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ASSOCIATIONS
• Kevin Guest, chairman and CEO of USANA, has been elected chairman of the board of the Direct Selling Association, a national trade organization for direct sales companies. Guest was elected by members of the association and will serve a one-year term. In 2017, Guest was named a member of the board of directors of DSA and he also serves on the CEO Council for the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations. USANA is a Salt Lake City-based company offering nutritional and skin-care products.
COMMUNICATIONS
• Comcast Corp. has announced it has increased the speeds for some of its most popular Internet speed tiers in Utah, including Xfinity Gigabit service. Customers will have access to speeds faster than one gigabit per second (Gbps). The upgrade is part of a national rollout that began this year. Extreme Pro+ customers in Utah will see their download speed increase from 600 megabits per second (Mbps) to 800 Mbps. Performance Starter+ customers will see a download speed boost from 25 Mbps to 50 Mbps. The upgrades will be made at no additional cost to customers.
CONSTRUCTION
• The board of directors of Jacobsen Construction Co. Inc., a Salt Lake City-based general contractor, has appointed Matt Radke as chief operating officer and Dennis Cigana as chief development officer. Radke joined Jacobsen in 1995 as a project engineer. He became vice president of construction in 2018 and executive vice president of construction in 2020. Radke succeeds John Fortuna, who retired in January after 28 years with Jacobsen. Cigana started as a senior estimator at Jacobsen in 1999 and became vice president of estimating in 2010 and executive vice president of preconstruction in 2017. He most recently served as executive vice president of preconstruction and business development. He will be the first CDO in Jacobsen’s history.
• Sinc Constructors Co., a Centerville-based general contractor and landscape and irrigation contractor, has hired Tony Beckett, who will manage its wholesale nursery and facilitate, develop, reinforce and oversee company safety programs and employee training and development programs. Beckett has over 20 years of experience in landscape operations and employee development.
CONTESTS
• The U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting applications through July 12 for nonprofit organizations and private-sector firms for funding of up to $500,000 to deliver federal procurement training to veteran and service-disabled veteran entrepreneurs. Up to two awardees will use the $500,000 in total funding to participate in the Veteran Federal Procurement Entrepreneurship Training Program with grants from the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development. Awards will be made for a base project period of 12 months, with three option periods of 12 months each. These funds will be used to cover the costs of educating veterans and service-disabled veterans who intend to pursue, or are already engaged in, federal procurement. Applications are at grants.gov (search for opportunity number SB-OVVT-21-001).
CORPORATE
• Purple Innovation Inc., a Lehi-based comfort products manufacturer, will host a virtual investor and analyst session June 29 at 11 a.m. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session and is expected to conclude by roughly 1:30 p.m. Registration details are at https://investors.purple.com/. A replay of the event will be available following the presentation.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Utah is No. 6 on a list of states potentially hurt most by the European travel ban, compiled by WalletHub. It calculated the potential monetary losses based on the number of inbound tourists to each state alongside their total spending, and compared the result to each state’s gross domestic product (GDP). Utah could potentially lose 2.3 percent of its GDP this year due to the lack of European tourists. Nevada was the hardest-hit state. Details are at https://wallethub.com/edu/states-impact-european-travel-ban/93384.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 14 among “Best Cities for Your Summer Vaxcation,” or vacations for vaccinated people. The list was compiled by LawnStarter. It compared the 200 largest U.S. cities based on 30 indicators of a fun and safe excursion, including the cost of a cab ride to the average Airbnb rate to the number of attractions. San Francisco is top-ranked, while Enterprise, Nevada, is No. 200. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-summer-vaxcation/.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 88 on a list of “best cities for single dads,” compiled by LawnStarter. It ranked 200 of the biggest U.S. cities based on 34 factors indicating single-dad-friendliness. Among the metrics are access to child care, housing affordability, uninsured rates, and dad support groups. Boston was top-ranked. Detroit was No. 200. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-single-dads/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Ameritech College of Healthcare, a Draper-based nursing institution, has received re-accreditation for its Bachelor of Science (BSN) and initial accreditation for its Master of Science (MSN) nursing programs from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate and residency programs in nursing. Ameritech’s BSN program accreditation has been renewed and extended to June 30, 2031. The MSN program was granted initial accreditation and extended to June 30, 2026.
EXPANSIONS
• Woodbury Corp., a Salt Lake City-based real estate management and development company, has opened a Midwest office in Omaha, Nebraska. It will be directed by Josh Berger. He first worked at the company in 2008 and has since worked to develop many types of real estate projects. Privately held Woodbury is engaged in properties in 16 states.
GOVERNMENT
• Adam Robertson, co-founder and chief technology officer at Fortem Technologies, Pleasant Grove, has been selected to serve on the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). Specifically, Robertson will be joining the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight Operations (BVLOS) ARC. Over the next six months, the UAS BVLOS ARC will study and issue recommendations to the FAA regarding performance-based regulatory requirements related to operations that are not under positive air traffic control. Robertson has over 24 years of industry experience, with a specialization in radar technology. Fortem is an airspace security and defense company focused on detecting and defeating drones.
