Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com.
BANKING
• Zions Bank, based in Salt Lake City, has promoted Heidi Prokop to executive vice president of its Marketing, Communications and Community Relations division. She will lead advertising, sponsorships, and internal and external communications and will also oversee the bank’s community engagement efforts, including charitable giving, volunteer outreach, Community Reinvestment Act programs and advocacy initiatives. Prokop joined Zions Bank in 2001 and most recently served as senior vice president and communications group manager, where she guided internal and external communications, social media, media relations and financial education outreach, and helped drive digital and traditional marketing strategies. Her past leadership includes roles with the Utah Division of Arts and Museums, Sundance Institute and KRCL 90.9 FM. Prokop earned a master’s degree in British and American literature and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah and completed the Consumer Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management.
HEALTH CARE
• Nusano, a West Valley City-based physics company focused on the production of radioisotopes, has formed a strategic advisory board and appointed its first three members: Corey Johnston, Dr. David J. Shulkin and Seema Singh Bhan. The board will provide guidance and insights as the company brings its radioisotope production and mass separation technologies to industrial, commercial, aerospace and defense markets. Johnston is considered an expert on nation-state risk to technology. He is executive vice president at Strider Technologies. Prior to that, he had a 30-year career in the United States Navy as a naval aviator, diplomat and economic statesman. He spent the last 15 years of his naval career in various roles in Taipei, Beijing, East Africa and the U.S. Department of State. He was named chief competition officer at the U.S. Department of State, where he led onshoring negotiations of semiconductor companies and was one of the original drafters of the CHIPS and Science Act. Shulkin was the ninth secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Trump administration and VA’s undersecretary of health in the Obama administration. Shulkin acted as chief executive of hospitals and health systems, including Beth Israel in New York City and Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey. He currently serves on the board at Sanford Health. He continues to advocate on behalf of the country’s veterans by serving on the board of numerous nonprofits. Singh Bhan has more than two decades of experience in government affairs, public policy, advocacy and alliance development. She serves as a senior advisor to those focused on accelerating the discovery, development and distribution of technologies that improve the human condition. Her experience includes serving as senior vice president of public policy and external affairs at Thrive Earlier Detection Corp.; serving as vice president and head of public policy at Foundation Medicine; and serving more than a decade in public service, including as senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and for U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.
HOSPITALITY
• The Grand America Hotel, Salt Lake City, has appointed Christian Ojeda as executive chef. He will oversee all culinary operations at the property, including banquet programs, in-room dining and the Laurel Brasserie & Bar restaurant. Ojeda has more than two decades of experience in high-end hotels and fine dining establishments across the country. He most recently was executive chef of Bernardus Lodge & Spa in Carmel Valley, California, for the past three years. Before that, he spent nearly a decade at Montage Deer Valley in Park City, where he rose from chef de cuisine to executive chef.
REAL ESTATE
• Gilbane Development, a real estate development company, has expanded into Salt Lake City by appointing Tyler Greene as vice president of development. Greene will oversee the expansion of the company’s real estate activity in Salt Lake City. Greene recently led the market entry in Salt Lake City of another multifamily developer, and, in 2020, founded Surface Development, where he oversaw a $250 million development pipeline. Gilbane Development plans to fill gaps in the market with multifamily housing that serves a wide range of incomes. Its portfolio in Utah will focus on low- to mid-rise projects with attainable rents, while exploring purpose-built student housing, workforce and mixed-income developments, and public-private partnerships (P3). The company, the real estate development, financing and ownership arm of Gilbane Inc., has over $11.8 billion in development and more than 25,000 units of housing completed or underway.
RETAIL
• The Taubman Co. has appointed Dave Harris as general manager and Natalie Watson as new marketing and sponsorship director at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City. Harris will lead all facets of center operations, including financial performance, leasing strategy, tenant relations, capital improvements and long-term planning. He has been with The Taubman Co. since 1999 and has a background in real estate development, leasing, finance, renovations and corporate real estate. At Taubman, his roles have included vice president of regional management, where he oversaw super-regional malls across multiple states. Harris earned a degree in business management from Brigham Young University. Watson oversees the center’s marketing strategy, public relations, sponsorship development and signature events. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and expertise in retail real estate, brand strategy and community engagement. Her previous roles include marketing director at Fashion Place Mall; senior marketing manager for South Towne Center; and directing marketing efforts at The Factory Stores at Park City, where she was selected to serve on the Summit County Celebration Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics. Watson holds a bachelor of science in marketing from the University of Utah.
SERVICES
• Ampleo, a Lehi-based provider of part-time CFO and outsourced controller services to small and mid-size businesses, has hired Arbie Nersisian as chief financial officer. Nersisian has over 16 years of experience across fintech, SaaS, tech and e-commerce, including roles at Mastercard, leading open banking and fintech strategy, and most recently served as CFO at EmpInfo. Since partnering with Ampleo in 2023, he has been an advisor and strategic finance leader.
TECHNOLOGY
• ValorC3 Data Centers, a St. George-based colocation, cloud and connectivity provider, has appointed Carter Groves as chief financial officer. Groves has more than two decades of experience in investment and operations across the infrastructure and private equity asset classes. Prior to joining Valor, Groves held senior investment and operating roles, including as a partner of an infrastructure investment firm that acquired, developed and operated digital, energy and industrial infrastructure. He also served as head of U.S. infrastructure and managing director for an international energy and infrastructure investment firm and vice president of a New York-based private equity firm in the aerospace and defense industry. Groves has served on several boards and held interim management roles within prior investment companies.