ZHENG NAMED PRESIDENT OF MANCHESTER-BASED MINIM

Nicole Zheng, one of the company’s founders, has been named president of Minim, the Manchester-based maker of Motorolabranded internet access products. The announcement of Zheng’s appointment comes as the firm prepares for trading of its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange next week.

With her new job, Zheng — an engineer who was one of the original founders of Minim before its merger last year with Zoom Telephonics — has served as chief marketing officer of the company since the merger. She will continue to serve in the CMO role as well.

Zheng, CMO at cloud software companies Antidote Technologies and OnSIP before joining Minim, has been recognized by Entrepreneur magazine as a “Top Female Founder in the United States” and is a former board member of Alliance of Channel Women, a nonprofit that supports women in the telecom and broadband industries.

Meanwhile, Minim’s stock is now being traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market exchange. The company previously traded over the counter.

TIMBERLAND ANNOUNCES GLOBAL PRODUCT TAKE-BACK PROGRAM

Stratham-based outdoor footwear and apparel manufacturer Timberland says it is taking its next step toward sustainability with the launch of a global product take-back program.

Under the program, which begins in the U.S. in August, consumers will be able to return any Timberland footwear, apparel or accessories to a Timberland store to either be repaired or refurbished for sale on a dedicated re-commerce platform, or recycled into future products.

Timberland said it will introduce a digital, ship-from-home option later in the summer to allow consumers to participate even more broadly.

Following the U.S. launch, the program is slated to expand to Europe, the Middle East and Africa later this fall and to the Asian-Pacific region in spring 2022.

NORTHEAST CREDIT UNION NAMES NEW CEO

Northeast Credit Union has named Christopher Parker, leader of a Florida credit union, as its next president and CEO.

Parker has worked at Partners Federal Credit Union in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for the past 14 years, most recently as interim co-CEO. He’ll succeed NECU’s longtime CEO, Timothy J. Collia, who earlier this year announced his retirement from the job after 19 years.

NECU, which has $1.2 billion in assets, has 19 branches in New Hampshire and Maine.

PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM ACQUIRES MAS MEDICAL STAFFING

Periscope Equity, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has added MAS Medical Staffing LLC, of Londonderry, to its portfolio.

Founded in 2002, MAS is a tech-enabled medical staffing agency primarily serving long-term care facilities in the Northeast. The company employs its proprietary technology platform, MAESTRA, which it says optimizes per diem shift fulfillment by directly linking facilities and their open shifts with nurses.

MAS said the relationship with Periscope will help it expand its geographic footprint, accelerate its technology development and pursue strategic acquisitions.

The company says Covid-19 has placed a heightened focus on labor supply constraints for hospitals and long-term care facilities.