Over the last few days, Chicago’s tech scene has had its fair share of senior level hires. It’s hard enough to keep a pulse on the who’s who and who’s where, and the recent barrage of hiring news hasn’t made things any easier. To help you keep things straight, here are the most important hiring announcements of the week.
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VISANOW brings on Jamie Womack as Chief Marketing Officer
On Wednesday, VISANOW announced that Jamie Womack has joined the company as CMO and will oversee all B2B and B2C marketing strategies for the Chicago-based provider of online immigration services. Womack most recently filled the role of vice president of marketing and branding at CareerBuilder.
“Jamie’s nearly 15 years of vast sales, marketing and branding knowledge and experience will be integral to fueling our aggressive growth,” said Dick Burke, president and chief executive officer of VISANOW in a statement. “She will play a key role in driving a powerful brand for VISANOW that represents our dedication to providing education, support, unparalleled value and a better experience overall for both businesses and individuals navigating through the arduous immigration process.”
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OpenMarkets Inc picks up former SurePayroll CTO Michael Fineberg
Chicago healthtech company OpenMarkets announced Wednesday the appointment of a new Chief Technology Officer. Michael Fineberg will own OpenMarket’s tech strategy as they move forward, bringing more than twenty years of technology experience to the table. Fineberg, who also serves as a Techstars mentor, was previously the CTO of SurePayroll, where he contributed to a $115 million deal that sold the company to Paychex.
“Michael’s joining us at the right time, as we navigate rapid growth and the commercialization of our platform for healthcare providers and equipment suppliers,” said Dan Michalek, CEO and Founder of OpenMarkets in a company blog post. “His passion and customer-centric focus will impact every aspect of our organization and help us continue to create a better way to buy and sell healthcare equipment.”
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ÄKTA names esteemed designer and brand strategist Sara Frisk as VP of Brand Strategy
ÄKTA, a Chicago-based consulting agency that specialized in digital design, user experience, and development, has hired award-winning designer and brand strategist Sara Frisk as Vice President of Brand Strategy. Frisk will helm ÄKTA’s efforts to cultivate and refine all of their clients’ branding campaigns and initiatives. With over 20 years experience with leading firms in both Chicago and New York, Frisk’s portfolio includes work for American Red Cross, Brooks Sports, Divvy Bikes, PNC Bank, Redbox, Sherwin-Williams, and Walgreens.
“It has been our long-standing plan to add a brand strategy as a third core practice area next to design and engineering,” said ÄKTA CEO John Roa in a statement. “At ÄKTA, User Experience design is a honed methodology, not just a service offering, and brand excellence should be the strategic lens guiding digital design & development. For two decades Sara has helped clients navigate strategic brand transformation. We’re thrilled to have her join our leadership team and bring her global experience to our enterprise and emerging growth clients.”
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Oranj makes three key appointments to further bolster growth
Chicago-based Oranj, a tech platform designed to help financial advisors better serve their clients, announced this week they have filled three senior roles for their headquarters in Chicago. Don Bodnar, a software developer with more than 20 years experience with companies like Options Away and and JP Morgan Chase Bank, has been appointed as the company’s first ever CTO. Greg Sauer has been named vice president of business development, whose 15-plus years of experience in the financial services industry will help inform Oranj’s direction. Meanwhile, Ben Pera joins the team as senior data scientist after years of experience with data analytics and wealth management.
"The financial advisor industry is one of the last frontiers to fully embrace technology, and I wanted to make it easier for traditional advisors to keep up with the changing needs of investors," said David Lyon, CEO and founder of Oran in a statement. "Don, Greg and Ben will play a huge role in advancing the Oranj platform as well as the adoption of technology in the financial advisor arena. All three of them will help Oranj to stay ahead of the curve while enabling financial advisors to become more nimble."
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4C names new Senior Vice President of Global Sales
4c, a data science company geared for the advertising industry, has brought on Hamid Qayyum as Senior Vice President of Sales, TV Activation. The former senior VP of Sales for FourthWall Media, Qayyum will lead all strategies for 4C’s TV Verify and Measurement and Planning (MAP) products for use by brand advertisers, media agencies, TV networks, and cable operators.
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