Here are some of the latest executive hirings, promotions, and staff changes that happened in October. If you’d like SDxCentral to report on your company’s movers and shakers, or if you’ve got a tip about layoffs and restructuring, please send the information to Julia King ([email protected]) for inclusion in the monthly headcount column.

Interviewing company Karat announced five sizable corporations have joined its Brilliant Black Minds movement to aid in its goal of doubling the number of Black software engineers in the United States. The partners include Prime Video, Citi, Duolingo, Indeed, and Flatiron Health – the first organizations to join the initiative.

“Following its launch in 2021, Karat’s Brilliant Black Minds program received an investment from tennis champion, Serena Williams, to scale and accelerate its work to close the Interview Access Gap that disproportionately impacts Black software engineers,” the release stated.

Cisco’s Networking Academy – a global training platform for career and skills growth – is aiming to train 25 million people over the next decade. The lofty challenge comes amidst growing methods within cybersecurity to recruit and retain new and diverse talent.

“By 2025, 97 million new jobs will be created due to advances in technology and automation,” Cisco stated in the release.

“We can get a diverse workforce if we train a diverse workforce,” Laura Quintana, VP and GM of the Networking Academy, told SDxCentral.

Cisco Security Chief Strategy Officer Dug Song left the company earlier this month. He co-founded zero-trust company Duo Security in 2010, which Cisco acquired in 2018 for $2.35 billion.

As Duo Security’s chairman and CEO, Song joined Cisco’s Networking and Security business as GM of zero trust and Duo Security following the acquisition. According to Song’s LinkedIn page, he took the role of Cisco Security chief strategy officer in early 2021.

A Cisco spokesperson confirmed to SDxCentral that Song “has taken a leave of absence from Cisco to generously dedicate his time to philanthropic efforts, like The Song Foundation.”

Striim hired Varun Verma as VP of software development, cloud, and Jason Selvidge as VP of software development.

Aryaka hired Darin McAreavey as chief financial officer.

Amplitude hired Tifenn Dano Kwan as CMO.

Orange Business Services appointed Scott Williams as SVP of the Americas.

Bigleaf Networks appointed Greg Davis as CEO.

Aware appointed Debasish Biswas as CTO.

IFS appointed David Spencer as regional president, North America and Cindy Jaudon as chief operating officer for its Global Customer Organization.

Percona appointed Ann Schlemmer as CEO.

Zluri hired Todd Dekkinga as CISO.

Envoy hired Ramki Venkatachalam as CTO and Jon Fan as chief product officer.

Affinity appointed Josette Leslie as chief financial officer.

Noname Security appointed Ran Harpaz as chief operating officer.

ClickUp appointed Briana Ings as VP of product, Gaurav Agarwal as chief growth officer, Will May as chief revenue officer, and Marshall Tyler chief strategy officer.

Lumos appointed A. J. Brown as chief legal officer.

Splunk appointed Sharyl Givens as chief people officer.

Right Networks appointed Karl Johnsen as chief financial officer.

Digibee appointed Tia Phillips as chief people officer.

Expereo hired Victoria Marshall-Rice as chief human resources officer.

Salt Security appointed Renee Hollinger as chief people officer.

LucidLink appointed Marilyn Charlton as VP of people and culture and Angelina Galabova as head of the people and culture team in Europe.

MANTA appointed Nancy Louisnord as CMO.