Industry Briefs 10-9-23

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AUTOMOTIVE

• Ken Garff West Valley Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram recently had a grand re-opening celebration at its dealership at 4175 W 3500 S., West Valley City. It featured Utah Jazz rookie Taylor Hendricks. The event marked the introduction of new features, incentives and products for customers.

ASSOCIATIONS

• The Economic Development Corporation of Utah has announced that Judd Cook of Dominion Energy will serve as the chair of EDCUtah’s board of trustees for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Cook has served on the board since 2022 and succeeds Gary Hoogeveen as chair. Hoogeveen is president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power. Cook is Dominion Energy’s vice president and general manager over Western distribution/gas distribution. He assumed the role in 2022. In 2019, he was named director of gas operations. Cook joined Dominion Energy, formerly Questar Gas, in 1997 as a meter reader. He held several positions throughout his career, including working in the company’s data security group, the corporate audit group and business development, as well as leadership and strategic planning positions. The EDCUtah board of trustees has five new members: Brandon Gordon, Utah County commissioner; Brennen Brown of D.A. Davidson & Co.; Josh Caldwell of Mortenson; Reed Laws with Your Employment Solutions; and Beth Holbrook with Utah Transit Authority. New ex officio members of the board are Brian Steed of the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air; Derek Miller of the Salt Lake Chamber; Jonathan Freedman of World Trade Center Utah; and Elizabeth Cantwell, president of Utah State University. Fiscal year 2024 officer appointments include Tom Morgan of Zions Bank as the board’s private sector vice chair; Gordon as the board’s public sector vice chair; and Hoogeveen as board secretary.
• The Utah Aerospace and Defense Association has appointed former U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart as chair. Stewart also recently announced a government relations consulting partnership with former U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien. Stewart served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee. He also is a best-selling author, served for 14 years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, and the former owner and CEO of a small business.
• The South Valley Chamber of Commerce is rebranding its Jr. WIB program and announced that America First Credit Union will be the organization’s presenting sponsor. Jr. WIB is part of the chamber’s Women In Business program in which high school seniors join in with the Women In Business Committee at their monthly lunches and in their planning meetings. They are assigned a mentor for the school year, are expected to attend monthly lunches, will meet with their mentor regularly and as a group plan and carry out a service project. They also have the opportunity to job shadow during the school year. At the end of the school year, if they have met all that is expected of them, the chamber provides them with a $1,000 scholarship to a college or university of their choice. The Jr. WIB program currently has 24 members.

BANKING

• TAB Bank, an Ogden-based online bank, has added Laura A. Schulte and Martha F. McGuire to its board of directors. Schulte served as a Fortune 100 divisional CEO and CFO, among other key leadership roles, during her career in financial services. Schulte is chair for the board of directors of Novant Health Inc. and serves on the board of directors of Grubb Properties Inc. McGuire is a banking executive with more than 25 years of commercial and investment banking experience. Most recently, she was executive vice president of First Bank Chicago, where she led the Large Corporate and Lease Finance Groups lines. She had prior roles at Huntington Bank, Bank of Oklahoma and Wachovia Bank. She began her career at First Chicago (now JPMorgan Chase).
• Brighton Bank has named Bruce Ashcroft as president and chief operating officer. Robert Bowen will remain with the bank as its vice chairman and CEO. Ashcroft has 38 years of experience in banking, including launching commercial lending and full-service banking operations for two banks entering the Utah market. Ashcroft’s education includes a degree from Utah State University.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Utah is the No. 1 state in the U.S. for being obsessed with true crime, according to a study by research company HubScore. It based its rankings on data including Google Trends, most popular true crime podcasts, and statistics on crime-focused TV show ratings. Utah led the rankings in terms of interest in true crime media and online engagement with related topics. The least-obsessed state is Hawaii. Details are at https://hubscore.co/rating/most-obsessed-with-true-crime-by-state.
• Utah is ranked No. 2 among states for interest in virtual reality gaming in 2023, according to a study by Research First and funded by Indivisible Gaming. It gathered statistics and data about VR gaming. The most-obsessed state is Alaska. The least-obsessed state is New York. Details are at https://docs.google.com/document/d/10x9E52RUcT7FSaZLYKsLpVEJrRbGyLbg3aAIUdMoGfs/edit.
• Utah is ranked No. 8 among states for highest divorce rates, according to a study by Formrush. It studied rates in 45 states along 18 statistical factors. Utah has 3.3 divorces per 1,000 population. The highest rate is in Nevada. The lowest is in Massachusetts.
• Several Utah cities are on a list of “Best Cities to Own a Swimming Pool,” compiled by Pool Gnome. It compared over 380 of the biggest U.S. cities on access to pool installers and maintenance providers, costs, yard size and drought risk, among 15 total metrics. Utah cities in the rankings are No. 161 Sandy, No. 168 Lehi, No. 176 Layton, No. 193 West Jordan, No. 194 Salt Lake City, No. 203 St. George, No. 214 Orem, No. 222 West Valley City and No. 224 Provo. The top-ranked city is Fort Myers, Florida. The No. 384 city is Flint, Michigan. Details are at https://poolgnome.com/blog/studies/best-cities-backyard-swimming-pool/#rankings.
• Hee Haw Farms Fall Festival in Pleasant Grove has been voted Utah’s favorite pumpkin patch, according to a survey by FamilyDestinationsGuide.com, which asked families to rate their favorite pumpkin-picking spots. Coming in second was Glen Ray’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Spanish Fork and in third place was Cornbelly’s Corn Maze & Pumpkin Fest in Lehi. Details are at https://familydestinationsguide.com/pumpkin-patches-survey/.
• Salt Lake City is ranked No. 15 and West Valley City is No. 188 on a list of “Best Cities for Golfers,” compiled by LawnStarter. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on six categories, including public and premium course access, course quality, golfer groups and climate. The top-ranked city is Scottsdale, Arizona. The No. 200 city is Pasadena, Texas. Details are at https://www.lawnstarter.com/blog/studies/best-cities-for-golfers/#rankings.

