Big month for big hires: Groupon, Shiftgig and others welcome new execs in September

by Michael Hines
September 29, 2017

Chicago tech had a busy month, between the monster funding rounds landed by Raise and Tempus, and Outcome Health's unveiling of a new headquarters. A bunch of companies also made high-level hires. These are a few of Chicago tech’s newest execs to know.

 

Jennifer Carr-Smith was introduced as Groupon's new senior vice president and general manager of North America local earlier this month. Before joining Groupon, Carr-Smith was president and CEO of Peapod. She also spent four years as J.Crew’s COO.

"The opportunity and momentum at Groupon are tremendous," said Carr-Smith in a statement. "I look forward to helping extend their advantage in local."

 

In September, project44 made not one, but two big hires. The startup, which builds cloud-based supply chain monitoring software for companies in freight and logistics, welcomed a new senior VP of strategic accounts and a VP of business development.

Mitch Kowalewski steps into the senior VP of strategic accounts role with years of experience in transportation services and logistics. He was most recently VP of enterprise sales at Transplace, a Dallas-based third-party logistics company.

Mikael Trapper brings more than a decade of sales experience into her new job as VP of business development. Her most recent role was VP of sales for BridgeNet Solutions, a transportation data analytics company.

 

Shiftgig, which connects hourly workers to businesses with open shifts, has a new CEO. Wade Burgess joins the Chicago startup after spending nine years at LinkedIn, where he held a handful of senior leadership roles including two VP positions. Shiftgig founder and former CEO Eddie Lou will stay on with the company in a full-time executive chairman capacity.

 

John Gottschalk is the new senior vice president of client relationships at LotLinx, a startup that creates VIN-specific marketing campaigns for car dealers. Gottschalk was previously senior vice president of dealer relations and business development at FordDirect.

"John has worked directly with the country's top dealers, manufacturers, agencies and vendors, and is highly respected by all," said president Eric Brown in a statement. “We're excited to add someone of his caliber to the team."

 

Eved’s new president and COO, Josh Gray, joins the company at a busy time. As the startup, whose software makes it easier for companies to manage and pay for event services, preps for significant growth, Gray’s role will be to oversee proper execution.

 

Shaffiq A. Jetha is the new senior VP of sales and marketing at Aasonn, a provider of cloud-based HR software. Jetha brings over 25 years of business development experience to his new role with the Naperville-based company.

 

Jim Crnkovic is the new vice president of engineering at NuCurrent. Crnkovic joins the wireless power system and magnetics solution provider from AAC Technologies, where he served as director of wireless field engineering. Prior to that role, Crnkovic led Motorola Mobility’s antenna technology team as its director of engineering.

 

Image via social media, featured companies and Shutterstock.

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