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CORRECTION
• The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business is at Utah State University. An Industry Brief about the school, which recently was awarded first place for “Excellence in Co-Curricular Innovation” by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) for its Small Enterprise Education and Development (SEED) program, in last week’s edition listed a different university.
ACCOUNTING
• Squire & Co., a full-service accounting firm with office in Orem and Salt Lake City, has announced three new partners at the firm: Amanda Barrett-Brough, Matt Geddes and Kevin Johnson. Barrett-Brough is a Certified Public Account who joined Squire in 2005. She works primarily in assurance services, specifically in real estate, manufacturing, insurance, HUD-approved programs, and technology and life science. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Utah Valley University and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Utah. Geddes is a member of the assurance services team and oversees audits of for-profit entities, local governments and employee benefit plans. Before joining Squire in 2008, he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Accountancy from Utah State University. Johnson joined Squire in the advisory group in 2004 and leads its technology and life sciences group. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a master’s in information systems management degree. Squire & Co. also announced changes in practice area leadership. Among the four practice areas at Squire, two will have new leaders. K. Tim Larsen has been serving as a temporary practice area leader to the advisory department over the past year. He will be relieved by Reuben Cook. Wayne Barben will be stepping into the position of wealth management practice area leader, relieving Tim Christensen. Both Tim Larsen and Tim Christensen remain at Squire on the Partner Board.
BANKING
• The board of directors of Bank of Utah, Ogden, has elected eight bank employees to receive new officer titles. Colby J. Dustin has advanced from vice president to senior vice president, enterprise risk. Brian S. Stevens’ title has been elevated from vice president to senior vice president, information technology. Colleen Schulthies has been promoted from vice president to senior vice president, general counsel. Jon W. Croasmun has advanced from vice president to senior vice president, corporate trust manager. Douglas J. Reichman was named vice president, foreign exchange manager. John T. Gonzales was named vice president, mortgage team leader mortgage. Brian J. Young has advanced to vice president, mortgage area manager. Timothy D. Roberts has advanced to assistant vice president, mortgage loan officer.
• Cyprus Credit Union, West Jordan, has made several changes to its upper-management team. The members of the current executive team — Buddy Bennett, David Sant, Eric Figgins, Tammy Hansen, Todd Johnson and Vaughn Petersen — have been promoted to the C-suite level and several departmental managers have been promoted to the vice president level. Promoted to vice president are Daryl Holdaway, vice president of internal auditing; Jeff Meiling, vice president of investment services; Treasa Perfili, vice president of accounting; Rose Coon, vice president of direct lending; Jenny Hughes, vice president of indirect lending; Josh Jorgensen, vice president of collections; Bennion Gardner, vice president of business services; Brent Pearson, vice president of mortgages; Karen Seo, vice president of public relations; Kim Gilbert, assistant vice president of northern branches; and Allison Terry, assistant vice president of southern branches.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of SkyWest Inc., St. George, has declared a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share. The dividend will be paid April 4 to shareholders of record March 29. SkyWest Inc. is the holding company for SkyWest Airlines and SkyWest Leasing, an aircraft leasing company.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Ogden-Clearfield is No. 17 and Salt Lake City is No. 24 in a list of most expensive places in the U.S. to upgrade a home from two bedrooms to three. The list was compiled by RealtyHop and considered the costs in the top 100 metropolitan areas in the U.S. In Ogden-Clearfield, the median cost for the upgrade is $85,000. In Salt Lake City, the figure is $81,000. The median home price in Ogden-Clearfield is $124,900 for a one-bedroom home. The figure jumps to $175,000 for two bedrooms, $260,000 for three, $299,900 for four, and $364,000 for five. In Salt Lake City, the median cost of a one-bedroom home is $259,324. The figure is $249,000 for two bedrooms, $330,000 for three, $365,000 for four, and $445,000 for five. In Provo-Orem, the median cost is $387,450 for a one-bedroom home. The figure is $214,900 for two bedrooms, $289,000 for three, $359,000 for four, and $399,900 for five. Details are at https://www.realtyhop.com/blog/how-much-will-that-extra-bedroom-cost-you/.
