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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchGeekWire reported three Pacific Northwest technology leadership moves on January 21, 2026: Jigar Thakkar became vice president of Amazon Quick Suite, Chronus named Ankur Ahlowalia CEO, and REI put Larry Colagiovanni in charge of AI product innovation. The same roundup included appointments across health care, software, government and other regional organizations.
Who joined Amazon Quick Suite?
Jigar Thakkar became vice president of Amazon Quick Suite, according to GeekWire’s January 21, 2026 report. The report describes Quick Suite as a platform that uses agentic AI to automate business workflows, research and data access; Amazon launched it in October 2025.
Thakkar returned to Seattle after more than seven years at New York-based financial services firm MSCI, where he was CTO and head of engineering. Before MSCI, he spent nearly two decades at Microsoft, joined in 1999 as a software developer on Microsoft Money, became the founding engineering leader of Microsoft Teams, and held the corporate vice president title.
In announcing the appointment, AWS vice president of agentic AI Swami Sivasubramanian said: “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.”
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Who is Chronus’s new CEO?
Chronus named Ankur Ahlowalia CEO, GeekWire reported. The Seattle-based company provides mentoring software. Ahlowalia joined from Dallas-based software company Korbyt, which he had led for more than five years.
“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 a statement, as quoted by GeekWire.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Who is leading AI product innovation at REI?
Larry Colagiovanni, a longtime Seattle-area technology leader, was leading AI product innovation at outdoor retailer REI, according to GeekWire. His previous roles included leading product vision and strategy for Microsoft Shopping, where he launched the company’s first conversational shopping assistant. The roundup also cites work with Madrona Venture Labs, Limeade, eBay and Decide.
In a LinkedIn post, Colagiovanni described the REI role as one that “brings together my passion for the outdoors with my belief in human-centered AI that supports better discovery, decision-making, and experiences.”
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What other Seattle-area leadership changes were reported?
GeekWire’s roundup also listed these personnel moves. The report provides the roles and context below; it does not establish further details about the appointees’ responsibilities or the organizations’ plans.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
- Sara Vaezy joined Chartis as chief product and technology officer after serving as Providence’s chief transformation officer.
- Supio named Niki Hall CMO and Kelli Dragovich chief people officer.
- Variant Bio appointed Dr. Craig Basson chief medical officer and president of R&D.
- Diego Oppenheimer became an executive fellow with Stanford GSB.
- Smarsh named Ian Goodkind CFO and Kamesh Tumsi CPO, and moved Goutam Nadella to chief strategy officer.
- Northwest Quantum Nexus named Joseph Williams executive director, Charles Marcus chief scientist, and Arry Yu director of external affairs.
- Sarah Clifthorne became interim director of Washington State Commerce.
- Rachel Fukaya became Textio VP of marketing.
- Stephen Delano became principal software engineer at Yoodli.
- Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson selected Dennis McLerran to replace Seattle City Light CEO Dawn Lindell, pending City Council confirmation, and named acting department directors.
- Daryl Fairweather joined the Center for Land Economics board of governors.
- Craig Lange joined WestRiver Group as managing director and lead of its Disruptive Growth Fund.
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