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ASSOCIATIONS
• Clint Morris has been named chairman of the Utah Manufacturers Association board of directors. He is senior vice president of marketing for Lifetime Products, Clearfield. Morris has been a board member and executive board member for nearly seven years.
BANKING
• Crew’s Investment Bank, Salt Lake City, has hired Morgan Edwards and Paul Leck as capital markets specialists. Edwards resides in Connecticut, adding to the New York metro-area office, while Leck lives in Utah and will work out of Crewe’s Salt Lake City headquarters. Leck joins as senior vice president of capital markets, having accumulated more than a decade of experience in the industry, including roles at Credit Suisse and Macquarie where he worked with technology, media, telecom, metals and mining, and aerospace and defense companies through all phases of growth. Edwards takes on the role of managing director and head of debt capital markets. He has 25 years of industry experience, including posts at Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns and Macquarie. His background includes deal structuring and restructuring, as well as negotiating and syndication.
COMMUNICATIONS
• The Utah Broadband Center, part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, has launched a statewide Internet speed test campaign for Utahns to report their Internet speed at home, work or wherever they connect. In partnership with GeoPartners, a geospatial engineering firm, data from the Utah Internet Speed Test campaign will be mapped and used to identify areas of low or no access to high-speed Internet. The Utah Broadband Center will use this data to guide resources to projects that increase access to high-speed Internet for all Utahns and augment the state’s knowledge of Internet availability across Utah. Utahns are encouraged to go to speedtest.utah.gov to report their internet speed. Individuals can also identify areas with low or no service, or where access to the Internet is unaffordable within this test and survey. Individuals without Internet access can call the hotline at 1-435-777-TEST (8378) to report why they don’t have access.
• WeLink, a Lehi-based fixed wireless broadband provider, has hired John Paul Farmer as chief innovation officer and president of WeLink Cities. In addition to his leadership roles at WeLink, Farmer serves as a fellow of the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Urban Research. Farmer joins WeLink after serving as the chief technology officer of New York City since June 2019. Farmer has served in public- and private-sector leadership roles, including senior advisor for innovation in the White House under Pres. Barack Obama and director of technology and civic innovation at Microsoft. He also played professional baseball in the minor leagues.
CONSTRUCTION
• HNTB Corp., an employee-owned engineering and architecture firm, has named Catherine Curtis as Northwest Division sales officer and associate vice president. Based in the company’s Salt Lake City office, she will oversee client infrastructure needs in the division, which comprises an eight-state region. Curtis has 20 years of civil infrastructure experience, including development and implementation of sales and growth strategies for surface transportation, transit, rail and aviation sectors throughout the U.S. She previously was director of strategy and business development for a 600-person civil engineering firm. Prior to transitioning to corporate roles, Curtis led marketing efforts at a national level for alternative delivery pursuits and, prior to that, led Utah marketing efforts to capture environmental, planning, design, construction management and design-build projects for the Utah Department of Transportation, Utah Transit Authority and local municipality clients.
• Sundt Construction Inc., an Arizona-based general contractor, has hired Keenan Driscoll as chief financial officer. He will support executive leadership in driving business performance with short-term and long-term business decisions regarding asset and liability management, risk management and effective internal controls. He will also join the Sundt Cos. board of directors. Driscoll joins Sundt after more than 11 years with AECOM, serving as the company’s global treasurer as well as the chief finance and operations officer for the Americas, with responsibility for financial planning, controllership, project accounting, support services, procurement and real estate. Prior to joining AECOM, Driscoll spent 10 years working in investment banking. He began his career in the construction industry as a project engineer after graduating from college.
