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ASSOCIATIONS
• The St. George Area Chamber of Commerce and World Trade Center Utah have announced a continued alliance that will offer Southern Utah companies local access to WTC Utah’s grants, international programs and business services. In 2022, WTC Utah facilitated engagements with business and diplomatic delegations from 36 countries, led 15 international trips and awarded $1.5 million in grant funding. WTC Utah helped nearly 400 Utah companies throughout the state.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Provo is ranked No. 77 and Salt Lake City is No. 112 on a list of “Best Cities to Live In In 2023,” compiled by finance website Scholaroo. It used 47 metrics, including crime and safety, affordability, economy, quality of life, healthcare, education, and job opportunity. The top-ranked city is Naples, Florida. The No. 151 city is San Francisco. Details are at https://scholaroo.com/report/best-cities-to-live/.
• Utah was among states that recorded their highest-ever-priced residential transactions in 2022, according to Forbes Global Properties, a curated consumer marketplace of luxury homes and an invitation-only membership network of top real estate firms. Its “Perspectives,” an analysis of the international luxury residential market gleaned directly from its more than 13,000 prominent local experts, examined luxury property market activity in 22 countries and ranks buyer preferences, while also underscoring market resiliency through recent trophy transactions. When examining the overall housing market, “Perspectives” shows that luxury segments were insulated from the effects of rising inflation as affluent buyers are typically less sensitive to spikes in interest rates due to limited reliance on credit. This was exemplified by a five-year review of studied markets that revealed a 34 percent increase within the top 20 percent of 2022 transactions.
• Utah is ranked No. 31 on a list of “2023’s Best States for Horse Lovers,” compiled by Lawn Love. It compared the 50 states based on 27 metrics, such as equestrian programs, horseback riding trails, horse shows and museums. We also considered horses for sale, boarding facilities, veterinarians, trainers and affordability. The top-ranked state is California. The bottom-ranked state is Delaware. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-states-horse-lovers/.
GOVERNMENT
• Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has hired Joe Pyrah as chief of staff. From 2011 to 2014, Pyrah served as chief of staff to Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart. Since 2015, Pyrah has been a partner at government affairs firm Sego Strategies. His experience also includes 12 years covering government and politics for the Standard-Examiner and Daily Herald. He received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Utah State University.
HEALTHCARE
• Health Catalyst Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations, has announced that Matthew Kolb has been appointed to serve as a member of Health Catalyst’s board of directors. The appointment is effective July 1. Kolb is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Carle Health. He has served in a variety of medical and administrative leadership positions since joining Carle in 2014. Prior to his time at Carle, Kolb served in leadership roles at Allina Health System in Minnesota. Carle recently announced it has become a meaningful shareholder of Health Catalyst with the open-market purchase of Health Catalyst common stock.
INNOVATION
• Applications are being accepted until March 20 for the spring 2023 cohort of Grow Utah’s RAMP Product Accelerator, designed to help launch new product innovations and companies in Utah. RAMP is an eight-week product-focused startup accelerator program for Utah product innovators across various industries such as outdoor recreation, medical devices, consumer products and more, without taking any equity. RAMP assists innovators through each stage of the lean startup process by conducting weekly training sessions, supplemented by online learning modules and one-on-one consultation with industry mentors. RAMP also provides access to labs and technical equipment for product prototyping and materials testing. The application form is at https://form.typeform.com/to/rHsKGb.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• Wunderkind, a New York-based performance marketing solution for brands, publishers and advertisers, has named Bill Ingram as CEO. Ingram has over 30 years of experience scaling tech start-ups, leading enterprise SaaS organization advancement, and driving product development and growth. Before joining Wunderkind, Ingram served as president and CEO of Cheetah Digital. He previously was vice president and general manager at Adobe and held leadership roles with several SaaS organizations, including Sybase and Omniture, which was acquired by Adobe for $1.8 billion.
