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BANKING
• WebBank, a Salt Lake City-based industrial bank headquartered in Salt Lake City, has appointed Martha Hayes to its board of directors. She is the CEO of Hayes Consulting, a firm specializing in improving operational performance of credit, risk management, commercial and real estate banking. Prior to Hayes Consulting, she was the executive vice president and chief risk officer at Anchor Bank, was responsible for the profit center management of a $250 million business line of commercial lending at Merrill Lynch, and led Wells Fargo’s efforts to transform its small business lending.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, and the Equality Federation Institute have released their 2021 State Equality Index, with Utah in the category of “Solidifying Equality.” The index is a comprehensive report that groups states into several broad categories regarding the type of advocacy that occurs there and details statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people and their families. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia are in the highest-rated category of “Working Toward Innovative Equality.” Three states, including Utah, are in “Solidifying Equality.” Four states are in “Building Equality.” Twenty-one states are in the lowest-rated category, “High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality.” Details are at www.hrc.org/sei.
• Residents in Daggett County saw the greatest amount of income growth during a recent five-year period, according to SmartAsset. It compared income levels in counties across the country to determine where growth levels were the greatest. The analysis was part of SmartAsset’s overarching study on paycheck friendliness in counties across the country. Daggett County was followed, in order, by Wasatch, Piute, Utah, Iron, Salt Lake, Millard, Garfield, Washington and Weber counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/taxes/utah-paycheck-calculator#utah/incomeGrowth-1.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Weber State University has created a new division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Adrienne Andrews to serve as its first vice president. This reorganization represents the most significant change to the university’s organizational structure in more than 28 years and advances the goal of “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” outlined in the university’s new strategic plan, “Weber State Amplified.” The plan also affirms the university’s commitment to increasing the percentage of students who identify as Hispanic or Latinx descent to 15 percent by 2025. The new division combines several existing programs, centers and offices that currently exist but were housed in two areas (student affairs and the president’s office). Andrews has served in a variety of roles advancing the issues of diversity at the university for 17 years, most recently serving as the assistant vice president of diversity/chief diversity officer. A new position as director of Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution will also be created with the support of Ally Financial and will report to both the new vice president and to the president’s office.
• The University of Utah’s College of Engineering has launched a program offering high school students the opportunity to conduct important hands-on research with some professors. The University of Utah College of Engineering Summer Research Internship (SRI) will allow teens to spend eight weeks with UofU engineering professors and work on high-scale research in fields from civil and environmental engineering to mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and computer science. During that time, the students will also create a project for the Utah Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held the following spring. The program runs June 6-July 29 in Salt Lake City. Details are at attheu.utah.edu/category/news-releases.
• The Beehive Science and Technology Academy, an open-enrollment, tuition-free charter school, recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at its new location of 2165 E. 9400 S., Sandy, a space previously occupied by Shopko. The new location is 116,602 square feet with the main level at 94,049 square feet and will be the first stage of the build-out. The upper level of 22,553 square feet will be finished at an undetermined date. Occupation is expected by July 15. The academy’s student enrollment sits around 315 students but will expand to offer enrollment for up to over 900 K-12 students.
GOVERNMENT
• Utah Transit Authority has joined the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Council, a national coalition of public transit agencies working together to advance the hydrogen fuel cell electric bus economy and its applications in the public transit sector. The council’s mission is to educate policymakers, regulators, and transportation stakeholders about the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell electric buses and related infrastructure.
• The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced $50 million made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to the Central Utah Project Completion Act, which will accelerate investments in constructing the Central Utah Project water delivery pipelines, completing the Provo River Delta Restoration Project, and providing habitat restoration for a threatened fish species and recreational access to the restored natural environment. A total of $40 million is allocated to the Central Utah Project Completion Account, and $10 million is allocated for the Mitigation and Conservation Account. This will supplement the funding allocated on an annual basis for the project and will accelerate the progress for completion of this essential infrastructure designed to bring clean, reliable drinking water to Central Utah communities.
