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COMMUNICATIONS
- Alta Labs, Hurricane, has entered the global enterprise Wi-Fi and network switching marketplace. Its new cloud-managed WiFi 6 access points, the AP6 and AP6-Pro, recently began shipping in select markets around the world, with its initial offering of network switches set to ship in the third quarter of 2023. Alta Labs is designing, engineering and manufacturing a portfolio of enterprise-grade network solutions. The CEO is Chase Harrison.
CONSTRUCTION
- Big-D Construction, Salt Lake City, has promoted Braden Moore to vice president of the company’s Salt Lake City Group. In his new role, Moore will be working with new and existing clients, supporting their building programs and projects. He will also be working with customers as the project executive on select projects with his client base. He also will play a business operations role within the group, helping with WIP forecasting, A/R, risk management, contracts and job costing. Moore has worked at Big-D Construction for 14 years, starting in its field concrete crew before moving into roles in estimating, project management, project director and project development. He most recently served as the national project development director for the Big-D Family of Companies.
CORPORATE
- The Larry H. Miller Co. has announced the election of its newest board member, Paul J. Carbone, the co-founder and president of Pritzker Private Capital. Carbone also chairs the PPC management and investment committees. Carbone has been with PPC and its predecessor since 2012 and was previously president and managing partner. Prior to his time with PPC, Carbone was the director and managing partner for the private equity group of Robert W. Baird & Co. and also senior vice president in the Investment Banking Group at Kidder, Peabody & Co. During the LHM May meetings, the board chair appointed Mary Lee Schneideras the lead independent director. She joined the board in August 2015. Schneider also serves on the board of directors for PGIM’s Alternative Investments Funds and the board of trustees for Penn State University. She has served on the boards of Active International, Old World Industries and Intermatic. She was the president and CEO of SG360° and Follett Corp. and also spent 20 years at RR Donnelley, where she ultimately served as president for digital solutions and chief technology officer. She started her career in publishing, working for Conde Nast Publications, Time Inc. and McGraw Hill. Also in May, founding board member Dennis “Denny” Haslam retired from the LHM Company board. Haslam previously worked for the Larry H. Miller Co., including as president of the Utah Jazz and Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment. After he retired from the LHM Company, Haslam assisted Gail Miller in forming the company’s board of directors in 2015. Prior to joining LHM, he founded the law firm Winder & Haslam in 1983. Haslam graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in history and received his juris doctor from the University of Utah College of Law.
FUZE Biotech, a Salt Lake City-based company offering clean, chemical-free solutions for odor control and moisture management on textiles, apparel and more, has changed its name to FUZE Technologies. The company said the new name will complement the brand’s growing list of clean solutions for anti-bacterial, cooling and fast-drying performance. As part of this transition, FUZE will be launching a new website at www.fuze47.com. The “47” is a nod to the atomic weight of silver, the non-ionic agent providing antimicrobial benefits in the gold-powered FUZE product.
