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These are the most notable hires, promotions, and departures within the US tech community in the last week. For executive news updated daily, check out The Org's People on The Move.

Editorial credit: Christos S / Shutterstock.com

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos laughs in front of the company's logo.

The Biggest Executive Moves in Tech This Week

EVs aren’t new to Detroit, but today, Southeast Michigan-based automotive giants Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler are investing heavily in EVs and in autonomous vehicles, from engineering to manufacturing. And electric truck maker Rivian is the city’s latest startup to boom, raising more than $5 billion in less than six months to support production. 

The Rivian R1T being driven in the woods. Courtesy of Rivian.

Rivian R1T

Innovation in the Motor City: Five Automotive Startups Designing and Building in Detroit

Ancestry announced that Deborah Liu has been appointed as CEO of the family history and consumer genomics company.

Incoming Ancestry CEO Deborah Liu. Image credit: Ancestry

Deborah Liu

Ancestry Hires Facebook's Marketplace Leader as CEO

GameStop announced that it has hired Matt Francis to fill its newly-created Chief Technology Officer role.

Editorial credit: Jillian Cain Photography / Shutterstock.com

GameStop storefront

GameStop Hires First-Ever CTO Amid Wall Street Drama

Schmaier initially joined the cloud-based software company as the former co-founder and CEO of Vlocity, which Salesforce acquired back in June 2020.

EDITORIAL CREDIT: SUNDRY PHOTOGRAPHY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Salesforce

Salesforce Names Co-Founder of Vlocity as its New President and Chief Product Officer

Over the last several  years, high internet penetration rate (75% of the country’s 70 million citizens in 2020, up from 20% in 2018), the introduction of 5G, and a growing middle class have led to an e-commerce boom in the country. Thailand’s e-commerce industry grew 35% in 2019, from $5.2 billion to $7.1 billion in 2020, and now takes the second place globally in e-commerce adoption.

The Golden Grand Palace in front of downtown Bangkok. Courtesy of TWStock, Shutterstock.

Bangkok

Meet the Five Companies Behind Thailand’s E-Commerce Boom

In a titanic shakeup, Jeff Bezos has announced he will vacate the top spot at the e-commerce behemoth he founded 27 years ago.

Jeff Bezos at the Statue of Liberty Museum opening celebration in New York City. Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos to Step Down as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy to Take His Spot

Apple has hired a chassis expert, Manfred Harrer, from German sportscar giant Porsche to work on its own secretive car program, codenamed Project Titan, per Business Insider Deutschland.

Manfred Harrer presenting the Porsche Taycan in 2019. Image credit: Porsche

Manfred Harrer standing next to a Porsche Taycan

Apple Nabs Porsche Cayenne Boss for Mysterious Car Project

This market has presented huge opportunities for entrepreneurs in Africa to leverage, particularly in the sneakers value chain, due to the rise in streetwear culture and the hot climate driving consumer preferences towards casual wear. The footwear segment in South Africa alone is expected to reach  by 2025.

The Moja Edition sneakers from Bathu. Courtesy of Bathu.

Bathu

The Opportunities and Challenges of Building a Made in Africa Sneakers Brand

The popular app’s decision has caused a flurry in interest around other investment platforms as some investors search for alternatives to Robinhood. But what else is out there beyond the large institutional services like Fidelity or TD Ameritrade?

Illustration of growing and increasing finances. Courtesy of Mee Ko Dong, Shutterstock. 

shutterstock 1719469636

Five Growing Investment Apps That Aren’t Robinhood

Kevin Martin, Facebook’s US policy chief, will transition to a new role at the head of the social media giant’s global economic policy team, according to Axios.

Facebook

Facebook's Top US Policy Expert Takes On Economics Role

The Washington Post is losing a journalism giant, as Executive Editor Marty Baron announced his decision to retire.

Editorial credit: Nicole Glass Photography / Shutterstock.com

The Washington Post

The Washington Post’s Executive Editor Retires After Turning the Paper Around

Huawei has selected Richard Yu to lead the company’s cloud and artificial intelligence unit, according to sources cited by CNBC.

Editorial credit: Rad K / Shutterstock.com

Huawei logo in courtyard

Huawei Names New Cloud and AI Head as Smartphone Business Struggles

Fast announced this week it had raised $102 million in Series B funding. We talked to CCO Jason Alderman about the online checkout startup's plan to hit its goal of more than doubling its staff by the end of 2021.

Fast Co-founders Domm Holland and Allison Barr Allen with some of their team at Fast HQ. Courtesy of Fast. 

Fast team at Fast HQ

Fast Plans to Double its Team After Raising Whopper $102 Million Series B Funding Round

The healthcare sector in Latin America has one of the lowest indexes of ‘provider to customer’ ratios in the world. Health startups in the region are betting on solving three main issues: Industry productivity, service quality, and access limitations. 

Visualization of a doctor practicing medicine through a smartphone. Courtesy of Stokkete, Shutterstock.

Virtual Healthcare

The Five Most Disruptive Healthtechs in Latin America

On Thursday, Robinhood raised over $1 billion in new funding from existing investors as the online brokerage deals with a spike in trading volumes this week as retail investors snatch up stocks like GameStop.

Editorial credit: sdx15 / Shutterstock.com.

Robinhood app

Meet the Team That Will Drive Robinhood's Growth

Twitter has named Ged Tarpey as Managing Director of Global Media & Entertainment.

Editorial credit: Michael Vi / Shutterstock.com

Twitter logo on the side of a building

Twitter Promotes Exec to Lead Entertainment Relationships

With 23% of the global beauty market share, the French cosmetics industry largely dominates its competitors, but the VC investments in the ecosystem remain low. That hasn’t prevented a new generation of French beauty brands with innovative manufacturing processes or technologies from gaining momentum, though.

The product line of Oh my cream! Courtesy of Oh my cream! 

Oh my cream! 

Ten Emerging Beauty Brands from France, the World Leader in Cosmetics 

These are the most notable hires, promotions and departures within the US tech community in the last week. Featuring The Pill Club, Palantir, eBay, VMware and more.  

The Pill Club’s new CEO Liz Meyerdirk. Image credit: The Pill Club

Liz Meyerdirk

The Biggest Moves in Tech This Week 

The Org spoke with L. David Kingsley, its new Chief Human Resources Officer, to learn more about how the publicly traded Alteryx plans to evolve its organizational structure to chart a course for growth in 2021.

L. David Kingsley, the CHRO at Alteryx. Courtesy of Alteryx.