— Startup veteran Jen Haller has been named partner at Ascend, the Seattle-based pre-seed venture capital firm.
Haller first joined the firm in January 2022 as chief of staff, and the new role will expand on her duties offering operational guidance to founders, managing internal operations, and fostering community engagement.
“What’s unique about the new title is that it serves as a recognition of the role I play in broadening Ascend’s offerings as an early-stage venture capital firm,” Haller said in a news release Thursday. “On top of our initial investment, we provide our founders hands-on support through every step of the startup journey, from signing articles of incorporation through raising their Series A.”
Haller previously worked as operations manager at Seattle startup Attunely; was office manager at Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch; and co-founded The Flight Team, a consultancy specializing in strategic growth.
She also served as office manager at Axon, makers of police body cameras and Tasers, where she managed the buildout of the Seattle office from 20 to 150 people. The company’s space — complete with a spaceship-like entrance — won “Geekiest Office Space” at the 2016 GeekWire Awards.
Ascend founding partner Kirby Winfield called Haller “an absolute force-multiplier” for the firm. “On top of working closely with our portfolio companies, she has fostered a sense of community in the Seattle tech sector through hosting events, volunteering, and making thoughtful introductions,” he added.
Ascend has more than 80 portfolio companies, with nearly 60 based in the Seattle region.
Other key personnel changes across the Pacific Northwest tech industry:
— Doug Aspland is the new chief revenue officer at Seattle workplace equity analytics startup Syndio. Aspland was most recently global vice president for Calm Business, and has worked in sales at Udemy, Box, Workday, and Salesforce.
— Amanda Kleha joined the board of Common Room, a Seattle startup that aims to help companies build a better conduit between their orgs and people in their communities. Kleha has previous experience at Google, Zendesk, Airtable and Figma, where she was most recently a chief customer officer.
— Brad Booth is taking over as CEO at Seattle-based NLM Photonics, a company that is working on hybrid electro-optic modulation to address pain points in computing and networking. Booth, who previously spent nine years at Microsoft, served on the NLM board and replaces co-founder Gerard Zytnicki, who will stay on a chief operating officer and continue serving as board chairperson.
— Dr. Charles “Chuck” Murry, director of the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) and a longtime faculty member at the University of Washington School of Medicine, is leaving to lead stem-cell research at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Murry, with cancer specialist Dr. Tony Blau and developmental biologist Randy Moon, founded ISCRM in 2006, where scientists are exploring stem cell-based therapies for heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and other conditions. Murry will start in his USC role in August.
— Brian Hoffman joined Martime Blue, a Washington state public-private coalition focusing on environmentally friendly technologies for the maritime industry, as director of Blue Ventures. Hoffman previously held multiple executive leadership positions at StartX, a nonprofit founder community for Stanford University entrepreneurs.
