DI People: McKesson, Jacobs, and Scottish Rite for Children Make Leadership 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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McKesson adds a chief impact officer to its team

Kelvin Baggett

Irving-headquartered healthcare distribution company McKesson has appointed Dr. Kelvin A. Baggett as its chief impact officer.

In the newly created role, Dr. Baggett will oversee global responsibility for McKesson’s strategy and execution of diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability and environmental, social, and governance strategy, community relations, social impact, and philanthropy.

Currently, Dr. Baggett is the managing director at Posterity Capital Group and a senior advisor at Pharos Capital Group. He joins McKesson from Health Care Navigator, where he was the chief operating officer responsible for improving the performance of privately held, domestic, multistate operating companies.

“[Kelvin] has been recognized nationally for his leadership work to address many of the key healthcare challenges and related societal causes that are of critical importance for McKesson,” CEO Brian Tyler said in a statement. “His deeply informed perspective on inclusion, diversity, equity, sustainability and social impact will help us deliver on our company goals and help drive meaningful change for our employees, our customers, our investors and our communities.”

Jacobs adds to its Critical Mission Solutions team

Bruce Crawford

Dallas-based engineering firm Jacobs is bringing on former Army Chief Information Officer and recently retired Army Lieutenant General Bruce T. Crawford as the SVP of Strategic Development for its Critical Mission Solutions (CMS) line of business.

In the role, Crawford will support the growth and continued development and deployment of solutions across CMS’s expanding client base. He brings more than three decades of experience in executive management to the role, specifically in national security, enterprise information technology, and cybersecurity.

Most recently, Crawford was the principal enterprise IT and cybersecurity policy advisor to the secretary of the Army and the Army chief of staff, according to a press release.

“Lieutenant General Crawford is an inspiring thought leader that brings a depth of strong leadership experience to our Critical Mission Solutions business strategy,” Jacobs Executive Vice President and COO of Critical Mission Solutions Dawne Hickton said in a statement. “Together, we now have the industry’s foremost expertise to deliver even more innovative solutions for our clients and our communities around the world.”

Scottish Rite for Children gets a new CFO

Tammie Sibley

Dallas’ Scottish Rite for Children has appointed Tammie L. Sibley as its new senior vice president and chief financial officer.

In her role, Sibley will lead the development and implementation of key strategies in accordance with Scottish Rite’s financial goals and operating objectives, per a news release. She has more than two decades of financial experience, most recently serving as the VP of Finance & Accounting and associate vice chancellor at Texas Christian University.

Prior to that, she held leadership roles with various pediatric healthcare organizations, including Children’s Health in Dallas and Cook Children’s in Fort Worth.

“We are excited to have Tammie join the Scottish Rite family,” President and CEO Robert L. Walker said in a statement. “Her financial leadership and extensive experience in pediatric health care is a significant asset that will be a benefit our mission. We know Tammie will be an invaluable addition to our senior leadership team.”

Berkshire Biomedical strengthens its Advisory Board

Geoffrey Ling

Berkshire Biomedical, a digital health company that develops a virtual care and prescription drug management system, has added Colonel (ret) Geoffrey Ling to its Corporate Advisory Board.

Ling is a well-known expert in brain health who has been international recognized for his work. He is a co-leader of The BrainHealth Project at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, and holds roles at several biotech startups.

He is also a professor of Neurology and attending Neuro-Critical Care physician at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, a professor of Neurology and director of the Neurotrauma Laboratory, and founder of the Center for Military Clinical Neurosciences at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science. Under President Obama, Ling was the assistant director for Biomedical Innovation, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President.

“[Geoffrey’s] considerable expertise and guidance will be invaluable as we advance the Computerized Oral Prescription Administration System (COPA), a virtual care prescription drug management system, to enhance safety, security and drug adherence,” Founder and Chairman Thomas M. Rouse said in a statement. “His vast clinical insights and broad understanding of the health care systems’ needs will be instrumental as we seek to expand COPA’s multiple benefits through strategic partnerships and collaborations.”

Cooksey Communications promotes an account supervisor

Allison Chvojan

Cooksey Communications, a local strategic communications firm, has promoted Allison Chvojan to account supervisor.

Chvojan serves a number of clients: Hillwood, Title Partners, the City of Fort Worth’s “Wear a Mask” public awareness campaign, The Real Estate Council, the City of Plano, Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition, and Toyota Music Factory. Cooksey said her promotion represents her many thoughtful contributions to the team and clients’ strategic communications programs.

She joined the firm in 2017 as an account executive.

“Allison has proven herself time and time again, demonstrating outstanding abilities in media relations, digital media marketing and development of high-impact materials and content across a range of industries,” Colby Walton, president of Cooksey Communications, said in a statement. “Throughout this challenging year, Allison has been an invaluable resource to our clients for their most critical and urgent matters.”

CMP adds an SVP of Client Strategies

John Hernandez

CMP, a minority and woman owned business that provides talent acquisition, assessment, development, and transition solutions, has added John Hernandez to the team as its SVP of Client Strategies.

In his role, Hernandez will support CMP’s solutions across the full talent life cycle. He brings more than two decades of leadership experience to the company, most recently serving as CEO and president of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. During his time there, he increased membership by 130 percent over four years, according to a news release.

Before that, Hernandez had leadership positions at J Equis LLC and JP Morgan Chase.

“John has a passion for the Fort Worth community, and a commitment to building client relationships and their success,” CMP CEO Maryanne Piña-Frodsham said in a statement. “We have partnered with John over the last four years and are now excited to have him part of the CMP leadership team—it is a perfect fit.”

