Industry Briefs 11-13-23

Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice.w@thecityjournals.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.

ACCOUNTING

• CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, a Minnesota-based accounting firm, has announced career advancement for Rachelle Hansen, signing director, tax, in Salt Lake City. The company has more than 130 offices and more than 8,500 employees across the U.S. that provide advice and professional services in wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting and outsourcing.

ASSOCIATIONS

• BioUtah, a trade association serving the state’s life sciences community, has named Dr. Myles Greenberg, CEO of Alucent Biomedical, as its new board chair, effective in January, and appointed five new directors to the board. Greenberg has more than 20 years of experience in growing healthcare, medical technology and life sciences firms as an entrepreneur, operating executive, board member, clinician and investor. Prior to joining Alucent, he served as chief development officer at IntegraMed America. He spent most of his career as an early-stage venture capital investor with CHL Medical Partners, HealthInvest Equity Partners and Pappas Ventures. Greenberg succeeds Andrea Kendell, chief financial officer at BioMérieux. Kendell will remain a member of the executive committee as immediate past chair. Completing the executive committee is Mark Paul, executive director of the Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Utah, and past president of Stryker Neurovascular, who will serve as board vice chair. Brad Brown, executive chairman of ATL Technology, will be leaving the executive committee after three years of service, including as board chair in 2022 and vice chair in 2021. Brown will remain an active member of the board. The new BioUtah directors are Jared Bauer, CEO of Seek Labs and chair of BioHive, a nonprofit; David Bearss, co-founder and CEO of Halia Therapeutics and former CEO of Tolero Pharmaceuticals; Haven McCall, founder and CEO of Canyon Labs; Phil Prentice, vice president/global platform leader at BD, and who held executive leadership roles at Henry Schein, Danaher, and Johnson and Johnson (Prentice replaces Kate Benedict, who has had a change in assignment with BD); Josh Walker, co-founder and COO at Nomi Health, former COO of Imagine Health and who held leadership roles at Red Pine Consulting, United Health Group, Optum, and Huntsman Biotechnology Corp. Four members of the board are departing: Benedict, vice president and general manager of strategic innovation and vascular access devices at BD; Kolby Day, COO at BiomeBank and formerly with PolarityTE; Chris Gibson, co-founder and CEO of Recursion Pharmaceuticals; and Keith Marmer, president of Seek Labs and managing partner at UVB Capital and formerly with the University of Utah.
• The Heber Valley Chamber has concluded Restaurant Week, which took place Nov. 6-12, with over 40 locally owned and operated eateries highlighting their best menu items, specialty drinks, unique dining offers and a variety of additional special promotions.

DIVIDENDS

• The board of directors of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., based in Provo, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 39 cents per share. The dividend will be paid Dec. 6 to shareholders of record Nov. 24. Nu Skin is a beauty and wellness products company.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Fourteen percent of Utah adults, or 459,305 people, get insufficient sleep due to money worries, according to a study by BadCredit.org. It surveyed people to ascertain the number of people who say their financial liabilities (excluding mortgages) causes them to stay awake at night, and combined this data with figures on insufficient sleep from county health rankings. Among the most affected cities in Utah are Ogden, with 14,001 people; Price, 1,336; 3. Nephi, 873; Roosevelt, 1,023; and Tooele, 5,117. The highest percentage among states is Hawaii, at 28 percent, or 410,410 people. The lowest is Vermont, at 9 percent. Details are at https://www.badcredit.org/studies/debts-role-in-americas-sleep-crisis/.
• Several Utah cities are on a list of “most promising empty plots of land in the U.S.,” compiled by Moving Feedback. It ranked 200 cities after a survey of prospective real estate investors about which cities on which they would stake their savings on an undeveloped one-acre plot. The Utah cities are No. 39 Salt Lake City, No. 132 Provo, No. 37 Lehi, No. 172 St. George, No. 181 Logan, No. 196 Ogden and 200 South Jordan. The top-ranked city overall is Tampa. Details are at https://www.movingfeedback.com/top-places-across-america-for-real-estate-growth/.
• Salt Lake City is No. 1 on a list of destinations with highest number of RV bookings in the U.S., according to a study by RVShare, a community for RV owners and renters. The state has more than 700 RV owners who have been able to accommodate renters. Data also reveals that Salt Lake City holds a higher booking value for RV rentals compared to any other city in the United States, and is up 15 percent compared to the second-most-valuable city, Las Vegas.
• Several Utah cities are included on a list of “Best Vacation Cities with Beautiful Views,” compiled by Window Gnome. It compared over 450 of the biggest U.S. cities, looking at access to “hotels with views” from Expedia and accommodations tagged with “amazing views” on Airbnb. It also considered ratings and cost factors, among nine total metrics. Ranked Utah cities are No. 35 Salt Lake City, No. 47 Orem, No. 68 West Valley City, No. 71 St. George, No. 99 Provo, No. 107 Sandy, No. 140 Layton, No. 147 Lehi, No. 171 Ogden, No. 243 South Jordan and No. 377 West Jordan. The top-ranked city overall is Miami. The No. 455 city is Boca Raton, Florida. Details are at https://windowgnome.com/blog/studies/best-vacation-cities-beautiful-views/#rankings.

