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BANKING
• BMO Commercial Bank, based in Canada, has appointed Paul Thomsen as managing director and Utah market executive. Thomsen will build the bank’s new middle market office in Utah, which will provide capital and tailored financial solutions to Utah’s business community. A Utah native, Thomsen has more than 20 years of experience in serving the commercial banking needs of the state’s business community. He spent the past 15 years at JPMorgan Chase, most recently as an executive director. Thomsen also is a trustee at MountainWest Capital Network. BMO provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets, and investment banking products and services to 13 million customers across Canada, the U.S., and in select markets globally.
GOVERNMENT
• Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Tyler Clancy to serve as Utah’s state homeless coordinator. Clancy succeeds Wayne Niederhauser, who will retire Dec. 5. Clancy’s appointment is effective March 9, 2026, after he concludes his legislative service in the House of Representatives following the 2026 general session. Clancy will lead statewide coordination of Utah’s homelessness response and work closely with the Utah Office of Homeless Services and local partners across the continuum of care. In the Legislature, Clancy represents House District 60, which includes Brigham Young University and parts of downtown and east Provo. He has worked on homelessness, public safety, re-entry and drug policy. In 2025, he was appointed chair of the House Ethics Committee. Outside the Legislature, Clancy serves as a detective with the Provo Police Department, assigned to the Special Victims Unit and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Prior to elected office, Clancy was executive director of the Pioneer Park Coalition, where he helped launch Project Safe Neighborhoods Salt Lake City with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and collaborated with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and local providers to improve coordination. Clancy earned a degree in family studies from Brigham Young University.
INVESTMENTS
• Savory Fund, a Lehi-based private equity firm focused on scaling emerging restaurant brands, has promoted Taylor DeHart from principal to director. DeHart joined the company nearly a decade ago. Prior to Savory, he was director of financial planning analysis at Four Foods Group, where he led market expansion strategies and significant supply chain enhancements. He also worked at Apple as a financial analyst. DeHart’s education includes a B.S. in finance from Brigham Young University. Savory Fund has a portfolio of 12 restaurant concepts and one restaurant tech investment. It also hosts an annual Restaurantology Conference.
• Element Ventures, a Provo-based company supporting Utah’s startup ecosystem through early partnerships with high-potential founders and scalable platforms across the Mountain West, has added Sam Andersen as investment partner. Based in Salt Lake City, Andersen will focus primarily on pre-seed and seed investments, while also maintaining the fund’s flexibility to engage in later-stage or cross-sector opportunities. Andersen has extensive experience across investment, growth and operational strategy, having worked at the intersection of finance, venture capital and technology throughout his career. Although the Element Ventures brand is new, the team — Jeff Danley, Jeff Burningham, Jamie Dunn and Connor Sullivan — has been investing in Utah since 2008 under the Peak name.