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ASSET MANAGEMENT
• The Cynosure Group, a Salt Lake City-based independent alternatives/asset management firm, has announced that Randal Quarles has rejoined the firm as its executive chairman. From October 2017 through October 2021, Quarles was vice chairman of the Federal Reserve System, serving as the system’s first vice chairman for supervision, charged specifically with ensuring stability of the financial sector. As Fed vice chair, he was a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the body that sets monetary policy for the United States. For the past three years, he also served as the chairman of the Financial Stability Board, a global body established to coordinate international efforts to enhance financial stability. Before co-founding Cynosure over eight years ago, Quarles was a long-time partner of the Carlyle Group.
BANKING
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has promoted Laura Mitchell to branch manager at its Redwood Road location in Salt Lake City. Mitchell previously worked at the bank’s Bountiful branch as a customer service manager, a position that launched her banking career. Prior to working in the banking industry, Mitchell had more than a decade of experience in retail and restaurant management. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in 2000.
CONTESTS
• Comcast RISE, a multi-year, multi-faceted initiative launched to help strengthen small businesses owned by people of color in Utah, is expanding to include all women-owned small businesses in Comcast’s service area. Business owners can apply through June 17 at https://www.comcastrise.com/apply/. Through this program, business owners can apply for marketing services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, and its creative agency. This includes a TV media campaign, inclusive of the creative production and/or advertising and marketing consultations. They also can apply for a technology makeover that includes state-of-the-art equipment and technology upgrades from Comcast Business and Internet, voice and cybersecurity services for up to a 12-month period. Since the program’s inception, Comcast announced over 20 Utah small businesses as Comcast RISE recipients.
CORPORATE
• Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., a Provo-based beauty and wellness products company, has transitioned its investor day activities Feb. 16, 10 a.m., to a virtual event due to COVID-related safety protocols. Ryan Napierski, Nu Skin president and CEO, and other members of the Nu Skin management team will discuss fourth quarter and 2021 results, provide 2022 financial guidance, and share further insights into the company. Details are at ir.nuskin.com. A replay will be available on the same page through March 2.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Zions Bancorporation NA, Salt Lake City, has authorized a share repurchase for the first quarter of 2022 of up to $50 million and declared a regular quarterly dividend of 38 cents per common share. The dividend is payable Feb. 24 to shareholders of record Feb. 17. The board also declared regular quarterly cash dividends on the company’s various perpetual preferred shares. Dividends on series A, G and J series shares are payable March 15 to shareholders of record March 1. The cash dividend on the Series I shares is payable June 15 to shareholders of record June 1.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Tooele County leads all Utah counties as places with the strongest small-business presence, a list compiled by financial technology company SmartAsset. It weighed three factors: the percentage of people in a county with small-business income, the proportion of that income to countywide small-business income and taxes paid by small-business owners. Tooele County was followed, in order, by Piute, Washington, Weber, Wayne, Salt Lake, Millard, Iron, Wasatch and Emery counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/checking-account/savings-calculator#Utah/smallBusinessIndex-3.
• Utah is ranked No. 9 on a list of “Top 10 LEED States,” compiled by the U.S. Green Building Council. The list is based on 2020 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects certified throughout 2021. Utah had 21 LEED projects and 1.49 certified square footage per capita in 2021. Utah also was in the top 10 in 2015. Illinois topped the list. Among the projects that contributed to Utah’s ranking are the Salt Lake County Parks and Public Works Operations Center (earned LEED Gold), Intermountain Healthcare’s Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George (LEED Silver), and Outpatient Clinic and Cancer Center in Provo (LEED Silver).
ENVIRONMENT
• Dominion Energy customers in Utah and Idaho will soon have a new way to reduce their carbon footprint. The CarbonRight program will allow customers to voluntarily offset carbon emissions from natural gas use in their home or business by supporting projects, including in Utah, that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Enrollment for the program will open in March. Participation is voluntary, and customers may enroll or cancel at any time. The program is available to all residential customers, as well as businesses, government buildings and schools. To participate, customers may purchase carbon offsets in $5 blocks on their monthly bill. A typical residential customer can offset their entire carbon footprint, achieving "net zero" carbon emissions from their natural gas usage, by purchasing one block a month. That means a residential customer could offset their carbon emissions for $5 a month or $60 a year.
GOVERNMENT
• The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) has created the Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Division. Formerly a program under the Plant Industry Division, it will continue to provide services for the industry in Utah. Brandon Forsyth has been named as the director for the Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp division. Cody James has been the program’s manager since it was created in 2019 and will continue to play a role in the division. Forsyth has worked as the UDAF Laboratory Services director and will continue in that role as well as this new position. Forsyth’s experience includes working as an associate toxicologist at the University of Utah’s Center for Human Toxicology (CHT), serving as state chemist, and serving as a program health manager for the UDAF Medical Cannabis Program. Forsyth earned his doctorate in bioanalytical chemistry from the University of Utah.
