Member news: May 2022
Qwick names company’s first chief people officer as rapid growth continues
Qwick, leading staffing-as-a-service platform for hospitality businesses and professionals, has appointed Derek Johnson as its first Chief People Officer. Johnson joins at a time when Qwick is expanding employee headcount faster than ever. He will lead the company’s key human resources functions including Qwick’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging program. Additionally, Johnson is instrumental in building upon the company’s momentum in growth to attract and retain top talent and help Qwick become an even more people-focused and employee-admired company. Read more >>
Digital Air Strike co-founder/CEO named Titan 100 top CEO
Digital Air Strike, the leading consumer engagement (CX) technology company, announced its co-founder and CEO Alexi Venneri has been named to the 2022 Phoenix Titan 100 list. Issued by Titan CEO, a premier group that brings CEOs together through private events and roundtables to foster business valuation, executive-level collaboration and networking, the Titan 100 program features Phoenix’s most accomplished business leaders in their industry using criteria that includes demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision and passion. Read more >>
University of Arizona Center for Innovation announces startup sponsorship opportunity with Startup Tucson
The University of Arizona Center for Innovation (UACI) has teamed up with Startup Tucson to sponsor one promising startup team with resources, facilities, services, and expert guidance to grow their business. The year-long program will also foster networking opportunities for its participants. In alignment with its mission to serve as a business incubator and fuel Arizona’s economy through startup support, UACI seeks collaborations with other regional organizations. UACI has had a long-standing relationship with Startup Tucson and has collaborated to successfully support startup businesses through many events such as IdeaFunding, one of Arizona’s largest entrepreneurial conferences and pitch competitions. Read more >>
Republic Services employees sweep NWRA’s 2022 Driver of the Year Awards for a second year in a row
Republic Services, Inc. announced it swept all National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) Driver of the Year awards in the national category for the second year in a row. The four winning Republic employees demonstrate the Company’s commitment to safety and superior customer experience. Frank Epps of Springfield, Mo., is National Commercial Driver of the Year; Jason Tavares of Yorktown, Va., is National Industrial Driver of the Year; and tying for Residential Driver of the Year are Kevin Johnston of Mt Vernon, Ill., and Richard Denshuick of Philadelphia, Pa. Read more >>
Panasonic to spin out public company centered on Scottsdale’s Blue Yonder
The past year has already been marked by major changes at Scottsdale’s Blue Yonder. Now the company appears headed for the stock market. Blue Yonder, which makes logistics software, was acquired by Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic last year in a blockbuster $7.1 billion purchase, and now Panasonic is looking to spin out Blue Yonder and its other supply chain management businesses into a public company. Panasonic declared these plans in a Wednesday announcement, but details are still scarce: The company has not decided which stock exchange the new company would be listed and does not have a specific timeline for when the listing is expected to take place. Read more >>
Waymo opens autonomous service to select Phoenix passengers
Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle company operating in the Valley, has officially opened up its Phoenix service to a small group of test riders following its recent expansion into the capital city. Phoenix residents are now eligible to become Waymo One Trusted Testers, the company’s name for its early research riders. The company is offering rides around downtown, stretching north to Camelback and 44th Street to the east. Read more >>
Arizona’s Phantom Space to buy hundreds of rocket engines from Colorado manufacturer
As it prepares to launch its orbital rocket starting in 2023, Tucson-based Phantom Space has entered a deal to buy more than 200 rocket engines from a Colorado company. The deal calls for the purchase of hundreds of Ursa Major Technologies’ 5,000-pound thrust Hadley engines in different configurations for test launches of Phantom Space’s Daytona rocket. Phantom Space will also buy “numerous” 50,000-pound thrust Ripley engines from Ursa Major for planned upgrades to the Daytona. Read more >>
Emerge names Cameron Ramsdell chief operations officer
Emerge, the Scottsdale, Arizona technology company, has named Cameron Ramsdell as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Cameron will leverage his 20+ years of Freight industry experience to help build Emerge’s customer experience programs for Carriers and improve the company’s efficiency in operations. He brings in-depth knowledge using technology to enhance fleet performance. Cameron earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Read more >>
ASU, Salesforce’s Trailhead Academy join forces to close the digital skills gap
Digital skills have long been in the spotlight at Arizona State University as the institution prepares its students for the future workforce, and ongoing efforts between ASU and industry leaders ensure that Sun Devils have access to state-of-the-art digital platforms. One such established long-term partnership has been with Salesforce. As of today, ASU is a Salesforce Authorized Training Provider, enabling its students to sharpen their technical and creative skill sets even more. Read more >>
