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ASSOCIATIONS
• The Salt Lake Chamber has announced Jacey Skinner as its general counsel and vice president for public policy. Skinner succeeds Abby Osborne, who left the chamber earlier this summer to become the chief of staff for the Utah House of Representatives. Skinner has held a variety of senior leadership roles in Utah state government and is currently an attorney at Ballard Spahr, LLP, where she focuses on government relations, public policy, administrative law, election law and litigation. She will continue her relationship with the firm. Skinner served as general counsel to Gov. Gary Herbert from 2013-17. She also served as the deputy state court administrator for the state of Utah, where she facilitated policy development and managed relations with the state Legislature, executive branch agencies, the Utah Judicial Council, and the Utah Supreme Court. Her experience also includes serving as director of the Utah Sentencing Commission, president of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions, and deputy district attorney from 2003-09 at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office.
BANKING
• D.L. Evans Bank has appointed Kent Francis as vice president branch manager of the bank’s South Ogden branch. Francis has more than 32 years of banking experience. He earned a degree in marketing and sales management from Weber State University and Stevens-Henager Business College in Ogden.
CORPORATE
• The board of directors of SINTX Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, has declared a 1-for-30 reverse stock split of the company’s common stock, with the split effective July 26. The company said the reverse stock split is primarily intended to bring the company into compliance with the minimum bid price requirements for maintaining its listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. As a result of the reverse stock split, every 30 shares of the company’s common stock issued and outstanding has been automatically reclassified into one new share of common stock. The split will not affect the number of authorized shares of common stock or the par value of the common stock.
• Divvy, a Lehi-based company focused on spend and expense management, has broken ground on new headquarters in Draper. The 150,000-square-foot building will include an outdoor basketball court, gender-neutral restrooms and a hotel-inspired lobby designed for flexibility and team collaboration. When completed in June 2020, the building will accommodate up to 850 people. Divvy also has announced a $500 million purchase agreement with Credit Suisse. The terms of the agreement give Credit Suisse the ability to buy up to $500 million in Divvy receivables over the next two years.
DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of SkyWest Inc., St. George, has declared a quarterly dividend of 12 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Oct. 4 to shareholders of record Sept. 30. SkyWest Inc. is the holding company for SkyWest Airlines and SkyWest Leasing, an aircraft leasing company.
• The board of directors of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., Provo, has declared a quarterly dividend of 37 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Sept. 11 to shareholders of record Aug. 30. The company develops and distributes beauty and wellness solutions and has a collection of manufacturing and technology innovation companies.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• The Utah Coal Country Strike Team has awarded two $25,000 grants to Carbon and Emery school districts to help fund high-quality computer and information technology courses at the high school level. These initial funds, which are tailored to align with the IT Pathways program established by the Utah Legislature, will target teacher training so graduating students will be prepared for additional training in technology fields. The strike team investments are the first of what will be in excess of $1 million in workforce training investments — including equipment, a remote work site and scholarships — designed to help establish Carbon and Emery counties as an attractive location for Utah’s burgeoning tech sector, as well as other industries. Current funding partners include the Utah Legislature and the Alliance for the American Dream. Additional financial support will be sought from the federal government, business partnerships and private philanthropy. It is also anticipated that both school districts will seek matching funds through Talent Ready Utah grants and Strategic Workforce Investment allocations available from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. The Utah Coal Country Strike Team serves the coal communities of Carbon and Emery counties by working to raise incomes and diversify the economy.
• Western Governors University’s Teachers College recently was awarded full seven-year accreditation in recognition of program quality for their teacher licensure programs by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP). WGU was one of nine universities recognized for early adoption of the AAQEP standards, which promote excellence and innovation in educator preparation programs. WGU is the first educator preparation provider in the U.S. to be awarded full, seven-year accreditation from both the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and AAQEP. WGU received CAEP accreditation in 2018.
EXPANSIONS
• Level5, an Atlanta-based design-build firm focusing exclusively on the financial industry, has open a Salt Lake City regional office in Ogden. It is the company’s third office, with the other being in Raleigh, North Carolina. The company said the office will house design-build consultants, superintendents, project managers and other roles aimed to better serve its West Coast clientele.
INVESTMENTS
• Vivint Solar Inc., a Lehi-based residential solar system provider, has closed a $325 million revolving warehouse facility, which refinanced the aggregation credit facility that was set to mature in 2020. The company said the new warehouse reduces the cost of debt by 87.5 basis points and materially increases the amount of upfront proceeds as a percentage of future contractual cash flows. Five lenders are involved in the deal, which includes an accordion feature that provides the ability for the company to increase the facility to $400 million. The lenders include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, CitiBank, affiliates of Credit Suisse, KeyBank and Silicon Valley Bank.
• STRT Inc., a Salt Lake City-based designer and operator of living and working accommodations, has raised an undisclosed seed round of financing. The round was led by Celtic Investment Inc., Sentry Investments LLC and 4-D Investments LLC. Launched earlier this year, STRT has developed a new living and working concept focused on the user experience of entrepreneurs and creatives that will combine co-living, co-working and startup accelerator services into each property.
• Suralink, a Salt Lake City-based company producing workflow software for accounting firms, has received a minority growth equity investment from Growth Street Partners, based in San Francisco. The amount was not disclosed. Suralink will use the investment to continue to invest in its product and team. In conjunction with the investment, Growth Street Partners will join the Suralink board of directors.
LAW
• Holland & Hart has hired Mickell Jimenez to its labor and employment practice in its Salt Lake City office. Jimenezprovides upfront guidance to help position businesses to effectively mitigate risk. Jimenez has experience serving as outside counsel tobusiness owners on a wide range of employment and litigation issues, including more than 20 years as outside general counsel to Cafe Rio Inc. Before joining Holland & Hart,Jimenezwas a director and shareholder at Clyde Snow, where she was recently a member of the firm’s Management Committee and co-chair of the labor and employment group.
