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A March 11, 2025, GeekWire roundup tracked personnel changes across Pacific Northwest technology, finance, conservation, media and research. The headline moves were Umesh Shankar’s appointment to Microsoft AI, Remitly co-founder Josh Hug’s shift from vice chair to board member, and Peggy Sloan’s selection to lead Seattle Aquarium. The roundup also included hires, a journalism beat change and a research award—not all of them executive appointments.
These are historical announcements, not a verified list of who holds each role today. GeekWire’s roundup was published March 11, 2025, at 6 p.m.
Microsoft AI brought in a Google Cloud security veteran
Umesh Shankar joined Microsoft AI as a corporate vice president of engineering after nearly 19 years at Google. His final Google role was chief technologist and distinguished engineer for Google Cloud Security. At Microsoft AI, he was set to lead a new privacy and security engineering effort focused on Microsoft Copilot.
The remit placed his appointment within Microsoft AI rather than Microsoft’s company-wide executive leadership. It also connected security and privacy work to a fast-growing AI product: as Copilot features expand, protecting data and giving users control over how it is handled are central engineering concerns. GeekWire noted that Microsoft AI had recruited multiple Google DeepMind executives in the preceding months, situating Shankar’s hire amid competition for experienced AI talent.
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Source: GeekWire, March 11, 2025
Remitly co-founder Josh Hug moved from vice chair to the board
Josh Hug left his role as vice chair of Remitly and moved to a position on the company’s board. That was a transition from an operating or leadership position to board service, not a reported departure from Remitly altogether. GeekWire cited a company filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as the formal basis for the change.
Hug’s earlier operating responsibilities included chief product officer and chief operator. Before Remitly, he co-founded Shelfari, which Amazon acquired in 2008; he then spent three years at Amazon before helping launch Remitly. Earlier in his career, he worked at RealNetworks. The distinction matters: the reported change was about his role at Remitly, not an end to his connection with the company.
SEC filing cited by GeekWire · GeekWire’s report
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Seattle Aquarium named Peggy Sloan its next president and CEO
Peggy Sloan was named president and CEO of Seattle Aquarium, with a transition expected in May 2025. She was to succeed Bob Davidson, who was retiring after more than 22 years at the aquarium.
Sloan came from Chicago’s John G. Shedd Aquarium and previously worked at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. A marine biologist, she had also worked as a Seattle-based NOAA fisheries observer in the Bering Sea, making the appointment a return to the region. Her arrival coincided with a significant public-facing period for the aquarium: GeekWire noted its marine-conservation mission and the opening of its Ocean Pavilion. The report did not say Sloan led that expansion.
Source: GeekWire, March 11, 2025
Other technology and regional organization appointments
Kate Cohen joined Crelate
Cohen became vice president of marketing at Boise-based recruiting-software company Crelate. Her previous marketing leadership roles included positions at Voltron Data, Randstad USA and Aptum.
Adam Loving moved from Pioneer Square Labs to Meta
Loving joined Meta’s Bellevue office as a partner engineer working on Llama Enterprise. He had spent more than nine years at Pioneer Square Labs in principal software-engineering and engineering-management roles, working with nearly three dozen startups. His work also included creating Picco, described as an LLM-powered code-generation agent, and serving as interim CTO for new companies. The move brought startup-incubator experience into a major AI platform organization.
Katharine Reinhold became executive director of Built Oregon
Reinhold had been a mentor and board member at Built Oregon before taking the executive director role. She also served as chief product officer at Pod and spent more than 13 years at Adidas, including as director of innovation. Built Oregon supports consumer-product companies in the state.
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These appointments illustrate several paths through the regional talent market: from an incubator to a large platform company, from product and marketing leadership to a specialized software firm, and between established retail technology businesses and recommerce.
Source for these appointments: GeekWire, March 11, 2025
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A Bloomberg beat change reflected AI infrastructure’s wider footprint
Dina Bass, a longtime Microsoft reporter at Bloomberg, shifted to a newly created focus on AI infrastructure. The beat covered more than chips and servers: it also included networking, energy, water, land, financing, startups, established companies and the public sector. Brody Ford was expected to join Matt Day on Bloomberg’s Microsoft beat.
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This was a newsroom assignment change, not a corporate leadership move or a reported departure by Bass from Bloomberg. Its scope shows why AI infrastructure had become a distinct business and policy story: building and operating AI systems depends on physical resources and financing as well as computing hardware.
Source: GeekWire, March 11, 2025
Fred Hutch researcher received a graduate student award
Jeremy Hollis, identified as a research assistant in Fred Hutch Cancer Center’s Basic Sciences Division, received the 2025 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award, an international honor. His research concerned a protein component implicated in multiple diseases. This was a research-recognition item, rather than a leadership or hiring change.
Source: GeekWire, March 11, 2025
What the roundup captured—and what it did not
Taken together, the announcements show different kinds of movement: a senior security hire tied to AI, a founder shifting to board service, a CEO succession at a conservation institution, and people moving among startups, large technology companies, media and regional organizations. The items do not represent one coordinated shift, and they span places beyond Seattle, including Boise, Chicago and California.
The roundup records what was announced or expected in March 2025. In particular, Sloan’s May 2025 start was a forecast at publication, and none of the listed roles should be assumed to remain unchanged in 2026 without a newer confirmation.
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Quick Recap
Full March 2025 roundup at GeekWire
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