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CONSTRUCTION
- Sundt Construction has promoted Manny Diaz from project executive to regional manager for the company’s Water & Wastewater Group. He will oversee operations, client relationships and strategic growth initiatives across Sundt’s Intermountain region. Diaz has 50 years of experience in the construction industry, managing and delivering water and wastewater projects. He currently helps lead efforts on the new water reclamation facility for the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities.
ENERGY
- SM Energy Co., a Denver-based energy company, has promoted Richard Jenkins to senior vice president over Utah. Jenkins has served as vice president over Utah since 2024 and previously vice president over operations since 2023. He joined the company in 2010 as a senior reservoir engineer. Jenkins has more than 17 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. SM is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and NGLs in Texas and Utah.
GOVERNMENT
- Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Jared Garcia as executive director of the Utah Department of Corrections. He succeeds Brian Redd, who was recently appointed as Salt Lake City’s new police chief. Garcia will oversee the department’s operations, including its two prisons, six community correctional centers, and five adult probation and parole districts. Garcia currently serves as deputy executive director, a position he has held since October 2023, and has more than 22 years of experience in law enforcement, public safety and organizational leadership. Prior to joining UDC, he was the chief of police in Moab from May 2022 to October 2023. He spent the previous two decades with the Utah Department of Public Safety, rising through the ranks from trooper to captain.
- Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Tim Davis as interim executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Davis currently serves as the deputy Great Salt Lake commissioner. Davis has more than 25 years of experience in water and land policy, leading four different state water agencies in Utah and Montana, overseeing critical programs in water quality, water rights and drinking water. His experience includes serving as the director of Utah’s Division of Drinking Water, and he also held leadership positions in Montana’s natural resource and environmental agencies.
LAW
- Holland & Hart LLP has expanded its environmental and natural resources practice with the addition of Salt Lake City-based partner Chad Baker. He guides clients through mine closures and cleanup projects, including Superfund sites, involving multiple parties, agencies and jurisdictions. He helps clients navigate permitting and other regulatory compliance to remediate and repurpose land for renewable energy, data centers, industrial and other projects. He has specialized experience guiding clients through the unique environmental requirements of radiological decommissioning, including UMTRCA site disposal, restoration and long-term management, as well as compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing requirements.
NONPROFITS
- Utah Clean Energy has named Jennifer Bodine as deputy director. Bodine most recently served for over 14 years as sustainability manager at Weber State University and also served as WSU’s interim energy manager since 2023. Prior to that, she was a planner for Teton County, Wyoming, and a recreational trail grants administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
SERVICES
- BluSky Restoration Contractors LLC, a Colorado-based national property restoration contractor, has promoted Candi Palacioas vice president of its Ogden office. She will be responsible for managing BluSky’s Ogden office operations, including business development, customer relationships, project management and administration. Palacio has over 16 years of experience in the construction industry, with a background in design-build commercial construction and military/government contracting. She joined BluSky on the national team, managing large loss restoration projects, before transitioning to the Ogden office.
TECHNOLOGY
- Fitness platform company iFit Inc., based in Logan, has appointed Jeremy McCarty as chief subscription officer. He leads the strategic vision and direction of iFit’s subscription business while overseeing customer acquisition, retention, and optimization of the company’s membership experience. McCarty has over 20 years of experience in subscription-based businesses across the wireless, telecom and smart home industries.
- Weave, a Lehi-based company offering a customer experience and payments software platform for small and medium-sized health care businesses, has announced that Jason Christiansen, currently vice president of finance, is expected to assume the role of chief financial officer and join the executive team upon the retirement of Alan Taylor, who has said he plans to retire at the end of the first quarter. For the past four years, Christiansen oversaw financial planning and analysis at Weave. Prior to joining Weave, he held senior leadership roles at Nice and inContact. He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant in Deloitte’s assurance practice. His education includes a Master of Accountancy degree from Utah State University.