Power Moves: Darius Graham joins the Weinberg Foundation, focusing on Baltimore

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.

After four years working with entrepreneurs at Johns Hopkins, Darius Graham recently began a new role as program director at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
While the Owings Mills–based foundation works nationwide, Graham will take a local focus. He is managing the foundation’s place-based philanthropic strategy for Baltimore.
The foundation has done an “incredible amount of work in the Baltimore area,” Graham said, and in the new position he will help “to refine that strategy,” and work with other foundation team members to collaborate with local leaders.
At Johns Hopkins, Graham was director of the Social Innovation Lab, which provides resources for founders focused on social impact through an accelerator program and held bootcamps for entrepreneurs. He later became Johns Hopkins Tech Ventures’ Director of Student Ventures, overseeing the university’s revamped offerings for student entrepreneurs, known as FastForward U.
Weinberg Foundation Managing Director of Programs and Grants Aaron Merki said Graham’s “expertise in strategy development and execution, as well as his strong commitment to civic engagement, makes him the perfect fit for this position.”

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Protenus hired a chief financial officer who spent 15 years in financial and accounting roles at IBM.
Brian Holtmeier most recently served as CFO of IBM Security Systems. He also worked as Assistant Controller for IBM North America and CFO of SilverPop, a marketing automation company that was acquired by IBM.
“Brian brings valuable finance experience, including his past work as a key partner in security and technology business acquisitions by IBM,” Protenus CEO Nick Culbertson said in a statement. His expertise will be critical to Protenus as our customer base continues to rapidly grow.”
Protenus, which makes an analytics platform to help healthcare systems protect data, closed earlier this year on $11 million in Series B funding as it looked to grow its Little Italy–based team.

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Another recent CFO hire was announced at Paragon Bioservices. Gerard Fleury is joining the contract manufacturer for biopharmaceuticals, which is based at the University of Maryland BioPark.
Fleury was most recently CFO at Pharmaceutics International, Inc., which also provides contract manufacturing for pharmaceutical firms. The Towson University alum has worked in a variety of C-level roles at biotech, pharmaceutical, health IT and software companies.
Paragon, which specializes in vaccines and gene therapies, is in a wider expansion mode. Earlier this year, the company announced plans for expanded facilities at the BioPark and a new plant near BWI. It also made a series of C-level and VP hires and promotions. CEO Pete Buzy said the company is focusing on “assembling experts at every level of the organization” as it expands.

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A Chief Sales Officer joined r2i at its Inner Harbor headquarters this spring. The digital marketing agency said Kelly Kennedy began in the role on April 17. Kennedy previously worked as SVP of Global Sales for Yes Lifecycle Marketing, and also led new business at Merkle and Jigsaw. Kennedy will be focusing on new business growth.

“I believe we have a huge opportunity to help evolve the digital capabilities and maturity of brands leveraging technology, experience design and digital solutions to create better engagement with their customers across channels,” she said in a statement.

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Jellyfish, which a digital marketing agency which has its U.S. base in Baltimore, named Sean McDonald head of U.S. client services. McDonald previously worked for agencies including Reprise Media and Digitas. According to Jellyfish, he will develop processes to help improve customer service, work with key clients and help in overall management of the agency.