chief technologist.

“Desney has been a leading innovator in the digital health space his entire career and will add significant value to our mission of helping life science startups take their ideas from concept to commercialization,” said IntuitiveX CEO Jeffrey Roh.

As part of his work at Microsoft, Tan is collaborating with Adaptive Biotechnologies on an AI system that can diagnose multiple diseases from a single blood test. Tan also teaches computer science at the University of Washington.

Scott Campbell. (Koan Photo)

Scott Campbell is the new chief revenue officer at Koan, a Portland, Ore. startup that makes a platform to help companies track objectives and key results (OKRs).

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Campbell most recently led revenue at marketing tech firm Lytics and was senior vice president of operations at Puppet. He previously worked with Koan CEO Matt Tucker at Jive Software.

“As Marc Andreessen says, ‘Software is eating the world’ and Koan is leading the effort in this arena with a modern approach to a ubiquitous problem; how to communicate organization goals, and consistently measure and monitor progress towards those goals,” Campbell wrote in a blog post.

Robin Ginn. (OpenJS Photo)

Former Microsoft executive Robin Ginn signed on with the OpenJS Foundation as its executive director, based in Seattle. OpenJS supports the open-source JavaScript community and was formed in March following the merger of the JS Foundation and Node.js Foundation.

Ginn spent more than a decade at Microsoft and was a director in AI and research division. She was also involved with Microsoft’s role in co-founding the Node.js advisory board.

“I’m honored to represent the OpenJS Foundation because developers and the communities that support open source projects have long been my heroes,”  Ginn said in a statement. “JavaScript, with its vast developer base and engaged community, has all the right ingredients to grow and flourish.”

J.R. Gast. (OfferUp Photo)

J.R. Gast joined Seattle-based mobile marketplace startup OfferUp as vice president of customer support. Gast comes from Zillow, where he was the vice president of customer experience. He also worked at Rhapsody as a senior director of customer support and co-founded Donut Sounds Record Co., an independent music label.

“OfferUp’s mission is to empower people to connect and prosper. That’s extremely compelling and powerful, and why I was drawn to the company,” Gast said in a statement. “As the leader of the support organization, my job is to ensure we continuously elevate and simplify the service experience for everyone who uses our trusted marketplace.”

Digital marketing agency Logical Position (LP) hired Adam Jones as director of business development. Jones was formerly head of U.S. business development at Google.

“As LP’s strategic partner manager at Google, I witnessed their explosive growth over the last seven years. I’m thrilled to now be participating from the inside,” Jones said in a statement. LP is headquartered in Portland, Ore., but Jones will be based out of the startup’s Austin, Texas office.





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