CONTESTS
• Submissions are being accepted through March 25 for BoomStartup Accelerator’s open and global business pitch competition, called PitchUp Three. The competition is for companies that are improving the future by applying technology-based innovations to solve some of our world’s greatest problems. Participating founders will learn how to collect and structure their business and innovation ideas into a business plan, a product demo video, and into a pitch presentation, with the BoomStart mentor community available as resources. Finalists will be announced April 8, with a live final event scheduled for April 15. Categories are Climate & Sustainability, Education & Intelligence, Health & Wellness, Logistics & Transportation, Enterprise Solutions, Finance and Digital Toolkits. The winner of each category will receive $5,000 value in business services from BoomStartup and the sponsors, plus $1,000 in cash. One finalist who intends to penetrate the Taiwanese market will be selected to participate in the Taiwan Startup Terrace Virtual Landing Program to provide a gateway to the Asian market. Details are at https://boomstartup.com/pitchup/.
DIRECT SALES
• Young Living, a Lehi-provider of essential oils, has promoted Hsueh-Kung Lin to chief scientist. Lin will be responsible for leading the strategy within the research and development team. His career includes serving as an instructor and research assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, and serving as a tenured professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, which he maintained until his retirement from the university in 2018. In 2007, Lin expanded his research topics to include essential oils and natural products and published scientific papers on frankincense. He was chairman of the board for the Association for the International Research of Aromatic Science and Education (AIRASE) and a scientific advisor for Young Living.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Five communities have joined the Economic Development Corporation of Utah’s Development Ready Communities program, which helps public-sector counties and municipalities in their economic development efforts to attract and grow competitive, high-value companies and foster the expansion of local businesses. The five join 14 other previously recognized communities in the certification program. The five are Cache County, Layton City, Ogden City, Spanish Fork City and Tooele City. To become Development Ready-certified, economic development professionals must complete a five-stage program.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 16 on a list of “2022’s Best States To Live In,” compiled by market research company TOP Data. It analyzed 76 metrics organized into eight key indicators of satisfaction and happiness. Utah was ranked No. 6 for both economy and job opportunity, No. 13 for infrastructure, No. 25 for crime and safety, No. 26 for healthcare, No. 27 for affordability, and No. 28 for both education and quality of life. Wyoming was the top-ranked state. Louisiana was No. 50. Details are at https://topagency.com/report/best-worst-states/.
• Utah is ranked No. 23 on a list of “2022’s Most Educated States in America,” compiled by scholarship website Scholaroo. It compared educational attainment levels and the quality of schools in all 50 states. The data set contained 19 metrics ranging from the share of college graduates to the share of vocational school graduates to literacy and numeracy rates. Utah ranked No. 28 for educational attainment and No. 19 for school quality. It also was No. 25 for the best school system in America, No. 5 for literacy rate, No. 7 for numeracy rate, and No. 23 for the share of bachelor degrees. Topping the overall list was Massachusetts. Oklahoma was bottom-ranked. Details are at https://scholaroo.com/most-least-educated-states/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Granite School District has partnered with business leaders in the Salt Lake area to launch the CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program to give high school seniors the opportunity and skills to create businesses of their own. Each student will be paired with a local business leader that will act as a mentor in helping them start their own business. Class time will be dedicated to planning and creating a real, functioning business. Students also will visit more than 30 local businesses throughout the year, hear from dozens of guest speakers that are business leaders in the community, and work together on a class-centered business to learn the skills necessary to run their own business. At the conclusion of the year, students will sell their own product or service at an annual tradeshow that showcases student-owned businesses. The Midland Institute for Entrepreneurship created the CEO program in 2008. There are 64 programs in seven states, this being the first of its kind in Utah. Twenty students will participate in the program, set to begin this fall. Details are at www.GraniteCEO.com.
GOVERNMENT
• The Utah Main Street Program Advisory Committee has named seven designated Tier Two communities to receive Downtown Enhancement Grant awards totaling $190,000. The grants help communities revitalize their economy, appearance and downtown commercial districts. The seven communities are Brigham City, Cedar City, Helper, Mount Pleasant, Ogden, Price and Tooele. The communities will join or are already members of the National Main Street America organization. Priority projects highlighted in the applications include establishing community main street groups, identifying downtown revitalization priorities, facade grants for downtown businesses and buildings, wayfinding signage, information kiosks, lighting and other community-building projects. The program’s matching grant supports local initiatives and maximizes locally provided funds and in-kind contributions focused on downtown revitalization.
