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BANKING
• KeyBank’s Utah market has announced that Doug Heward has been promoted to Key Investment Services market manager. In this role, he oversees Key Investment Services in Colorado, Utah and Idaho. Key Investment Services provides investment planning solutions including IRAs, annuities, mutual funds and other investment solutions to help clients meet their wealth management, retirement, college savings and other financial goals. Heward has more than 15 years of experience working with KeyBank clients in Utah. He joined KeyBank as a teller in 2004 and has held positions of increasing responsibility within the company since then, serving as a banker, branch manager and area retail leader before being named Key Investment Services market manager. Heward earned his bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Utah.
CONSTRUCTION
• Pentalon Construction, Salt Lake City, has promoted Shay Johansen to chief operating officer and Brian Stewart to vice president of multi-family construction. As COO, Johansen leads all day-to-day functions that support operations at Pentalon Construction, including legal, risk, human resources, IT and accounting. Johansen has been in construction for over 40 years and came to Pentalon in 2001 after successfully running his own business. He started at Pentalon as a project manager and most recently functioned as the vice president of construction for Pentalon. Stewart directly oversees the company’s project management teams and leads Pentalon’s forecasting, scheduling and project review efforts. He also provides legal support, risk assessment, and training. Stewart has been in construction for over 35 years. He came to Pentalon in 2016 after effectively serving as the Western Region project controls manager for his previous employer. He started at Pentalon as a project manager and most recently operated as the senior project manager.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Altabancorp, based in American Fork, has declared a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per common share. The dividend is payable Nov. 16 to shareholders of record Nov. 9. Altabancorp is the bank holding company for Altabank, which has 26 branch locations in Idaho and Utah.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• The Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) has announced that eight cities and counties have completed its Development Ready Communities (DRC) program. The five-stage program was launched in April 2019 and is designed to better prepare community partners to attract and grow competitive companies and foster the expansion of local businesses. Participants who completed the program are Box Elder, Grand and San Juan counties; and Brigham City, Cedar City, Orem, South Jordan City and Syracuse City. Available to public members of EDCUtah, the program provides a structured, comprehensive and efficient methodology, taught in part by subject matter experts affiliated with EDCUtah. EDCUtah’s Community Strategy team assists members through the five stages of economic development preparedness, including Community Assessment, Planning, Community Marketing, Training and Preparation, and EDCUtah Integration and Support.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Daggett County leads all Utah counties that have experienced the greatest amount of income growth during a five-year period, according to an analysis by financial technology company SmartAsset, which studied pre-COVID data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Daggett was followed, in order, by Millard, Summit, Wasatch, Salt Lake, Weber, Utah, Tooele, Beaver and Washington counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/taxes/utah-paycheck-calculator#utah/income.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• The University of Utah’s Partners for Innovation, Ventures, Outreach & Technology (PIVOT) Center has announced the launch of Summit Venture Studio, which focuses on the commercialization of the software applications developed in the university setting. Summit Venture Studio provides capital and experienced talent to develop, launch and scale university software startups and bring products to market more efficiently and rapidly. It will be led by co-founders and managing directors Peter Djokovich and Taylor Bench. Djokovich was PIVOT Center’s first mentor-in-residence, while Bench managed the center’s equity portfolio.
• ULI (Urban Land Institute) Utah is seeking mentors for its ULI Utah Young Leaders Mentor Program for 2021. Industry leaders will mentor in a small group of young leaders from Utah’s real estate community. Each group will contain six to 10 young leaders from diverse professional backgrounds between the ages of 18-35 paired with one mentor. The group will meet regularly for a minimum of six times throughout the year. Up to three groups will be offered in 2021. Applications are being accepted now. They will be evaluated by the YLG Management Committee and mentees will be announced Feb. 1. Details are available by contacting Trevor Ellis at tellis@pegdev.com.
EXPANSIONS
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations, has entered a multi-year partnership with Middle East Healthcare Co. to service six Saudi German Hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The professional services component of the partnership with hospital owner and operator MEAHCO will be implemented by Topmed, a Dubai-based healthcare improvements firm, as Health Catalyst’s exclusive partner for in-region optimization consulting.
HEALTHCARE
• EAssist Dental Solutions Inc., a Lehi-based provider of virtual insurance and patient billing services for dental offices, has established the eAssist Dental Health Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization to educate patients on the importance of having their teeth cleaned on a regular basis to eliminate oral inflammation and prevent myriad health issues exacerbated and caused by gum disease. The foundation’s educational initiatives include providing educational videos for dental offices to use, royalty-free, to educate patients on how oral health correlates with their body’s overall health and wellness; sharing scientifically researched articles via the website, and connecting the dental community through peer testimonials, insights and recommendations. Dr. James V. Anderson, CEO and founder of eAssist Dental Solutions is the foundation director.