Meta expands plans for proposed large-scale Mesa data center
Even though the first phase is still under construction, Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: FB), the parent company of Facebook, announced Wednesday that it is expanding the scope of its data center project in Mesa. In the summer of 2021 — under the pseudonym Redale LLC — Meta acquired 396 acres in Mesa on the southeast corner of Elliot and Ellsworth Roads for $123.2 million where it said it would build a $800 million data center. The first phase, which includes two buildings, is already under construction. Read more >>
Banner Health invests in Atlas Healthcare Partners
Paradise Valley Community College names new president
The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) has selected Tiffany Hunter, Ph.D., as the new president of Paradise Valley Community College. Hunter, who will take over the job on July 18, will replace Paul Dale, who announced his retirement earlier this year after 12 years in the role and a career at PVCC that spanned more than a quarter century. Hunter was selected after a national search that ended up with three finalists being considered for the job. Read more >>
Arizona Hispanic Chamber names 2022 Business Awards winners
Business leaders and entrepreneurs will be honored at the 63rd annual Black & White Ball and Business Awards set for May 7, sponsored by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Six awards will be presented, including the Advocate of the Year that has only been awarded twice in the event’s history. The sold-out event that will have more than 1,000 attendees will be held at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa, and is the largest annual fundraiser for the AZHCC. The emcee for the awards is auctioneer Letitia Frye, while comedian Paul Rodriguez will also make an appearance. Read more >>
Lumen to deliver 30 gigabit Ethernet speeds to more than 40 markets nationwide
Lumen Technologies is enhancing experiences on its Lumen Platform by investing in high-bandwidth Ethernet architecture to bring upgraded Ethernet services to 40 cities by year end. These services were recently rolled out in nine cities with nine more gaining access to Ethernet speeds up to 30 gigabits per second in early May. Read more >>
Meet Guy Labine, a Canadian transplant and new CEO of Arizona Science Center
While many people at this point in their career would be thinking about slowing down or even retirement, Guy Labine has done the opposite. Labine moved from Canada, with his wife, Michelle Tonner, a retired managing producer of a national news program back in Sudbury, Ontario, to take the job as president and CEO of the Arizona Science Center in March. Their four grown sons — the youngest is finishing college — stayed back in Canada. Prior to taking the role in Phoenix, Labine served as the CEO of Science North, the second largest science center in Canada, for 11 years. He has worked at the science center and in economic development for more than 25 years. Read more >>
Raytheon investing in, collaborating with hybrid propulsion company
Raytheon Technologies Inc.’s Tucson-based missiles and defense division is investing in and collaborating with a Texas aerospace manufacturer that specializes in high-performance propulsion technologies. The series A investment in Firehawk Aerospace means the two companies will work together in research with a view toward integrating Firehawk’s technologies into future Raytheon’s (NYSE: RTX) missile system. Firehawk, which is based in Richardson, Texas, is focused on developing hybrid rocket engines. It has several patents related to hybrid propulsion, rocket propellants and manufacturing. Read more >>
Northern Arizona University to provide tuition-free education for some students next year
Beginning in fall 2023, Northern Arizona University will provide tuition-free education for every first-year and transfer Arizona student with a household income of $65,000 or less, the university announced. The income threshold is based on the median household income in Arizona and would impact about 50% of Arizona households. The tuition will be covered by a combination of financial aid and scholarships, the university said. The action is part of NAU’s Access2Excellence initiative which was created to broaden higher education access and increase attainment of postsecondary degrees. Read more >>
Data Sales Co., a provider of lease financing and IT Asset Disposition (ITAD), has proudly announced the start of its 50th year in business
On May 5, 2022, Data Sales Co. will kick off its 50th anniversary celebration at its Burnsville, MN headquarters. Festivities continue throughout the year with customer, employee and family events. The company announced its 500-hour “Give Back” volunteer initiative, a continuation of previous company programs. Through this paid time off, nearly 100 employees will work 500 hours to benefit the local communities and neighbors of both Burnsville, MN and Scottsdale, AZ. Read more >>
Honeywell chosen to provide more parts for potential next-generation Army helicopter
Just a couple of months after being picked to provide the engine for what will potentially be the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), Honeywell Aerospace was again tapped to provide auxiliary power units and the main engine generator for the aircraft. The latest selection by Lockheed Martin Sikorsky-Boeing continues Honeywell’s role in bringing the Defiant X helicopter into military use. The helicopter is currently a contender in the Army’s FLRAA competition, and project officials say it can fly twice as fast and twice as far as the Black Hawk helicopters that have been in use since the late 1970s and that are set to be replaced in 2030. Read more >>