DIVIDENDS
- The board of directors of Extra Space Storage Inc., Salt Lake City, has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share on the common stock of the company for the second quarter. The dividend is payable June 30 to stockholders of record June 15. is a real estate investment trust that owns and/or operates 2,388 self-storage properties. It is the second-largest owner and/or operator of self-storage properties in the United States and is the largest self-storage management company in the nation.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- The Economic Development Corporation of Utah has announced several promotions. Colby Cooley will assume the role of senior vice president of operations. In his new role, he will oversee EDCUtah’s business development and research verticals as well as internal operations of the company. Cooley came to EDCUtah in 2015 after working at the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity as lead fellow. He previously served as EDCUtah’s business development manager, director of business strategy and outreach, and vice president of business development. He earned a B.A. in history at the University of Utah. Erin Farr has succeeded Cooley as vice president of business development. In her new role, she will manage the business development team and oversee activities, including project management, the Global Strategy & Outreach program, and the “Know the Customer” program. Farr has more than 10 years of management consulting, operations and project management experience, and six years of direct business development experience. She has served as EDCUtah’s senior business development manager. Prior to EDCUtah, she worked for a local investment advisory firm and, before that, in Washington, D.C., as a management consultant to the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation and for the U.S. Senate. Her education includes a B.S. from Brigham Young University. Sara Adelman has become vice president of marketing, where she will continue to oversee EDCUtah’s brand and reputation, marketing campaigns, events and other strategic initiatives to drive project acquisition and investor value. Adelman has more than 10 years of marketing and communications experience across the nonprofit, government and IT sectors, most recently leading the content marketing strategy at Cityworks. EDCUtah also announced that Greta Hepworth, its events manager, will be launching a new employee experience program in fiscal year 2024. Her vision is to build on EDCUtah’s existing organizational culture with a formal program that fosters connection and belonging among all employees. Jake Berlin, a former EDCUtah business development manager, is collaborating with the organization on a temporary contract basis while it work to fill an existing business development position. Berlin managed many of EDCUtah’s large industrial projects from 2017-20.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 8 and West Valley City is No. 177 on a list of “Best Hiking Cities in the U.S.,” compiled by LawnStarter. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on five categories, factoring in hiking trail access and quality, climate and safety, among 15 key indicators of hiker-friendliness. On breakout lists, Salt Lake City is ranked No. 4 for most hiking routes, and West Valley City is tied with several other cities for lowest share of moderately difficult and hard hiking trails. The top-ranked city overall is Portland, Oregon. The No. 200 city is Jersey City, New Jersey. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-for-hiking/#rankings.
- The route of Ogden to Moab via U.S. 89 and Interstate 70 is ranked No. 22 on a list of “Best Weekend Road Trips,” compiled by Gunther Motor Co. It surveyed regular road-trippers to find out the most popular 100 weekend road trips they would most like to experience in summer 2023. The No. 1 trip is from New York City to Niagara Falls via interstates 87 and 90. Details are at https://www.gunthermotorcompany.com/top-100-weekend-road-trips.htm.
- Salt Lake City is ranked No. 19 and West Valley City is No. 164 on a list of “Best Biking Cities in the U.S.,” compiled by LawnStarter. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on 27 indicators of a cyclist-friendly lifestyle, including access to bike trails and bike rentals, the share of bike commuters, the presence of cycling clubs, and the number of bike races and tours. The top-ranked city is San Francisco. The No. 200 city is Jackson, Mississippi. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-biking-cities/#rankings.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
- The Weber State University Board of Trustees Executive Committee has approved the selection of Jessica Oyler as the inaugural vice president of student access and success. Since arriving at WSU in 2008, Oyler has held leadership roles in human resources and student affairs, most recently serving as associate provost of enrollment management and student success. Her education includes a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy from the University of Utah. In her new role, Oyler will be charged with simplifying processes for students to navigate the university and to find support through inclusive programs. The new SAS division aligns areas of enrollment management and student success with areas that fell under the former student affairs division. The VP of SAS position replaces the VP of Student Affairs.
ENERGY
- WSP USA, an engineering, environment and professional services consultancy, has successfully completed drilling operation and mechanical integrity tests for two new cavern wells for the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) I project in Utah, which is part of the first phase for the ACES Delta hydrogen hub. The ACES I project will convert renewable energy into green hydrogen that can be stored in utility-scale solution mined domal salt caverns. The ACES Delta hydrogen hub controls the only known "Gulf Coast"-style domal-quality salt formation in the western U.S., which contains five existing salt caverns already being used for storing liquid fuels. Advanced Clean Energy Storage Iis a wholly owned subsidiary of ACES Delta LLC, a joint venture between Magnum Development and Mitsubishi Power Americas. WSP was contracted for the designing, drilling and completion of both cavern wells. Upon completion of the solution mining process, the total cavern volume of 9 million barrels-equivalent will be able to store around 300 gigawatt hours of clean and reliable energy in the form of hydrogen. These will be the fourth and fifth hydrogen-compatible caverns in the U.S., and the salt cavern storage capacity will make it possible to store excess renewable energy produced in the spring when energy demand is low and use it to generate energy in the summer when demand is high.