HEALTHCARE
• Diabetes & Endocrine Treatment Specialists, also known as DETS, a Sandy–based specialty medicine clinic and clinical research organization, has appointed Dr. Amnon Schlegel as director of clinical research. Schlegel provides clinical care for adult patients with endocrine and metabolic disorders and diabetes mellitus. Schlegel will be responsible for overseeing the clinic’s research operations, including establishing connections and partnering with pharmaceutical and device companies, recruiting subjects, performing study protocols, and meeting regulatory requirements for reporting. Schlegel is a physician-scientist with 20 years of leadership in academic medicine, most recently serving as a tenured associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, where he directed an NIH-supported research laboratory studying liver metabolism. Prior to coming to Utah, he was an assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where he had also completed subspecialty training in endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes.
• IDbyDNA, a Salt Lake City-based precision metagenomics company offering infectious disease testing and anti-microbial resistance profiling, has appointed Susan (Siw) E. Daniels as vice president of research and development and a member of the company’s executive committee. She has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions at several biotech, pharmaceutical and diagnostic sequencing companies, most recently as the head of the CLIA business at Roche Molecular Systems.
• Nivati, a Salt Lake City-based digital mental health solution for employers, has hired Joseph Draschil as chief experience officer. Draschil has been leading product development teams since 2009 and building customer-facing services teams since 2013. Most recently, he served as head of (customer) culture engagement at Prenda. He also served as vice president of product and customer experience at DirectScale and was an organizer and is a current board member of Product Hive, a nonprofit community of 6,000-plus designers and product managers in Utah.
• 1-800 Contacts, Draper, has formed a standalone business, Luna Solutions, focused on providing technology and services to third parties in the vision space. The company, with 130 employees in Israel and the U.S., offers 20 integrated technologies and services, and the suite of solutions enables eyewear retailers, brands and doctors to modernize their customer experience both online and in stores. This new combined company will operate under the brand Luna. Luna is a separate business held under common ownership with 1-800 Contacts that is formed through the combination of Premium Vision, Ditto, 6over6 and ExpressExam. Kellen Fowler has been named president of Luna. Fowler previously was the senior vice president of strategy and business development at 1-800 Contacts.
INVESTMENTS
• Route, a Lehi-based experience platform and package tracking company, has closed a $200 million Series B funding round, taking the company to a $1.25 billion valuation. The round was led by a large London-based investment firm. Other investors in the round include Eldridge; Madrona Venture Group; Riot Ventures; Banner Ventures; FJ Labs; Endeavor; JAWS Capital; and 75 & Sunny Ventures, and individual investors, including ClassPass CEO Fritz Lanman and founders or executives from Venmo, Squarespace, Zillow, Flexport, Elevate Brands and Net-a-Porter. The company said the funding will be used to expand offices in Utah and Los Angeles, open new offices in New York and Miami, and add to its staff in nearly every department. Route also plans to expand its product internationally.
• Cinch, a startup from the Master of Business Creation program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, has raised a $3 million seed-stage financing round to grow its marketing automation software. The round was led by Lionel Ventures, Orem, with a significant investment from Cultivation Capital of St. Louis. Cinch is software that allows businesses to automate a wide variety of business processes with a no-code interface and provides a data-enriched, personalized marketing approach to small- and medium-sized companies. Features include email communication, texting, customer data profiles, digital ad audience management, direct mail and a consumer data platform.
• Pickle, a Sandy-based company focused on a platform to help companies understand their customer conversations and strengthen their relationships, has closed a $2.4 million seed funding round. Participants include Peak Capital; Tamarak; Panoramic Ventures; Y Combinator; and angel investors, including Todd Pederson and Alex Dunn. Pickle was founded in 2020.
• IWorQ Systems, a Logan-based provider of business-critical workflow software to city and county governments across the U.S. and Canada, has announced a “significant” investment from Norland Capital, a technology-focused private equity firm based in San Francisco, Sydney and London. The amount was not disclosed.
