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BANKING
• JP Morgan Chase Commercial Banking has named Brittany Westover as Intermountain Region manager for middle market banking and specialized industries. Based in Salt Lake City, she leads teams of commercial bankers focused on serving the financial needs of middle market companies across Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. Westover has over 23 years of industry experience, including numerous roles at JPMorgan Chase and its predecessors in commercial banking, business banking and within regional retail branches. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Westminster College.
CONTESTS
• Applications are being accepted through June 17 for Comcast RISE (representation, investment, strength and empowerment), a multi-year initiative launched to strengthen small business hit hard by COVID-19. Utah small businesses owned by people of color and women may apply for the chance to receive consulting, media and creative production services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, or technology upgrades from Comcast Business, based on their specific needs. Since the program’s inception, Comcast announced over 20 Utah small businesses as Comcast RISE recipients. Details are at https://www.comcastrise.com/.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is ranked No. 26 on the fourth annual “State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index for 2022,” compiled by Out Leadership, a global network for LGBTQ+ business leaders and companies, and Salt Lake City is ranked No. 26 on a list of “2022’s Most LGBTYQ-Friendly Cities,” compiled by LawnStarter. Out Leadership considered legal, political, emotional support, health, business and other parameters for LGBTQ+ Americans. The index was funded by the Gill Foundation and is based on data provided by Out Leadership’s partners at the Williams Institute, the United States Transgender Survey and the Movement Advancement Project. The top-ranked state is New York. The bottom-ranked state is South Carolina. Details are at https://outleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022_StateClimateIndex_Digital.pdf. LawnStarter considered nearly 200 of the largest U.S. cities based on 19 indicators, such as their equality index, the share of same-sex households, and the presence of LGBTQ support groups. It also factored in affordability, safety, access to LGBTQ-friendly healthcare and pride-readiness. The top-ranked city is San Francisco. The bottom-ranked city is Macon, Georgia. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/most-lgbtq-friendly-cities/.
• Utah employees working from home are saving over $57 million per month, according to a study by CouponBirds.com. The Utah average is $148.91 per month, compared with the national average of $281.61. The largest total was in California, at $1.57 billion monthly. The lowest was in Iowa, at $7 million. Details are at https://www.couponbirds.com/research-center/data/stay-at-home-savings-of-wfh-employees.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 4 on a list of “2022’s Best Cities for Runners,” compiled by Lawn Love. It considered metrics including access to parks and running trails, trail difficulty and environmental conditions. It also considered access to running groups, foot specialists, footwear spending and gym affordability. In a breakout list, Salt Lake City is No. 5 for most running trails. The top-ranked city overall is San Francisco. The No. 181 city is Killeen, Texas. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-cities-for-runners/.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 6 on a list of “Best Cities for Hiking,” compiled by LawnStarter. It considered 13 factors, ranging from hiking access and quality to trail difficulty to natural hazards index. In a breakout list, Salt Lake City was No. 4 for most hiking routes. The top-ranked overall city is Portland, Oregon. The No. 200 city is Torrance, California. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-for-hiking/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• The Master of Business Creation program at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business is expanding by offering an online option starting in January 2023. The priority deadline to join the online program in January is Sept. 15, and the full-time program is still accepting applications on a rolling basis for the 2022-23 academic year. The MBC is an academic offering of the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. Both are part of the Eccles School. Unlike the full-time option, the online option allows founders to complete the program on a part-time basis with a flexible schedule and over a longer period of time. The online program can be completed in 14 months compared to nine months for the full-time program.
ENVIRONMENT
• BioGreen360, a New Hampshire-based innovator in distributed food waste management solutions, has added Mark Slavens to its advisory board. Slavens is chief technology officer at Aqua-Yield, a Salt Lake City-based agriculture nanoliquid technology company. He supported and led Scotts Miracle-Gro’s research and development efforts for more than 11 years.
EXPANSIONS
• Biomerics, a Salt Lake City-based medical device contract manufacturer serving the interventional device market, has opened a 2,000-square-foot Balloons & Balloon Catheters Centre of Excellence in Galway, Ireland. It will result in approximately 40 new jobs over the next five years. It is the company’s first facility in Europe and the second facility outside the United States, after Costa Rica. It will become home to a growing team dedicated to the development and manufacturing of balloons and balloon catheters and act as an extension to the operations in Athens, Texas. Jhovanny Ortega, commercial director of interventional balloons, will lead the new research and development facility.
HEALTHCARE
• Elevar Therapeutics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based biopharmaceutical company, has hired Dr. David E. Lilienfeld as vice president of safety and pharmacovigilance and Dr. Honghui Zhou as vice president of pharmacology, and promoted Jennifer Lee to senior vice president of clinical operations, data management and biostatistics. Lilienfeld comes to Elevar from Recursion Pharmaceuticals, where he was senior director of safety, pharmacovigilance and epidemiology. For more than a decade, he was also a principal at Write for the Pharm LLC, a biotechnology/pharmaceuticals/medical device consulting company. Zhou, a clinical pharmacologist and pharmacometrician, joins Elevar after more than 18 years in increasing leadership roles in clinical pharmacology, pharmacometrics and pharmacological and translational modeling at Johnson & Johnson (Janssen). Lee joined Elevar in 2021 as vice president of clinical operations and data management. She has more than 25 years of life science experience, including previously working at Radius Health Inc.
