Tech Tidbits From Around New Hampshire

Toronto-based Xello, a K-12, college, career and future readiness program, has announced the acquisition of Awato of Manchester, the state-selected platform for career development in New Hampshire, and the program used by such post-secondary institutions as Southern New Hampshire University, North Carolina Central University and Lake Michigan College.

Awato will continue to support and enhance its career pathfinding platform while collaborating with the Xello team on innovative tools designed to better connect secondary students to community members and higher education opportunities.

“We’re elated to be joining forces with Xello,” said Matt Guruge, former CEO and co-founder of Awato. “Together, we’ll be focusing on better supporting students as they transition to life after high school. We are looking forward to working with educators and their students to ensure every student knows their best path to a successful future.”

UNHInnovation, which manages and promotes intellectual property developed at the University of New Hampshire, has been awarded a U.S. Small Business Administration grant through its FAST – Federal and State Techn0logy – partnership program. It is one of 32 grants awarded by the SBA to promote specialized training, mentoring and technical assistance for research and development-focused small businesses involved in the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. The grants are aimed at boosting outcomes for under-served communities by increasing participation from women-owned, rural-based and socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses, the SBA said.

Five new members have joined the board of advisors of Dartmouth Engineering: Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean at Penn Engineering; Jian Lu, corporate vice president at LinkedIn and president of LinkedIn China; Christopher J. McKennaco-founder and managing partner at boutique investment bank Carleton McKenna & Co.; Tracey Pettengill Turner, founder and executive chair of Copia Global; and Katherine Osborne Valdez, board president of The Powell Foundation in Houston, Texas.

Peterborough-based AirTank, an e-commerce consultancy, has been retained by ZyCal Bioceuticals Healthcare Co. Inc., which specializes in manufacturing and marketing nutritional supplements. AirTank said it will be helping ZyCal create and execute an =email marketing and social media strategy and make optimizations on their healthcare professional-facing website.

Kurt Taylor, Hooksett-based Merchants Fleet’s vice president of information, has been named to Constellation Research’s 2022 Business Transformation 150, a list of executives leading business transformation efforts around the globe. Taylor joined Merchants Fleet in 2018 at the company’s Innovation Center in Rosemont, Ill., and is responsible for end-to-end delivery of the company’s TotalView fleet technology platform, including new feature development, software quality assurance and application management.

Claremont-based IT firm Red River has been named to the 2021 Fast Growth 150 List by CRN, which produces the annual list to recognize the fastest-growing technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America.

“To be named to the Fast Growth 150 during a pandemic is a notable accomplishment,” said Red River CEO Alan Dumas. “I’m incredibly proud of our team and their ability to adapt to the challenging dynamics of the past year, support each other and the needs of our customers while continuing to execute our vision of long-term, sustainable growth.”