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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →GeekWire reported five senior appointments across Smartsheet, Gradial and Zeno Power in an Aug. 14, 2025, edition of its Pacific Northwest personnel column, Tech Moves. The changes differed in scope: Smartsheet named a chief customer officer during a CEO transition, Gradial added three leaders, and Zeno Power hired an aerospace executive to lead space business development. The report records appointments at that time; it does not establish who holds the roles now.
What the Tech Moves item covers
Tech Moves is GeekWire’s recurring column about hires, promotions, board appointments and other personnel changes in the Pacific Northwest technology community. The Aug. 14 roundup included the three companies discussed here alongside moves involving organizations such as the Angel Capital Association, EarthLab, betaworks, SheerID and PCC Community Markets. The companies were grouped as regional personnel news, not because they share an industry, partnership or transaction.
The reporting below reflects what GeekWire said on that date. It is not a current executive roster or a detailed company strategy assessment.
Smartsheet: a customer leader amid a CEO transition
GeekWire reported that Stephanie Berner joined Smartsheet as chief customer officer. Immediately before that appointment, she was a senior vice president at Atlassian; her earlier customer-success leadership experience included LinkedIn and Box. The report placed her work location in San Francisco.
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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The appointment came as longtime CEO Mark Mader was leaving and Sunny Gupta was stepping in as acting CEO. GeekWire also noted that Tony Giannino had recently been named director of security and compliance. Gupta said Berner’s work-management experience and understanding of the B2B SaaS customer journey would support Smartsheet’s AI-focused phase.
What the role may signal: A chief customer officer with that background could help the company focus on customer retention, product adoption and expansion within enterprise accounts. That is an interpretation of the role and the rationale quoted in the report, not a separately announced Smartsheet strategy or a measured outcome.
Gradial: three appointments across the senior team
GeekWire described Gradial as a Seattle startup using AI agents to improve productivity for marketing-operations teams. It reported three additions to the company’s senior leadership:
| Executive | Reported role | Relevant background reported by GeekWire |
|---|---|---|
| Vikas Kamran | President | Founded and led Revel for nearly 14 years; after Infogain acquired Revel in 2020, he became Infogain’s chief digital officer. |
| Richard Rocca | Vice president of sales | More than a decade at Adobe. |
| Chelsea Halliday | Head of marketing | Marketing leadership experience at Zillow Group, Vercel and MongoDB. |
What the combination may signal: A president, sales leader and marketing leader together could provide operating capacity, sales execution and market education as Gradial builds its business. The lineup is consistent with a more developed go-to-market organization, but GeekWire did not state that as the company’s strategy or report resulting growth, customer wins or productivity gains.
Zeno Power: aerospace experience for space business development
GeekWire reported that A.C. Charania joined Seattle-based Zeno Power as senior vice president of space business development. The company was described as developing nuclear-powered batteries. Charania’s previous role was chief technologist at NASA; the report also cited 25 years of aerospace-innovation experience in public- and private-sector roles and his earlier position as lunar campaign director at Blue Origin.
His stated remit was to pursue opportunities with NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial companies. His NASA and Blue Origin experience makes the appointment relevant to Zeno’s intended space and government markets, although the report does not say that he secured any contracts.
GeekWire also said Zeno had announced $50 million in new funding in May 2025. The report does not identify whether that funding was equity, debt, grants or a mix, so the figure should not be read as a specific financing-round type.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the three moves are not equivalent
These appointments reflect distinct organizational needs rather than one shared business trend. Smartsheet’s move was a C-suite customer appointment during a CEO transition. Gradial added three leaders across operations, sales and marketing. Zeno Power hired a senior business-development executive with aerospace experience for a role covering public-sector and commercial opportunities. Taken together, they illustrate different kinds of leadership investment among a mature software company, an emerging AI startup and a deep-tech company; three examples alone do not establish a wider regional trend.
What the report does not establish
GeekWire’s item is a dated personnel roundup, not a full company profile or follow-up on the hires. It does not specify exact start dates, compensation or equity, reporting lines, or whether any appointment was interim or subject to other conditions. Nor does it measure effects on revenue, fundraising, customers or products.
The report does not verify whether these executives still hold the named roles as of 2026, provide the companies’ full current leadership teams, or link to official appointment announcements from the three companies. Accordingly, the appointments and biographies here are attributed to GeekWire’s Aug. 14, 2025, reporting rather than presented as independently confirmed current facts. Its description of Gradial’s AI agents likewise does not establish the system’s technical architecture or quantify productivity gains.
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