• Utah has been allocated more than $2.8 million from the U.S. Department of the Interior for abandoned mine land reclamation efforts in fiscal year 2022. It is part of $144 million available for states and tribes. It is in addition to the $725 million fiscal 2022 investment from Pres. Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accelerate cleaning up abandoned mine lands across the country announced in February.
HEALTHCARE
• Civica Inc., Lehi, has announced plans to manufacture and distribute insulins that, once approved, will be available to people with diabetes at significantly lower prices than insulins currently on the market. Civica, along with CivicaScript and The Civica Foundation, is collaborating on this effort with several partners, including Arnold Ventures, Beyond Type 1, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and 12 independent BCBS companies, Gary and Mary West Foundation, Glen Tullman Family Foundation, Intermountain Healthcare, JDRF, Kaiser Permanente, Peterson Center on Healthcare, Providence, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Transcarent and Trinity Health. Civica will produce three insulins: glargine, lispro and aspart, which are biologics corresponding to, and interchangeable with, Lantus, Humalog and Novolog, respectively. Each will be available both in vials and prefilled pens. Civica will co-develop and manufacture the drug product, complete the clinical trials, and file the necessary applications for FDA approval. Civica plans to set a recommended price to the consumer of no more than $30 per vial and no more than $55 for a box of five pen cartridges. Civica has entered into co-development and commercial agreement with GeneSys Biologics for the three insulin biosimilars. The insulins will be manufactured at Civica’s 140,000-square-foot manufacturing plant being built in Petersburg, Virginia. Contingent on FDA approval, Civica anticipates that the first insulin, glargine, will be available for purchase in early 2024.
• ARUP Laboratories, a Salt Lake City-based national reference laboratory and a nonprofit enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology, has renamed its team of healthcare consultants as ARUP Healthcare Advisory Services. It previously was known as Consultative Services. ARUP said the change “better reflects the broad service offerings the team can provide to both ARUP’s clients and prospective clients, including lab stewardship, revenue cycle and quality management, lab operations and business strategy solutions, and more.” The team includes 15 consultants.
INSURANCE
• LGAA LLC, A Cedar City-based company focused on insurance agents, brokers and service, and some its affiliated agencies (collectively Leavitt) are notifying certain people of a security incident that may impact the privacy of a limited amount of personal information. Leavitt said it is unaware of any misuse of individual information but is providing notice to potentially affected people so they may take steps to protect themselves if they feel it is appropriate. In March 2021, LGAA’s data center learned of possible unauthorized access to some of the data stored on its systems. A subsequent investigation determined that certain data relating to some of Leavitt’s employees, clients and/or plan participants might have been accessed by someone without authorization between approximately Feb. 16 and March 18, 2021. The types of personal information potentially impacted varies by individual. Details are at https://response.idx.us/lgaa.
INVESTMENTS
• IFIT Health & Fitness, a Logan-based global fitness and well-being subscription technology company, has announced a $355 million capital raise led by L Catterton. The company said the funds will enable more focus and investment in growing iFIT’s leading brands, content library and product offerings to enhance the member experience. At the same time, the company said, it will also invest in efficiency measures to increase profitability for reinvestment. IFIT has over 7.3 million total members across more than 120 countries. IFIT said it also has amicably resolved its outstanding litigation matter with one of its shareholders.
• Atomic, a Salt Lake City-based provider of payroll connectivity solutions, has raised $40 million in Series B funding. The round was co-led by Mercato Partners and Greylock, with participation from Core Innovation Capital, Portage and ATX Venture Partners. The funding follows a Series A round of $22 million announced last October. The company said it will use the Series B proceeds to advance its vision of enabling consumers with limited access to financial services “to invest, save and build wealth by unlocking the power of their paychecks.”