LAW
• Dentons Durham Jones Pinegar, Salt Lake City, has elected its board of directors for 2022. Bradley R. Cahoon is a member of the Firm’s Environmental practice. His environmental practice spans water, zoning, energy, mining, utility, and real estate law. Elisabeth Calvert is a member of the Firm’s Corporate group, where she works on a wide variety of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions and acquisition financings, equity and debt offerings, corporate governance and other matters of general corporate law. James D. Gilson is a member of the Firm’s Commercial Litigation and White Collar and Government Investigation practice groups. His practice focuses on general business litigation. He also represents businesses and individuals in white-collar criminal defense matters, including federal and state regulatory proceedings. Richard M. Hymas is a member of the Firm’s Employment & Labor and Litigation practice groups and also serves as the firm’s COO. His practice focuses on employment law and business litigation. Jeffrey M. Jones is a member of the Firm’s Corporate group and also serves as the firm’s CMO. His practice concentrates on corporate and securities matters. N. Todd Leishman is a member of the Firm’s Corporate group and also serves as the firm’s president and chairman. He is an M&A lawyer with experience on both buy- and sell-side transactions representing private and public companies. Joshua E. Little is a member of the firm’s Corporate group and serves as its chief financial officer. His practice represents public and private companies in a broad range of corporate finance and business combination transactions. Sarah W. Matthews is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. Her practice focuses on patent prosecution, including drafting and prosecuting patents related to the chemical arts. Gretta C. Spendlove is a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Intellectual Property practice groups. Spendlove represents buyers and sellers in commercial real estate transactions; advises startups and established entities in creating, buying, selling, merging and maintaining partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations, as well as entering into a wide range of business contracts; and handles intellectual property issues such as trademarks and copyrights. The firm also announced it has hired contract attorney Paul S. Johnson. Johnson specializes in trial and appellate work in both federal and state court. His practice is primarily focused on defending government entities and their employees against claims involving Section 1982 civil rights violations, constitutional issues, employment matters, contracts, torts and administrative appeals. In addition to civil litigation, Johnson also defends clients against federal criminal charges.
• Holland & Hart has announce that two new commercial litigation associates have joined its Salt Lake City: Patrick Charest and Angelica Juarez. Charest investigates and analyzes complexities of commercial litigation and employment law on behalf of clients. His experience includes complex general liability matters, insurance litigation, commercial litigation, and employment disputes involving trade secrets, noncompete clauses, general business disputes, wrongful discharge, and wage and hour claims. Juarez assists clients in developing effective litigation strategies. She collaborates with senior litigators to draft motions for summary judgment, arbitration briefs, and trial preparation. She earned both a bachelor’s degree and a J.D. from the University of Utah.
• Snell & Wilmer has hired Ryan S. Alba as an associate at its Salt Lake City officer. Alba is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice group. He has represented clients in a variety of matters, including contract disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, general business litigation, general liability, and insurance defense. Alba also has experience with all phases of litigation. Prior to joining Snell & Wilmer, Alba was an associate at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. Alba received a B.S. in political science and a J.D., both from the University of Utah.
• Mayer Brown has added Mark Hindley, Samuel Gardiner and D. Matthew Moscon at its new Salt Lake City office. Hindley is a partner in the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice. His practice focuses on complex commercial disputes. He has represented clients in a variety of cases, including contracts; securities and corporate fraud; trademarks, trade dress, and unfair competition; land-use; mass tort; and natural resources. Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Mark was a partner at a regional law firm. His education includes a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Utah. Gardiner, a partner, has advised clients for over 24 years in a full range of transactional matters. His M&A experience includes counseling buyers or sellers in financial or strategic transactions involving private or public companies in a wide variety of industries. He also advises companies and investors in early-stage, venture capital and other private and public financings. His education includes a B.A. in philosophy and J.D. from Brigham Young University. Mascon, a partner, has a general litigation practice, though he has particular expertise in representing regulated industries in energy, regulatory, ERISA and land use disputes. His education includes B.A. degrees in political science and English and a J.D., all from the University of Utah.
MANUFACTURING
• Biomerics, a Salt Lake City-based contract manufacturer for medical device companies, has expanded in Costa Rica with a new plant in Cartago. The plan will be dedicated to medical device solutions for extrusion, injection molding, micromachining metals processing, and final assembly processes in cleanrooms. The new facility is adjacent to an existing one. The construction and equipping of the facility required an investment of $9.5 million and covers an area of 11,000 square meters. The company already employs 400 people in its current facilities and, with this new plant, Biomerics will hire about 250 new employees in 2022 and expects to reach 1000 employees by 2024.
• Walker Edison, a West Jordan-based provider of RTA furniture in e-commerce, has hired Steve Cumbo as vice president of distribution. Cumbo has experience as a business builder and supply chain strategist. For the past 15 years, he has created strategies for more than 200 companies and has implemented supply chain solutions that support companies’ initiatives.
• Nature’s Sunshine Products, a Lehi-based company offering herbal and nutritional products, has appointed Vallen Blackburn as vice president and general manager of Latin America. He joined the company in 2016 and has helped build Nature’s Sunshine’s Synergy business and develop its business intelligence strategies for the North America team. He previously worked at Eaton Corp., ITT Corp., Danaher and HZO Inc. He holds an MBA with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Utah.