FelixHealthcare.AI appoints a director of Data Science and Engineering

Gourav Thakkar

Dallas-based FelixHealthcare.AI, an AI startup that rebranded earlier this year, is working to expand its technology platform and engineering team by naming Gourav Thakkar as its new director of Data Science and Engineering.

The appointment comes at a time when FelixHealthcare.AI has concluded the year with strong overall results, despite the pandemic. In Thakkar’s new role, he will be tasked with enhancing the capabilities of FelixHealthcare.AI’s tech platform, scaling the engineering team, and supporting existing and new customers.

Thakkar is an experienced leader in technology who has worked with a number of high-growth healthtech companies. He joins FelixHealthcare.AI from Evive Health.

“Gourav is a hands-on technology leader and has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to scale startups to support powerful growth,” Vaidyanatha Siva, founder and CEO of FelixHealthcare.AI, said in a statement. “We’re truly excited to bring him on board to fuel our performance in 2021 and beyond.”

Incora names CEO as it prepares for Fort Worth HQ move

David Coleal

California-based Incora, a provider of supply chain management services to the global aerospace industry and others, has named David Coleal as its new group CEO.

Coleal brings more than two decades of experience as a leader in the aerospace and defense sectors. He was previously the president of Bombardier Aviation and executive vice president at Spirit AeroSystems. He also has expertise in aircraft design, development, certification, operations and customer service across business aviation, and the commercial and defense markets.

The announcement comes at a time when Incora is moving into its next phase of growth trajectory. Effective, January 2021 the company will be headquartered in Fort Worth.

“I am very proud and excited to lead the talented team at Incora,” Coleal said in a statement. “This merger of the world’s leading supply chain solutions companies Wesco Aircraft and Pattonair allows us broader reach and scale to provide our customers with the most innovative and integrated solutions in the industries we serve.”

Spectral MD names two new chief executives

Wan Lung Eng

Spectral MD, a Dallas-based medical device company for advanced imaging of wound care, has appointed Dr. Jeffrey Carter as its chief medical consultant and Wan Lung Eng as its chief financial officer.

In his new role, Dr. Carter will be tasked with guiding Spectral MD’s clinical direction and ensuring that its technology has a meaningful clinical impact for both patients and physicians. He joins the company with more than 12 years of experience practicing burn and trauma medicine, currently serving as the medical director for the University Medical Center Burn Center in New Orleans.

Dr. Jeffrey Carter

“Dr. Carter is widely respected by his peers and in academic circles,” Wensheng Fan, CEO and co-founder of Spectral MD, said in a statement. “He is a talented surgeon who possesses the foresight and insight to understand how the use of artificial intelligence and multi-spectral imaging can improve the standard of wound care for patients suffering from burns and diabetic foot ulcers.”

Lung Eng will oversee all financial and accounting functions in his position. Eng has nearly two decades of experience in corporate finance, M&A, capital markets, principal investments, and corporate development within financial institutions and corporations. He has held positions at RBC Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank, Macquarie, and Temasek Holdings.

“Wan Lung provides a wealth of experience to Spectral MD’s executive leadership team,” Fan said. “He has the appropriate skill set, business acumen, and vision to ensure that Spectral MD will have the financial resources and leadership to support our company’s future growth.”

Mass Luminosity brings on a branding expert to launch its video conference service

Julie Fenton

Mass Luminosity subsidiary Beacon Technologies, a Dallas-based research technology and experiential company, has appointed Julie Fenton as its SVP of Brand Experience.

Fenton is a marketing industry veteran who has spent more than three decades helping Fortune 100 companies and international NGOs launch new brands or reimagine established ones. Those include the American Heart Association, Clearly, ConAgra Foods, Dell, General Electric, Microsoft, PNC Bank, and the Royal Bank of Canada.

Fenton will oversee all marketing communications for Beacon Technologies, with an emphasis on next year’s launch of its first product, Beacon. The company describes Beacon as a next-generation video conference platform built on three core principles: security, quality, and simplicity.

“Julie has a long history of building brands and strategically bringing organizations into new markets, which we are poised to do with our video conferencing service, Beacon,” Angel Munoz, CEO of Mass Luminosity and Beacon Technologies, said in a statement. “Beacon will be launching a superior product into a crowded market and we know that Julie’s ability to craft programs that build awareness and resonate with target markets will be crucial to our success.”

Cysiv adds a new COO and CFO to its team

David Roth

Irving-based Cysiv, an innovator in security operations center (SOC)-as-a-Service, is expanding its global leadership team with the appointments of David Roth and Kathleen Thomas to COO and CFO, respectively.

Roth brings more than three decades of experience in IT and cybersecurity to the team. He previously held management positions at IBM/NYNEX and Microsoft before becoming a serial entrepreneur. He went on to hold CEO and leadership roles at a number of early-stage, high-growth tech companies, and most recently was an executive at Trend Micro. He will be responsible for all facets of Cysiv’s customer engagement and success.

Kathleen Thomas

Thomas has 15 years of experience developing and managing financial organizations in the cybersecurity and semi-conductor industries. Most recently, she had leadership roles at Zimperium and DeviceFidelity. In her new role, Thomas will provide financial and accounting leadership to contribute to the strategic direction of the company and ensure financial execution.

“We’re extremely pleased to have David and Kathleen join us to help lead, drive and support the tremendous growth we’re experiencing, and the expansion of our global operations” Cysiv CEO and Co-Founder Partha Panda said in a statement. “They each have enviable track records of success, and their expertise, energy and working styles both complement and align with the team we have, and our culture.”