Ramana Thumu has taken the role of chief technology officer for Expedia Group.
Thumu will oversee engineering operations at Seattle-based company, whose brands include vrbo, Orbitz, Hotwire, Trivago, and Hotels.com in addition to the flagship Expedia.com.
“Ramana’s extensive experience in successfully building and managing multi-tenant tech platforms will be invaluable for our company’s future. His passion for tackling big challenges and making meaningful impact, combined with his people-centric approach, truly set him apart,” CEO Ariane Gorin said in a statement.
Thumu joins the company following the sudden departure in May of former CTO Rathi Murthy and Sreenivas Rachamadugu, former senior vice president, core services product and engineering.
They were ousted due to a “violation of company policy,” according to the company, which did not provide additional details.
Thumu was previously chief product and technology officer for the global digital sports platform Fanatics, where he worked for nearly a decade. His leadership at Fanatics included the creation of the company’s shopping platform. His prior experience includes more than 10 years at eBay, among other roles.
Thumu will be based in San Francisco and begin work in December.
—- Tara Mitchell was named vice president of sales at Humanly, a Seattle startup that helps companies automate their recruiting functions.
Mitchell previously worked at multiple companies in the employment sector. She is leaving a role as associate vice president of sales at Fountain, a startup providing recruiting and onboarding services. Prior to that she was at iCIMS and CareerBuilder.
In May, Humanly acquired Teamable, a San Francisco startup offering similar AI-boosted HR tools.
— F5, a Seattle-based company providing application delivery and security technologies, announced two new members to its board of directors: Maya McReynolds, chief financial officer for the Client Solutions Group at Dell Technologies, and Julie Gonzalez, senior vice president of Business Finance at Workday.
“Maya and Julie bring a collective wealth of financial expertise and operational experience to the F5 board,” said Alan Higginson, F5’s board chair.
— Viral Thacker is leading a new ad sales and product group for Amazon’s Twitch, according to The Information. Since 2021, Thacker has overseen the emerging business team at Amazon Ads, according to a memo cited by the tech news site.
In 2014, Amazon acquired the live-streaming service whose broadcasts include video game and esports competitions. Twitch is reportedly unprofitable and has made big cuts to its team with multiple rounds of layoffs starting last year.
Thacker will report to Alan Moss, Amazon’s vice president of global ad sales, said The Information.
— Prosper Portland, a government agency promoting economic development for Portland, Ore., announced two new roles. Andrew Fitzpatrick is now interim economic development director. Fitzpatrick was previously the director of economic development for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.
Mitch Daugherty will manage Prosper Portland’s Office of Small Business, which is launching early next year. Daugherty was is the co-founder and former director of Built Oregon.
— Kristen Hamilton is now an advisor to the CEO of formX, a software company designing accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Hamilton is a general partner for Enjoy The Work, a firm supporting founders moving into CEO roles. She is also an advisor to the CEO at Seattle mental health startup Joon, as well as chief executives at Kranus Health, Workhelix and others.
— Seattle Aquarium President and CEO Bob Davidson today announced that he will retire next year. Davidson has been with the Aquarium for more than 22 years. The organization is a world leader in marine conservation and restoration. In August it celebrated the opening of its immersive Ocean Pavilion expansion.
Davidson will continue in his role until a replacement takes the helm next summer.
“I feel an immense sense of pride in everything we’ve achieved at the Seattle Aquarium,” Davidson said in a statement. “Together, we’ve made significant strides in inspiring the conservation of our marine environment and connecting our community to the wonders of the ocean.”
