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CONTESTS
• Clark Ivory, CEO of Ivory Homes, recently announced the creation of the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability, an annual $200,000 program to seek innovative ideas from throughout the nation in the areas of construction and design, public policy and regulatory reform, and finance. Private-sector organizations, nonprofit groups and public-private partnerships are encouraged to enter, as are individuals. Preliminary entries are encouraged by Nov. 15, with a final entry deadline of Dec. 15. Finalists will be named in February 2019, with winners announced in March. Details are at https://ivory-innovations.org/the-ivory-prize.
CORPORATE
• Nozani, an Amazon optimization agency, has moved to a new office in Lindon, doubling the size of its previous office space. The company has grown by more than 1,000 percent during the past year. Nozani has over 60 full-time employees and plans to add another 60 employees in the coming months.
DIRECT SALES
• Young Living Essential Oils, Lehi, has announced a new partner farm, the Amanzi Amahle Farm and Distillery in Cape Town, South Africa. It will provide Young Living with essential oils. The farm and distillery occupy 29,000 acres.
EQUITY
• Tower Arch Capital LP, a Salt Lake City-based lower-middle market private equity fund, has hired Steve Smith as vice president of business development. Smith has more than 18 years of experience in sales, private equity, investment banking and management executive leadership. Prior to joining Tower Arch, he co-led the North American Self-Reliance operations for a large nonprofit. Previously, he was a vice president at private equity firm HGGC and worked in the M&A group at CIBC World Markets. Smith has a bachelor of science in finance degree from the University of Utah.
HEALTHCARE
• Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Midvale, has expanded its partnership with Intermountain Healthcare by adding Intermountain Medical Center and McKay-Dee Hospital, along with their affiliated providers, to Molina’s existing Medicaid and CHIP networks. Molina’s network continues to include Intermountain’s Primary Children’s, LDS, Utah Valley Regional and other hospitals. Under the new agreement, Molina Medicaid and CHIP members will have access to Intermountain Homecare and Intermountain Connect Care (telehealth services). As a result of expanding and ongoing partnerships, Molina’s Medicaid and CHIP members will have access to 46 hospitals, more than 1,500 primary care physicians and more than 5,800 specialists statewide.
• Alucent Biomedical, a Salt Lake City-based privately held biotechnology company founded to transform the way vascular disease is treated, has formed a scientific advisory board. The board will work closely with the Alucent management team as it continues to advance Natural Vascular Scaffolding, a combination drug-device therapy designed to naturally open narrowed or blocked arteries, possibly replacing the need for a stent. Members of the scientific advisory board are Dr. Larry Kraiss, professor of surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Utah, former director of the vascular surgery fellowship program at the UofU from 2003-2012 and chief of vascular surgery from 2003-2018; Dr. Gary Ansel, system medical chief of the vascular program at OhioHealth and assistant clinical professor of medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Toledo Medical Center; Dr. Elazar Edelman, a professor of health sciences and technology at MIT, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and senior attending physician in the coronary care unit at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston; Dr. William Gray, system chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease at Main Line Health in Philadelphia and the first president of Main Line Health’s Lankenau Heart Institute, the system’s comprehensive cardiovascular medicine and surgery program; Dr. Krishna Rocha-Singh, chief scientific officer for Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois; William Sessa, professor of pharmacology and professor of medicine (Cardiology), vice chairman of pharmacology and director of the Vascular Biology & Therapeutics Program at Yale University; and Dr. Craig Walker, founder and president of the Cardiovascular Institute of the South.
HOSPITALITY/FOOD SERVICE
• JMH Premium, Salt Lake City, will have a grand opening celebration for its new Culinary Design Studio on Oct. 16. The innovation and development kitchen features a 2,200-square-foot development kitchen and pilot plant for JMH Premium’s research and development team. The studio includes enhanced work stations and restaurant- and manufacturing-grade equipment, and its food scientists and culinary development chefs will have the capability to take benchtop development to a pilot trial setting and scale to full production in one continuous process.
INSURANCE
• Cottonwood Title, a Salt Lake City-based title insurance agency, has appointed Roger Gardiner as vice president of operations. Gardiner has more than 17 years of experience in the financial industry, having previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. Most recently at Goldman Sachs, Gardiner was a managing director and head of the Risk Division in Salt Lake City.
LAW
• Cordell & Cordell has hired associate attorney Jacob K. Arijanto for its Clearfield office. He is the firm’s third attorney at that office. Prior to joining Cordell & Cordell, Arijanto practiced complex commercial litigation, primarily complex commercial insurance coverage. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Westminster College and earned his J.D. from the University of Utah.
• WealthCouncil LLC, a Draper-based provider of resources and support for attorneys practicing trust and estates and business planning, has promoted Heather Satin, Katelyn Griffin, Kristine Hynes and Stewart Shelline. Satin was promoted to vice president. She has been with WealthCounsel for two years and previously was director of business law. Griffin has been selected to lead member experience. She has been with the company almost six years and previously was vice president of enterprise services. Hynes is now vice president of technology. She has been with WealthCounsel for 13 years and previously was director of corporate IT. Shelline is now the company’s platform director. He has been with the company for five years and previously was director of enterprise architecture.
