DC Power Moves: Aledade promotes senior veep, former CVS Health exec to C-suite

Bethesda, Maryland-based healthtech company Aledade recently built up its C-Suite by elevating Rosemary Wheldon, its former SVP of product management, to the position of chief product officer. A company announcement said Wheldon’s new role will involve oversight of UX design, impact analytics, product management and related personnel. She will also lead updates to the company’s app, through which healthcare providers can access analytics to improve patient outcomes while navigating Medicare and other healthcare plans’ requirements.

According to her LinkedIn, Wheldon came to this role after about a year and a half as SVP of product management. Before then, she spent over a decade in a variety of product- and analytics-focused roles at CVS Health, ending as a VP of digital health product management.

Wheldon’s promotion comes about five-and-a-half months after Aledade, which was founded in 2014, closed a $260 million Series F.

Accenture Federal Services’ new AI leader

The Arlington, Virginia-headquartered govtech arm of multinational IT services giant Accenture also sourced in-house to find a new leader. Noelle Russell started as Accenture Federal Services’ (AFS) data and AI market lead in late November, according to an announcement.

Russell previously worked as Accenture’s global AI solutions, generative AI and language learning model industry lead. The announcement noted that she has also held AI- and emerging tech-related positions at IBM, National Public Radio, Microsoft Web Services, Amazon Web Services and other employers. AFS’ statement also mentioned her interest in ethical AI use, which she has promoted through speaking engagements at Sydney, Australia’s first South by Southwest festival, the Tech & Democracy: A Better Tech Future Summit and various university events.

“I look forward to helping federal agencies with the responsible use of AI, inclusive engineering, and how to use data to perform work faster and more efficiently to achieve mission success,” Russell said in the announcement.

Chip Paucek out as 2U’s CEO

According to the Washington Business Journal (WBJ), Lanham edtech company 2U’s cofounder Paucek resigned from both his CEO role and the company’s board in mid-November. The board replaced Paucek in both positions with CFO Paul Lalljie, while Chief Legal Officer Matthew Norden will take on CFO responsibilities.

A company announcement said Paucek will stay on as a 2U employee until Dec. 15 before moving into a special advisory role.

“It has been an honor to lead such a dynamic and innovative team,” Paucek said in the announcement. “This company has been a source of continuous inspiration and growth. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to its impressive legacy and am proud of what we have achieved together.”

The WBJ noted that this leadership transition came after about 18 months of institutional chaos, including the closure of eight offices, falling share valuation and two rounds of layoffs. The publication also said that the University of Southern California faces a class action lawsuit alleging that its social work master’s program with 2U did not live up to its promises of being “exactly the same” as an in-person program.

Here’s who else made moves in the past month:

• Arlington-based defense giant RTX Corp., formerly Raytheon Technologies, appointed Frederic G. Reynolds as lead independent director. He replaced former board member Dinesh Paliwal and will continue to chair the company’s audit and governance committees.
• Falls Church, Virginia-headquartered Analytic Services Inc. named former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Stockton as the new chair of its board. The organization, which specializes in national security and public policy analysis, also made Airbus exec Vanessa McCall its chief human resources officer.
• DC’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer partnered with the district’s Department of Employment Services and the DC Infrastructure Academy on a new 16-week internship program. This initiative offers five graduates of the academy’s Cisco Certified Network Administrator program experience working on district-specific tech projects like the DC-Net communications network.
• Prince George’s County Public Schools announced a partnership with The AI Education Project that will provide the school district’s students, educators, staff and parents with a mix of learning and outreach programming around AI.