MILESTONES
• Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corp., Salt Lake City, has announced it completed the assembly of the beta version of the Guardian XT teleoperated dexterous mobile robotic avatar system at the end of 2021, as scheduled. The Guardian XT robot is an upper-body variant of the Sarcos Guardian XO full-body, battery-powered industrial exoskeleton. The Guardian XT system is a dual-armed teleoperated robot designed to perform tasks with human-like dexterity while keeping the operator at a safe distance in challenging and hazardous conditions, including at height. The robot can be mounted to a variety of mobile bases. Sarcos is currently conducting internal testing of the Guardian XT system and expects to deliver units to partners for additional testing in mid-2022. Sarcos expects to commence initial production of the first commercial units at the end of 2022.
NONPROFITS
• Visit Salt Lake, a private, nonprofit corporation promoting Salt Lake as a convention, sports and travel destination, has hired Evan Bauerle to oversee sports, tourism and event sales for the west region of Salt Lake County. As part of a new partnership with ChamberWest, Bauerle will help attract new and retain existing sporting events of all sizes to utilize venues and hotels in West Valley, Kearns, Taylorsville and West Jordan. Bauerle will work with the ChamberWest team to grow tourism-related business. Bauerle has spent the last several years in various sales positions, most recently with Encore AV at the Hilton City Center. Visit Salt Lake recently launched its sports sales and marketing division, Sports Salt Lake.
REAL ESTATE
• Citifront, a 166-unit affordable multifamily property at 641 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, has been sold by Bridge Founders Group and NeighborWorks Salt Lake to Weidner Apartment Homes for an undisclosed amount. Citifront was built in 2003 and has an occupancy of more than 99 percent. Citifront is Weidner’s sixth property in Utah. Members of CBRE’s Affordable Housing group collaborated with Eli Mills and Patrick Bodnar of CBRE Salt Lake City in representing the sellers.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Mill at Salt Lake Community College has announced two winners of the Everyday Entrepreneur Venture Fund (EEVF): Measure Once, Cut Once LLC and Nucle*ART. Both recipients completed the Everyday Entrepreneur Program and submitted an EEVF application along with a pitch. The applicant pool was narrowed down to two winners and funds are being awarded. Measure Once, Cut Once helps users minimize mistakes and save time. Nucle*ART Creator Space seeks to become a fun, community environment that supports education and exploration in the field of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) to people of all ages.
• Zweig Group has announced its 2022 ElevateHER cohort, a task force composed of people with a commitment to promote diversity to combat recruiting and retention challenges in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. The cohort includes Brittney Boyle, director of marketing at Pentalon Construction, Salt Lake City. ElevateHER works to ensure that underrepresented demographics find success in the AEC industry by serving as an advisor and a hub of information and resources. Zweig Group is a research, publishing and consulting resource for the built environment.
• Jon Paupore has been named the top golf teacher in Utah by Golf Digest. Paupore is director of instruction at the Jim McLean Golf School at Red Ledges in Heber City. Golf Digest named the top teacher in every state, with nominees selected based on peer entries. This is the second time Paupore has been named Utah’s top teacher and the fifth time he has appeared on the ranking. In 2014, Paupore was also named “Teacher of the Year” by the Utah Section of the PGA of America. Paupore has been at Red Ledges since 2010.
• DoTerra, a Pleasant Grove-based company focused on aromatherapy and essential oils, has been recognized as a winner of the 2021 SEAL Environmental Initiative Award for its work surrounding native forest restoration (including Hawaiian Sandalwood) at the Kealakekua Mountain Reserve (KMR) in Hawaii. The company’s efforts include a management plan developed in partnership with the Hawaii State Division of Forestry and Wildlife to reestablish a healthy native forest, and a nursery that is contributing to the largest reforestation initiative in Hawaii. The awards honor corporate leadership, innovation and commitment to sustainable business practices.
RETAIL
• A floral storefront boutique, Speakeasy Floral, has opened at 115 N. Washington Blvd., Ogden. It is owned by Jessica Dewitt, who also is lead creative of DeWitt Planning.
TECHNOLOGY
• Qualtrics, a Provo-based company focused on experience management, has added Omar Johnson and Ritu Bhargava to its board of directors. Johnson is a former chief marketing officer at Beats by Dre; vice president of marketing at Apple; and the founder of OPUS United, a professional services firm. He joins the board as an independent director and will serve as a member of the audit committee. Bhargava is the chief product officer for SAP Customer Experience and an experienced, customer-focused product and engineering leader. In her career, she was head of engineering for Sales Cloud at Salesforce and spent 10 years at Oracle. She joins the board as an SAP-appointed director.
• Domo, an American Fork-based business cloud company, has named Nikki Walker as director of diversity, equity and inclusion. This appointment will build on Walker’s three-year tenure as director of community engagement, a role in which she created and managed programs for Domo and aligned with community partners to create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community. Walker serves on the board of directors for Encircle and The Children’s Center and the Utah Tech Leads PAC, the Foundation Board and President’s Cabinet of Salt Lake Community College and the KUED Advisory Board.