• Red Door Capital Partners LLC, a Salt Lake City-based independent private equity firm, has announced it was part of a syndication group for the seed financing of Greenscreens.ai, a technology company in the logistic and supply chain management industry. The amount was not disclosed. The financing was led by Tiger Global, with participation from Flyer One Ventures, Cambridge Capital, Navigate Ventures, Jones Capital, Red Door Capital, Overton Venture Capital, Operator Stack Fund and Refashiond Ventures. Greenscreens.ai is a dynamic pricing infrastructure for the truckload spot rate market that delivers buy- and sell-side market intelligence and business insights to help freight brokers and 3PLs grow and protect margins.
LAW
• Buchalter has hired six attorneys for its Salt Lake City office, including Lance Lehnhof as shareholder, plus Karl Israelsen and Trevor Fugate. Lehnhof advises clients on corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, strategic ventures and transactions and general corporate law matters facing companies ranging from startups to seasoned industry leaders. His education includes a bachelor’s degree in international studies and his J.D., both from Brigham Young University. Israelsen, who will work out of both the Salt Lake City and Los Angeles offices, counsels clients on venture capital and angel financings, mergers and acquisitions, fund formation, private equity transaction, public offerings, SEC reporting, business formation, and corporate governance. Israelsen is an adjunct professor of economics and finance at the Utah State University. Fugate focuses on assisting with corporate and transactional matters.
• Mayer Brown has hired Scott Young for the firm’s Salt Lake City office as a partner in its Technology & IP Transactions and Emerging Companies & Venture Capital practice groups. Young also is part of the firm's Global Technology and Life Sciences Industry groups. His practice focuses on the development and commercialization of technology and the marketing and distribution of products and services. Young has over 25 years of experience representing clients in hundreds of technology-related transactions. His also has experience working with companies in the software, SaaS, medical device, healthcare and energy industries. He also advises emerging company clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions and venture capital and angel financing transactions. His education includes a BA in international and area studies from Brigham Young University and a BA in physics from the University of Utah.
LOGISTICS
• The Utah Inland Port Authority, a multimodal logistics agency with a regional approach to increase utilization and expand access for commerce throughout Utah, has hired Mona Smith as an environmental engineer to support the port’s environmental compliance program. Smith will help implement environmentally sustainable practices that reduce risk and positively impact the quality of life for Utahns. She has over four years’ experience supporting environmental and remediation and revitalization projects. She has worked with clients of the federal government across the U.S., including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Alaska and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Illinois.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• Stage Marketing, a Provo-based digital and experiential marketing agency, has promoted Lathum Nelson to chief experience officer.
Nelson joined Stage Marketing in 2019 after a career at an entertainment PR firms in Los Angeles. At Stage, he has served as vice president of client services. Nelson also worked 10 years in the health marketing field.
PARTNERSHIPS
• The Utah Jazz and CoinZoom, a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange and leading fintech company, have announced a partnership naming CoinZoom as the official cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace for the Jazz. With CoinZoom as the exclusive provider, the Jazz will list all its NFTs on the CoinZoom NFT marketplace. The partnership will enable Jazz fans to scan a QR code at their Vivint Arena seats and get the latest Jazz NFT drops with their CoinZoom app. Jazz fans will be able to purchase the latest Jazz NFTs with a myriad of payment options, including credit cards, wires, ACH, direct deposits, and more than 40 other cryptocurrencies. CoinZoom will receive prominent signage in the arena and be featured on the Jazz app, social media, merchandise, trivia contests, crypto giveaways and radio spots.