- Utah Clean Energy is seeking donations for its Climate Innovation Center. Supporters Kathie and Mark Miller and the Ray & Tye Noorda Foundation have pledged to double all gifts made to the Climate Innovation Center, up to a total of $55,000, and gifts or pledges must be received by June 30, to be match-eligible. Gifts may be pledged over a three-year period. Utah Clean Energy is renovating what was an energy-intensive building to make it one of the country’s most energy-efficient, climate-wise buildings featuring state-of-the-art, zero energy design. The building will serve as the new headquarters for Utah Clean Energy. Details are at https://utahcleanenergy.networkforgood.com/projects/193452.
GOVERNMENT
- The Utah Department of Workforce Services has named Mario Kljajo as director of the Refugee Services Office. Kljajo, a refugee from Bosnia who came to the U.S. in 1997, succeeds Asha Parekh, who has led Utah’s refugee program the last nine years and has accepted a position with the Salt Lake County’s District Attorney’s Office. Working with the department since 2010, Kljajo has held leadership roles within the Refugee Services, Eligibility and Workforce Development divisions. He currently leads the refugee employment team and is the Metro Employment Center manager.
- Mark Siddoway and David Zucker have been appointed to the School and Institutional Trust Funds Office Board of Trustees. SITFO is an independent state agency with a five-member Board of Trustees, chaired by the state treasurer, to invest the funds produced by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration’s management of land granted to trusts for the support of state institutions, the largest being a trust for the perpetual support of public schools. Siddoway is appointed to fill the open seat concluding John Lunt’s term. His service continues through June 30, 2029. Zucker will serve the remainder of Kent Misener’s unexpired term that ends June 30, 2026. Siddoway has served as the president of Cynosure Advisors since 2022. Prior to Cynosure, he spent 11 years as the head of client relations at Grandeur Peak Global Advisors and previously was a portfolio manager and asset allocator in the Lehigh University Investment Office and deputy chief investment officer at Utah Retirement Systems. Zucker is managing partner of the private investment firm Lead Lap Enterprises. He has 30 years of experience as a chairman, CEO and general manager of public and private companies and company divisions in the media, business services, marketing services, consumer, healthcare and technology sectors. Zucker also serves as board chair for a healthcare organization with a $4 billion foundation.
- The Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation is awarding over $20 million in grants to enhance outdoor recreation opportunities throughout Utah. The division will award more than $16 million in Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant funds to 90 outdoor recreation infrastructure projects in 24 counties across Utah, and $4.2 million in Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Grants to 51 OHV-related projects in 28 counties. The UORG funds are used to support a variety of outdoor recreation projects and initiatives, such as park development, trail maintenance and conservation efforts. The OHV Recreation grants support projects that improve OHV trails, increase user access, promote safety and education, and enhance the overall OHV experience for Utah residents and visitors. The bi-annual OHV Recreation Grant will reopen for the summer cycle through July 31 at 5 p.m. Details are at recreation.utah.gov/grants/ohvr/. Since 2015, the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant has awarded over $50 million to 489 projects for building or restoring outdoor recreation infrastructure across Utah. The OHV Recreation Grant has funded more than $10 million to 270 projects since it was created in 2020.
- Salt Lake County has received nearly $170,000 from the Federal Communications Commission to promote enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program. The primary goal of this program is to help provide Salt Lake County residents with subsidized, or even free, access to the Internet. The ACP was expanded via the infrastructure bill (lifeline program) and now offers a $30 monthly benefit for high-speed, in-home broadband service and a $50 benefit for devices. That amount increases to $75 a month for Native Americans. Only about 13 percent of Utah’s eligible population have enrolled in the ACP.
