DI People: Applied Blockchain, Neiman Marcus Group, JPI, and More Make Moves

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 businesses and nonprofits—from the newest startups to well-established companies. Here are the people moves tied to innovation and technology in the region.

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Applied Blockchain adds to its Board

Dr. Richard Nottenburg

Dallas-based Applied Blockchain, an Etherum-focused company dedicated to scaling a crypto mining operation via strategic partnerships, has added Dr. Richard Nottenburg to its Board of Directors.

Dr. Nottenburg is currently an executive partner at PE firm OceanSoundPartners, and acts as an investor in various early stage tech startups. Previously, he was the president, CEO, and a member of the Board at Sonos Networks, and before that, was an executive vice president, chief strategy officer, and chief technology officer at Motorola. He also sits on the Board for Cognyte Software, Verint Systems, and Sequins Communications.

Dr. Nottenburg’s appointment brings Applied Blockchain’s total Board count to seven directors, five of which are independent.

“We are pleased to announce Richard’s appointment to the Company’s Board, Applied Blockchain CEO and Chairman Wes Cummins said in a statement. “Richard brings deep experience in global technology-focused businesses and will be a valuable resource for the Company as we look to leverage our supply chain and scale our operations.”

Neiman Marcus Group gets a new chief legal officer

Hannah Kim

Dallas-headquartered luxury department store retailer Neiman Marcus Group has named Hannah Kim as its new chief legal officer, corporate secretary, chief compliance officer, and member of the executive team, effective July 26.

Kim has a history in global corporate law, having most recently served as the chief legal officer at Energizer Holdings. Before that, she held senior roles at Bank of America and Lowe’s Companies. Her experience includes strategically leading organizations through compliance, acquisitions, reorganizations, and leadership transitions, as well as in environmental, social, and governance strategy. In her new role at NMG, Kim will head all legal and compliance to promote and protect the company’s overall business strategy.

“Hannah has proven herself a trusted and valued legal partner, helping to establish innovative solutions for consumer-focused companies,” NMG CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said in a statement. “She brings extensive corporate law experience from leading brands and will help us accelerate our journey.”

Stream Data Centers names an SVP of Design and Construction

Tejo Pydipati

Stream Data Centers, a Dallas-based industry leader in providing premium data center services, is expanding its development and construction leadership team with the addition of Tejo Pydipati, its new SVP of Design and Construction.

In his new role, Pydipati will lead mission-critical construction processes to support Stream’s growing portfolio of campus developments, hyperscale and build-to-suit data centers, and powered shells. Most recently, Pydipati was a technical builder at DPR, a role in which he directed teams across an array of data center developments. Pydipati replaces Chris Kincaid, who is moving to the role of SVP of Development after serving in his previous role for a decade.

“Data centers are not just any building, and construction is highly specialized,” Stream COO and Partner Michael Lahoud said in a statement. “Tejo is an excellent addition to our team because he delivers the holistic technical expertise we look for—a true understanding of the business, the products, the customer and the evolving needs they bring to the table.”

Southwestern Asset Management grows distribution team

Ron Rodriguez

Southwestern Asset Management, a farm and farm-adjacent real estate fund manager that’s based in Texas, has added Ron Rodriguez to its distribution team as the executive vice president of capital markets.

Rodriguez, a certified financial planner, has some three decades of experience in alternative investments and financial planning. His career includes a number of capital raising success through a number of investment vehicles: Reg. D private placements, 1031 offerings, interval funds, ETF fund of fund strategies, and separately managed accounts. He previously was a vice president for Phoenix American Hospitality, a role in which he oversaw sales efforts throughout the western states. In his new role, Rodriguez will oversee Southwestern’s national capital raising efforts.

“Ron immediately clicked with our existing team and results-driven culture,” Cole Gilliam Parks, president and managing member of Southwestern Asset Management, said in a statement. “Ron is a winner. As we expand our offering into the managing broker-dealer space, I’m excited to have him riding for our brand and out sharing our vision, mission, and values in the marketplace.”

JPI adds to its executive leadership

Mollie Fadule

JPI, an Irving-based developer, builder and investment manager of Class A multifamily assets across the U.S., has named Mollie Fadule as its new chief financial and investment officer, the latest move in expanding its leadership team to advance market diversification and harness industry innovation.

Fadule has more than 15 years of experience in real estate, private equity and real estate and construction technology. In 2012, she, along with JPI CEO Payton Mayes, founded Cephas Partners, a PE firm that specializes in alternative investments focused on real estate. Before that, she was the VP of Real Estate Principal Investments at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In addition, Fadule acts as an advisor to various companies and funds in the real estate and construction technology space. She is an advisory board member for the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, and previously served on the CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Network Board. In her new role at JPI, Fadule will lead all finance, legal, and investment and capital markets teams.

Mohr Partners hires a new managing director

John Woolsey

Dallas-based, Mohr Partners, Inc., a leading global corporate real estate services firm, has named John Woolsey as its new managing director.

Woolsey joins the firm with 30 years of commercial real estate services experience as a top producing broker in Dallas. Over the past 3 decades, he has represented prominent US corporations in relocating and renewing their headquarters operations as well as managing their overall real estate portfolios of leased and owned locations.

“I am very excited to renew my professional partnership with John following our successful collaboration together in the early 2000’s at The Trammell Crow Company,” Chairman & CEO of Mohr Partners Robert Shibuya said in a statement.