• DoTerra, Pleasant Grove, and the University of Mississippi National Center for Natural Products Research, based in the UM School of Pharmacy, have signed a five-year partnership that will focus on establishing quality standards for the essential oil industry. As part of the partnership, NCNPR will study the chemometrics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and metabolomics of essential oils. DoTerra and NCNPR expect the research will result in multiple peer-reviewed, published studies that will serve the broader essential oils and scientific communities.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Larry H. Miller Co. and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation recently held a “Driven to Assist” cash and donation drive to benefit refugees fleeing Ukraine. Monetary donations were made to the Community Foundation of Utah through LHM.com were matched up to $2 million, with contributions from the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, Todd and Andie Pedersen Family, Ryan and Ashley Smith, Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation, Kem and Carolyn Gardner Family, the Huntsman Family Foundation, Jeremy and Kristin Andrus Family Foundation, Ron and Janet Jibson Family Foundation, Bert and Lynnie Zimmerli Family Foundation, Zions Bank, Larry H. Miller Co. employees, and other anonymous donors. Intermountain Healthcare joined the effort by preparing to airlift donated goods to bordering countries to aid refugees fleeing Ukraine in the coming months. CFU will distribute donated funds to trusted organizations on the ground.
• Ultradent Products Inc., a South Jordan-based developer and manufacturer of high-tech dental materials, devices and instruments, has donated 10 percent of its U.S. sales on March 3 to USA for UNHCR as a way of supporting Ukrainian refugees.
REAL ESTATE
• Brixton Capital has purchased the Dillard’s building and parcel located at Brixton’s Provo Towne Centre in Provo from Arkansas-based Dillard’s for an undisclosed sum. Dillard’s will relocated its store. Brixton Capital said it is in advanced negotiations to re-lease most of the property to a national retailer. Renovation of the 206,240-square-foot, two-story building for a new retailer will begin this summer. It expects the new store to open within the next two years, once the renovation of the building is complete. Brixton Capital has owned Provo Towne Centre since 2016.
• Colliers, Salt Lake City, has hired Brandon Goodman as executive vice president and Nate Monson as vice president. Both previously worked at Mountain West Real Estate. Hey specialize in the investment and divestment of retail shopping centers, with over $500 million in sold properties since 2019. They also provide brokerage strategy for industrial, multifamily, office and mobile home properties.
• Evergreen Devco Inc., a retail, multifamily and industrial development company with an office in Kaysville, has hired Jeremy Carver as vice president of Utah multifamily. He will lead the company’s Utah multifamily development and value-add pursuits. Carver has been in the commercial real estate industry for more than 20 years, and has developed and acquired multifamily communities across the U.S. and internationally. He also has experience in structuring joint ventures and in the financial underwriting of complex real estate transactions. He graduated from Brigham Young University.
• Sagebrush Homes at Ephraim Crossing has announced its new construction team: Ephraim-based Todd Alder Construction. Alder will oversee the management and construction of 50 home sites with four currently under construction, and home sales managed by Ephraim native Tiffany Alder underway. Construction financing, home loans and title services also are being facilitated locally. Todd Alder Construction has provided all pre-development services for Sagebrush Homes, including streets, sidewalks, water and sewer. The project’s construction financing was completed by Casey Dyreng of State Bank of Southern Utah, and home loans are being facilitated by Kristofer Jorgensen of Security National Mortgage Co.’s Ephraim office. Title services are being offered through Central Utah Title.
• The St. Regis Deer Valley has announced the $37 million sellout of the first phase of The Residences at The St. Regis Deer Valley/Snow Park. The Residences is a 55,000-square-feet, five-story building at the base of Deer Valley Resort. The first phase features nine residences. A new upscale restaurant is planned to open in The Residences later this year. The Astor Bar is open on the first level of The Residences. The main resort building has several restaurant options. The second phase of The Snow Park Residences, currently planned for completion in 2024, will include 12 residences in a new five-story property. The Residences is owned by SRDV Partners LLC, a partnership between Deer Crest Associates LLC and Falcon SRDV Investors LLC.
• Veritas Funding, a Midvale-based mortgage lender, has promoted Tom Gledhill to vice president of sales. He is tasked with the continued growth of sales and recruitment for the lender. Gledhill previously was the company’s regional manager. Gledhill has over 25 years of experience.