HEALTHCARE
• DiscGenics is expanding its operations in Salt Lake City. DiscGenics is a clinical-stage, privately held biotechnology company focused on developing regenerative cell-based therapies that alleviate pain and restore function in patients with degenerative diseases of the spine. The company has been located at the University of Utah’s Research Park since 2012. Its expansion will take it to an approximately 25,000-square-foot space near the Northwest Quadrant, where it will build a research and development facility along with manufacturing operations. DiscGenics currently employs 22 people and expects to hire an additional 28 employees once its nonsurgical treatment for degenerative disc disease goes to market. Construction plans are being developed and the company is preparing to move into its new space in the first half of 2019.
• Collective Medical, Salt Lake City, has appointed Allison Barlow as head of people. She previously ran an HR consultancy. Before that, she worked at O.C. Tanner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Ken Garff Automotive Group. Collective Medical empowers care teams to improve patient outcomes by closing the communication gaps that undermine patient care. Its network now operates in 22 states.
HOSPITALITY/FOOD SERVICE
• Deer Valley, Park City, is the most expensive ski resort in the U.S. based strictly on the cost of lodging, according to a survey of 20 popular destinations compiled by CheapHotels.org. The survey used the average price for the cheapest available double rooms in each destination, through the months of February and March 2019, to establish its rankings. Only hotels with at least three stars and located within a ski resort were considered. Deer Valley guests spend an average of $543 per night for the least-expensive double room. Colorado’s Beaver Creek ranks second-most-expensive at $416 per night. Alta was third, at $413. Park City Mountain Resort was 10th, at $243 per night.
INVESTMENTS
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based next-generation data, analytics and improvement company, has closed a Series F equity and debt funding round led by OrbiMed. The equity and debt funding will provide Health Catalyst with access to up to $100 million in capital. Also contributing to the financing were several existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Sands Capital Ventures, UPMC Enterprises and Kaiser Permanente Ventures. Proceeds from the financing will support continued expansion of Health Catalyst’s technology and services offerings for healthcare transformation.
• Nav, a Salt Lake City-based business financial management app company, has raised $44.8 million in Series C equity capital. Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investments led the round, which also had participation from Point72 Ventures, Experian Ventures, Aries and CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund. Nav said it will use the funding to expand enterprise partnerships, introduce more small-business owners to its platform and drive additional data insights for its customers. As part of Goldman Sachs’ investment, Rana Yared, managing director in the Goldman Sachs Principal Strategic Investment group, moved from an observer on Nav’s board to a voting director.
• Flex Fleet Rental, a Salt Lake City-based provider of medium-term truck rentals to commercial customers, has completed a transaction with Waterfall Asset Management’s private equity platform. TRP Capital Partners, a transportation-focused private equity firm, is also making a strategic investment alongside Waterfall. The amounts were not disclosed. The transaction will position Flex Fleet Rental to augment its customer reach, technology enablement and national fleet, Flex Fleet Rental said. Flex Fleet Rental’s existing management team will continue to lead the company’s operations. Sullivan & Worcester served as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to Flex Fleet. Kramer Levin served as legal counsel to Waterfall. Drinker Biddle served as legal counsel to TRP.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• RainFocus, a Lehi-based events marketing platform company, has hired Michael Olson as chief financial officer. He will oversee accounting, finance, financial planning and analysis, as well as partner with sales and marketing teams to drive go-to-market execution. Prior to joining RainFocus, he was CFO for two other Utah-based B2B SaaS companies, DigiCert and WorkFront. Olson is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in accounting from Utah State University.
PHILANTHROPY
• Silicon Slopes has partnered with BrainStorm Inc. to launch Silicon Slopes Serves “to rally Utah’s startup and tech community to improve the lives of everyone in the state and beyond.” Silicon Slopes represents Utah’s startup and tech community. BrainStorm is a software-as-a-service company. The first endeavor of Silicon Slopes Serves, in partnership with JustServe, has a goal of providing 1 million meals to hungry children through the nonprofit organization Feeding Children Everywhere. The Silicon Slopes Serves committee raised donations leading up to the Silicon Slopes Tech Summit and recruited over 4,000 volunteers to prepare the meals during the two-day event. The project involved several Silicon Slopes companies, including BambooHR, Lucidchart, Collective Medical Technologies, SolutionReach, Podium and Ancestry.