EDUCATION

• The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, has welcomed the fourth group of Lassonde Founders for the 2023-24 academic year. Thirty-four students, including some returning to the program for the second or third year, were admitted into the residential entrepreneur program for undergraduate students. They moved into Lassonde Studios in August. They will live with other student entrepreneurs, join entrepreneurship classes and complete the three-course Lassonde+X academic program, where they will learn the entrepreneurial mindset. Lassonde+X is provided in partnership with the Department of Entrepreneurship & Strategy at the Eccles School.

HEALTHCARE

• The Receiving Center at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute has officially re-opened at 501 S. Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City. The Receiving Center aims to offer a supportive and effective alternative to the emergency room visits for those experiencing severe or acute mental health crises. The center will play a role in the community’s mental health crisis response until the Kem and Carolyn Gardner Mental Health Crisis Care Center opens in 2025, which will include even more capacity for patients. The center closed while renovations on the new expansion was completed. The renovations will increase the center’s capacity from 6 to 12 patients. This expansion will help ensure that individuals aged 18 and older receive comprehensive assessments and appropriate care during mental health crises. Clients will undergo assessments and may be admitted for observation for up to 23 hours before being discharged to local community resources or admitted to in-patient care, if necessary.

HOSPITALITY

• Woodbury Corp., a Salt Lake City-based real estate management and development company, has broken ground for a new Residence Inn by Marriott in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. The Residence Inn Lincoln Downtown will have 122 suites. The architect for the building is Line29 Architecture, with interior design done by EDGEiD. Sampson Construction is the general contractor. Woodbury Corp. also owns and operates the adjacent Courtyard by Marriott Lincoln Downtown/Haymarket.

INVESTMENTS

• Tower Arch Capital, a Salt Lake City-based middle-market private equity firm, has promoted David Calder to partner and James McKean to principal. Calder joined the firm in 2015 as a vice president and rejoined the firm in ­2021 as a principal. Prior to rejoining Tower Arch Capital, he was a principal at The Halifax Group. He began his career in the investment banking groups at Deutsche Bank Securities, UBS Investment Bank and Leucadia National Corp. Calder serves on the board of directors of APIC Solutions, Panoramic Doors and Syracuse Utilities. His education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Asian studies from the University of Utah. McKean joined the firm in 2014 as an associate and rejoined the firm in 2020 as a vice president. Prior to joining Tower Arch Capital, he worked for McKinsey & Co. He currently serves on the board of directors of Infolinks. His education includes a Bachelor of Science in accounting and Master of Accountancy from Brigham Young University.

LOGISTICS

• Bill Wyatt has been named to serve on the board of the Utah Inland Port Authority. Wyatt, executive director of the Salt Lake City Department of Airports, will serve as an ex-officio board member bringing experience in both port development and air infrastructure. Wyatt spent 16 years as executive director of the Port of Portland, where he oversaw four marine terminals, two general aviation airports and Portland International Airport. He previously served for seven years as chief of staff to former Oregon Gov. John A. Kitzhaber, preceded by six years as president of the Oregon Business Council, and five years as executive director of the Association for Portland Progress.

MANUFACTURING

• Purple Innovation Inc., a Lehi-based manufacturer of comfort products, has appointed Tricia McDermottas chief legal officer. McDermott’s career spans multiple companies with well-known brands, including Perry Ellis International, Spectrum Brands and Office Depot. Most recently, McDermott led the legal team at Shoe Show Inc. as its chief legal and risk officer and corporate secretary. McDermott replaces Casey McGarvey, who has served as chief legal officer since the company was founded. McGarvey plans to take a step back from day-to-day operations in order to spend more time with his family and will shift to serve Purple as an advisor to the senior leadership team.

MILESTONES

• Weave, a Lehi-based company offering an experience platform for small and medium-sized healthcare practices, announced that its more than 27,000 customers used its platform to interact with their patients more than 1.8 billion times in the past 12 months.

