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BANKING
• TAB Bank, based in Ogden, has appointed Traci Crabtree as vice president of business development, expanding the bank’s presence in Southern California. Crabtree has more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance and leadership in middle-market direct lending. Crabtree has been with TAB Bank since 2018 and was recently promoted from director of corporate credit, underwriting. Crabtree has experience in asset-based, cash flow and real estate lending, with a focus on the health care industry. She has led numerous system integration projects; developed financial modeling tools across a range of borrower industries; and implemented real-time, paperless borrower reporting solutions to improve efficiency and transparency. Before joining TAB Bank, Crabtree held senior roles at several regional and national financial institutions, including vice president, team leader at Pacific Premier Bank; vice president, senior portfolio manager at Siemens Financial Services; and national audit director at DVI Business Credit. She began her asset-based lending career working for several years at FINOVA Capital.
ENERGY
• RPlus Energies, a Salt Lake City-based developer of utility-scale renewable energy projects, has appointed Jason Esperson as general counsel. Espersen will transition into the role over the coming months as John Spilman, current general counsel, begins his planned succession to retirement. Through this transition period and beyond, Spilman will assume the role of general counsel emeritus for rPlus Energies. Espersen has several years of commercial and legal expertise in energy projects and infrastructure transactions, both domestically and internationally, with specialties in utility-scale power plant development, construction, mergers and acquisitions, as well as with associated renewables supply chain, tariffs and trade compliance. Prior to joining rPlus Energies, Espersen spent 10 years at SunPower Corp. and Maxeon Solar Technologies, a SunPower spinoff. He began his legal career in energy at Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston.
GOVERNMENT
• Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Adam Stewart to serve as director of federal affairs for the Utah Governor’s Office, starting Aug. 25. Stewart currently leads a 14-member team for U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., shaping policy on energy, environment, financial services, housing, artificial intelligence and transportation. Earlier in his career, Stewart directed the Senate Western Caucus; staffed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife; and spent nearly a decade advising former U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, including a period of service as Bishop’s chief of staff. Stewart’s education includes degrees in economics and law and constitutional studies from Utah State University.
HEALTH CARE
• Purgo Scientific, a South Jordan-based company focused on medical devices that transform infection treatment through localized, sustained drug delivery, has appointed Tim Nieman to its board of directors. Nieman has over two decades of expertise in engineering, research and development, manufacturing, quality assurance, regulatory compliance and business development. He is owner and CEO of ZIEN Medical Technologies.
• The Utah Rare Disease Advisory Council, administered by BioUtah, in conjunction with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, has new leadership. Gina Szajnuk, current vice chair, moves up to chair, succeeding Dr. Lorenzo Butto, who served for four years. Szajnuk is an undiagnosed patient who has been an advocate for years and continues to serve as the executive director of the Rare and Undiagnosed Network (RUN), which she founded. The council’s new vice chair is Sylvia Lam, who leads the United Angels organization and has been instrumental in building the RDAC’s outreach strategies. Dr. Gholson Lyon will remain as secretary for the remainder of the year. The RDAC is charged to be an advisory board for the Utah Legislature and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding rare disease considerations.
• Holy Cross Hospital-West Valley has named Laura Malaise as chief nursing officer. Malaise’s nursing career spans more than 17 years, most recently including a stint as the CNO of Mountain View Hospital in Payson. Malaise’s education includes a master’s degree in nursing leadership from Western Governors University. A nonprofit Catholic health care organization, CommonSpirit Health has more than 2,300 clinics, care sites and 137 hospital-based locations, in addition to its home-based services and virtual care offerings.
• Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah has announced the induction of three physician-scientists as members of The Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars: Dr. Lindsay Burt, Dr. Douglas Grossman and Dr. Alejandro Sanchez. The society supports scientists who focus on translating research discoveries made in the laboratory into innovations that improve outcomes for cancer patients. Scholars receive financial support for their scientific work, have opportunities for mentorship, and collaborate with other society members in advancing scientific discoveries. Burt is a physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the UofU. She specializes in treating central nervous system, gynecologic, pediatric and breast cancers using advanced techniques. She contributes to clinical trials and national oncology committees. Grossman is a physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and co-leads the Melanoma Disease Center. As a professor of dermatology at the UofU, he specializes in early detection and prevention of skin cancers, particularly in high-risk patients, and directs Huntsman Cancer Institute’s mole mapping program. Grossman’s research explores the molecular mechanisms of melanoma development and metastasis. His work aims to develop novel chemopreventive strategies and non-invasive diagnostic tools to improve outcomes for patients with melanoma. Sanchez is a physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute and an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at the UofU. He specializes in the surgical treatment of urologic cancers — including prostate, kidney, bladder, testicular, adrenal and penile — using open, laparoscopic, robotic and endoscopic approaches. He leads the Von Hippel-Lindau and High Risk Renal Cancer Clinic and directs a translational research program focused on kidney cancer. Supported by the National Institutes of Health Early Surgeon-Scientist Program, his research emphasizes clinical trials and the development of molecular biomarkers to enhance cancer treatment.
LAW
• Maschoff Brennan has welcomed Jim Lundberg back to the firm. Lundberg originally joined the firm as a shareholder in 2013 and built a litigation practice specializing in intellectual property and international and national regulatory law, particularly with the SEC and other regulatory requirements of publicly traded companies. He most recently spent nearly 10 years as vice president and deputy general counsel at Vivint Smart Home and held similar positions at Novell and Vivint Solar (now SunRun). In addition to his corporate counsel positions, he has worked in private practice at a large national firm and served as law clerk to a federal district judge. Lundberg earned his J.D. at Brigham Young University and a bachelor of arts degree from Utah State University.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT
• Bernstein Private Wealth Management, a unit of AllianceBernstein LP, has appointed Greg Kadet as managing director/senior vice president for its private wealth offices in Denver and Salt Lake City covering the Rocky Mountain region. He succeeds Tyler Moloney, who will return to focusing exclusively on his role as a wealth advisor serving clients. Based in Denver, Kadet will oversee a team that includes wealth advisors dedicated to serving high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net-worth clients. Kadet has over 30 years of wealth management experience, most recently serving as managing director and market head for Greater Florida at UBS. Before that role, he was regional sales manager at UBS, where he also served on the firm’s 14-member Leadership Advisory Council to the Americas for the past two years. Prior to transitioning into leadership roles, Kadet served as a financial advisor at Prudential Securities in Phoenix and began his career at UBS in Denver.