HEALTHCARE
• Elevar Therapeutics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based biopharmaceutical company, has appointed Jeff Heckman as vice president of project management, Dr. Heidi Krenz as vice president of drug safety and pharmacovigilance, Dr. Amit Pande as vice president of clinical development, and Wade Smith as vice president of finance. Heckman will direct global strategic plan development and cross-functional initiatives that drive clinical and regulatory progress for Elevar’s pipeline. He is an experienced operations and program management leader with more than 20 years of success developing teams and executing biotechnology programs. Most recently, he was an independent consultant working with Elevar and other life science companies. Krenz will work to ensure the overall integrity of safety and medical assessments for Elevar’s therapeutics. She has more than 20 years of experience in pharmacovigilance with in-depth knowledge of all aspects of clinical drug safety, pharmacovigilance practices, and global safety regulations. Prior to joining Elevar, she held several strategic leadership positions with biopharmaceutical companies such as Kadmon, Tesaro and Novartis. Pande will oversee the strategy and execution of Elevar’s clinical development programs. He is a clinical leader with more than 15 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience leading drug development activities supporting investigational and marketed oncology and rare disease products. Pande has held leadership positions within the pharmaceutical industry, including at Daiichi-Sankyo, Teva, Incyte, PTC Therapeutics, and recently as vice president of clinical development at QED Therapeutics. Smith will lead Elevar’s financial and accounting operations and be instrumental in guiding Elevar’s strategic financial evolution. He has 20 years of global financial, operations and commercial experience serving public and private companies in a variety of industries. Prior to joining Elevar, Smith served at Viatris (formerly Mylan Pharmaceuticals) where he spent nine years in various roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as head of institutional commercial/finance. He also guided the strategic finance, M&A and business development activities of both public and private companies in turnaround and growth modes.
• Foldax, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on heart valves, has appointed Scott Huennekens as an independent member of its board of directors. Huennekens has more than 30 years of experience in the medical device industry, leading high-profile companies through IPOs and acquisitions, and serving on the board of directors for several startups. He served as president and CEO of Verb Surgical. Prior to that, he led Volcano Corp as its first and only president and CEO from start-up to IPO to its sale to Philips. Earlier, he was president and CEO of Digirad Corp. He serves on the boards of directors of Nuvasive, Acutus Medical, KARDION GmbH, Proximie, Q’Apel Medical, Hyperfine, Envista Holdings and Wondr Medical.
• RAYUS Radiology, a national provider of advanced diagnostic and interventional radiology, has opened outpatient-based imaging centers in Riverton and Springville. The centers offer high-field MRI, CT and X-ray. RAYUS Radiology is now in nine Utah locations. The RAYUS network includes 152 imaging centers across the U.S.
• National Partners in Healthcare, a national healthcare organization delivering anesthesiology services, has announced that Lone Peak Anesthesia has joined NPH. The partnership aims to allow NPH to retain control over clinical operations and continue providing perioperative services while gaining the infrastructure, efficiencies and expertise that NPH offers. Rebecca Brophy, Holly Buckley and Thomas Zahn of McGuireWoods LLP provided legal counsel to NPH. Alpine Anesthesia and its partners were represented in the transaction by Blake Voorhees of Ray, Quinney & Nebeker, Salt Lake City.
INVESTMENTS
• Tower Arch Capital LP, a Salt Lake City-based lower middle-market private equity firm, has promoted Aubrey Burnett to partner and Christian Little to chief compliance officer. Burnett joined the firm in 2016 as a vice president and was promoted to principal in 2018. He previously held positions with HIG Capital in San Francisco, Charlesbank Capital Partners in Boston, and with The Parthenon Group in Boston. He currently serves on the board of directors at Lifeport and was a former director at KNS International. He also has been involved in Tower Arch investments in Corbett Technology Solutions Inc., OSM Worldwide, SnugZ USA and Softvision. Little joined Tower Arch in 2020 as a tax manager and will continue to serve in that capacity in addition to his new CCO responsibilities. Previously, he was a senior tax manager at PwC and was a tax manager with Deloitte, where he spent 10 years combined supporting private equity and venture capital clients in the Bay Area in areas of compliance, fund structuring, and domestic and international tax reporting and withholding. He received a Master of Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the University of Utah.
LAW
• TraskBritt, a Salt Lake City-based intellectual property law firm, has hired Dallin B. Call. He has several years of intellectual property experience, working extensively with clients on patent monetization and portfolio strength. He has prepared and prosecuted patents in many technical fields, including semiconductors, encryption algorithms, solid-state storage, electromagnetic communication fields, cellular network technology and distributed network technology. His education includes a bachelors’ degree in chemical engineering from the University of Utah. Prior to law school, Call worked as a research assistant in the University of Utah’s Combustion Lab.
• Fabian VanCott, Salt Lake City, has hired Charles T. “Chuck” Conrad for its personal injury and commercial litigation practices. Conrad has represented clients in cases related to catastrophic personal injuries and tort, complex commercial litigation, and bad-faith insurance claims. Prior to joining Fabian VanCott, he founded Conrad Law PC and has practiced law in Utah for the past 12 years.