PARTNERSHIPS

• American Battery Factory Inc., an American Fork-based emerging battery manufacturer developing the first network of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cell gigafactories in the U.S., has entered into an agreement with First Phosphate Corp. to support the production of more than 40,000 tons of annual fully North American manufactured lithium iron phosphate cathode active material. The agreement contemplates production of LFP CAM with an annual monetary value of between $500 million to $1 billion at future raw material prices. The initiative aims to bring production of LFP batteries for the battery storage sector to North America.
• TAB Bank, an Ogden-based online bank, has entered into a partnership with Biz2X, a subsidiary of Biz2Credit Inc. TAB says the partnership with enable it to streamline its small-to-medium business lending decision-making, expand lending options, and make it easy for SMBs to get the capital they require for growth.

PHILANTHROPY

• Pluralsight, a Draper-based technology workforce development company, has announced that its social impact organization, Pluralsight One, is providing $2.5 million in immediate cash grants to new and existing nonprofit partners. These grants, in addition to 41,000 free Pluralsight Skills licenses the organization is donating, aim to help those strategic partners expand access to technology skills development for historically underrepresented populations in the communities they serve. Over the last year, Pluralsight has partnered with 10 new nonprofits: AnitaB.org, Annie Cannons, Apprenti, Empowr Co., I.C. Stars, Intern XL, LGBT Tech, Rhiza Babuyile, Tech-Moms and Unlocked Labs.

REAL ESTATE

• 515 Tower at 515 E. 100 S., Salt Lake City, has been sold by Nearon Enterprises, based in California, to the Perpetual Housing Fund of Utah, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Homes Fund. The amount was not disclosed. The 171,193-square-foot office building will be converted to multifamily housing. The current parking garage will be razed to provide for additional apartments and condos in a second phase. CBRE’s Patrick Bodnar and Eric Smith represented Nearon in the transaction.
• Crewe Advisors, which manages more than $1.5 billion and provides wealth management and family office services to high-net-worth families, has relocated its headquarters to 650 Main in downtown Salt Lake City. It offers investment banking, merchant banking and securities services to middle market companies. Crewe Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, also relocated to 650 Main.

RECOGNITIONS

• The Economic Development Corporation of Utah recently announced the recipients of its annual awards. The Price family (John, Marcia and Steve Price and family) received the 2023 Nick Rose Award for Leadership in Economic Development. They are real estate developers who also have been philanthropists. Their most recent investment was $50 million into the new John & Marcia Price College of Engineering at the University of Utah. Nick Duerksen is the recipient of the 2023 Thayne Robson Award for Leadership in Economic Development. He served Sandy City for nearly 29 years in several key roles: 12 years as the economic development and redevelopment agency director, 15 years as the assistant community development director, and two years as the senior planner. Zions Bank received the 2023 Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Cornerstone in Economic Development Award. The bank was founded in 1873 and was among several community leaders that launched EDCUtah.
• Domo, an American Fork-based company offering a data experience platform, and Regional One Health have been named recipients of an ROI Award from Nucleus Research for achieving a total return on investment of 190 percent through the adoption of Domo’s data experience platform. The platform enabled significant improvements in patient care, advanced operational efficiencies and revenue for Regional One Health. Using Domo, it was able to streamline care practices through data visualizations, reduce patient length of stay at the center, improve patient access to prescriptions and decrease harmful events for patients.
• Weber State University and America First Credit Union recently celebrated local entrepreneurs who have grown their businesses with free startup funding from the Wildcat MicroFund. The Wildcat MicroFund offers $3,000 cash award grants to early-stage entrepreneurs in any industry across Utah. The grants support entrepreneurs in achieving specific business goals and milestones, and applicants must demonstrate a genuine need for the services through an application and pitch process. The fund encourages problem-solving, new venture creation and positive community impact and supports diverse entrepreneurs in Utah. Since 2018, it has awarded over 300 grants to businesses in various industries, including construction, education, outdoor recreation and tourism.

TECHNOLOGY

• GoTo, a Boston-based company focused on IT management, support and business communications, has promoted Damon Covey, based in Salt Lake City, to chief product officer. He will be responsible for leading the product teams and UX for the company’s full IT management, support and business communications portfolio. Covey most recently served as senior vice president and head of product, positions he held since joining GoTo in 2021. Prior to GoTo, Covey served as vice president of product management at Cox Automotive and held various leadership roles for 14 years at Symantec.
• Diamond Lake Minerals Inc., a Salt Lake City-based multi-strategy operating company specializing in the development and support of digital assets and SEC-registered security tokens, has appointed Michael J. Malik Sr. as its newest strategic advisor. Malik has experience in the gaming, sporting and entertainment industry spanning over five decades. Malik began his career as a consultant and developer in Indian gaming in the 1980s, serving as a partner in North American Gaming. Since then, he has been an prominent entrepreneur and leader in casino development, including playing roles in the establishment of casinos in Michigan.