NorthWind Partners Recruits Chief Technology Officer for Empower AI
September 11, 2024 – Reston, VA-headquartered executive search firm NorthWind Partners has recruited Jennifer Sample as the new chief technology officer of Empower AI in Reston, VA. The assignment was led by director Jonathan Rice. “Federal agencies know the importance of emerging technology when it comes to operational performance, but they need a trusted partner,” said Jeff Bohling, CEO of Empower AI. “Dr. Sample has spent her career creating technical solutions that solve real problems for the federal government, and her expertise will advance agencies’ ability to address concerns in a changing world.”
Dr. Sample joins Empower AI from Accenture Federal Services where as managing director she shaped and executed an AI strategy that delivered solutions across every cabinet-level agency. Prior to that at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), she established programs for emerging technology, intelligent systems, and quantum computing. She also led execution of defense contracts calling for research in data analytics, artificial intelligence, biomaterials and human machine interfaces.
Dr. Sample holds 10 patents; she received her BS in chemistry from Pennsylvania State University, a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and her MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.
In her new position with Empower AI, Dr. Sample will ensure that deployments of emerging technology deliver strategic value, support digital transformation goals, and meet agency missions. “The acceleration of technology adoption among federal agencies will continue because it’s necessary for national security and citizen service, but there are many other considerations that go along with it,” said Dr. Sample. “Security and data access, workflow integration, organizational adoption, ethics, and compliance all are part of digital transformation and I look forward to continuing to deliver these solutions to the federal government.”
Empower AI develops solutions to meet federal agencies’ unique requirements for security, transparency, and value. The company’s platform helps agency leaders achieve higher performance from their workforce, accelerates the accuracy of decision-making, and equips mission leaders to achieve true digital transformation.
NorthWind Partners is a global, strategic executive search advisory firm. Its work is primarily focused on business and professional services, systems, solutions, and product companies spanning the aviation, aerospace and defense, healthcare, industrial, and technology sectors. The firm also has deep experience and relationships in the government contracting arena. NorthWind Partners’ success rate on engaged assignments is about 96 percent with 99 percent of executives placed maintaining a minimum tenure of one year.
Mr. Rice is an experienced executive recruiter and engagement lead at NorthWind overseeing full life-cycle projects and teams across healthcare, technology, business services, government, aerospace and defense, and industrials. He provides expertise across all facets of executive search to include project due diligence, recruiting, negotiation, client management, and business development. Mr. Rice partners with a diverse client-base and endeavors to build and develop effective leadership teams at the board, C-suite, and senior executive levels. Prior to his career in executive search, Mr. Rice spent 16 years in higher education, serving at Florida State University, Virginia Tech, and Georgetown University. As a hiring manager at Georgetown, Mr. Rice was responsible for recruiting, training, and management of a team of up to 27 direct reports.
CTOs in High Demand
Demand for top technology executives continues to gain momentum and executive search firms have been there to meet this demand. Here is an overview of some top firms working with organizations to fill their needs for technology executives from the Hunt Scanlon archives.
Austin, TX-based executive search firm Assembly Group recently assisted in the recruitment of Keith Davies as the new chief technology officer of Prometheus Group in Raleigh, NC. Mr. Davies most recently served as CTO of software development company Dodge Construction Network in Beford, MA. Prior to that, he served as CTO of AGDATA, LP. Before this, Mr. Davies was CTO – intelligence platforms for GE. Prometheus Group enables unified enterprise asset optimization through an integrated approach to planning, scheduling, work management, and business analytics across routine and preventive maintenance, shutdowns/turnarounds, and production scheduling.
Chicago-headquartered executive search firm Lantern Partners has assisted in the recruitment of Greg Tracy as chief technology officer of Wondr Health in Dallas, TX. “We are pleased to announce that digital health industry veteran, Greg Tracy, has joined Wondr Health, where he will be responsible for leading the company’s product development and engineering efforts,” Lantern Partners said in a LinkedIn post. “We are excited to have an established health technology and innovation leader join our team at a time of great momentum and market expansion for the organization,” said Scott Paddock, CEO of Wondr Health. “Greg brings extensive experience leading technology and innovation teams that deliver transformative solutions to large employers and health plans.”
SPMB Executive Search, which helps find transformative executives throughout Silicon Valley, has recruited Samir Kapoor as the new chief technology officer of NYSE-traded Arlo Technologies, Inc., a smart home security brand in San Jose, CA. The search was led by Sean Lucq and Lea Hagglund from SPMB’s engineering and product practice. “As Arlo looks forward to its next stage of growth, we are excited to welcome Samir into Arlo’s executive leadership as its new chief technology officer,” said Matthew McRae, CEO of Arlo. “Samir brings a proven track record of leading complex engineering organizations that bring together hardware, software, and services into a holistic, complete solution, and Samir is uniquely positioned to lean in and excel in this challenging role.”
Matt Mooney and Jake Espenlaub of ON Partners have helped to place Sathish Gaddipati as chief technology officer of Victory Live, a Clearlake Capital Group backed technology platform. “I am honored for Sathish to join Victory Live as CTO,” said Sam Soni, founder of Victory Live. “Sathish is an experienced executive that will help propel our engineering and product teams – and our company as a whole – to new levels of growth and sophistication.” Mr. Gaddipati brings technology leadership experience to Victory Live, having spent over 20 years designing and building distributed platforms, SaaS products, and data & analytics platforms across verticals that include media & entertainment, financial technology, and transportation, among others.
Related: Caldwell Fills Technology Posts for Concentra Bank
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