MANUFACTURING
• Amp Human, a Park City-based lotion company, has created a scientific advisory board that includes eight researchers, scientists and coaches with complimentary expertise in human performance science and training. The board will guide Amp Human in research, product development and application. Members are Brad Wilkins, former director of the Nike Sport Research Laboratory, advisory board chairman and Amp Human executive; Nigel Mitchel, head nutritionist for British Cycling; Andy Jones, professor of applied physiology at the University of Exeter and an exercise physiology researcher; Jason Siegler of Western Sydney University and an expert in bicarb use in exercise; Brett Kirby, human performance lead in the Nike Sport Research Laboratory; Per Lundstrom, director of athlete performance at Red Bull; Hoby Darling, president of human performance at Logitech; and Paul Dituro, who served 13 years in Special Operations and influenced human performance programs for elite military.
NONPROFITS
• A groundbreaking ceremony was held recently for Habitat for Humanity of Summit and Wasatch Counties’ first two single-family homes to be constructed at Silver Creek Village. Among those attending were representatives from sponsors Village Development Group, Wells Fargo, Think Architecture, Vail EpicPromise and Summit County. Silver Creek Village marks Habitat for Humanity of Summit & Wasatch Counties’ most ambitious project to date. Twenty-six homes in total will be designated for the local nonprofit’s beneficiaries. The first two to be constructed are single-family residences. Plans call for up to 24 attached townhomes to follow. Habitat’s homes will be part of a total of 330 affordable housing residences in the master-planned community, which will consist of 1,300 homes. The first two single-family homes in Silver Creek Village are expected to be complete within a year.
RECOGNITIONS
• The Utah Board of Tourism Development has issued a proclamation recognizing Alsco Inc., a Utah-based linen and uniform rental company, for demonstrating corporate and social responsibility during the shutdown of the federal government last winter. Alsco donated $100,000 to help ensure Utah’s parks were welcoming and clean for visitors by underwriting expanded visitor and custodial services at Zion, Bryce and Arches national parks. Alsco worked in collaboration with state Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, and the Utah Office of Tourism to define a plan to protect the visitor experience and natural environment during the shutdown. The government reopened shortly after Alsco’s contribution. Alsco committed those funds to the park natural history associations to be used in the event of another shutdown or to support high-priority projects: $62,300 for Zion National Park Forever Project; $19,600 for Canyonlands Natural History Association, which supports Arches National Park; and $18,100 for Bryce Canyon Natural History Association. Arches and Bryce have retained their funds while Zion has used the Alsco donation to support its K-12 active engagement education program to grow the next generation of park stewards.
• Wasatch Nectar, Salt Lake City, has been awarded a $4,000 fourth-quarter 2018 “Growth Grant” from the National Association for the Self-Employed to help expand business operations. The association is an advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-business community. It awarded $48,000 in grants in 2018. Wasatch Nectar, owned by Kristen Moffatt, uses only raw honey sourced locally from the Wasatch Range with naturally derived electrolytes to provide energy and nutrition to athletes.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Domo, an American Fork-based business operating system company, has hired John Mellor as chief strategy officer, Robert Davy as vice president of ecosystem, and Pam Marion as chief customer success officer. Mellor has more than 25 years of technology industry experience, most recently serving as vice president for strategy and business operations for Adobe’s Digital Experience business. Mellor joined Adobe through the company’s acquisition of Omniture in 2009, where he served as executive vice president of marketing. He holds both a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Brigham Young University. Davy was with Microsoft for more than 14 years, mostly recent as the general manager for Microsoft’s customer success unit in the financial services industry. Previously, he was the general manager for Microsoft’s Northeast enterprise and partner group. Prior to Microsoft, Davy held leadership positions at Sapient, Avaya, Lucent and AT&T. Marion has more than 25 years of software experience. She joins Domo from SAP SuccessFactors, where she served as chief of staff and senior vice president of strategic programs and customer experience. During her 12 years with SAP, she served in many leadership roles in services, services sales and development. Prior to SAP, she worked a combined 15 years with Kronos and Ultimate Software.
• Sarcos Robotics, a Salt Lake City-based producer of robots that augment humans to enhance productivity and safety, has appointed Jim Miller as vice president of defense solutions. The appointment comes amid increased traction for Sarcos’ products — particularly its full-body, powered exoskeleton technologies — across military sectors. Miller is a retired U.S. Army special forces colonel and joins Sarcos after serving more than 29 years of active duty in the U.S. Army. His most recent role was as commander of the Joint Acquisition Task Force Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit. His previous assignments also included chief of staff of Special Operations Command Europe in Stuttgart, Germany, and director of operations at Special Operations Command South in Miami, among other roles.
TRANSPORTATION
• SkyWest Inc., a St. George-based holding company for SkyWest Airlines and SkyWest Leasing, has reached an agreement with Delta Air Lines to operate six used E175 aircraft under a multi-year contract scheduled to begin in early 2020. The aircraft are financed by Delta and to be sourced from a regional operator transitioning out of Delta Connection. SkyWest has also agreed to purchase and operate seven new E175 aircraft for Delta instead of SkyWest operating seven new CRJ900 aircraft that were to be financed by Delta and scheduled for delivery in 2020. The seven E175 aircraft have delivery dates scheduled from late 2019 to mid-2020. Under Delta’s initiative to reduce the number of Delta Connection operators, SkyWest anticipates becoming one of just three carriers under the Delta Connection portfolio and Delta's primary regional operator in several western U.S cities by mid-2020, including Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Seattle. Separately, SkyWest cancelled its previously announced order for three new E175 aircraft scheduled for service with Alaska Airlines in 2021.