• Greenberg Traurig LLP, a global law firm, has hired Daniel J. Wadley for its Salt Lake City office. Wadley will be a shareholder in the firm’s Securities Litigation and White Collar Defense & Special Investigations practices and will focus his practice on complex commercial litigation, securities enforcement and litigation matters, and white-collar defense and investigations. Wadley previously served as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s regional director in Utah. Wadley’s education includes a B.S. from Brigham Young University.
• Mayer Brown has opened an office in Salt Lake City, its 27th nationwide. The firm said the office will bolster its offerings to the technology and investment communities in Utah and beyond. Mark Bonham will join the firm as part of the new office, and Jennifer Carlson, partner in Mayer Brown's Northern California offices, will relocate her Capital Markets practice to Salt Lake City. Bonham is a partner in the Salt Lake City office and a member of the Emerging Companies & Venture Capital, Capital Markets, and Mergers & Acquisitions practices. He is also part of the Life Sciences and Technology industry groups. Mark focuses his practice on providing legal counsel to technology, life sciences, software and Internet-based companies and the venture capital funds and strategic investors that finance those companies. Bonham previously was a partner with two large regional law firms, where he served corporate law clients for over 20 years in California and Utah. He also has served as a director of an NYSE-listed software company, where he was chairman of its Nominating and Governance Committee and a member of the Audit Committee. He and four other executives formed a business consultancy, SageCreek Partners LLC, which advised technology companies in all stages of business from startup to growth and succession. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University. Carlson is a Corporate & Securities partner who focuses her practice focuses on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters. She represents companies, investors, and underwriters in a wide variety of capital markets and finance transactions. She represents publicly traded and private companies, as well as the institutions and individuals that finance them, across a wide range of industries, including financial services (including fintech), life sciences; energy, insurance (including insurtech), technology, retail, and hospitality and leisure.
MANUFACTURING
• Clarus Corp., a Salt Lake City-based designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of outdoor equipment and lifestyle products, has appointed Greg Heichelbech as general manager of Rhino Rack USA, a company that manufactures and distributes automotive roof racks, trays, mounting systems, luggage boxes, carriers and accessories, and a Clarus brand. Heichelbech has over 30 years of leadership, operations, sales and marketing experience working in the branded aftermarket, powersports and outdoor markets. He joins Rhino Rack from Motorsports Aftermarket Group, where he served on its board of directors and as president and CEO of MAG’s Accessory Group from 2018-21. Prior to MAG, Heichelbech served in senior leadership roles at REV Group, BRP US and Triumph Motorcycles North America. He started his career at Harley-Davidson, where he worked for 20 years in various sales, dealer relations and market development positions.
NONPROFITS
• The Elizabeth Smart Foundation has become a part of the Malouf Foundation, a Utah-based public charity founded by Sam and Kacie Malouf in 2016. The foundations “will be a strong, unified voice both against exploitation and in support of victims and survivors,” the Smart Foundation said. Elizabeth Smart was abducted in 2002 at age 14 and held captive for nine months before being identified by a bystander and able to return home. She began the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011 to bring hope and end the victimization of sexual assault and abuse through prevention, healing and advocacy. Sam and Kacie Malouf founded the Malouf Foundation in 2016 to confront child sexual exploitation, specifically online abuse, and sex trafficking. It is the charity arm of Malouf Co.
PARTNERSHIPS
• Golden State Equity Partners, based in California, has announced a partnership with Jon Larsen of Hidden Peak Investments, Holladay. His newly formed firm marks the first DBA for Golden State in Utah. Larsen has over 22 years of market and industry experience, with 15 years focused on portfolio management.
RECOGNITIONS
• Silicon Slopes has released the names of 89 finalists for its 2021 Hall of Fame & Awards Program. The list includes 46 companies in 10 company categories and 43 individuals across 11 categories. Finalists are listed at https://newsroom.siliconslopes.com/news/. Winning organizations and individuals will be announced at the program, set for Feb. 24 in Salt Lake City.