• Computerized Thermal Imaging Inc., based in Ogden, has appointed Lynn H. Satterthwaite as vice president of engineering, a newly created position. Satterthwaite’s initial focus will be to complete the preparation of the company’s proprietary breast cancer system for commercial sales. Satterthwaite has over 24 years of experience working with advanced technology systems in both the private and government sectors. Most recently, he served nine years as a senior manager for TRW Space and Electronics Group. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at the United States Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California. He earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Utah State University, with an emphasis in thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
INSURANCE
• PCF Insurance Services, a Lehi-based insurance brokerage firm, has completed a partnership with Rowland Insurance Agency, which has three locations in South Carolina, supported by insurance mergers and acquisitions advisory firm Insurance Merger Specialists LLC. Founded in 1997, Rowland Insurance is a full-service agency offering auto, home, commercial and life insurance.
INVESTMENTS
• Novva Data Centers, West Jordan, has received a $355 million growth equity investment from CIM Group to aid its expansion efforts. CIM is a real estate and infrastructure owner, operator, lender and developer. Its total equity commitment to Novva has reached $450 million in just over two years. The funding will support Novva’s plans to expand across the United States in order to offer 1,000 megawatts of designed data center capacity by 2027 at several yet-to-be-named locations.
• Whistic Inc., a Pleasant Grove-based creator of a network to assess, publish and share vendor security information, has closed its Series B funding with a $35 million investment round led by JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on investment in software companies. Also participating were Forgepoint Capital and existing investors Emergence Capital, Album VC and FJ Labs. The investment brings Whistic’s total funding to more than $50 million since its founding in 2015.
• Suralink, a Salt Lake City-based company that produces request list and workflow management software for professional services firms, has received a strategic growth investment from Luminate Capital Partners. Terms were not disclosed. Vista Point Advisors provided M&A advisory services to the shareholders of Suralink, and legal advice was provided by Goodwin Proctor. Kirkland & Ellis provided legal advice to Luminate.
LOGISTICS
• The board of directors of the Utah Inland Port Authority, a multimodal logistics agency working to increase use and expand commerce access throughout Utah, has created the position of president. Jack Hedge will transition to the new position from his current role as executive director. The board will work to fill the executive director position. The president will focus on leading the authority’s external engagement with industry leaders across the country and around the world to ensure UIPA has the right national and global strategic partners to fulfill the vision and mission of the UIPA. The executive director will be responsible for leading the development of the authority’s business strategy and plans, building and managing the UIPA team, and overseeing the development of robust business cases for ongoing and future authority projects. Hedge was hired as the executive director of UIPA in June 2019, coming from the Port of Los Angeles.
NONPROFITS
• Footsteps for Africa, a South Jordan-based nonprofit organization that provides aid to disadvantaged children in Africa, has completed a construction project that improves living conditions for students at Oshamukweni School in Namibia. Through a six-figure donation by Tiara and Alan Salzman of Montecito, California, Footsteps for Africa was able to build new bunkhouses, a kitchen, and dining hall for 300 students and more than 100 children living on schoolgrounds. Footsteps for Africa has provided aid to more than 5,000 orphans and vulnerable children in more than 50 schools and orphanages Namibia and Zimbabwe since 2010.
• 5 For The Fight, a nonprofit focused on cancer prevention, has announced that seven new cancer researchers will receive a total of $1.1 million in grants. They are part of the multi-year 5 For The Fight Cancer Research Fellows program, which now has over 30 researchers. All seven of the new fellowship recipients are located at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah: Dr. Robert L. Dood, Shreya Goel, Crystal Lumpkins, Matt Miller, Dr. Ami Patel, Melissa Reeves and Arabella Young.
PARTNERSHIPS
• USANA, a West Valley City-based cellular nutrition company, is now the official nutritional supplement supplier of Basketball New Zealand, providing products to the Tall Blacks, Sky Sport Tall Ferns, and respective 3x3 team athletes. Basketball New Zealand is the national body for basketball in New Zealand. Its role is to develop, grow and promote basketball and participants of the game.
PHILANTHROPY
• Skullcandy, a Park City-based producer of headphones and earbuds, has collaborated with ongoing partner “To Write Love on Her Arms,” a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. A portion of proceeds from the sales of limited-edition Inequality Crusher headphones will help the nonprofit fund LGBTQIA+ mental health programs.