PHILANTHROPY
• Vivint Solar Inc., a Lehi-based residential solar provider, has raised nearly $150,000 through employee donations for Engage Now Africa, an international nongovernmental organization (NGO) committed to rescue, heal and empower children in Africa. The donations are being used to rescue and rehabilitate child trafficking victims from Ghana, as well as support legal efforts to prosecute suspected human traffickers. In April, Vivint Solar partnered with Engage Now Africa to host a corporate charity week to rally its employees to support the NGO’s cause. At the conclusion of the charity week, Vivint Solar raised nearly $150,000, more than doubling its initial goal of $60,000. Since that fundraising event, Vivint Solar’s donation has enabled Engage Now Africa to rescue 28 children from trafficking and child slavery and educate over 20,000 people, sensitizing them to the threat of human trafficking and preventing various forms of modern slavery. Three-hundred youths across 20 regions were trained to become identifying and reporting advocates in their communities, and 10 former child slaves and child laborers continued to receive educational support through the Survivor Support Initiative.
• Big O Tires dealers in Utah recently donated $10,000 to Shriners Hospitals for Children — Salt Lake City, as part of the “Walk & Roll for Love.” The gift was a result of direct donations from the dealers. Owners and managers of tire stores from Logan to Richfield supported the fundraiser. In three years, Big O Tires has donated $50,000 to Shriners Hospitals.
• The doTerra Healing Hands Foundation, in partnership with Rapha House and Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), has announced the funding and construction of a new safe houses campus in Haiti. The project will provide basic care, counseling, medical care, education and vocational training for children rescued from sex trafficking in Haiti. Since 2016, the foundation has been working with OUR to liberate victims of human and sex trafficking around the world. DoTerra and Rapha House hosted a two-day service project where employees and community members came together to prepare backpacks filled with meaningful items for survivors of sex trafficking.
REAL ESTATE
• Richmond American Homes of Utah Inc. has had the grand opening event for Wild Horse Ranch in Stansbury Park. The development has ranch and two-story plans of two to six bedrooms.
RECOGNITIONS
• YESCO Custom Electric Signs, Salt Lake City, recently received a first-place award in the design competition at the 2018 World Sign Associates (WSA) annual conference in New York City. The design in the large free-standing category was produced for Ritz Classic Apartments in Salt Lake City. Weidner Apartment Homes contracted with YESCO to refurbish the iconic Ritz Classic Bowling Pin sign that had stood in South Salt Lake since 1958. The challenge was to redesign the well-known landmark with the look of a classic 1950s sign using modern technology. Due to its historical value, a variance was granted by the city to rebuild the sign to its original 90-foot height. Voting for the award was determined by peer ballot.
• Murphy Business and Financial Corp. LLC, a Florida-based business brokerage firm, has announced its 2017 “Top Producers” and new members of its “Multi-Million Dollar Club.” Marvin Slovacek was the only Utahn in the list of 15 Top Producers and the only Utahn in the list of 34 “Multi-Million Dollar Club” brokers. The “Top Producers” award was presented to members of the MB&FC network that provided top-notch client service and closed high-priced deals. Brokers in the “Multi-Million Dollar Club” had to secure more than $2 million in transactions in 2017.
• MGIS, Salt Lake City, has been named in the annual “Best Places to Work in Insurance” list, compiled by the Custom Publishing unit of Business Insurance and Best Companies Group and recognizing employers for outstanding performance in establishing workplaces where employees can thrive, enjoy their work and help their companies grow. Best Companies Group identified the leading employers in the insurance industry by conducting a free, two-part assessment of each company. The first part is a questionnaire completed by the employer about company policies, practices and demographics. The second part is a confidential employee survey on engagement and satisfaction.
SERVICES
• Simplus, a Salesforce quote-to-cash advisory, implementation and managed services company, has appointed Paul Fletcher as chief financial officer. Fletcher has extensive financial stewardship and capital formation experience within high-growth companies. He served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Presidio Inc. from August 2007 to January 2017. He served as the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Trex Co. Inc. from 2003-07 and as its principal accounting officer until September 2007.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• InsideSales.com, Provo, has appointed Chris Harrington as chief operating officer. Harrington previously worked at Omniture, led all enterprise sales for the Americas at Adobe and served as president at Domo.
TRANSPORTATION
• Salt Lake City International Airport is ranked No. 11 among 24 large airports in J.D. Power’s 2018 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. The study measured overall traveler satisfaction with mega, large and medium North America airports by examining six factors: terminal facilities; airport accessibility; security check; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail. Overall, the nation’s airports received a record high in overall passenger satisfaction. Among mega airports, Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and Orlando International Airport rank highest, followed by Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Denver International Airport. Among large airports, John Wayne Airport — Orange County was highest-ranked, followed by Dallas Love Field and Portland (Oregon) International Airport. Among medium airports, Buffalo Niagara International Airport was highest-ranked, followed by Indianapolis International Airport and Fort Myers/Southwest Florida International.