• MountainWest Capital Network has named Sam and Kacie Malouf as Entrepreneurs of the Year for 2022. For the past 34 years, MWCN has recognized Utah entrepreneurs “who build industry-leading companies, inspire others to pursue their own entrepreneurial visions, and give back to the community.” The Maloufs are the co-founders of Malouf Cos., a Cache County-based vertically integrated business with operations in consumer products, technology, retail, logistics and venture. It has more than 1,600 employees across 55 brands and businesses, including brands Malouf Home, Dr. Oz Good Life, Downeast, Impact Suite and Tamarak Capital. In 2016, the Maloufs founded the Malouf Foundation to fight against child sexual exploitation, specifically sex trafficking and online abuse and most recently announced a partnership with the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to further that goal. Sam Malouf is CEO of Malouf Cos. and president of the Malouf Foundation. Kacie Malouf is board chair of the foundation. An awards luncheon will take place Feb. 15 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. MountainWest Capital Network is a business networking organization devoted to supporting entrepreneurial success and dedicated to the flow of financial, entrepreneurial and intellectual capital.
• The Davis and Ogden-Weber chambers of commerce have announced their Athena Leadership Award recipients. Linda Kelley will be honored by the Davis chamber. Raquel Da Silva will be honored by the Ogden-Weber chamber. The Athena Leadership Award is presented to a person who has demonstrated excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession; provides valuable service by contributing time and energy to improve the quality of life for others in the community; and actively assists women in realizing their full leadership potential. Kelley retired in October after 41 years in the shopping center industry. Her career included serving as senior general manager of Layton Hills Mall in Layton and general manager of Newgate Mall in Ogden. The 23rd annual Athena Award luncheon is scheduled for Feb. 17, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Davis Conference Center in Layton. Da Silva is executive director of Family Promise of Ogden and an advocate for other women who are pursuing leadership positions. She previously was assistant director of YCC Family Crisis Center, associate director of Family Counseling Service, and director of programs and cultural affairs for Girl Scouts of Utah. The 34th annual Athena Award ceremony/luncheon takes place April 26, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at Timbermine in Ogden.
• Eight Utah-based companies recently have been recognized on lists of “Best Places to Work in 2022,” compiled by Glassdoor. In the large-company category are No. 24 Mountain America Credit Union, West Jordan; No. 26 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City; No. 60 Qualtrics, Provo; and No. 98 Malouf, Logan. In the category of small and medium-sized companies are No. 14 Lucid Software, South Jordan; No. 17 Awardco, Provo; No. 22 MX, Lehi; and No. 42 Domo, American Fork. Winners were determined based on anonymous employee feedback to Glassdoor in 2021.
• Atktify, a Lehi-based conversational collective intelligence (CI) platform for enterprise businesses, recently earned the Canopus Vega Digital Award for Marketing from the International Awards Associate (IAA). Atkify surpassed 1,392 other qualified entries. IAA invited 26 professionals from 13 countries as the industry jurors.
TECHNOLOGY
• Lightstream, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on cloud security, digital transformation and managed services, has hired Joe Vadakkan as executive vice president for global sales and engineering. He will lead Lightstream’s global cloud security engineering and sales organization. Vadakkan has over 20 years of technical and business leadership experience in the areas of global infrastructure and security, most recently serving in a strategic services leadership role at Optiv. Prior to that, he was responsible for building and running Optiv’s cloud security organization. He has also held leadership roles and provided strategic guidance for startups, venture capital and private equity firms and Fortune 2000 companies.
• Xevant, a Lehi-based creator of automated data analytics for pharmacy benefit organizations, has promoted Jason Garfield to chief technology officer, Laura Phillipson to vice president of client experience, and Greg Heaps to chief marketing officer. Garfield leads all product operations and is responsible for a diverse team of technology experts. He has experience in data and information technology, foster care and mental health management. Phillipson is a client management expert with a career managing client services teams that spans nearly two decades. Heaps specializes in launching and building high-growth companies. As a founding member and on the leadership team of multiple venture-backed tech startups, he has a background in numerous markets, including software services, health and medicine, commercial real estate, and consumer-focused products.
• Domo, an American Fork-based business cloud company, has hired Mohammed Aaser as chief data officer. Aaser has more than 15 years of experience, most recently serving as chief data officer at McKinsey and Co. He also held executive positions at Ameriprise Financial.
• Udo, a Farmington-based company offering a video healthcare collaboration app and platform, has appointed Greg Woodward as chief financial officer. Woodward has experience leading the financial growth of successful companies ranging from startups through public offerings, SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) and mergers and acquisitions. Woodward also was CFO/COO of Pluralsight from 2013-17. He also serves as CFO for Banner Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, or “blank check” company, which went public in a $150 million initial public offering in September. Woodward also serves on the board of directors of multiple technology companies and is the owner of three Harley-Davidson dealerships in the Intermountain West. His experience includes serving as a senior vice president of a Palo Alto, California-based private equity firm HGGC. Woodward earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Utah Valley State College and a Master of Professional Accountancy degree from the University of Utah.