Pamela Bhattacharya has transitioned from Microsoft to OpenAI, where she now serves as a member of the technical staff focusing on AI safety initiatives, particularly in the area of child safety. Previously holding the position of senior director of AI at Microsoft, Bhattacharya brings extensive experience from her nearly nine-year tenure at the tech giant, where she worked as a principal applied scientist and manager until 2021. After brief stints at Meta and Lacework, she returned to Microsoft in 2024 before making her latest move to OpenAI.
As a computer scientist with more than 30 patents to her name, Bhattacharya specializes in machine learning and human-in-the-loop systems. According to her LinkedIn profile, she finds particular motivation in tackling problems where errors carry significant real-world consequences, while also dedicating herself to mentoring the next wave of AI leaders capable of managing such complexity.
In another significant move within the AI sector, Aniruddha Kembhavi has joined Meta’s AI Research team in London. Kembhavi departed from his role as senior director at the Seattle-based Allen Institute for AI (AI2) in December 2024 after nearly ten years with the
organization. He briefly served as a director at Wayve, an autonomous vehicle company, before joining Meta. Additionally, Kembhavi maintains his position as an affiliate associate professor at the University of Washington.
Despite only a few weeks on the job at Meta, Kembhavi expressed enthusiasm on LinkedIn about the quality of the team, the
organizational energy, and the ambitious scope of projects underway at the company.
LogicGate, a Chicago-based risk management software company, will see Diego Panama assume the role of CEO in July, taking over from co-founder Matt Kunkel. Panama joined the organization last year as chief operating officer, bringing experience from his previous position as chief revenue officer at Olo, a Bellevue-based SaaS company.
While LogicGate maintains its headquarters in Chicago, the company has been utilizing a Bellevue co-working space since January and intends to relocate to a permanent office in the area this summer, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. Chief Marketing Officer Michael Schultz and approximately four other team members are already based in the Seattle region. The company anticipates expanding its Bellevue workforce to 20 employees by the end of the year.
Two public relations industry veterans, Kent Hollenbeck and Erik Moser, have launched Resonant Advisory Group, a Portland-based PR firm specializing in crisis preparedness, issues management, and
communications strategy for clients across technology, healthcare, retail, and AI sectors.
Hollenbeck previously worked at Amazon for nearly six years, serving as the marketing and brand lead for robotics and fulfillment technologies. Moser most recently held a position as managing director at Global Gateway Advisors. The duo previously worked together at Edelman, where both held executive positions in the Pacific Northwest.
In other personnel moves, Chris Blais has joined Riviera Partners, an executive recruiting firm that specializes in technology, product, and design leadership. Blais comes from Seattle-based Herd Freed Hartz, where he dedicated 12 years to technology talent acquisition.
Nora Hawkins has received a promotion to energy policy director at the Washington State Department of Commerce after four years with the organization.
Adam Dimopoulos, formerly a senior program manager in cloud security at Microsoft, has been appointed chief information security officer at Entrust, a Minneapolis-based software company. He joins from Synchrony.
Kostas Mallios, who previously served as a general manager at Microsoft and vice president at Intellectual Ventures, has joined the board of directors for Panathenea, a Greek nonprofit organization. Mallios currently holds the position of corporate vice president at Applied Materials.