NONPROFITS
• Nomi Health, an Orem-based direct healthcare company, has launched the Nomi Health Charitable Foundation to advance the company’s efforts to expand access to high-quality affordable healthcare across the United States. Nomi Health has donated $11 million since its founding in 2019 and is seeding the creation of the charitable foundation with an additional $5 million. Through philanthropic investments and partnerships, the foundation will focus on healthcare equity, financial and health literacy, STEAM education and community social determinants of health. A signature program is the “Frontline Futures Initiative,” which will offer tuition assistance and support to underserved individuals pursuing careers in healthcare.
• The Road Home, a Salt Lake City-based, private, nonprofit social services agency helping individuals and families facing homelessness, has appointed Pauline Ploquin as the president of its Board of Trustees. Ploquin has experience and expertise as president and partner of Struck, a Salt Lake City-based brand transformation agency. Her appointment is effective March 22.
• The Christmas Box International, Salt Lake City, is sponsoring its annual “Spring into Action” campaign to raise funds and collect in-kind donations for children and families served by The Christmas Box House emergency shelters and resource centers. It hopes to provide summer and back-to-school items for more than 1,000 at-risk children in Utah. It is seeking the public’s help in gathering tennis shoes, $50 Visa birthday cards, and school backpacks and supplies. Since 1996, The Christmas Box International has provided shelter and essential items for more than 140,000 children. Details are at https://thechristmasbox.org/wish-lists-2023/.
OUTDOOR RECREATION
• Snowbird has named Sarah Sherman as communications manager and Riley Whitney as communications coordinator. They will work in tandem with the resort’s marketing team, overseeing all media inquiries, public relations, internal and external communications, social media and more. Sherman returns to Snowbird, where she previously worked for almost two years as the communications manager. She has nearly a decade of ski industry experience, with a focus on public relations and social media. Whitney comes to Snowbird having recently graduating with a master’s degree in recreation management and policy from the University of New Hampshire. Her background has focused on conservation communications and outreach.
• Aspen Snowmass, based in Colorado, has named Geoff Buchheister as CEO. He will lead the company’s Mountain Division. He succeeds Mike Kaplan, who officially retires April 30 after working for Aspen Skiing Co. for the past 30 years. Buchheister joins Aspen Snowmass from his current role as chief operating officer at Whistler Blackcomb, where he has been since 2019. Buchheister has nearly 25 years of overall ski industry experience, primarily gained at Park City, where he spent 16 years in various leadership roles. He joined Vail Resorts in 2014 when they acquired Park City Mountain Resort, and then was appointed to lead the company’s urban ski areas. He later was named general manager of Keystone, Colorado, before taking on his current role at Whistler Blackcomb.
REAL ESTATE
• The Commercial Division of Berkshire Hathaway Utah Properties has hired Katie Wilking, current CCIM Utah Chapter president, and Jill Snyder, CCIM board member. Both will be based out of the Main Street office in Park City. Both have an extensive background in commercial transactions throughout the state of Utah.
RECOGNITIONS
• Zions Bancorporation, Salt Lake City, is ranked No. 89 on a list of “America’s Best Banks,” a 14th annual list compiled by Forbes. It considered growth, credit quality and profitability to rank the 100 largest (by assets) publicly traded banks and thrifts. While S&P Global Market Intelligence provided the data, the rankings were done by Forbes.
• Angel Studios, a Provo-based company offering a platform for creators to crowdfund, create and distribute films and TV series, has won a 2023 Movieguide Award for its series “The Chosen.” The first two episodes of the series’ third season earned the Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie. The Epiphany Prize is sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation and awarded to the best inspirational and uplifting movies and television programs that also increase one’s love or understanding of God. Angel Studios Originals also were nominated for Movieguide Awards for Best Movie for Families (“The Chosen,” third seasons, first and second episodes); Best Television for Families (“The Wingfeather Saga: Chapter 1: Leeli & The Sea Dragon Song”); the Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance for TV (Jonathan Roumie, “The Chosen,” physician in “Heal Yourself” Episode 3.3).
