A Pacific Northwest leadership roundup published by GeekWire on January 24, 2025, covered nine moves across technology companies, policy groups and mission-driven organizations. The biggest was IMDb’s first CEO succession in 35 years: Nikki Santoro took the role as founder Col Needham became founder and executive chair. The other items ranged from startup operations and finance appointments to a blockchain association launch and a Gates Foundation program leadership role.
This is a snapshot of changes reported around that date, not a current directory of the executives’ roles. The appointments and announcements were not all necessarily effective on January 24.
IMDb: Nikki Santoro becomes CEO as Col Needham shifts to executive chair
IMDb announced in January 2025 that Nikki Santoro had become its CEO and Col Needham, who founded the company in 1990, had moved to the role of founder and executive chair. IMDb described Santoro as the second CEO in its 35-year history and the first woman to hold the position. IMDb’s announcement said Needham would continue to offer strategic guidance, consult on key initiatives and serve as a global ambassador.
Santoro joined IMDb in 2016 and had been chief operating officer since 2021. Her responsibilities span advertising, content, product, technology and user experience, according to IMDb. The transition combines a change in day-to-day leadership with an ongoing role for the founder; it was not described as Needham leaving the company. IMDb’s leadership biographies continued to identify Santoro as CEO and Needham as founder and executive chair when accessed in 2026.
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GeekWire reported that Santoro is based in Seattle and previously held leadership roles at Microsoft and The Weather Channel. The publication also reported that Amazon acquired IMDb for $55 million in 1998; that acquisition figure is reported here as GeekWire’s account, rather than as a detail in IMDb’s leadership announcement. IMDb’s anniversary announcement is also available through Nasdaq’s release page.
Startup leadership: operations and finance
Bert Van Hoof becomes Willow Technology CEO
GeekWire reported that Bert Van Hoof became CEO of Willow Technology, moving up from president and COO, a role he took in 2022. Co-founder and former CEO Joshua Ridley became chief growth officer. Willow, launched in Australia in 2017, uses AI-generated digital twins—virtual representations of buildings and their systems—to give operators information about building management, energy use and carbon impact. The technology is designed to help operators identify inefficiencies; it does not by itself guarantee energy or emissions reductions.
Van Hoof spent nearly 20 years at Microsoft, where he created the company’s Smart Places and Energy team, according to GeekWire. The CEO change places a former Microsoft smart-building executive at the top of a company focused on building data and operations, while Ridley takes a growth-oriented title. That division of responsibilities is a reasonable reading of the titles, not a stated explanation from Willow.
Marty Roberts joins Tagboard as COO
Redmond, Washington-based Tagboard named Marty Roberts COO, according to GeekWire. The company provides technology for producing live broadcasts and content for sports, news, entertainment and other brands. Roberts brought experience in online video and media platforms: he co-founded and led Wicket Labs before Brightcove acquired it in 2022, served as co-CEO of thePlatform before its acquisition by Comcast, and held a leadership role at RealNetworks.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →A COO appointment at a live-production technology provider could put added emphasis on operations and execution, but GeekWire’s report did not state that the hire was tied to a particular expansion plan. Its Tagboard coverage archive provides background on the company; older coverage should not be mistaken for developments announced in January 2025.
Teresa Kotwis becomes SingleFile CFO
Teresa Kotwis became CFO of Seattle legal-tech startup SingleFile, GeekWire reported. SingleFile’s software helps companies prepare and file compliance reports with government agencies. The company incubated at Pioneer Square Labs; GeekWire said it had raised $6.5 million from investors in the year before the roundup, not in January 2025.
Rank #3
Kotwis had held CFO roles at FluentStream, The Riveter, Mighty AI, Gravity Payments, Rover and Logic 20/20, and served as vice president of finance and treasurer at AdReady, according to the report. A finance chief can bring financial planning and reporting leadership to a startup handling regulatory filings, though the appointment alone does not establish a change in strategy or financial performance. GeekWire’s SingleFile coverage archive includes later reporting that the company raised $9 million; that subsequent financing was not part of the January 2025 news item.
Remitly changes accounting leadership, not its CFO
GeekWire reported that Remitly disclosed Gail Miller’s departure as chief accounting officer in an SEC filing after nearly two years in the role. Luke Travis, then vice president and controller, was expected to become chief accountant at the end of February 2025 and report to the CFO. Travis previously worked as an accounting director at Amazon Devices and Services.
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The distinction matters: the reported transition concerned the chief accounting officer/chief accountant function. It was not a report that Remitly changed CFOs.
Rank #4
- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
Policy, philanthropy and leadership recognition
Arry Yu leads the North American Blockchain Association
Arry Yu became president of the newly launched North American Blockchain Association (NABA), GeekWire reported. NABA was described as bringing together eight state-based blockchain organizations to coordinate advocacy and policy campaigns representing U.S. and Canadian interests. The report said its network represented more than 250 companies and 1,000 elected officials; those are attributed network figures, not independently audited membership counts.
Yu was chair of the WTIA Cascadia Blockchain Council, which the report identified as a founding member of NABA. The appointment sits at the intersection of technology and policy advocacy rather than at a blockchain product company.
Doulaye Kone takes a Gates Foundation water, sanitation and hygiene role
Doulaye Kone became director of the Gates Foundation’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Program, in a position GeekWire described as newly created. The program focuses on hygienic, water-efficient toilets and related technologies. Kone had worked at the foundation for more than 14 years at the time of the report.
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This is philanthropic program leadership, not an appointment to run a software company or a toilet manufacturer. Its technology connection is the foundation’s work on sanitation systems and innovations intended to improve water efficiency and hygiene.
Stephiney Foley selected as a Presidential Leadership Scholar
Stephiney Foley, CEO of Seattle maternal-wellness startup Yuzi Care, was selected for a Presidential Leadership Scholars cohort, GeekWire reported. The program included travel to presidential centers associated with George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson, with support from former officials, academics and business leaders. The report said Foley was one of 57 participants.
Yuzi Care provides postpartum support through an online marketplace. Foley was working with military leaders on a pilot to offer the company’s services on military bases, according to GeekWire. Her selection does not, by itself, indicate government funding, endorsement or adoption of Yuzi Care’s services by the military.
Kristin Toth launches Ulu Partners
Seattle technology veteran Kristin Toth announced Ulu Partners, a practice offering coaching, consulting and facilitation for leaders and organizations working on leadership, team-building and technology growth, GeekWire reported. Toth was formerly COO of Fernish and Dolly and had also been CEO of Code Fellows, with earlier senior positions at Amazon and Zulily.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteGeekWire also reported that Toth had board experience with Armoire, Radiant Logistics and Ada Developers Academy, among others. Ulu Partners was presented as an advisory and leadership-services firm; the report did not establish that it had a large staff, outside funding or a broad client roster.
What the January 2025 roundup shows
The nine items span a mature, Amazon-owned media-information business; startups in building technology, broadcast production, legal compliance and maternal wellness; a remittance company; a blockchain policy association; a philanthropic program; and an executive-services practice. Together they show different kinds of leadership mobility across the regional technology ecosystem, not one coordinated industry trend. For most entries, the details here are attributed to GeekWire’s January 24 report; IMDb’s CEO transition also has first-party confirmation from IMDb.
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