INSURANCE
• PrimeOne Insurance Co., Salt Lake City, has appointed Steven Nigro to its board of directors. Nigro is a managing partner of TAG Financial Institutions Group and the vice chairman and lead independent director of Maiden Holdings Ltd. He has more than 25 years of insurance leadership experience. PrimeOne also has named Stephen Greenfield as its chief underwriting officer. He has been with the company since 2015, most recently as president of operations. He has over 25 years of experience in insurance company underwriting and operational roles.
• First National Title Insurance Co. (FNTI), a Texas-based title insurance underwriter, has expanded into Utah by adding Kristen Jorgensen to its western region as agency representative. Jorgensen is a 12-year veteran in the title industry working on the agency side as an escrow assistant, officer, and manager with a national title company. FNTI now operates in nine states.
MANUFACTURING
• United Radio has announced an expansion of its remanufacturing operations to the western United States and it will operate a repair and distribution center in Salt Lake City as part of its strategic growth plans. The company is negotiating to acquire a 45,000-square-foot facility and plans to be operational by Dec. 15. The company expects to hire 30 employees and is looking for people skilled in electronics repair, warehouse operations and administrative work. United Radio provides repair and remanufacturing solutions to electronics manufacturers worldwide. The family-owned company, based in East Syracuse, New York, has a repair and distribution center in Georgia.
NONPROFITS
• Jonathan Foulk has been named associate executive director of the Utah Pride Center. He has more than 10 years of nonprofit and fundraising experience, including serving as chief advancement officer for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, leading fundraising efforts for the first gay chorus in the world and helped lay the groundwork for the nation’s first National LGBTQ Center for the Arts, and served as senior corporate development officer at The Trevor Project, the world’s largest 24/7 suicide prevention and intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.
PHILANTHROPY
• Altabank, American Fork, has announced a a long-term partnership with Intermountain Healthcare through a $500,000 donation to its Healthy Kids initiative’s Reach Out and Read program. Altabank’s gift will be designated to fund Intermountain Healthcare’s Reach Out and Read program, with the goal of providing books for every pediatric patient ages 6 months to 5 years who comes to an Intermountain clinic. Throughout the five-year partnership, Altabank will also provide opportunities for its employees and customers to participate in additional volunteer and outreach efforts to support childhood literacy. For example, during the holidays, Altabank will hold a book drive to encourage children to donate their favorite book for a child of the same age to enjoy.
RECOGNITIONS
• Bill Wyatt, executive director of the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, has been named the 2020 Director of the Year in the large-airports category by Airport Experience News. Wyatt began serving at the Salt Lake City Department of Airports in November 2017. He is responsible for SLC along with two reliever airports. He previously spent 16 years as the executive director of the Port of Portland, where he oversaw four marine terminals, two general aviation airports and Portland International Airport.
• Derrick Porter, CEO of Beauty Industry Group, Salt Lake City, was named one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs at Goldman Sach’s 2020 Builders+Innovations Summit. Beauty Industry Group is a holding company that owns and operates brands within the beauty industry. Prior to his tenure at BIG, Porter built and operated Porter Brown Distribution, a third-party logistics company with facilities in Texas, Colorado and Utah. His education includes a B.S. in technical sales from Weber State University.
• Three finalists have been selected for the 2020 Utah Leopold Conservation Award, which recognizes farmers, ranchers and foresters “who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working land.” The finalists are Half Circle Cross Ranch of Coalville in Summit County; Myrin Ranch of Altamont in Duchesne County; and Yardley Cattle Co. of Beaver in Beaver County. The award recipient will be formally presented with $10,000 and a crystal award Nov. 20 at the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Convention in Provo. The award is presented annually by Sand County Foundation, American Farmland Trust, Utah Farm Bureau Federation, Western AgCredit and Utah Cattlemen’s Association.
• USANA Malaysia has, for the second consecutive year, been recognized as the top combination dietary supplements brand in that country by Euromonitor International. The award is based on Euromonitor’s market research of USANA’s retail value share among all supplement brands in Malaysia.
• Tower Arch Capital, Draper, has been named recognized on the second annual Private Equity 50 list, compiled by Inc. Magazine and recognizing the top 50 founder-friendly private equity investment firms with a “successful track record of backing entrepreneurs” and helping founder-led businesses “thrive, even in the face of unprecedented challenges.” Tower Arch Capital has been listed both years.
• Shopping Cart Monitor, the web skimming prevention product of SecurityMetrics, Orem, has been named a Gold winner in the “Monitoring and Testing Innovation” category in the 2020 Golden Bridge Business and Innovation Awards. The Golden Bridge Awards recognize and honor the world’s best in organizational performance, products and services, innovations and more. SecurityMetrics also won a Bronze in the “Best Service to Combat and Reduce the Impact of COVID-19” category. Its free Cybersecurity Hotline was and continues to be available for businesses facing cybersecurity issues amid the additional challenges of COVID-19.