• Greg Palmer has been named on a list of “Top Staffing Leaders to Watch in 2023” by the World Staffing Awards, and Vickie Anenberg has been named to the Staffing Industry Analysts “Staffing 100” List for 2023. Palmer is president and CEO and Anenberg is chief operating officer at Supplemental Health Care, a Salt Lake City-based healthcare staffing agency. Palmer’s honor was presented by Candidate.ly and recognizes leaders in the staffing industry who have made an impact on the industry as a whole and fuel innovation with their business approach. The winners are selected by public voting and announced during the World Staffing Summit. SIA is a global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions.
• Lucid Software, a South Jordan-based provider of visual collaboration software, has received top accolades for its products Lucidchart and Lucidspark, with both products being named to 2023 top product lists by G2 and TrustRadius. The awards that are based entirely on user reviews.
RETAIL
• The board of directors of Overstock.com Inc., a Salt Lake City-based online furniture and home furnishings retailer, has appointed Joanna Burkey as its newest independent director. Burkey is the chief information security officer for HP Inc. and has more than 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, information technology, data privacy and digital strategy. She has worked at Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, and 3Com, among others.
SERVICES
• Meraki Global Advisors LLC, a Park City-based multi-asset outsourced trading firm, has hired Tom O’Leary as a senior business strategist. O’Leary will be responsible for advancing Meraki’s strategic growth plans by emphasizing and aligning the key functions of strategy planning, business development and process improvement. O’Leary has over 35 years of industry experience in strategic planning and business development. He joins Meraki from HSBC Global Banking and Markets, where he served as managing director and head of equities for the Americas focusing on managing the equities business worldwide. Prior to HSBC, O’Leary was a senior managing director with Bear Stearns in a variety of leadership positions, including co-head of the Global Equity Sales Division and head of international equities.
TECHNOLOGY
• Quotient Technology Inc., a Salt Lake City-based digital promotions and media technology company, has appointed Michael Wargotz to the company’s board of directors. He will serve as a Class II director, which has a one-year term expiring as of the company’s 2023 annual meeting of stockholders. Wargotz will serve on the Audit Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Strategic Committee. Wargotz is an experienced public company board member, with more than 30 years of leadership and business development experience, as well as significant finance and investor relations expertise, including audit oversight, financial reporting and compliance. He is currently a private investor, involved in various start-up ventures. Wargotz currently serves on the Board of Travel+Leisure Co. and previously served as chairman of Axcess Ventures. He co-founded and served as CFO of The Milestone Aviation Group, served as the co-chairman of Axcess Luxury and Lifestyle, CFO and later vice president of NetJets Inc., co-founded and was a partner in Axcess Worldwide, served in various leadership positions at Cendant Corp. and in various finance and accounting positions at HFS Inc., PaineWebber & Co, America Express and Price Waterhouse. Wargotz fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Matthew O’Grady, who resigned from the board effective Dec. 31 and who at the time of his resignation was one of two directors serving on the Board pursuant to the Cooperation Agreement between Quotient and Engaged Capital LLC. Quotient also has appointed Jeff Williams as chief retail officer and Yuneeb Khan as chief operating officer. Williams has more than 20 years of experience in retail, consumer packaged goods and e-commerce. He previously was chief commercial officer at Replenium and senior vice president of U.S. retail and industry relations at NielsenIQ. Williams also currently serves as CEO and principal of Fair Warning Consulting LLC. Khan will maintain his current responsibilities as chief financial officer and oversee the company’s information technology and operations teams. He has served as CFO at Quotient since July 2022. He has over 25 years of global finance and business leadership experience at Nielsen, General Electrics and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Previously, he served as the global president of NielsenIQ’s Consumer Insights business and CFO of Nielsen Global Connect (NielsenIQ) and Nielsen Global Operations and Technology.
• Lightstream, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on cloud, security and network connectivity services, has named Joe Vadakkan as its chief revenue officer. He previously served as Lightstream’s executive vice president of sales and engineering. Vadakkan has over 20 years of experience in global infrastructure and security.