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 people moves tied to innovation and technology in the region.

Don’t miss a move: Get Dallas Innovates Every Day. Have a move? Let us know.

Neiman Marcus Group names 2 new retail executives

Ginger Mollo

David Goubert

Dallas-based luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group has appointed David Goubert to executive vice president of stores and retail experience and Ginger Mollo to senior vice president, retail experience – West Coast.

The company said they will be integral in accelerating Neiman Marcus’ customer-centric strategy and evolving the store experience.

Goubert will be responsible for creating personalized, seamless, and “magical” experiences for customers within the company’s soon-to-be 43 stores. He joins Neimans from Starboard Cruise Services, a division of LVMH, where he was senior vice president, luxury cruise lines.

Mollo will report to Goubert and will be responsible for elevating the customer experience and piloting innovative new customer engagement tools and events. She joins Neiman Marcus after 18 years at Apple, where she held multiple senior management roles in their retail stores division.

Pier 1 names Lance Wills as EVP, chief information officer

Lance Wills

Fort Worth-based retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. has appointed Lance Wills as executive vice president, chief information officer.

Wills joins Pier 1 with nearly 23 years of experience in information technology, including 10 years at companies in the retail sector. Most recently, he served as executive vice president, global technology officer for Toys “R” Us Inc.

“Lance brings the leadership, expertise and track record of execution we need to support multi-channel customer experiences as we strive to restore sales growth and improve profitability,” Interim CEO Cheryl Bachelder said in a statement.

Crayon hires Norwegian AI evangelist, adviser, strategist

Dallas-based Crayon, a provider of software and cloud analytics, cloud and volume licensing, and associated consulting services, has hired Elin Hauge to coincide with the launch of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence.

In the announcement, Crayon said it will offer data workshops, readiness assessments, business value assessments, maturity assessments, and proof of concept engagements in enterprise content management, collaboration, AI and machine learning, and blockchain.

Hauge is a Norwegian AI evangelist, adviser, and strategist. Crayon said in a statement that Hauge’s hiring “will help to demystify artificial intelligence to assist enterprises in implementing AI solutions.”

ON2IT hires Myers as chief revenue officer

Ron Myers

Shortly after opening its first U.S. office in Plano, the Dutch cybersecurity provider ON2IT has named Ron Myers to the new position of chief revenue officer.

Before joining ON2IT, Myers was senior vice president of global channels at Palo Alto Networks, which also has offices in Plano, and held senior positions at Polycom, Service Source, and Tandberg.

“The market opportunity for ON2IT in the U.S. is massive, and Ron will help us strengthen our partnerships with corporate clients, partners and resellers,” Marcel van Eemeren, global CEO of ON2IT Group, said in a statement. 

Nuvectra appoints Parks as its new CEO

Fred Parks

Plano-based Nuvectra Corp., a neurostimulation medical device company, announced that Fred B. Parks, PhD, has been appointed chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Parks has served as a member of Nuvectra’s board of directors since March 2016, and the company said that he will retain his position as a director.

Parks’ appointment comes after Scott F. Drees decided to step down as CEO, and it coincides with the board of directors’ election of Christopher G. Chavez as a director and member of the compensation committee.

Neos Therapeutics taps Robinson to board of directors

Jim Robinson

James (Jim) Robinson has been appointed to the board of directors of Grand Prairie-based Neos Therapeutics, a pharma company that focuses on developing, manufacturing, and commercializing innovative extended-release products.

Currently, Robinson is president and chief operating officer of Alkermes plc, a Massachusetts pharmaceutical company, where he leads the commercial, operations, business development, and human resources areas.

Zimperium names Sonthalia as its new chief product officer

Madhav Sonthalia

Madhav Sonthalia has joined Zimperium as chief product officer, where he will work to continue the growth of the provider of enterprise cybersecurity products.

Sonthalia brings more than 20 years of experience in the enterprise and cybersecurity industry. Zimperium, which is co-headquartered in Dallas and San Francisco, said that its on-device, machine learning-based detection protects mobile devices and data at machine speed, without the limitations or delays of cloud-based detection.

UNTHSC appoints Filipetto as dean of osteopathic college 

Frank Filipetto

The University of North Texas Health Science Center announced that Dr. Frank Filipetto has accepted the position of dean of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Filipetto joined the Health Science Center in 2011, and has led the nationally recognized medical school on an interim basis for 18 months. His hiring comes after a nationwide search, the school said in a release.

“Our students, alumni, faculty and staff are tremendously proud of TCOM’s rich history of leadership in osteopathic medicine and our success in defining and producing the providers of the future,” Filipetto said in a statement. “We will work together to prepare our talented students with the skillset to change the way health care is delivered in the future. We owe this to our society.”

Hirsch joins Dynata as EVP of human resources

Dawn Hirsch

Dawn Hirsch is joining Plano-based Dynata as executive vice president of human resources for the fast-growing first-data and data services provider.

To her new position, Hirsch brings experience in organizational development and culture transformation, talent acquisition and development, creation of high-performance teams, and integration of acquisitions.

Before coming to Dynata, she was chief human resources officer at HireRight.

Nifty Method Marketing & Events names Roberson as GM

Jason Roberson

Jason Roberson has been named general manager of Fort Worth-based Nifty Method Marketing & Events, a boutique marketing and experiential events agency.

Roberson formerly was managing editor at the Dallas Business Journal.

He joins Chairman and CEO Lindsay Martin-Bilbrey, CMP as leaders of the firm, which specializes in services for small- to middle-market companies across the nation.

Calise Partners names McCleskey as director of finance

Chelsea McCleskey

Dallas-based integrated marketing firm Calise Partners has named Chelsea McCleskey as director of finance, a new role the firm created to accommodate rapid growth. 

“This is a natural step in our evolution that will help ensure our continued long-term growth and profitability for both our staff and clients,” said Taylor Calise, chief operating officer of Calise Partners.

McCleskey joins Calise after seven years with Whitley Penn LLP, a mid-size public accounting firm, where she most recently served as audit manager. At Calise, she will combine both operational and strategic roles to help direct the long-term financial growth of the business.

READ NEXT

DI People: DCS Global, One Technologies, Zinwave, Deloitte Announce Leadership Moves