Bellevue, Wash. (April 4, 2008) – On April 1, Guidant Financial Group added two new executive-level employees to its staff. Carrie Casanas, formerly of Symetra Financial, came on as Guidant’s new Vice President of Finance; and Barry Schnell, formerly of NuWire Investor, joined Guidant as Vice President of Technology.
As VP of Finance, Casanas will develop the financial infrastructure and strategy to support Guidant’s fast-paced growth. She and her team will implement sophisticated financial reporting systems and lead Guidant’s efforts to secure capital funding for the next phase of growth.
Casanas comes to Guidant from Symetra Financial, where she worked as a Broker Dealer Controller and was responsible for the company’s subsidiaries’ five-day close, Sarbanes Oxley 404 compliance, budget, forecast and ongoing financial analysis. Prior to Symetra Financial, Casanas served as Vice President of Operations for ShareBuilder Corporation (purchased by ING Direct in 2007) and Director of Finance at Starwave Corporation (purchased by Disney in 1998).
“In her two prior executive positions at Internet start-ups, Carrie played a unique role that blended her strong financial accounting background with impressive operating instincts,” says Guidant’s President and COO, Stephan Roche. “Guidant is fortunate to have the opportunity to leverage Carrie’s experience to support its ambitious growth plans.”
As VP of Technology, Schnell will own Guidant’s overall IT strategy. He will lead his team’s efforts to build highly functional consumer websites, technologically advanced back office systems, and innovative new product offerings.
Before coming to Guidant, Schnell was the Chief Information Officer at NuWire Investor, where he was responsible for architecting and building a media and social publishing platform. Schnell also has experience as an independent software development consultant and has worked as Chief Information Officer at Para3 Corporation and License Online Inc.
“Barry’s proven leadership of high-performance technology teams will be critical to Guidant’s success,” says Roche. “In addition, he has specific expertise in supporting Internet-based, high-growth companies.”
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