Across North Texas, companies are promoting and hiring people to take on leadership positions within their organizations.

Dallas Innovates covers prominent personnel moves in Dallas-Fort Worth, from new startups to big-name corporations. Here are some people moves you need to know right now, and why they’re important.

Alkami names a new CEO

Alex Shootman

The Board of Directors at Plano-based Alkami, the cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for financial institutions, has appointed Alex Shootman its new chief executive officer, effective Nov. 5. He will also join the Board of Directors.

He succeeds Mike Hansen, who will remain onboard in an advisory role through the end of the year to assist with the transition. Hansen will also continue as a director on the board through at least 2022. 

“Mike Hansen has been an inspiring leader over his more than eight years with Alkami,” Brian R. Smith, founder and managing director of S3 Ventures and chairperson of Alkami’s Board of Directors, said in a statement. “During his tenure he has exponentially increased the company’s value and scale including completing the IPO of ALKT on Nasdaq earlier this year. The board and I thank Mike for his service and look forward to continuing to work with him.”

Shootman has more than two decades of experience as an executive leader who has grown and scaled enterprise software companies. He joins Alkami from Workfront, where he also served as CEO. While there, he is credited with more than doubling revenue over a five-year period, while repositioning the company from a departmental project application to an enterprise application platform.

Before that, Shootman was the president of Apptio and president of Eloqua.

“Alex’s experience in growing and scaling enterprise software companies is essential at this stage of Alkami,” Smith said. “Alkami possesses the vision, strategy, and technology to help our remarkable clients grow faster than the market. With Alex at the helm, Alkami has also acquired an enterprise software veteran with proven success scaling high-growth companies.

Perot Museum names five new board members

The Perot Museum’s new board members, left to right: Garrett Boone, Kelvin Walker, Meghna Sharma, Sachin Shroff, and Scott Greene. [Photos: Perot Museum]

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science has added five new members to its 2021-2022 Board of Directors and named three to its Executive Committee.

They will serve under the leadership of Board Chain Karen Katz, the former president and CEO of the Neiman Marcus Group, and Chair-Elect David Corrigan of Corrigan Investments.

“Our new board members bring a wealth of extraordinary talent and varied perspectives to the Perot Museum, which will be invaluable as we move toward our 10th anniversary—a milestone year focused upon increasing our community connections and building the next STEM workforce,” Dr. Linda Silver, Eugene McDermott CEO of the Perot Museum, said in a statement.

The new board members are:

• Garrett Boone, co-founder of The Container Store and Texas Business for Clean Air;
• Scott Greene, executive vice president of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin Corporation;
• Meghna Sharma, group manager executive for Toyota and controller of the Toyota Foundation;
• Sachin Shroff, vice president of CRM, loyalty, and marketing for The Michaels Company; and
• Kelvin Walker, chief executive officer of the Dallas Citizens Council.

The new Executive Committee members are:

• Abby Williams of United to Learn, chair of the Learning Committee;
Earl Simpkins of Strategy&, chair of the Collections and Research Committee; and
• Dr. Joan Hill of The Lamplighter School; chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee.

BBG appoints a CTO

Dallas-based BBG, an independent national valuation and assessment real estate services firm, is reorganizing its leadership team, promoting two senior executives and naming a chief technology officer.

Bill Britain, current chief operating officer, has been promoted to the new position of president of assessment. Britain is a 25-year commercial real estate veteran who has been COO since 2019. He has also served in other roles at BBG, including chief financial officer and advisor to the board.

Senior Managing Director Grant Griffin has been promoted to the new position of president of valuation. He has more than a decade of experience in commercial real estate valuation and advisory services, specifically in multifamily, industrial, retail, office, and hospitality. He was previously responsible for overseeing BBG’s Southeastern operations. 

Frank Deutschmann was named as BBG’s CTO, a newly created role that will support the firm’s growth and guide the significant investment in technology and security that’s currently underway. He has vast experience in fintech, previously serving as a head of product management and CTO for multiple companies.

Most recently, Deutschmann was a product manager for T-REX’s warehouse lending analytical product.

“Our reputation for producing the best possible client outcomes is the direct result of a highly talented staff dedicated to successfully achieving strategic initiatives,” BBG CEO Chris Roach said in a statement. “In order to maintain this high level of client service and firm-wide growth, it’s essential that we continue to expand our leadership team to meet these goals.”

Buff City Soap expands its c-suite

Buff City Soap’s new hires, Ric Smith, Shellie Caudill, and Jean Grossman. [Photos: Buff City Soap]

Dallas-based Buff City Soap, the plant-based home and personal care franchise, has added three leaders to its c-suite amidst rapid growth. The company expects to double its national footprint in 2022.

Ric Smith has been named as chief development officer, Jean Grossman as chief operating officer, and Shellie Caudill as chief product officer.

Smith has previously served as an early-stage leader at big-name food and beverage brands, such as Starbucks, Potbelly, Qdoba, and Scooter’s Coffee. Grossman has experience scaling some of the largest food and service franchise brands, including Dunkin’ Donuts, Cosi Restaurants, and European Wax Center. And, Caudill has led R&D at some of the most recognizable consumer companies: Procter & Gamble, Bath & Body Works, and Church & Dwight.

“All three leaders come with 20+ years of experience in their respective fields and are best-in-class leaders,” Craig Kessler, Buff City Soap’s CEO, said in a statement. “As Buff grows its footprint beyond our current 145 stores, our expanding leadership team is poised to continue innovating and enhancing the brand.”

Founded in 2013, Buff City Soap has more than quadrupled in size since 2020. It’s now in more than 145 stores in 27 states.

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