The Biggest Chicago Tech Hires in January

February 1, 2017 By Alida Miranda-Wolff

FourKites

Chicago trucking logistics startup FourKites announced three executive hires in January. Priya Rajagopalan was named chief product officer after previously working at TiVo as the head of product management for the company’s Metadata Business Group. She was in charge of the company’s video, music, books, and games metadata products. Kathleen Marcell joined FourKites as its vice president of customer success. She was previously the vice president of client success at Chicago startup Yello. And Steve Bachert was named the company’s chief revenue officer. He joined FourKites from Uptake, where he was most recently the VP of global sales.

Braintree

PayPal-owned mobile payments company Braintree announced it has hired John Macilwaine as its chief technology officer, where he will lead all aspects of product development. Macilwaine comes to Braintree from Lending Club, where he was CTO for the last four and a half years.

Tanvas, a Chicago startup building technology that enables you to feel what you see on a touchscreen, announced it has hired Jeff Allen as its vice president of product development. He was previously the SVP of Technical Delivery with Redbox, and also spent time at Microsoft, WMS (now Scientific Gaming), and Midway Games.

Insureon

Chicago online insurance agency Insureon announced that Kyle Hoffman has rejoined the company as its vice president of customer success. Hoffman left Insureon briefly last year to work for New York-based insurance startup CoverWallet.

Reverb

Chicago-based online music gear site Reverb announced it has hired Dan Abel as its director of marketing. Abel comes to Reverb after more than four years at YouTube, where he served as the company’s content partnerships manager and was in charge of YouTube’s music offering. Prior to that he spent two years Creative Artists Agency.

Talent Rover

Talent Rover, a Chicago staffing and recruitment software platform, announced it has hired Steve May as its vice president of operations. May comes to Talent Rover from Salesforce where he served as VP of commercial sales.

Tempus

Chicago-based Tempus, a startup launched by Groupon founder Eric Lefkofsky that uses big data to help physicians deliver personalized cancer care to patients, announced it has hired Dr. Gary Palmer as its chief medical officer. Palmer will be responsible for leading clinical activities for Tempus and supporting external collaborations and strategic partnerships, the company said. He was previously the chief medical officer for NantHealth.

In January, Trunk Club parent company Nordstrom announced that Terry Boyle would be in charge of leading Trunk Club, and founder Brian Spaly would be stepping down. Boyle is the president of NordstromRack.com and HauteLook. Trunk Club sold to Nordstrom for $350 million in 2014.

Mac & Mia

Mac & Mia, a Trunk Club-like startup that helps parents find stylish clothes for their kids, announced it has hired Jason Smith as its president. Smith spent more than five years as Trunk Club‘s VP of merchandising before leaving in November.

Cars.com

Chicago-based Cars.com announced it has appointed Becky Sheehan as the company’s chief financial officer. She previously served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer for FTD Companies, Inc.

Cleveland Avenue

Don Thompson, the former CEO of McDonald’s, announced that he is launching Cleveland Avenue, a VC firm and startup accelerator focused on building new food and beverage businesses. Based out of a 33,000 square-foot space at 222 N. Canal Street, the firm’s website said it planed to open in January.

Chicago-based in-flight WiFi provider Gogo announced that it has promoted Jon Cobin to executive vice president and chief commercial officer. Cobin has served in a leadership position at Gogo for six years, most recently as head of strategy and global sales for Gogo’s commercial aviation division.

Trading Technologies

Chicago-based professional trading software company Trading Technologies announced it has hired Michael Kraines as its chief financial officer. Prior to joining Trading Technologies, Kraines spent 25 years as an investment banker in the FinTech sector, most recently at Sandler O’Neill + Partners.

Image via FourKites

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