Power Moves: Baltimore Homecoming names co-chairs, executive director

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 baltimore@technical.ly.

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Baltimore Homecoming, the initiative that looks to bring back “alumni” of the city to reconnect with leaders with an eye toward investment, named the co-chairs for this year’s three-day event. They include:

• Charm City Cakes founder and Food Network’s Ace of Cakes host Duff Goldman
• Prominent philanthropists Mark and Patricia Joseph
• U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski
• Actor Lance Reddick, who played Cedric Daniels in The Wire
• Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs
• Melanie Whelan, CEO of SoulCycle

As co-chairs, organizers said the group will support the organization as it reaches out to other notable alumni, as well as play a key role in programming as part of talks, panel discussions and sessions during the event. The event also has a host committee including more than 40 leaders.

This year’s Baltimore Homecoming is set for Oct. 16-18. It’s the second edition of the event.

The nonprofit that organizes the event also has a new executive director. Dan Schochor joined the organization this spring. The Baltimore native most recently served as executive director of Northwest Baltimore charter school Green Street Academy, and brings a decade of nonprofit experience. He’s leading the planning of this year’s event, and the program is currently being built.

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Kris Valerio Shock was named president and CEO of Leadership Anne Arundel.

She will begin the role leading day-to-day operations at the the Annapolis-based nonprofit on May 1. Leadership Anne Arundel provides leadership training and networking, offering education as well as a convening point for community leaders.

“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Leadership Anne Arundel, we are thrilled to have someone as passionate and knowledgeable about value driven member engagement as Kris Shock signs on to lead the organization into the next chapter,” said Leadership Anne Arundel Chairman Kevin A. Chase. “The years Kris spent leading the regional tech sector and more recently engaging stakeholders across the state make her uniquely qualified to take LAA to the next level.”

Shock previously served as senior director of the Office of Strategic Industries and Entrepreneurship at the Maryland Department of Commerce, leading a team at cross-sections of manufacturing, education, business and entrepreneurship. From 2008-2015, Shock was executive director of the Chesapeake Regional Tech Council, during which time it expanded from an Anne Arundel County-focused group to a trade organization representing the region.

A graduate of Leadership Anne Arundel’s flagship education program, Shock is also a cofounder of Ignite Annapolis.

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Hunt Valley-based ArmadaHealth said Deepak Suri is joining the health data science and services company as chief information officer.

Suri will oversee the company’s technology, including its AI-enabled platform providing physician-patient matching called S.I.E.N.A.

Suri has over two decades of experience in technology roles at large healthcare companies. He most recently served as vice president for corporate systems and enterprise programs at CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, leading a distributed team developing digital tools. He also worked as senior director of IT at UnitedHealth Group.

“I’m very excited to join the innovative and mission-driven team at ArmadaHealth and help grow our cutting-edge data science platform to improve quality access to healthcare for millions of consumers,” Suri said in a statement.

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Inner Harbor-based digital marketing agency R2i said it is strengthening its account services offerings through new leadership hires.

Following the appointment of Mary Gilbert as senior vice president of strategy and account services in November, the company is bringing in a leadership team with industry-specific experience in healthcare, manufacturing, technology and education.

The team includes:

• Catherine Young, formerly of Columbia-based Merkle, joined as VP of strategy and account services.
• Jaime Falquez, formerly of Infosys, is a group account director.
• Amanda Wood, formerly of Wunderman WPP, is a group account director.
• Lindsey Byroads, a 12-year leader with R2i, is VP of account services in the Baltimore office.