EVENTS

• Qualtrics, with main offices in Provo and Seattle, has announced that its X4: The Experience Management Summit will return to Salt Lake City on May 1-3. Registration is open for the event, which will bring together more than 10,000 C-suite executives, thought leaders and experience management professionals to learn how experience management can “make business more human.” X4 will feature more than 100 breakout sessions about the latest AI-powered innovations and trends in experience management. Details are at www.qualtrics.com/x4summit.

GOVERNMENT

• Applications are open through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 1 for Salt Lake City’s Arts, Culture and Events (ACE) Fund for the 2024 cycle. The annual grant program is designed to support neighborhood and community events in Salt Lake City, with awards ranging from $500 to $10,000. Since 2012, the Mayor’s Office has sponsored a variety of community-centered events. To be eligible for ACE funding, events must take place within Salt Lake City limits and should support the city’s overall vision and goals, such as contributing to city-wide economic development, supporting the health and wellness of residents, or promoting diversity, inclusion and cultural identity. The city will host information sessions for those interested in learning more about the fund and the application process. They take place Nov. 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m., at Glendale Mountain View Community Learning Center, Room 182, 1388 Navajo St., Salt Lake City, and Nov. 27 6-7 p.m., at The Shop (hosted by the Utah Black Chamber), 350 E. 400 S., Salt Lake City. Details are at slc.gov/mayor/ace-fund.

HEALTHCARE

• Myriad Genetics Inc., a Salt Lake City-based genetic testing and precision medicine company, has appointed Sam Raha as chief operating officer, effective Dec. 11. He will be responsible for driving the company’s lab operations, customer service initiatives, and product development innovations. Raha has more than 25 years of general management, commercial and operations experience. He previously served as the president of Agilent’s Diagnostics and Genomics Group. Prior to Agilent, he was vice president of global marketing at Illumina.
• ATL Technology, a Springville-based company specializing in medical device development and manufacturing, has named Danelle Goulet as vice president of human resources. Before joining ATL, Goulet served as vice president of human resources and facilities for Advanced Input Systems. She also held leadership roles at IBM and Amgen.

HOSPITALITY

• Western States Lodging and Management, a management and development firm focused on hospitality, senior living and multifamily housing, has opened a new home office in South Jordan. The office will support nearly 5,000 associates, 94 management properties and real estate assets throughout 13 U.S. states, including Hawaii. The company began as two flagship Western States properties in 1996 and has grown to $1.6 billion in assets under management.

INVESTMENTS

• Alianza, a Pleasant Grove-based company offering a cloud-based communications platform for service providers, has raised $61 million in new growth equity and debt financing. The equity round was supported by a syndicate of undisclosed institutional investors, as well as strategic partners. The debt financing was provided by Texas Capital Bank.

• Noodle Cat Games, a Salt Lake City-based game development studio, has completed a $12 million Series A funding round led by Hiro Capital, with participation from Makers Fund, Krafton and Sony Innovation Fund. The company has worked on titles including “Fortnite,” “Star Wars: The Old Republic” and “Infinity Blade.” The company said it will use the funding round to accelerate development and scale up its team.

• Treads, a Park City-based company offering an AI-powered car maintenance subscription, has raised a $4.6 million seed funding round led by Mucker Capital, with participating investors including Kickstart Seed Fund, Peak Ventures, Royal Street Ventures and Convoi Ventures. The company said the funds will support its expansion into 16 cities in the U.S., making Treads available in 34 cities by the end of 2023. Treads’ subscription helps customers pay for new tires on a monthly basis rather than all at once, making it easier to budget and manage what maintenance is needed from their mobile device.
• Savory Fund, a Lehi-based private equity firm that focuses on restaurants, has announced an investment in Houston TX Hot Chicken. Financial terms were not disclosed. Founded in 2021, HHC has 11 locations in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Texas and Utah. Harrington Park Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to Houston TX Hot Chicken. Mayer Brown LLP served as legal advisor to Savory Fund. Greenberg Traurig served as legal advisor to Houston TX Hot Chicken.

LAW

• Buchalter has relocated its Salt Lake City office to World Trade Center at City Creek at 60 E. South Temple Street, Suite 1200, Salt Lake City. The firm moved its 30-plus attorneys and 10 support staff Oct. 16 to the new 25,000-square-foot space. The firm’s Salt Lake City office opened in November 2021. The office has nearly tripled in size over the past two years.

MANUFACTURING

• Powered by MRP, a Park City-based aesthetics device company, has hired Cole Whitaker as chief commercial officer . Whitaker has nearly two decades of experience in the medical laser and aesthetic industry, most recently serving as senior vice president of technology for Cartessa Aesthetics, where he managed all laser and light-based products in the technology portfolio. He also served as U.S. business development manager at Lumenis.