HEALTHCARE
• Mission Healthcare, a San Diego-based home health, hospice and palliative care provider, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the hospice assets of Silverado Hospice in Salt Lake City and Ventura and San Mateo, California. The Salt Lake City location is its first acquisition outside of California. Financial terms were not disclosed. Silverado in all three locations will continue to provide care under Mission Healthcare. Mission Healthcare has more than 16 locations.
• ARUP Laboratories, a national reference laboratory and a nonprofit enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology, has officially opened its new four-story, 220,000-square-foot laboratory facility in Research Park in Salt Lake City. ARUP now owns and operates eight properties. Designed to optimize quality laboratory testing, it features total lab automation to further increase testing capacity and accommodate future growth at ARUP, which has hospital and health system clients in all 50 states and processes an average of more than 70,000 specimens a day.
• Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, has named Greg Matis as senior vice president and chief legal officer. He succeeds Doug Hammer, who retired in March. Matis has been serving the interim role since Hammer’s retirement. Matis has been a healthcare lawyer for 30 years and has represented Intermountain for 23 years. He served as outside counsel for 10 years before he was hired as senior counsel for SelectHealth and Intermountain. In 2013, Matis was promoted to deputy general counsel, where he has served for the past eight years. He has been a vice president since 2018. Matis’ education includes graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brigham Young University. He teaches health law and policy as an adjunct professor at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School.
• Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Park City-based company developing therapeutic candidates targeting gastroenterology, dermatology and cardiology, has appointed Steven Schoch to its board of directors and as chair of the audit committee. Schoch has more than 20 years of financial and operational leadership and expertise across biopharmaceuticals, media and technology, including building and scaling businesses and leading innovation. His experience includes serving as chief financial officer at 23andMe; serving as CEO of Miramax Film NY LLC while concurrently serving as chief financial officer; serving in various senior financial positions at Amgen Inc., including corporate controller and divisional financial vice president; serving as the executive vice president and CFO of eToys Inc.; and holding a variety of financial positions in the media industry, including at The Walt Disney Co. and the Times Mirror Co.
INTERNATIONAL
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Development and World Trade Center Utah are partnering to organize an official state trade mission to Mexico in October. It will be led by Gov. Spencer Cox. The trade mission will take place from Oct. 16-23 and selected delegates will travel to Mexico City and Guadalajara. Utah companies ready to grow their international sales and connect with potential partners and investors are encouraged to apply to participate. The application deadline is July 13. Details are at https://wtcutah.com/trade-landing/mexico-city-2021/.
INVESTMENTS
• Mercato Partners, a Salt Lake City-based private equity firm that provides capital and guidance to brands in periods of high growth, has appointed James Park as an operating partner for the firm’s Savory Fund Practice. The Savory Funds makes strategic investments in the food and beverage industry. Park has two decades of restaurant and retail operating experience, both as a franchisee owner/operator and in the C-suite. Park most recently was CEO of Denver-based restaurant chain Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh. Prior to Garbanzo, Park held executive operating roles at fast-casual chains Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, Charley’s Grilled Subs and Penn Station East Coast Subs, as well as a global marketing role at 7-Eleven. He began his career at IBM Global Services designing and implementing advanced customer relationship management tools for Fortune 500 companies.
• Red Door Capital Partners LLC, a Salt Lake City-based independent private equity firm, has hired Ron Dichter as senior advisor. He will help manage portfolio assets and deal-flow origination and will serve as a member of the Investment Committee and deal flow review team. Dichter has been a founder and CEO of multiple companies in the payments/fintech sector since 1997, including founder and CEO of the Eliot Management Group, which was sold to First American Payment Systems in 2004, where he remained a member of the management team until leaving in 2010; and founder and CEO of BlueDog Business Services, which merged with FortisPay, where Dichter has served as chief revenue officer.
• Fiddle, a Provo-based inventory software company, has raised $600,000 in its first funding series, led by investors Jeff Burningham, Red Giant Ventures and Ryan Treft and Brady Hansen. The funding will be used to promote growth and expansion within the CPG and manufacturing industries.
LAW
• Kunzler Bean & Adamson has hired Chad Pehrson and Paul Sampson as partners in the Litigation section at its Salt Lake City office. Pehrson directs various types of commercial litigation, specializing in intellectual property, corporate governance, and securities disputes, and advising. Pehrson previously was a partner at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless. Sampson specializes in complex litigation and has significant trial experience. He recently split a decade in Washington, D.C., at a trial litigation boutiques and a large law firm.
