Enterprise software company Smartsheet has appointed Pratima Arora as its first-ever chief product officer, marking a significant addition to the Bellevue-based firm’s executive team. In her new role, Arora will oversee multiple aspects of the company’s product strategy, including product management, marketing, user experience, pricing, and partnerships.
Arora brings extensive experience from previous leadership positions at prominent tech companies, having served at both Atlassian and Salesforce before her most recent position as chief product and technology officer at Chainalysis. Following a four-month sabbatical focused on family time and artificial intelligence exploration, she expressed enthusiasm about joining Smartsheet, citing the company’s strong foundation and potential for AI-driven innovation in
collaborative work solutions.
In conjunction with Arora’s appointment, Smartsheet announced that Nick Dunn has been elevated to general counsel. An eight-year veteran of the company, Dunn will lead legal, privacy, and risk management initiatives, including corporate governance responsibilities.
Founded in 2005, Smartsheet has established itself as a leading provider of cloud-based enterprise work management solutions, serving 85% of Fortune 500 companies. The company, which went public in 2018, recently returned to private ownership following an $8.4 billion acquisition by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners.
In other industry movements, Meta executive Khushboo Taneja (Sharan) has joined the Technology Alliance board, a Washington state nonprofit supporting tech businesses and research institutions. Taneja, who serves as vice president of product for generative AI at Meta, brings over eight years of experience with the company and previously spent nearly 12 years at Microsoft.
Seattle’s public radio station KUOW and the University of Washington have selected Tina Pamintuan as their next president and CEO. Pamintuan, currently leading St. Louis Public Radio, serves on NPR’s Board and chairs its DEI committee.
In the medical research sector, two Seattle-based researchers have received significant funding for ovarian cancer research. Dr. Megan Shen of Fred Hutch Cancer Center and Dr. Mary L. “Nora” Disis of UW Medicine have each been awarded $300,000 grants through the Rivkin Center and Andy Hill CARE Fund partnership. Shen will focus on enhancing patient support programs for gynecologic oncologists, while Disis will work on developing an improved delivery system for an ovarian cancer vaccine targeting chemotherapy-resistant strains.
Additionally, Fred Hutch’s Dr. Filippo Milano has been honored as the first recipient of the Endowed Chair in Cord Blood Research, providing unrestricted funding for his work in cord blood transplantation.
In the investment sector, WestRiver Group, based in Seattle, has welcomed Lori Johnson as managing director of investor relations. Johnson’s appointment brings decades of capital formation experience in equity markets to the firm.
These personnel changes reflect the ongoing evolution and growth of the Pacific Northwest’s technology and research sectors, with organizations strengthening their leadership teams across various disciplines, from enterprise software and social media to public broadcasting and medical research.