Leslie Helm
Integris Software Addresses the Challenge of Data Privacy
The local startup tracks data going in and out of a company.
KEY TO SUCCESS. Kristina Bergman started Integris Software to help other companies keep their data secure. This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. As a venture capitalist with Ignition Partners, Kristina Bergman looked for patterns that suggest emerging needs, and then tried to find companies that…
A Final Note from Our Outgoing Executive Editor
"I remain a strong believer in Seattle and am thankful I had the privilege of covering its many fascinating leaders and businesses during the past decade a time of extraordinary growth and change."
This article appears in print in the December 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When I joined Seattle Business magazine in February 2009, the economy was ailing, American stocks had lost half their value, and housing prices were in freefall. That year, unemployment more than doubled from the year before. The economy was…
Executive Q+A: Uwajimaya’s CEO Denise Moriguchi on Running the Family Business
"Family businesses are so different. As a 90-year-old company, there is so much tradition and legacy."
WHAT’S IN STORE. Denise Moriguchi, granddaughter of the founder, became president and CEO of Uwajimaya in February 2017. This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. With an MBA from MITs Sloan School of Management and two decades of experience working for large companies on the East…
Seattle’s Sense of Community Makes It Special
"We are fortunate to live among so many warm and talented people. There isnt a more dynamic, caring business community anywhere."
This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Journalists are supposed to be objective, skeptical, questioning. So, its with some embarrassment that I confess a tendency to being somewhat uncritical when it comes to Seattle. Ever since I moved here three decades ago long before becoming editor…
Madrona’s Next Challenge: Making Seattle a Financial Technology Hub
Building a fintech sector could be equally challenging. Seattle has a minuscule share of the $1.45 trillion financial services generated in the United States.
This article appears in print in the October 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. At a recent open house in Madrona Venture Groups new Create33 space, among the guests sipping wine and checking out the incubators Puget Sound-view boardrooms were a representative of the Singapore Economic Development Board, responsible for enhancing that city…
Executive Q&A: Port of Seattle’s Stephen Metruck on Safety, Innovation and Airport Growth
The new executive director is a maritime man with a plan.
This article appears in print in the September 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. As a former Rear Admiral and CFO with the United States Coast Guard, Stephen Metruck (sounds like metric) was an unconventional choice to head the Port of Seattle, but his deep experience in policy development and execution puts him…
A Real Look at Seattle’s Wage Growth
See how Seattle compares to national wage growth numbers.
This article appears in print in the September 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Since 2006, private-sector wages in the United States have climbed 12.9 percent. But factor in inflation, as PayScales Real Wage Index does, and the buying power of those paychecks has fallen 9.3 percent. In the second quarter of 2018,…
The Answer to Seattle’s Traffic Problems? Shared Self-Driving Vehicles
Lets make sure unwise application of self-driving technology doesnt become self-fulfilling prophecy.
This article appears in print in the September 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. This summer, boston permitted the citywide expansion of a previously limited pilot program for autonomous vehicles (AVs) by MIT spinoff nuTonomy. The move was a recognition that the arrival of AVs is happening a lot faster than anyone expected,…
What is the Most Productive and Efficient Big Company in Seattle?
If you're guessing Amazon, you guessed wrong.
This article appears in print in the August 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. With all of Amazon’s cloud technology, robotic machinery and renowned efficiency, you might expect it to be among the local firms with the highest revenues per employee Not so. See below.
Why Clever Marketing Is Really What Made Seattle a Global City
Its not necessarily about what youre selling. Its more about how you sell it. And that's been as true for Microsoft and Starbucks as it has for Sub Pop and grunge
This article appears in print in the August 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Theres a lot of mythology around Seattles emergence as a global city. Start with Chief Sealths mid-1880s message to white settlers, perhaps apocryphal, in which he reportedly said, The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the…
Executive Q&A: Dr. Jeff Sperring of Seattle Children’s on Racing to Turn Breakthroughs Into Cures
"The best outcomes happen when you support employees to empower their best ideas."
This story appears in the July 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Seattle Childrens Hospital, which has 7,530 employees and is ranked fifth in the nation in quality, has seen its clinical and research efforts expand rapidly in recent years. Building Hope, its eight-story, $305 million hospital expansion in Laurelhurst, was completed in…
Microsoft Renews Its Push For Inclusion
CEO Satya Nadella says raising a son with cerebral palsy helped him "better understand the journey of people with disabilities.
This story appears in the July 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. When Satya Nadella became CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he was hailed for the cloud-computing savvy that would help him engineer the companys turnaround. But he also brought another unique perspective to the table: Having raised a son with cerebral palsy,…
Let’s Celebrate Some Good News in Seattle
Every now and then, it's important to focus on what unites and excites us
This story appears in the July 2018 issue. Click here for a free subscription. Theres so much in Seattle that divides and disturbs us rising taxes, housing costs, traffic congestion, homelessness that its fitting now and then to dwell on matters that unite and delight us. Employers that make you look forward to getting to…