• IHP Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm, and homebuilder Fieldstone Homes have announce a joint venture in the acquisition of 63 large single-family lots in Saratoga Springs for the development of a new community named Alpine Springs. Northeast of Foothill Boulevard and Pony Express Parkway, the community will offer one- and two-story homes of varying sizes and floorplans. Groundbreaking is scheduled for early 2022, with presales beginning in the second quarter. Model homes and a grand opening are expected in the fourth quarter, with project completion expected in 2024. The joint venture acquired the community’s 21-acre project site from Alpine School District. Terms of the transaction are not disclosed. Alpine Springs is the seventh new community Fieldstone and IHP are building together since 2020.
RECOGNITIONS
• Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on SaaS-based channel management and partner relationship management (PRM), has been named a winner in the 2022 BIG Innovation Awards, presented by the Business Intelligence Group. The company was recognized for its recently released Impartner PX PartnerExperience, a PRM interface. Organizations worldwide submitted their recent innovations for consideration in the BIG Innovation Awards. Nominations were then judged by a group of business leaders and executives.
• England Logistics, a Salt Lake City-based freight brokerage firm, has been ranked No. 33 on Training magazine’s 2022 APEX Awards list. The award was formerly known as the Training Top 100 award. This is the fifth consecutive year England Logistics has received this honor, climbing in the rankings each year. The APEX Awards rank organizations based on employer-sponsored training and development programs.
RECREATION
• Snowbasin, Huntsville, and Sun Valley in Idaho have been added as destinations for both the Ikon Pass and The Mountain Collective for the 2022-23 winter season. Ikon Passes went on sale March 10. Grand America Hotels & Resorts is the parent company of Snowbasin and Sun Valley. Ikon Pass holders have access to 50 global destinations. The Mountain Collective Pass boasts two days at each of the collective’s destinations, for a total of 44 days of access, and 50 percent off all additional days without any blackout dates.
• Deer Valley Resort has announced plans to invest $20 million in renovations for 2022 and beyond. The investment will fund a new Burns Express chairlift to provide expanded access to beginner terrain, a reimagined Snow Park base area, new mountain bike trails, and additional investments throughout the resort to maintain the guest experience.
RESTAURANTS
• Famous Dave’s, a Minnesota-based barbecue franchise, has opened its first drive-through location at 2435 S. State St., South Salt Lake. Famous Dave’s has 134 restaurants nationwide. The drive-through restaurant is a former KFC location and will be operated by franchise partners Olympic BBQ, an Ascend Hospitality Group (AHG) company, which operates six other Famous Dave’s locations, two of which are in Utah.
SCHOLARSHIPS
• Western Governors University and the Alpine School District have presented the first “Pathway to Become a Teacher” Scholarship to Tristan Chile. A paraeducator at Barratt Elementary School, Chile is pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching, Elementary Education, after seeing a poster in the faculty lounge promoting the scholarship. The partnership between WGU and Alpine School District encourages faculty and staff to pursue high-quality, respected credentials through the online, nonprofit university. Nine additional Alpine employees will be selected to receive this award to be applied to an approved, WGU bachelor’s or master’s degree program. Additionally, Alpine employees are eligible to apply for the $2,500 WGU K-12 Partner Scholarship.
SERVICES
• You Move Me, a local moving company, has opened a location in Salt Lake City. Nanumi Lolohea is general manager and Scott Vilayphone is operations manager. Lolohea originally joined the You Move Me Kansas City location in 2021. You Move Me has 21 independently owned and operated franchise locations across the U.S. and Canada.
TECHNOLOGY
• Lucid Software, a South Jordan-based visual collaboration software company, has announced a permanent shift to a hybrid, remote-friendly workforce while maintaining its global offices as spaces for teams to work, connect and collaborate. It also announced it has opened a second U.S.-based office in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company has more than 1,000 employees. The Raleigh hub will have a particular focus on growing Lucid’s product, engineering and sales teams, allowing for more comprehensive support for its North American customers.