NONPROFITS
• EyeCare4Kids, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit helping children with vision deficiencies, has opened its first clinic in Arizona in collaboration with the Alhambra Elementary School District in Glendale, a suburb of Phoenix. Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, EyeCare4Kids has provided nearly 400,000 visually impaired children from low-income and underserved families with vision screenings, professional eye exams and new prescription eyeglasses at minimal or no cost. It now has clinics in four states: Utah, New Jersey, Arizona and Nevada. It also has operated mobile vision clinics in Utah, Arizona and Nevada.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Malouf Foundation raised over $200,000 on June 8 at its Park City Golf for Freedom tournament to build the first long-term, residential, therapeutic facility in Utah for young female survivors of trafficking. The center is expected to break ground in 2022 in the Greater Salt Lake area. The aftercare center will serve female survivors (ages 11-18) across Utah and surrounding areas and will provide trauma-informed, holistic care on-site. The initial designs include an administrative wing, transitional housing, independent housing and a community center.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Salt Lake Chamber recently recognized essential workers with the third annual Lane Beattie Utah Community Builder Awards. The award traditionally recognizes inspirational people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to address critical community needs. Recipients are Marvella Cuch, bus operator, Utah Transit Authority; Louis Donovan, store director, Harmons Grocery; Keri Graybill, teacher, Granite Park Junior High School; Alexis Rose, registered nurse, Intermountain Medical Center; Tiffany Silver, assistant manager, Sunshine Academy Childcare Center; and Jesse du Toit, respiratory therapist, Intermountain Medical Center. The recipients were selected in coordination with their respective organizations and the Utah Community Builders Advisory Board.
• Altabank, American Fork, is ranked No. 34 among banks with $3 billion to $10 billion in total assets on an S&P Global annual list of the 50 top-performing large community banks. To compile the ranking, S&P Global Market Intelligence calculated scores for each company based on six weighted metrics, including pre-tax return on tangible common equity, efficiency ratio, net interest margin, operating revenue growth, leverage ratio, and nonperforming assets and loans 90 days past due as a percentage of totals assets, net of Paycheck Protection Program loans.
• Avetta, an Orem-based provider of supply chain risk management software, has been named a recipient of the Top Supply Chain Projects Award for 2021 by Supply & Demand Chain Executive. The award recognizes Avetta for helping a Fortune 50 company reduce safety incidents by nearly 30 percent and save $12 million each year. Avetta worked with the company to better understand its supplier performance data and global impact of its contractor management program, overall safety trends, top-performing trades, program efficiency and more. The Top Supply Chain Projects (formerly known as SDCE 100) spotlights successful and innovative transformation projects that deliver bottom-line value to small, medium and large enterprises across various supply chain functions.
• Three Utah companies have made a list of “Top 50 Medtech Startups,” compiled by MedTech Innovator, an accelerator of medical device companies. PathologyWatch, Salt Lake City; PhotoPharmics, American Fork; and Xenocor, Salt Lake City, are among the companies that will participate in the organization’s four-month Showcase and Accelerator program, featuring the industry’s most transformative device, diagnostic, and digital health technologies from around the globe. Together with the senior leadership teams of its corporate partners and over 200 industry judges, MedTech Innovator evaluated the pitches of 195 candidates out of more than 1,100 applications from 54 countries and 42 U.S. states. Xenocor will participate in the Accelerator program, a subset of 25 early-stage companies. As part of the Accelerator program, MedTech Innovator will award up to $500,000 in cash and in-kind prizes during its final competition at The MedTech Conference in September.
RETAIL
• MAC Cosmetics, in partnership with Hudson, has opened a specialty retail shop at Salt Lake City International Airport in Concourse A. MAC is a brand of cosmetics of The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. Its product are sold in more than 110 countries/territories worldwide. Hudon, a Dufry company, is a travel experience company in more than 1,000 stores in airports, commuter hubs, landmarks and tourist locations.
SERVICES
• B2B CFO, a business advisory services company for owners of privately held companies, has added Thomas Strong as a partner serving the firm’s Mountain States region. He will be based in West Jordan. Strong has more than 25 years of finance, accounting, risk management and human resources experience in a broad array of industries involving companies from development-stage publicly-traded companies, start-up (pre and post IPO), small family-owned businesses and companies with revenues of more than $300 million. Prior to joining B2B CFO, Strong worked with a consulting firm assisting companies throughout the United States and Canada. He also has international experience with a Belgium-based company, where he was responsible for all accounting, operations, treasury and regulatory reporting for all of North and South America.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Pluralsight, a Draper-based technology workforce development company, has appointed Mark Miller as chief financial officer. Miller has over 30 years of financial leadership experience in both private and public companies, most recently as CFO of Finastra. He also served as CFO for Marketo prior to the company’s sale to Adobe, and CFO of Active Network, L.H.P. Hospital Group and Sabre Holdings, where he held multiple operating and finance positions. Miller also worked for Ernst and Young, LTV Corp. and Hertz Corp.