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ACCOUNTING
• Tanner LLC, a Salt Lake City-based certified public accounting firm, has advanced Derek Drysdale to tax partner at the company. Drysdale has 15 years of experience assisting large and small companies navigate international tax and cross-border transactions. His expertise includes global tax structuring, subpart F income mitigation, foreign tax attribute determination, treaty analysis, international aspects of accounting for income taxes, operational transfer pricing, foreign tax credits, IP planning, and reporting of cross-border transactions. He is an expert on the international tax aspects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He previously worked with PwC’s international tax group in Atlanta and served as director of international tax for SanDisk Corp. Drysdale received his bachelor of science and master’s degrees in accounting, with an emphasis on tax, from Brigham Young University.
BANKING
• Weber State Credit Union has changed its name to Ascent Credit Union. The company said the change will help to expand and grow membership beyond the Weber County community and to bring the credit union’s service and technologies to those living in Davis, Box Elder and Morgan counties. The rebrand also includes the introduction of enhanced business services, including improved business accounts to facilitate the growth of small businesses and new business loans, such as commercial real estate, equipment and lines of credit available to business members. The credit union will continue to operate with the same board of directors and staff members.
• Bank of Utah, Ogden, has appointed Ledrich Oller as branch manager for its Provo location and Carrie Haroldsen as branch manager for the City Creek Banking Center. Oller returns to Bank of Utah as the Provo branch manager after previously serving as the bank’s Orem branch manager from 2016-18. He served as branch manager for JP Morgan Chase, as a senior relationship manager for Union Bank of California, and as branch manager and assistant vice president of Bank of America in Houston. Haroldsen started her 14-year career in banking as a teller at Chase Bank and worked her way up as a sales assistant and service associate before becoming a branch manager.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Zions Bancorporation NA, Salt Lake City, as declared a regular quarterly dividend of 34 cents per common share. The dividend is payable May 21 to shareholders of record May 8. The board also declared regular quarterly cash dividends on the company’s various perpetual preferred shares. The cash dividend on the series A, G, H, and I shares are payable June 15 to shareholders of record June 1, while the cash dividend on the Series J shares is payable Sept. 15 to shareholders of record Sept. 1.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 20 among states for participants in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), based on how many businesses secured funds during PPP’s initial round, according to Business.org. Only 7.4 percent of Utah’s small businesses received PPP funding from the initial round of $349 billion. A total of 21,257 loans were funded across Utah, totaling nearly $3.7 billion. Only 5.7 percent of U.S. small businesses received funding in that round.
• Utah is ranked No. 36 on a list of states with the biggest increases in unemployment claims due to the coronavirus, compiled by WalletHub. The most recent list is led by Florida. The least-affected state is New Jersey. Salt Lake City is No. 15 and West Valley City is No. 45 in the list of cities with the biggest growth in unemployment due to COVID-19. Salt Lake City saw its unemployment rise 35.5 percent during the past year, while West Valley City saw a 26.4 percent rise. Salt Lake City’s change in unemployment from January to March of this year was 47.2 percent, while West Valley City’s was 33.1 percent. The largest increase was in Seattle.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• The Women Tech Council, Salt Lake City, recently launched the first-ever SheTech Live Virtual Summit to activate high school girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In past years, SheTech included large, in-person gatherings for girls to connect. This year’s event was launched to provide a live experience where high school girls across the state could come together at the same time, share a common experience, and have insights that help them see how their dreams can be accomplished with technology. The summit included collaboration and partnerships with STEM teachers, technology companies, government officials and education leaders. Over the last seven years, SheTech has activated more than 15,000 girls to pursue STEM fields.
• WGU Labs Inc., Salt Lake City, has been awarded funding from the Charles Koch Foundation to support the creation of the College Innovation Network (CIN). CIN will connect thought leaders from education institutions with educational technology innovators to advance students’ academic, career and life outcomes. WGU Labs is a research and development hub and accelerator for scalable edtech solutions and is leading an effort to identify network member institutions, with a goal of securing six institutions to form the founding members. Omid Fotuhi, WGU Labs’ director of learning innovations and a motivation and human performance researcher, has been tasked with leading the network’s initiatives.