• Utah.gov, Utah’s official website, has received a WebAward for Outstanding Achievement in Web Development from the Web Marketing Association. The Utah Department of Technology Services and NIC Utah, the state’s partner in developing digital services, were recognized for Utah.gov and the digital services that help Utahns interact with government from anywhere. Utah.gov was also recently named one of the top digital government experiences in the U.S. by the Center for Digital Government during the 2020 Government Experience Awards. The state’s official website was recognized for its innovative features and official chatbot, Porter, which continues to help address citizens’ COVID-19 needs. Utah placed second in the overall state government experience category, marking the state’s eighth appearance in the top three in the last decade.
RESTAURANTS
• Ogden River Brewing has opened its doors in Ogden. The 250-seat gastropub has a 10-barrel working brewery, two massive patios including a rooftop bar and lounge space with unobstructed views of both the Ogden River and the Wasatch Front. Originally the brainchild of head brewer Pat Winslow, the project initially got off the ground with crowdsourced funds from a successful Kickstarter campaign which raised over $30,000. Bryan Wrigley of Lotus Co. later got involved. Others on the team are Doug Hofeling, president of hospitality and former chief operating officer of Squatters and Wasatch Pubs & Beers; Patrick Bourque, director of brewing for Lotus Craft and former head brewer for Uinta; Landon Jeffrey, assistant brewer; and executive chef Susan Beck.
SPORTS
• USANA, a Salt Lake City-based health supplements company, has gained naming rights to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Center of Excellence training facility in Park City through 2023. Financial terms were not disclosed. USANA will work closely with U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s sport science staff and the organization’s top skiers and snowboarders on new product research and areas for development. USANA and U.S. Ski & Snowboard first teamed up in 2011, when USANA became the organization’s official nutritional supplement, vitamin and minerals partner.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Protegrity, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on data security, has hired several members of its senior leadership team. Jeffrey Breen is executive vice president of product and strategy. He is an experienced technology executive who has spent his career helping companies derive business value through the adoption of new technologies and analytical techniques. Breen joins Protegrity from global investment manager Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co., where he built the firm’s data science team and platform. He has held leadership roles at Teradata, Think Big Analytics, Atmosphere Research Group, Yankee Group, and Forrester Research and is an active advisor and investor to firms in analytics, AI and fintech. Bridget Quinlan is executive vice president of marketing and growth strategies and has extensive experience in B2B marketing. Eliano Marques is executive vice president of data and AI. He previously held positions at Emirates Group, Deloitte and Teradata. Scott Fleming is executive vice president of services and support. He most recently was the vice president of global competency practices at Teradata. He has been in the software and consulting industry for over 25 years. Michael Gephart is executive vice president of sales and alliances and will manage teams in APAC, EMEA, and the Americas. He previously spent over eight years at Amazon Web Services in multiple alliance and sales roles, and spent 10 years as a management consultant at Deloitte and a boutique firm acquired by NTT Data. Angel Lange is vice president of finance. She has over 20 years of experience in finance and management, including positions at MasterControl, EY, UnitedHealthcare, Volkswagen and Morgan Stanley. Ben Lieberman is vice president of human resources and people. He has extensive expertise in talent acquisition. Kaitlin Hartshorn is director of legal affairs. She joined Protegrity in 2017. Prior to that, she served as the assistant general counsel at Health Care Navigator.
TRANSPORTATION
• SkyWest Inc., a St. George-based holding company for SkyWest Airlines and SkyWest Leasing, has announced several leadership changes. Mike Thompson will retire as chief operating officer after nearly 20 years with SkyWest Airlines. With Thompson's departure, Greg Wooley will assume the role of executive vice president of operations of SkyWest Airlines and will oversee the in-flight, airport operations, flight operations, safety and operations control divisions of the airline. Wooley has more than 25 years of aviation and operations leadership experience, most recently as vice president of airport operations for SkyWest. The airline will update certain operating leadership roles. Sonya Wolford will become senior vice president of in-flight and Tracy Gallo will become senior vice president of flight operations. Bill Dykes will become senior vice president of maintenance. Lori Hunt, vice president of people, will succeed Wooley as vice president of airport operations.
• Patriot Rail Co. LLC, an operator of short-line and regional freight railroads, rail services and integrated port logistics companies, has agreed to acquire short-line operator Salt Lake Garfield & Western Railway (SLGW) and its related entities Caballero LLC and Caballero 2 LLC, storage and transload service providers. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. A family-operated business, Salt Lake City-based SLGW has added both track and transload services over the past few years and has plans to expand in 2021. In continuous operation for over 125 years, SLGW currently handles more than 6,000 loaded railcars annually within its 26-mile line.