REAL ESTATE
• A development venture of Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate has announced the completion and delivery of 650 Main, a 10-story, 332,000-square-foot Class A office and retail development at the corner of Main Street and 600 South in Salt Lake City. CBRE was recently awarded the office leasing assignment for the building with Nadia Letey, senior vice president, and Roman Bernardo, senior associate, as lead leasing agents working under the direction of Dennis Tarro, executive vice president/principal of Patrinely Group, along with Phillip Moore of Patrinely Group. The venture also recently announced Sol Agave, a full-service restaurant, will be occupying the free-standing retail building on-site beginning in the fourth quarter and the TRAX light-rail station adjacent to the building’s entrance at 600 South and Main Streets is slated to open this summer. The project currently has 238,000 square feet of office space available to lease. Additional expansion opportunities of up to 325,000 square feet are available in 645 W. Temple, a future adjacent office building representing a second phase of the development master plan.
• Watt Investment Partners and Walton Street Capital have sold The Harvest at Marmalade apartments, a 252-unit multifamily asset in Salt Lake City, to Cadre, a New York-based real estate investment platform company, with the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund. Cadre and BlackRock partnered with Ethos Real Estate to close the transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed. Eli Mills and Patrick Bodnar of CBRE represented the sellers. Located at 580 N. 300 W., five-story Harvest also has 4,699 square feet of ground-floor retail.
• C.W. Urban, a Centerville-based real estate developer, has opened theRANDI, a mixed-use urban in-fill housing complex that replaced a surface parking lot at 218 S. 200 E., Salt Lake City. The six-story apartment building features 61 residential units over a one-story podium, and 1,280 square feet of ground-floor space for commercial use. It also incorporates a three-story mechanical parking garage system that will stack and organize vehicles vertically and horizontally in assigned stalls. C.W. Urban was one of the first companies on the forefront of Salt Lake City projects to take advantage of tax incentives with the federal Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program, part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It provides special incentives for investors to spur economic development and job creation while substantially improving distressed communities. C.W. Urban was joined with equity partner Argosy Real Estate Partners to fund theRANDI.
• MAG Capital Partners LLC, based in Texas, has acquired 27 resort condominium units at 2331 Mesa Road, Moab, that is part of the seven-acre Sage Creek at Moab resort, with plans to develop an additional 60 units. The bank-owned real estate was purchased for an undisclosed amount, with many of the existing 48 units pre-sold prior to construction and operating as vacation rentals.
RECOGNITIONS
• TCN Inc., a St. George-based provider of a cloud-based call center platform for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs and collection agencies, has won three industry awards for its “2021 Consumer Insights about Customer Service” survey. TCN was recognized by 2022 Hermes Creative Awards as a platinum winner in both “Best eBook” and “Best Research/Study” categories. TCN also received a gold award, the highest honor, in “Best Branded Content (eBook)” category for the e-book by 2022 Communicator Awards.
• RainFocus, a Lehi-based provider of an enterprise event marketing platform, has been included as a “Representative Vendor” in the 2022 Gartner “Market Guide for Event Technology Platforms” report.
RETAIL
• Simcoe Capital Management has increased its stake in Overstock.com, a Salt Lake City-based online retailer, according to several news reports. The New York-based investment firm previously held a stake of 3.3 percent but increased it to 5.7 percent. It now holds 2.44 million shares of Overstock.com.
• The Buckle Inc., a denim and specialty retailer, has opened a location at Canyon Creek, an outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment destination in Spanish Fork. The store offers clothing, shoes and accessories for men and women. Based in Nebraska, Buckle operates 444 stores in 42 states, including 13 in Utah.
SCHOLARSHIPS
• RizePoint, a Cottonwood Heights-based company focused on technology for food safety, quality management and compliance, has awarded multiple STEM scholarships to elementary, middle and high school students in Salt Lake City. Since 2016, it has partnered with the Canyons School District to help students attend STEM-focused summer camps. The scholarships are open to students in grades 5-10. Winners receive money from RizePoint to attend local summer camps such as robotics, coding, science, math and other STEM-related programs.
SERVICES
• Sage Veterinary Imaging has opened a treatment center at 8590 S. 1300 E., Sandy. It includes 3T magnetic resonance imaging, a 128-slice computed tomography scanner, high-resolution console ultrasound, echocardiography with full workups, and image-guided biopsies. The Sandy imaging center is the third location for the company. The others are in Midvale and Round Rock, Texas.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Blackrock Neurotech, a Salt Lake City-based company focused on brain-computer interface technology, has hired Jeff C. Jensen as the company’s first chief technology officer. Jensen is a computer scientist, roboticist, and electrical engineer. He has more than 20 years of experience in hardware and software engineering, robotics and product development, most recently serving as vice president of engineering at Creator.
• Swell, a Salt Lake City-based company offering a customer experience platform for local businesses, has hired Bryan Sparks as chief technology officer and Keith Maynard as head of product. Sparks has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in software-as-a-service businesses, having founded and served as chief executive officer of several companies. For the past eight years, Sparks led technology teams at two companies. Maynard has led product design groups for over a decade, has worked for the United Nations and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and has worked on projects in industries ranging from education to artificial intelligence.