HEALTHCARE
• Solutionreach, a Lehi-based patient engagement and healthcare innovation company, has formed its inaugural SR Health Advisory Board, designed to help the company enhance products and go-to-market strategies for its SR Health initiative. Board members are Dr. Laura Concannon, chief medical officer for the Chicago metro region of Amita Health and who spent most of her career in graduate medical education; Scott Holbrook, partner at Mountain Summit Advisors, one of the founders and owners of KLAS and who served in executive positions at Intermountain Healthcare, GTE, Sunquest Information Systems, Integrated Medical Networks, Park City Solutions, Medicity and Health Catalyst; Dr. Brent Jones, clinical professor at the Clinical Excellence Research Center at the Department of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine; and Marc Probst, chief information officer at Intermountain Healthcare and former partner with Deloitte Consulting and Ernst & Young.
• The biomedical systems division of ELITechGroup Inc., a Logan-based clinical laboratory diagnostic equipment and reagents company, has named Chris Larsen as senior sales director for North America. Larsen has 25 years of experience in customer relations.
INVESTMENTS
• Vivint Solar, a Lehi-based residential solar provider, has secured additional tax equity commitments of $50 million from a repeat tax equity investor. This commitment will support further investments in leases and power purchase agreements. This funding will enable the company to design, procure and build low-cost, clean solar energy systems for more than 4,000 new residential customers.
• Vutiliti, a Salt Lake City-based smart utility monitoring company, has received a Series A investment of $11.75 million, led by Constellation Technology Ventures, the venture investing arm of Exelon Corp., and Cycle Capital Management. Also invested are Chevron Technology Ventures, University Venture Fund and continuing investor Kickstart Seed Fund. The funding will accelerate Vutiliti’s global expansion and development of its proprietary HotDrop technology and utility monitoring systems. Founded in 2015, Vutiliti provides real-time, high-resolution energy monitoring solutions designed to enable businesses to optimize their energy consumption and improve operational efficiencies.
MANUFACTURING
• Ogden’s Own, an independently owned distillery, recently opened a new facility at 615 W. Stockman Way in the Ogden Business Exchange. The 32,000-square-foot location will allow for a 10-fold increase in production volume. It features a bar, which will serve as a tasting room for guests to sample Ogden’s Own products, and a retail shop for Ogden’s Own products and an amphitheater for hosting events with local musicians and artists.
PHILANTHROPY
• IFit, a Logan-based fitness technology company offering trainer-led streaming workouts, has donated 1 million medical-grade surgical masks to the state of Utah. In addition, iFit also will provide a box of masks to each of its 1,400 employees and will provide an additional supply of masks to the city of Logan, Logan Regional Hospital, Logan police and fire departments, Utah State University, Cache Valley Hospital, local nursing homes and essential workers in the Logan area.
• DoTerra, a Pleasant Grove-based aromatherapy and essential oils company, reported that its “Match x3” campaign to support healthcare workers, first responders and organizations on the front lines of COVID-19, reached its goal of $250,000 after less than two weeks. The funds were derived from proceeds from Rose Lotion and Shea Butter collection purchases. The company tripled the proceeds for a donation totaling $750,000.
• C.R. England, a Salt Lake City-based transportation solutions company, and England Logistics, a C.R. England subsidiary and freight brokerage firm, have donated more than 4 million meals to food banks since January 2018. Combined, the two companies have the goal of donating 1 million meals for children annually, a goal which was surpassed both in 2018 and 2019. The campaign is named the “One Initiative.” The efforts are focused on 22 partner food banks in communities where the companies’ employees live and work. Participating food banks include Utah Food Bank.
