Tech Moves: Ex-Google director unveils investment management firm; Treasury4 names new CFO
— Manish “Manny” Sainani, a former Google product management director, recently launched Hushh Technologies, a startup that uses artificial intelligence, statistics and other tools to generate investment insights and guidance.
Sainani is chief investment officer at the startup, which he revealed in a post on LinkedIn last week. Justin Donaldson, a former data scientist at Salesforce, is chief scientist and investment strategist.
Hushh Technologies is separate from hushh.ai, a Seattle-area startup Sainani launched in April 2023 that uses AI to help customers “organize, manage and extract meaningful value from their own data, including AI monetization options to turn their data into a financial asset,” according to its website.
Sainani previously spent four years at Google. His other past roles include senior director of machine learning products for Splunk, and senior program manager at Microsoft working on Azure machine learning.
— Nathan Brown is now chief financial officer for Spokane, Wash.-based Treasury4. Brown is a co-founder and former chief analyst for the fintech startup that provides tools for corporate finance and treasury professionals.
Treasury4 launched in 2020 and its other co-founders include Steve Helmbrecht and Ed Barrie. All three previously worked at Itron, an Eastern Washington tech company focused on managing energy and water resources.
Brown was at Itron for more than 12 years, leaving the role of director of global commercial financing programs.
“I look forward to working even more closely with our customers, our team, and our investors to help our company deliver greater value for our amazing customers,” Brown said on LinkedIn.
— Leah Severe, former director of operations at Seattle-based Pioneer Square labs, has launched her own firm, Severe Consulting.
Severe Consulting specializes “in empowering early-stage startups by optimizing back-office operations for seamless business functionality,” Severe wrote on LinkedIn. “With a track record of transforming startup environments, I focus on ensuring operational excellence and sustainable growth.”
Severe was with PSL when it launched its startup studio in 2015. The firm also runs an early-stage venture capital fund.
Previous to PSL, Severe held the role of user experience researcher and customer experience manager for OnMobileMedia.
— Craig Evans and Julia Song, founders of the long-duration energy storage company ESS Inc., have left the company.
“We are grateful to our founders for their leadership and guidance over the years, their continued support as we work to fulfill our mission and wish them all the best in their future pursuits,” said an ESS spokesperson via email.
Evans and Song launched ESS in 2011. The company is based in Wilsonville, Ore.
ESS has raised more than $377.5 million from venture capital investors and through an IPO three years ago. It has support from backers including Honeywell, Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, SoftBank Group, BlackRock and others.
The company’s iron-flow battery technology uses earth-abundant materials, as opposed to lithium and other metals that have been in short supply. ESS has signed deals internationally but in the past has struggled to hit production goals. Its stock is trading at more than $6 a share after hitting a high of more than $280 per share in November 2021.
Song’s LinkedIn page indicates that she now has advisory roles on multiple boards.
— Stefan Gaertner has joined has joined Syndio as a pay equity consultant. The Seattle startup analyzes workplace pay equity issues and provides strategies for fixing salary disparities.
Gaertner was previously a partner with Aon, an international firm providing risk mitigation services.
Gaertner’s “deep expertise in people analytics and rewards will be invaluable as we continue to empower organizations to meet pay transparency demands and achieve true pay equity,” Syndio CEO Maria Colacurcio wrote on LinkedIn.