REAL ESTATE
• Hamlet Homes, Murray, has announced the opening of the model home at Muirhouse — The Hastings, new community at 3845 W. 4700 S. (Kinglassie Lane), Taylorsville. Muirhouse is the first of five new Hamlet Homes communities opening this year. Muirhouse will feature 87 townhomes and two floorplans. Hamlet Homes is now selling Phase I of the community. Since it was founded in 1994, Hamlet has built more than 3,500 homes in 53 communities.
RECOGNITIONS
• Several organizations were recently announced as recipients of Sandy City’s annual Sandy Summit Awards, which are designed to honor relationships between the city and local businesses, vendors and contractors, highlighting collaborative efforts to build a thriving local economy. The Large Business of the Year is AvidXchange. The Non-Profit Organization of the Year is Excellence in the Community. The Small Business of the Year is Special Courses. The Restaurant of the Year is Simply Thai. The award for Outstanding Business Contribution went to Salt Mine. The Outstanding Organization of the Year is the Food Truck League.
RETAIL
• Auto Auctions of America, 3955 S. Redwood Road, Taylorsville, has become a U-Haul dealer serving the Taylorsville community. It will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, moving supplies and in-store pick-up for boxes.
SERVICES
• Delta Disaster Services, a franchise brand providing restoration services to commercial and residential properties, has opened a location at 590 N. 900 W., No. 113, Kaysville. The owner/operators are Marc and Teri Baldwin. The family relocated from Colorado to Kaysville to open the business and they plan to run the business with their son, Kevin. The location will serve the Salt Lake City region, including Davis County. Services include restoration from flood and water damage, smoke and fire damage, or mold damage and environmental testing. The Baldwins have industry experience, including owning and operating a Chem-Dry Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning franchise for 25 years. Delta Disaster Services has operations in more than 30 markets.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• HireVue, a Salt Lake City-based AI-driven talent assessment suite and video interviewing solutions company, has created an expert advisory board to guide the company’s commitment to ethical artificial intelligence and to advise on issues of diversity and inclusion, algorithmic bias and data security and privacy. It is the first company developing AI-driven products in the human resources technology industry to do so. The first four members of the advisory board are Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Sheryl Falk, Michael Campion and Ben Taylor. Venkatasubramanian is a professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Utah. He is a founding member of the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency, a multi-disciplinary conference that presents research on fairness, accountability and transparency in socio-technical systems. Venkatasubramanian is also a member of the board of directors of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Utah. Falk is a partner and co-leader of the Global Privacy and Data Security Task Force at Winston & Strawn. Falk has significant investigation and litigation experience to her practice to navigate regulatory issues and litigation arising out of privacy and data security matters. A former assistant U.S. attorney, she has 25 years of litigation experience before state and federal courts and arbitration panels. Campion is the Herman C. Krannert Chaired Professor of Management at Purdue University. Campion is the past president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the 2010 winner of SIOP’s Scientific Contribution Award. Taylor is chief AI officer and co-founder at Ziff.ai. Taylor has more than 14 years of machine learning experience, previously served as HireVue’s chief data scientist, and is known for his research on bias and for pushing the boundaries of what is possible with deep learning. Earlier in his career he worked in the semiconductor industry for Intel and Micron in photolithography, process control and yield prediction, and as a Wall Street quant building sentiment stock models for a hedge fund trading the S&P 1500.
• Instructure Inc., a Salt Lake City-based software-as-a-service company that helps people learn and develop, has named Marta DeBellis as chief marketing officer. DeBellis will lead Instructure’s worldwide marketing organization, overseeing marketing strategy, demand generation, digital marketing, product marketing, branding and communication. DeBellis has more than 25 years’ experience in strategic marketing and business development across technology, content, campaign and partner marketing. She has served in senior marketing roles in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific region for organizations, including Adobe, MRM/McCann, and Intel Corp.