• Young Living Essential Oils LC, Lehi, has donated $100,000 to the International Rescue Committee (IRC) for its COVID-19 response efforts. Young Living's donation will be used to support the IRC's response to the COVID-19 crisis in refugee camps and vulnerable communities throughout the world, including securing protective gear for frontline health workers and training them on how to isolate and prevent further spread of the virus. The donation also will ensure people have access to accurate information by translating Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directives into hundreds of languages and tribal dialects to help people stay safe. The IRC also distributes hygiene kits, food supplies and educational kits and sets up handwashing stations within refugee camps.
• Progressive Leasing, a Draper-based virtual lease-to-own company and wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Aaron's Inc., is donating 100 used laptop computers to Salt Lake City-area school children who need the technology to participate in distance learning prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Progressive partnered with the Aaron's Business stores to collect laptops from around the country and had them sent to its Denver service center, where they were cleaned and sanitized. The recipients of the laptops were identified by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake, a division of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
• The Larry H. Miller Group of Companies recently had a week-long, statewide food drive at its car dealerships, movie theatres and sports facilities to support the Utah Food Bank and help address food insecurity conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The “Driven to Assist” campaign ran from April 30 through May 6 at all 22 Larry H. Miller Dealerships locations in Utah, 13 LHM Megaplex Theatres, Vivint Smart Home Arena and at Smith’s Ballpark.
SECURITIES
• Incapital, an underwriter and distributor of securities with main offices in Florida and Chicago, has hired William H. Money III and Traci Lohnes Salinas as senior vice presidents of middle market sales. Money, based in Salt Lake City, has more than 30 years of fixed income sales experience. He re-joins the firm from Brean Capital LLC, where he was a managing director of middle market sales. Earlier, he served as the director of fixed income sales at (Amherst) Pierpont Securities and held a similar role at Incapital from 2013-18. Lohnes Salinas, also based in Salt Lake City, has 20 years of industry experience and joins Incapital from Brean Capital LLC, where she was a managing director of fixed income sales. She held similar positions with Cantor Fitzgerald, D.A. Davidson & Co., Sterne Agee and Seattle Northwest Securities.
SPORTS
• Athletic Republic, a Park City-based franchisor of sports performance training centers, has hired Jim Walker as head of science, education and trainer development. Walker is a nationally recognized expert in the field of performance training and biomechanics. Walker was the sport science program director at TOSH-Intermountain Healthcare for 27 years. His professional interest and expertise is in the connection between physiology and movement mechanics and how they relate to performance, and injury risk and prevention. He has advised and coached athletes in multiple sports over the years. His education includes Ph.D. in exercise and sport science from the University of Utah.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• BambooHR, a Lindon-based human resources platform company, has appointed Amy Frampton as head of marketing. Frampton has nearly two decades of marketing and technology experience. She joins BambooHR after spending more than 15 years in technology and marketing leadership roles in the greater Seattle area. Previously, she was vice president of product marketing at Smartsheet and before that served in marketing and leadership positions at Vulcan, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Microsoft.
• NetDocuments, a Salt Lake City-based cloud-based content services and productivity platform for law firms, corporate legal teams and compliance departments, has hired Hugo Doetsch as chief financial officer. Doetsch has nearly two decades of operational and Wall Street experience. He has served as an operator, investment banker and investor. . Prior to joining NetDocuments, Hugo served as head of finance, investor relations, and strategy and corporate development for Ping Identity, and global head of services investment banking for Citigroup in New York, New York. Doetsch replaces Pete Childs, who retired from his position as NetDocuments CFO in April.
• Canopy, a Lehi-based cloud-based practice management platform for accounting professionals, has hired Alison Fuller as vice president of finance. She will be responsible for all financial planning, accounting and reporting functions. Fuller’s background includes corporate finance, financial planning and analysis, decision support and risk management spanning both startups and Fortune 500 companies. She joins Canopy Vivint Smart Home, where she was the senior finance director. She also was a finance director at American Express and a senior financial analyst at Walmart.com.