- Utah will have nearly $5.8 million available from Department of the Interior to clean up legacy pollution, part of nearly $725 million nationally. The funds are available to 22 states and the Navajo Nation to create high-paying jobs and catalyze economic opportunity by reclaiming abandoned coal mine lands. The law provides a total of $11.3 billion in abandoned mine land funding over 15 years. This funding is expected to enable reclamation of the majority of current inventoried abandoned mine lands in the U.S. Nearly $725 million was allocated in the first year.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting applications for Small Business Lending Company licenses for the first time in over 40 years. The application deadline is July 31. The SBA approves licenses for selected non-depository lenders to increase responsible small-business lending. A license allows the lending organization to use government guarantees when underwriting small-business loans to reduce the level of risk to the lender and cost to the borrower. As a result, SBLCs are positioned to write higher volumes of loans to small businesses than possible without a government guarantee. There are currently 14 SBLC licenses in the marketplace today. An SBA rule finalized last month lifted the moratorium on additional licenses. SBA will issue up to three new licenses to qualified lenders based on a review of applications received during this application window. Applications can be submitted at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/05/22/2023-10310/small-business-lending-company-application-process.
- The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced the designation of nine new national recreation trails in nine states, adding 340 miles to the National Trails System. It includes the Iron Hills Trail System, a 29-mile network of trails on Bureau of Land Management land in southwest Utah. The trail system is known for its mountain biking opportunities, but is also a popular destination for hikers, trail runners, equestrians and wildlife viewers. The newly designated trails join a network of more than 1,300 existing national recreation trails. The trails are jointly coordinated and administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, in conjunction with federal and nonprofit partners.
HEALTHCARE
- Centura Health, based in Colorado, has named Jim Sheets as group president, responsible for the CommonSpirit Health hospitals and clinics in Denver and Fort Morgan, Colorado; and Utah. In his role, Sheets will provide strategic and operational leadership to the five Holy Cross hospitals in Utah and be responsible for the health system’s continued growth in Denver and Utah. Jim started his career with CommonSpirit Health in California and Arizona and has served in progressive leadership roles with Intermountain Healthcare for 16 years. Most recently, he served as chief operating officer for Acute Care. His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from the University of Utah. Jim is an adjunct professor in the Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, teaching in the Master’s in Healthcare Administration program, and has served on the Utah Hospital Association Board of Directors.
INCUBATION
- Altitude Lab has relocated its incubator program and facility from Research Park to The Gateway’s BioHive hub as part of Recursion’s recently expanded headquarters. The healthcare incubator joins biotechs Recursion and Perfect Day at the new location. Launched in 2020, Altitude Lab was founded to support early-stage startups and historically underrepresented founders. Altitude Lab, which is operated by The Recursion Foundation, has incubated 17 startups to date. The new facility will provide over 15,000 square feet of incubation space, which includes shared and private labs, tissue culture facilities, over $1 million in molecular and cell biology tools, and extensive site services to manage equipment and train resident scientists. In an effort to build more scientific connection, Recursion has extended use of its cafeteria to resident startups.
INSURANCE
- Alliant Insurance Services, based in California, has hired Dave Burbidge as vice president within its Employee Benefits Group. Based in Salt Lake City, Burbidge will focus on designing, implementing and managing employee benefits solutions for clients across the Rocky Mountain region. Burbidge has more than 20 years of industry experience across the full spectrum of available benefit plan offerings, human resource services, legal compliance and technology solutions. Burbidge’s experience includes five years as a group rep for a medical reinsurance carrier and 10 years as the owner of an independent benefits consulting firm in southwest Colorado. Prior to joining Alliant, Burbidge worked as an employee benefits consultant at a global insurance brokerage and consulting firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.
INVESTMENTS
- CleanJoule, a Salt Lake City-based startup focused on the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, has announced a $50 million investment round led by the principals of Indigo Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm. The round also included participation by GenZero, a decarbonization-focused investment platform company of Temasek based in Singapore; and Cleanhill Partners, a U.S.-based private equity firm focused on decarbonization; and three airlines: U.S.-based Frontier Airlines, Europe-based Wizz Air and Mexico-based Volaris. Funds raised from the round will support the further development of CleanJoule’s technology to produce high-performance SAF from agricultural residues and other waste biomass more cost-effectively. The principals of Indigo Partners will also receive a board seat on CleanJoule’s board of directors.
