Venture Architecture Promotes Three Longtime Employees to Lead Positions
Venture Architecture, a Denver-based firm specializing in client-centric design, announced today that Megan Mahaffey will serve as the firm’s new chief financial officer and chief people officer. In these roles, Mahaffey ensures the health and stability of both the firm’s finances as well as its staff. In addition, Sara Zezulka and Helena Tibolt were also promoted to senior project managers, assuming broader roles across Venture’s project teams to further facilitate meaningful design for clients.
“Megan has been deeply ingrained in our business for nine of our firm’s 15 years, and we are grateful for her continued commitment to our long-term growth strategies,” said Martin Goldstein, principal architect, and co-founder of Venture Architecture. “She has enabled our team to stay focused on our clients and their designs by overseeing much of the business of the firm. We’re confident she will continue to help us take our firm to the next level.”
Over the course of her tenure with Venture, Mahaffey has played a key role in the success of the firm, overseeing financial operations, helping streamline various internal human resource and project tracking processes, and freeing the design team to focus on the deep-dive discovery-intensive process for which Venture has become known. A graduate of Auburn University, Mahaffey earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance.
Over the past six years at Venture Architecture, Tibolt’s designs have proven instrumental in Venture’s successes and helped to grow the firm’s recognition via design awards. She is known for delivering tailored, people-centric, and programmatically driven architectural solutions on each project. Her work for clients ranging from Inspirato to Wells Fargo Center’s major lobby remodel to Crocs new World Headquarters demonstrates a knack for designing culturally driven, inspirational spaces that fully support all those who use them. Tibolt earned a master’s degree in interior architecture and product design from Kansas State University.
With backgrounds in both architecture and interior design, Zezulka’s broad expertise has benefitted Venture’s portfolio and supported greater international recognition. Over the last five years at the firm, Zezulka’s passion for detail and her deep understanding of architecture’s impact on people has driven her success on a number of award-winning projects. Her clients at Venture have included Open Table, Expansive Co-Work and Crocs. Prior to joining Venture, she earned a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Colorado at Denver and a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Kent State.
“Both Helena and Sara have shown a strong ability to untangle the complicated,” added Goldstein. “They translate clients’ culture, goals, and trajectories into designs that reveal the inherent power and beauty of each space. We’re proud to support our team in their professional growth at Venture and look forward to the insight and leadership these women will provide in their new roles with the firm.”
ToolWatch Announces Jay Martin as New Chief Executive Officer
ToolWatch Corporation, a Colorado-based provider of tool and equipment tracking and operations management software for the construction, utilities, and oil and gas industries, announced the appointment of Jay Martin as CEO. Martin brings a wealth of expertise to this role as an accomplished executive with 25 years of progressive leadership experience in technology industries and more than a decade with private equity-owned organizations.
Martin will assume responsibility for all operational aspects of ToolWatch, allowing founder and current CEO Don Kafka to focus his energy on new product development. Kafka said of Martin’s appointment, “I have great confidence that under Jay’s leadership, ToolWatch will continue to thrive. Martin will be an essential asset as we launch industry-leading product innovations that secure our presence in the global marketplace.”
Martin is enthusiastic to lead the ToolWatch brand forward as it enters a period of growth, “ToolWatch is at the forefront of a new phase in its evolution, and I’m looking forward to learning from Don and working with the ToolWatch team to position the Company as a powerful player in its arena. Don Kafka literally invented this industry, and he knows what companies actually need in the field. I’m excited to join a company that’s the leader in its field and consistently delivers exceptional value.”
During his first year as CEO, Martin plans to focus on finding product extension opportunities to make ToolWatch even more valuable to customers and implementing marketing and sales campaigns to raise the level of awareness for the entire ToolWatch enterprise.
Those plans will be supported in part through ToolWatch’s April 2021 investment from The Riverside Company, a global private investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market, which will allow ToolWatch to pursue its ambitious growth plan to bring new products to fruition faster and more aggressively.
“Our focus with ToolWatch will be rapid, significant product development,” said Chris Shea, Riverside vice president. “With Jay Martin at the helm on the operations side, Don will now be able to direct his time and talent on developing and delivering the best possible experience for ToolWatch customers. No one in the industry is more qualified than Don to make that happen.”
Martin comes to ToolWatch from EagleView, where he was the chief operating officer. EagleView is a leading provider of aerial imagery-based data analysis products for the insurance, construction, solar power and government sectors. Previously, he was the chief operating officer at Aquasana, the largest direct-to-consumer water filtration company in the US. He also served in leadership positions at Sungard Availability Services and Dell Technologies. He holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University.
