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.
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RealPage names Tom Ernst EVP, CFO, treasurer
Tom Ernst
Richardson-based real estate software and data analytics company RealPage announced the appointment of Tom Ernst as executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer.
The company said he brings more than 20 years of finance, investment advisory, and software industry experience to his new post. He will report directly to RealPage Chairman and CEO Steve Winn.
Before coming to RealPage, Ernst founded Tom Ernst Advisory in 2015.
Dallas tech firm Istation promotes Fisher to president
Ossa Fisher
Dallas-based education technology company Istation has promoted Ossa Fisher as its new president.
Istation is a provider of computer-adaptive assessments and instruction in reading, math, and Spanish literacy. The company said that Fisher previously served as its chief marketing officer and chief operating officer.
“Not only is she a leader for Istation, Ossa is sought out for her insight on management and business strategy, and Istation is poised for even brighter days with Ossa Fisher as president,” Istation Chairman and CEO Richard H. Collins said in a release.
Before joining Istation, Fisher was senior vice president of strategy and analytics at Match Inc. and was a partner at Bain & Co.
KidKraft appoints ex-Mattel exec as president, CEO
Geoff Walker
Veteran toy industry executive Geoff Walker has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Dallas-based KidKraft Inc. Walker also will serve as a member of KidKraft’s board of directors.
According to a release, Walker is a former Mattel executive who held management positions across the United State and in Europe, overseeing the growth of such brands as Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price.
“KidKraft has a long history of high quality products that capture the hearts and minds of kids,” Walker said in a release. “I am excited to continue to drive great product innovation across the KidKraft brand.”
Uden joins One Technologies as chief marketing officer
Klas Uden
Klas Uden has joined Dallas-based One Technologies LLC as its new chief marketing officer, bringing with him decades of marketing leadership experience.
Uden will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Baskaran. He joins One Technologies from Amazaon.com, where he served as global head of customer acquisition and activation for Kindle.
“Klas is well-versed in the art of creating meaningful connections with consumers that enhance engagement and build brand trust,” Baskaran said in a release. “His expertise will be instrumental in exploring new ways to reach our customers in a variety of marketing channels as we continue to expand our digital solutions and personalize the experience.”
TeamSupport taps Woolley as its first CMO
Roger Woolley
Dallas-based customer support software provider TeamSupport announced that Roger Woolley has joined the company as its first chief marketing officer, bringing with him more than two decades of experience in driving growth in the customer service industry.
His hiring comes after a July announcement that TeamSupprt had received significant financial backing from New York-based Level Equity. TeamSupport previously hired Corbin Baumel as the company’s first chief financial officer.
“Roger is highly respected for his success in building top-notch marketing teams and campaigns at leading software companies,” TeamSupport CEO Robert C. Johnson said in a release.
Access Healthcare taps Tassoni as president of U.S. operations
David Tassoni
Access Healthcare has named David Tassoni the new president of its U.S. Operations.
Massoni will oversee the the Dallas-based health-care revenue cycle management and IT services company, where he will help establish strategic business goals and lead market expansion efforts D CEO Healthcare reports.
Access Healthcare has 19 delivery centers in the United States, India, and the Philippines. It has 11,000 employees.
Inspirus announces 3 additions to its leadership team
Fort Worth-based employee experience solutions company Inspirus has announced three additions to its leadership team. Inspirus is a Sodexo Group company.
Kathi Feczko is the new vice president of client services. She will oversee the Implementation, Account Management, and Client Services teams.
Ramesh Chaturvedi is the new vice president of products. He has more than 20 years of experience and is co-inventor of 10 U.S. and internationally issued patents in the areas of peer-to-peer communication and hardware data security.
Vineet Rao has joined Inspirus as vice president of technology. Rao has experience in supporting various parts of the business including HR functions, employee recognition, network planning, revenue management, pricing, and fraud identification, the company said.
Parkland Health & Hospital System names Roth as EVP, general counsel
Steven Roth
Steven J. Roth has been named as the new executive vice president and general counsel by the Parkland Health & Hospital System.
Formerly, he was senior deputy general counsel at Parkland and led the transaction efforts.
In his new role, Roth also will be chief counsel for Parkland Community Health Plan Inc. and the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation. He’s been with Parkland since 2001.
Overhead Door appoints Kelly Terry as new CEO
Kelly Terry
Lewisville-based Overhead Door Corp. announced that Kelly Terry has been named the new chief executive officer, replacing Dennis Stone, who is retiring after almost 18 years with the company.
Terry will lead the company, which is a subsidiary of Sanwa Holdings Corp., a Japanese company.
Overhead Door manufactures doors and openers for commercial, industrial, transportation, and residential applications. It is expected to earn just over $1 billion in net sales and $86 million in operating income for 2018, according to a report in the Dallas Business Journal.
Civitas Senior Living promotes three executives
Amy Vittitow
Dionne Motal
Fort Worth-based Civitas Senior Living announced the promotion of three more executives as a result of the company’s continued rapid growth and progress.
The senior living company said in a release that Dionne Motal, former vice president of human resources, Amy Vittitow, former senior vice president of sales and marketing, and Robb Sames, former vice president of sales and marketing were promoted to chief human resources officer, chief marketing officer, and senior vice president of sales and marketing, respectively.
The promotions come after the reorganization of the leadership team and subsequent promotions of three other company execs in November.
OrderMyGear appoints Dave Dutch as new CEO
Veteran executive Dave Dutch has been appointed chief executive officer at OrderMyGear, the Dallas-based provider of e-commerce software for apparel and gear. His appointment was effective Jan. 1.
Dave Dutch
Most recently, Dutch was CEO of PayLease, where he led the steady growth of the company, which now has more than 200 employees.
“We have big ideas for the future of OrderMyGear, so it just made sense to hire someone with a track record of thinking big,” President and founder Kent McKeaigg said in a statement. “Dave Dutch is a proven leader and innovator with a long history of scaling growth stage businesses off-the-charts. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to the team.”
OrderMyGear was founded in 2008, and has grown in the group e-commerce space to provide online stores, order management, and supply chain software to the team sporting goods and group apparel markets.
In September, the company announced that it had signed a lease for 23,000 square feet of space in the East Quarter development in downtown Dallas, signaling an expansion of its headquarters.
UNTHSC names Forister to lead School of Health Professions
J. Glenn Forister
J. Glenn Forister, Ph.D., PA-C, has been appointed dean of the University of North Texas School of Health Professions and will begin at the school on Feb. 4, according to a news release.
Forister was associate professor and division head of physician assistant education in the School of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.
“I have always worked on teams, and the idea of creating a sustainable people culture and transforming the Health Science Center into a destination workplace is very appealing to me,” Forister said in a release.
According to the release, the School of Health Professions is home to the Department of Physical Therapy, the Physician Assistant Studies Program, and Lifestyle Health Program.
Herman joins Custodia Financial’s Strategic Advisory Council
Mark Herman
Mark Herman has been appointed to the Strategic Advisory Council of Custodia Financial, the Dallas-based company behind Retirement Loan Eraser, which is aimed at being a solution to loan defaults.
Before joining the council, Herman was president and CEO of CNA Financial Corp.’s Specialty Lines business. Prior to that, he was CEO of Everest National Insurance Co. and held various senior executive rotes at Chubb & Sonns, ACE, and Ariel Holding.
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