Foundry Commercial appoints a new managing director

Foundry Commercial, a full-service real estate services and investment firm with offices across the Sun Belt has appointed Jim Traynor as the managing director, development & investments in Dallas.

Traynor joins Foundry from his position as managing director of acquisitions at Acram Group where he led all investment efforts in Texas and Colorado for the organization. Before joining the Acram Group in 2018, Traynor worked as vice president of acquisitions for L&L Holding Company in New York City where he completed over $2.0 billion of acquisitions and joint venture recapitalizations.

“Early in his career, Jim interned with us, and we could not be more thrilled to reconnect with him in Dallas,” Pryse Elam, chief investment officer of Foundry Commercial, said in a statement. “Jim has the great combination of intelligence and hustle; we look for him to do great things with us.”

VitalTech announces chief commercial officer

Chad Haynes

Plano-headquartered VitalTech, a rapidly growing national provider of virtual care solutions has announced Chad Haynes as the company’s chief commercial officer.

With an extensive health IT background and significant EHR experience bringing more than 21 years of experience from Cerner Corporation where he worked as vice president for strategic growth, Haynes brings value across strategy, sales, operations and client success.

“Chad brings valuable health IT knowledge and strategy. As VitalTech continues to expand our offerings in virtual care, he will ensure we are providing solutions that meet market needs and the optimal customer experience through our product and service offerings,” James Hamilton, chief executive officer of VitalTech, said in a statement. “A pillar of VitalTech’s business model is client satisfaction and Chad’s decades-long success in this realm will prove invaluable.”

SpotSee hires a new temperature business director

Dallas-headquartered SpotSee, a global leader in temperature, shock, tilt, and vibration through low cost, connected technologies has appointed Reuben Isbitsky as the company’s temperature business director where he will be responsible for product development, application engineering, and growing the temperature product lines,

Isbitsky comes to the company with nearly 30 years of experience in global marketing and sales of advanced life sciences technologies. He co-founded and served as CEO of Timestrip, a SpotSee competitor based in the United Kingdom for 16 years where he brought several new technologies, products and brands to the market.

“Reuben has been very successful with the conception and implementation of temperature-related products, particularly in Life Science, for many global brands,” Tony Fonk, president and CEO of SpotSee, said in a statement. “We are excited to combine his unique experience and passion with SpotSee technologies, particularly with our recent acquisitions of TMC and LCR Hallcrest.”

Big Thought welcomes new Board chair

Hollie Neal Morgan

Dallas’ Big Thought, which equips the city’s marginalized youth with the skills they need to create a better world, appoints Hollie Neal Morgan, Creative Director at Fossil Group, as the nonprofits new Chair of the Board of the Directors for the 2021-22 year.

Passionate about making the world a better place, Morgan has been a member of the Big Thought Board since 2018 and has simultaneously served as a board member of the Fossil Foundation since 2016. Throughout the years, Big Thought and The Fossil Foundation have built a partnership and hosted fundraising events, and even raised $22,000 to support Big Thought’s Creative Solutions program. In her new role, Morgan hopes to help the Board embrace its theme for the year: Creating creators for a 21st-century world. In addition, she will focus on bolstering relationships within the community to drive conversation and understanding about creativity and racial equity.

“Hollie is an all-star board member,” Big Thought President and CEO Byron Sanders said. “From the work helping shape our messaging and branding, to her captaining our advocacy efforts, Hollie has shown she ‘gets it’ and has been a key member of our Board. Now with her leading us into this world after the pandemic where our partnership with the community is needed more than ever, we are very excited she’s here to carry on the legacy of catalytic leadership in this seat.”

Atmos Energy promotes company veteran to SVP of Utility Operations

Headquartered in Dallas, Atmos Energy Corporation is promoting John McDill to senior vice president of utility operations effective October 1, 2021.

A company veteran, McDill has been at Atmos Energy for 34 years, where he initially started as an engineer and later moved to operations. Prior to assuming his current role as corporate VP Pipeline Safety in 2012, McDill served as Vice President of Operations for Atmos Energy’s Mississippi Division for 10 years. McDill, who is succeeding David Park , will be responsible for managing the operations of Atmos Energy’s six utility divisions in eight states, as well as gas supply.

“John has broad experience in safety, engineering, and operations and currently serves as VP of Pipeline Safety. He will lead our utility divisions and gas supply team with the same passion and focus on safety and reliability that today supports our vision of being the safest provider of natural gas services,” said Kevin Akers, President and CEO of Atmos Energy Corporation.

MTX names a chief revenue officer

Mike Baraiolo

MTX Group, a leading global technology consulting firm, promotes Mike Baraiolo to Chief Revenue Officer.

Having been with the company for many years, Baraiolo is experienced in enterprise software, hybrid cloud deployments, data center transformations, and large system integrations projects, including custom application development, Emergency Response Programs, HR, Content Management, Database Management, AI, and cybersecurity programs. With an impressive skillset, Baraiolo, who previously served as the company’s Senior Vice President of Sales, will now spearhead the company’s global sales and client partner teams and report to Founder and CEO Das Nobel. The company believes that this promotion will create a cohesive alignment between sales and client partner delivery and ultimately drive outcomes-focused IT modernization efforts.

“MTX has been a trusted partner to over 30 states throughout the pandemic,” said Mike Baraiolo, Chief Revenue Officer of MTX. “With my new appointment, I will ensure that MTX sales and client partnership teams remain steadfast in listening to public sector agencies’ needs and providing guidance to make their strategic visions a reality in happiness, health and economics.”