MEDIA/MARKETING
- Struck, a Salt Lake City-based marketing and experience design agency, has promoted Petar Mijic to creative director. He will lead a digital team with a focus on motion and interactive. Mijic has been with Struck for four years and has experience in traditional and interactive, including branding, web, apps and campaign work. Mijic began his career at a junior position and advanced to designer. He spent two-plus years at Super Top Secret as a senior interactive designer and joined Struck in the same position. Mijic graduated from Weber State University with a BFA in graphic design.
NONPROFITS
- Visit Salt Lake, a private, nonprofit corporation promoting Salt Lake as a convention, meetings, sports events and travel destination, has hired Antonette Eckertas associate vice president of tourism development. She will be responsible for managing VSL’s portfolio of destination assets and associated opportunities in the travel trade space, working with local suppliers and domestic and international distributors to expand the trade segment for Salt Lake globally. Eckert was the chief industry development officer at Travel Nevada. She has led global travel trade sales and marketing teams at state, city and rural DMOs, including Visit California, San Francisco Travel and Visit Vacaville (California).
- Utah AIDS Foundation, focused on sexual health and overall well-being for the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV, has rebranded to UAF Legacy Health as it prepares to open Utah’s first LGBTQ+ community health center. The foundation was established in 1985. Its new community health center facility will open in late summer or early fall. It said the new name “is an homage to the foundation’s social services agency roots, while also reflecting the transition into becoming a premier healthcare facility with exceptional doctors providing the highest standard of care.” UAF Legacy Health will also launch a new website this summer and cut the ribbon on a new clinical facility in September.
PHILANTHROPY
- KeyBank has donated $10,000 to the Five.12 Foundation. The donation occurred on the one-year anniversary of its American Fork branch, the company’s first new branch in the western half of the U.S. in more than a decade. Based in Alpine, the foundation organizes and distributes weekend food bags to students in need at four American Fork elementary schools: Greenwood, Forbes, Barratt and Shelley.
RECOGNITIONS
- The ChamberWest Board of Governors has named Jon Butterfield as its 2023 Hall of Fame Award recipient. Butterfield is administration of Holy Cross Hospital, Jordan Valley. He has served on the ChamberWest board of directors for many years, including five in leadership as he transitioned through the different chair positions. He will be honored, along with other award recipients, at the chamber’s annual awards gala in August.
- NABIP Utah recently was recognized with Gold Certification as part of NABIP’s Chapter Certification Program, which is an ongoing program that recognizes excelling chapters throughout the calendar year. NABIP CEO Janet Trautwein said the organization is “grateful for NABIP Utah’s hard work with chapter development and recognize them for their efforts with this well-deserved award. The National Association of Health Underwriters represents 100,000 professional health insurance agents and brokers who provide insurance for millions of Americans.
SERVICES
- Tanner LLC, a company with offices in Salt Lake City and Lehi that offers audit, tax, M&A consulting, technology, cybersecurity, strategic planning and leadership development services, has named Crystal Bush as chief financial officer. Bush has 11 years of finance and accounting experience and has served as the assurance manager at Tanner since 2020. Previously, she was an accountant with Genesys Telecommunication Laboratories and Western Governors University. Bush earned a Masters in Accounting at Weber State University.
TECHNOLOGY
- Impartner, a Salt Lake City-based provider of reseller and partner management technologies, has appointed Brent Tayloras chief financial officer. Taylor has over 13 years’ experience leading high-growth companies through major change, including at Imagine Learning. Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Utah Valley University and a master’s degree in business from Brigham Young University.
- RizePoint, a Salt Lake City-based company offering software focused on food safety, quality management, compliance and social responsibility, has promoted Samantha Ward-Phillips to director of customer success. In this role, Sam will support the internal teams that work directly with customers, including RizePoint’s client support staff and front-line help desk team. Ward-Phillips most recently worked for Diversey, where she held multiple roles, including customer success director, global customer success manager, and business development lead. She also worked for Goldman Sachs in London and for Bankers Trust and Time Warner in ad sales for Parenting Magazine, and she spent several years as the owner/operator of The Brunant Arms, a hotel in the United Kingdom.