durham inc.
BIZBRIEFS Compiled by Megan Tillotson
ON THE MOVE
Dream Hotel Group announced the appointment of Paul Mensi as general manager of Unscripted Durham, a boutique hotel downtown. Mensi most recently served as director of sales for the property, and is now responsible for the day-to-day management of the 74-room hotel and its three on-site food and beverage outlets, executive oversight, staff recruitment and development and annual hotel budgets.
owner Lauren Elmore, pictured. “We are looking forward to making many more memories as MODE Consignment Boutique with you all.” Brii Biosciences announced the appointment of Coy Stout, who has more than 25 years of experience as a leader in the public health and biopharmaceutical industries, as senior vice president and head of U.S. market access and patient advocacy.
AWARDS & HONORS
The science and technology business incubator First Flight Venture Center won a $50,000 U.S. Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund Award. First Flight, based in Research Triangle Park, is one of 84 award recipients from across the country. This award will help First Flight mitigate barriers and increase the growth and development of science-based companies owned by women by providing resources for sustained success. After 10 years of affiliation with the FIFIS Fine Resale Apparel franchise, MODE Consignment Boutique branched off as a unique brand under the same ownership. “We are so grateful for all of the support over the years that has allowed us to get to this exciting next level,” said
90
|
durhammag.com
|
The NC TECH Association announced the 2021 NC TECH award recipients, recognizing numerous Durham-based technology companies for innovation, excellence and growth. Honorees include Pairwise, winner for industry-
december 2021 / january 2022
driven agricultural tech; NALA Systems, winner for industrydriven clean tech; CrossComm was the winner for best tech company to work at; and Courtroom5, Seguno Software and TriggerMesh were on the list of top 10 startups to watch. BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina won for use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and MCNC won the Tech for Good category. Individual award recipients include Garrett Love, chair of engineering at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, and Rashida Hodge, vice president of Customer Success Azure Data and AI at Microsoft. NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition in North Carolina, chose 26 semifinalists from across the state as part of its 32nd SEED grant cycle. Durham-based Plantd and SnapPicFix were both selected as semifinalists and submitted a proposal for a chance to receive a $50,000 grant to support their business. After presenting before a review panel, SnapPicFix, a subscription-based software for service pros to connect with their new and existing customers, was selected as one of nine grant recipients in November. Cynthia Rudin, professor of computer science, biostatistics, bioinformatics and electrical engineering at Duke University,
was awarded the $1 million Squirrel AI Award for Artificial Intelligence for the Benefit of Humanity from PHOTO COURTESY OF LES TODD the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. The award honors Rudin’s work to apply interpretable machine learning techniques to societal problems and the use of her research to address critical issues in the responsible and ethical use of AI.
MOVEMENT & DEVELOPMENT
Real estate development firm Austin Lawrence Partners announced plans for The Novus, a new luxury residential building in downtown’s Five Points district, in October. The 27-story high-rise includes 54 condos for sale and 188 rental apartments as well as ground-floor retail. It is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024. More than 40% of its condos are already reserved; those listed for sale as of press time range from $590,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom condo to nearly $3.5 million for three bedrooms, four bathrooms. The building will feature a 25-meter pool; hot tubs; steam room; massage room; an outdoor yoga area; a pickleball court; putting green; two golf simulators; an outdoor movie theater; a dog park; a coworking space with offices, conference and communal spaces; and more.