Power Moves: Selina McPherson is now leading marketing efforts at The Brand Guild

Power Moves is a column where we chart the comings and goings of talent across the region. Got a new hire, new gig or promotion? Email us at dc@technical.ly.

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Selina McPherson, former VP of marketing at Hatch Apps, has joined The Brand Guild team as a marketing director. She told Technical.ly she chose to transition jobs because she “love[s] the pace of agency life.”

The Brand Guild was founded in 2010 by Barbara Martin and Jayne Sandman as a branding agency that specializes in PR, marketing, events and creative. McPherson brings her marketing and brand strategy expertise to The Brand Guild after working for a little more than two years with Hatch Apps. With her background in brand strategy, McPherson helped lead Hatch Apps through a rebrand last October, which came with a new logo and website.

McPherson is also a mother of two, and she said though parenting and transitioning to a new job hasn’t been easy — her youngest is three months old — she’s working hard to adapt by pulling inspiration from her little ones.

“It’s kind of interesting because my new position began the week after my 3 year old started preschool for the first time,” McPherson said. “He was transitioning into a new place, people, structure, schedule, teachers, etc. While I was a little nervous about it for him, he wasn’t. He did it so well and with such positivity! I figured, if my 3 year old can do it, so can I.”

In her new role leading marketing efforts at The Brand Guild, McPherson shared that she will be working with the team on digital marketing, brand partnerships, thought leadership and influencer marketing for the agency’s clients.

“My goal is to be an inspiring leader who supports my team in delivering top notch results, take ownership of their successes, and drive their careers forward in the direction that they want to be going,” McPherson said of her new role. “I feel lucky to be working with incredibly talented and dedicated individuals.”

McPherson has also been a prominent DC Tech Meetup organizer, and will maintain that role.

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After Siri Terjesen left her director role to teach at Florida Atlantic University in August, American University’s Center for Innovation (AUCI) promoted Thomas White to interim director of the center. White was already serving as co-director of the AUCI Entrepreneurship Incubator, and is responsible for incubator direction and management, as well as leading students who are formulating ventures.

“I have some big shoes to fill, but I’m excited about this opportunity,” White said in a statement.

White is also currently an executive-in-residence and professor at AU’s Kogod School of Business.

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Arlington, Virginia-based Amify has welcomed two leaders to its executive team.

The startup provides tech and services designed to help small businesses and brands maximize their selling potential on the Amazon Marketplace. Amify welcomes these key hires after recently relocating its office to Crystal City.

Anthony Hoang joined the Amify team as its new chief technology officer. He bring over 20 years of tech experience, most recently serving as the chief innovation officer of direct-to-consumer kitchen design and cabinet retailer CliqStudios.

Samantha Byrd joins the team as chief people officer, bringing more than 15 years of experience working in positions of leadership in HR and recruiting.

“As we ramp up talent acquisition, it’s critical that Amify’s growth is sustained by a capable and purpose-driven staff,” Byrd said in a press release. “I look forward to supporting Amify’s growing headcount by providing employees access to the resources needed to promote a fun, healthy and productive work environment.”

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D.C.-based Chamber of Digital Commerce, a trade organization for the blockchain and digital asset community, welcomed Christopher Giancarlo to its advisory board.

Giancarlo previously served as the 13th chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and is a well-known blockchain tech advocate. He was first nominated as a CFTC commissioner by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed in June 2014, a press release states. He left CFTC in July, following the conclusion of his five-year term.

“The Chamber is at the epicenter of this emerging field of technology that can only be described as a movement,” Giancarlo said in a statement. “It is my hope that together we can streamline and modernize the regulatory environment and encourage further blockchain innovation.”

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Arlington’s Accenture Federal Services (AFS) announced the hiring of cyber executive Aaron Faulkner to lead its federal cybersecurity services practice.

Bringing more than 18 years of experience implementing advanced tech and cyber solutions to public sector and commercial entities, Faulkner will lead AFS’ design, development and delivery of cybersecurity solutions for all of its U.S. federal defense and civilian agency clients.

“I’m excited to join the Accenture Federal Services team, as throughout my career I’ve learned the value of bringing people and technology together to solve the government’s toughest cybersecurity challenges,” Faulkner shared in statement.

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After making a few acquisitions in the European region, Tysons-based IT company DXC Technology’s board of directors have elected Mike Salvino as the company’s new president and CEO, effective Sept. 11.

DXC welcomes Mike Salvino, our new president & CEO https://t.co/wyoVI8wazk

"DXC has an enviable client portfolio, deep industry partnerships and a talented global team. I am looking forward to leveraging these strengths & my proven operational playbook to accelerate our growth." pic.twitter.com/FPLJTGQvkI

— DXC Technology (@DXCTechnology) September 11, 2019

Salvino succeeds Mike Lawrie, who served as DXC’s chairman, president and CEO since its founding in 2017. He joined DXC’s board in May before being appointed to his new positions.

Prior to DXC, Salvino recently served as a managing director at private equity firm Carrick Capital Partners, and spent seven years as group chief executive of Accenture Operations, where he led Accenture’s 100,000-person global operations business. Overall, Salvino had a 22-year tenure working in various roles at Accenture.

“Mike Salvino is the perfect choice to lead DXC into its next phase of growth,” Lawrie said of his successor in a statement. “He is a proven leader with a strong track record of successfully running businesses, forging trusted client relationships, and creating an environment to grow and develop talent.”

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Stardog, a venture-backed enterprise software company and provider of Enterprise Knowledge Graph tech, appointed Bob More as its global head of sales and alliances.

More bring more than 20 years of experience in startup and revenue growth strategy to the Arlington-based company, where he will be responsible for building and leading global sales and partnership efforts to deliver rapid and sustainable value to customers and partners.

“Stardog’s unique knowledge graph-based approach enables fast and flexible data unification to meet business needs in an increasingly complex data landscape,” More said in a statement. “I am honored to have the opportunity to support Stardog’s continued growth and development.”

This announcement comes after the company recently released an updated version of its platform.

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McClean, Virginia-based tech firm Dovel Technologies has named Dr. Rod Fontecilla as its new chief innovation officer and chief data scientist. Fontecilla currently serves as an adjunct professor at AU’s Kogod School and has previously worked in a full portfolio of technical leadership roles.

#Kogod adjunct professor, Dr. Rod Fontecilla, is appointed to @DovelTech as chief innovation officer and chief data scientist to direct strategic research and development efforts. #analytics #infotech https://t.co/1iZuQAFc5R via @washingtonexec

— Kogod School of Business (@KogodBiz) September 17, 2019

In his new role, Fontecilla will lead tech company’s strategic research and development efforts, help develop innovative solutions for its customers and drive initiatives to expand Dovel Technologies’ corporate capabilities.

This is another major hire for the tech company; back in August, Dovel Technologies added Barry Broadus as its new CFO and Kelly Demaitre as its new chief human resources officer.