NONPROFITS

• Utah Global Diplomacy, a nonprofit organization promoting respect and understanding between the people of Utah and other nations, has hired Jeremy Harmon as chief operating officer. In the newly created position, Harmon will execute Utah Global Diplomacy’s efforts to promote citizen diplomacy and engage global visitors with Utah leaders from across the state. Harmon has spent over 20 years in journalism, where for many years he led teams of visual storytellers. Most recently, he was director of photography and visuals for The Tennessean in Nashville, and USA Today’s multi-state south region. Harmon also led the photography team at The Salt Lake Tribune for more than a decade and at The Daily Herald in Provo prior to that. As past president of Associated Press photo managers, Harmon organized and led training opportunities for photo editors in North America.
• Brain Chemistry Labs, a nonprofit research institute based in Jackson, Wyoming, has announced that Elizabeth Susan (Sue) Severson was recently unanimously elected to serve as the new chair of its board. Brain Chemistry Labs scientists from around the globe perform cutting-edge research to find and fight the causes of brain diseases. Severson succeeds chair and founder Bill Egan, who recently retired from his position of chair, which he held since the organization’s creation in 2006. Severson’s experience includes serving Orinda, California, as a two-term mayor, and also serving as president of the Orinda Union School District. She also has served in leadership positions in several other nonprofit organizations as well as within private business. Severson earned undergraduate degrees in microbiology and chemistry from Brigham Young University.
• Philippines Humanitarian, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit dedicated to helping children from indigent families in the Philippines get the resources they need to attend elementary school through college, has added Vanessa Pierce and Anita Bombita Parsons as the newest members of its governing body. A member of the board of directors, Pierce is the general counsel and vice president of Legal for New U Life Corp. and has an extensive background in intellectual property law, as well as in issues related to international trade and the legal aspects of the Internet and computing. Pierce has been involved with Philippines Humanitarian for the past year as a participant in the organization’s Student Sponsorship Program. Born in Metro Manilla in the Philippines, Parsons is the co-founder of Utah-based Tycon Systems. A long-time donor and supporter of Philippines Humanitarian, Parsons joins the organization’s advisory board.

PARTNERSHIPS

• Purple Innovation Inc., a Lehi-based mattress manufacturer, has announced a partnership with RemWave that is designed to make restorative sleep more accessible to customers. This partnership makes Purple the first-to-market distributor for the RemWave non-wearable sleep device that tracks and monitors sleep. RemWave devices and product demonstrations are available in 11 Purple showrooms in Utah.
• Forever Feed Technologies, based in both California and American Fork and focused on automated agricultural feed systems, and JR Automation have announced an agreement to design and build on-farm controlled environment feed mills for large-scale dairy and beef cattle producers. FFT and JRA will design and deliver custom automated systems that maximize the productivity and effectiveness of Forever Feed’s water and carbon emission reduction technology, improving both farm operations and meeting a growing demand for sustainably produced high-quality animal feed. The agreement with JR Automation includes building the first production-ready FFT Feed Mill on the River Ranch Dairy in Hanford, California, in 2024. JR Automation employs over 2,000 people at 21 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.
• SocialClimb, a Salt Lake City-based patient acquisition company, and IncludeHealth, an Ohio-based digital musculoskeletal solution provider, have announced a partnership that aims to redefine the orthopedic patient marketing experience. Through the collaboration, SocialClimb’s orthopedic clientele will have access to a digital self-assessment tool provided by IncludeHealth that boosts online conversions and draws new patients to practices.
• Troomi Wireless, an Orem-based company focused on family tech solutions, has announced a partnership with Xplora, a creator of children smartwatches. The collaboration aims to empower Troomi customers with enhanced child safety options for youngsters who are not yet ready for a phone but need to be connected for daily adventures. Troomi will offer its customers access to the XGO3 smartwatch.

PHILANTHROPY

• KeyBank and ROC USA have announced that KeyBank Foundation, the bank’s charitable foundation, is providing a three-year, $150,000 grant to ROC USA LLC, a nonprofit social venture with a mission to support homeowners in manufactured home communities (MHCs) to achieve affordable and environmentally sustainable self-governing cooperatives. The grant is targeted to help the expansion of affordable resident-owned MHCs in KeyBank’s markets in Utah, Ohio and eastern Pennsylvania. Funds will be used to support ROC USA’s acquisitions team in providing community outreach, organizing, and technical assistance services. In 40 years, ROC USA and its affiliates have helped 312 communities form co-ops and acquire their communities in 21 states. These communities are home to more than 21,500 primarily low-income homeowners.

REAL ESTATE

• X Development, a Sandy-based development and asset management firm, and Midloch Investment Partners, a Chicago-based real estate investment firm and fund manager, have acquired Highbury at Lake Park, a Class-A shopping center on 5600 West in West Valley City. Consisting of 119,366 square feet, the center is anchored by Target and features a tenant mix of national and local restaurants, national big-box retailers and local boutiques. The acquisition price was $30 million. Kip Paul of Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the transaction. Midloch is a preferred equity investor in the property, which is the firm’s first investment in the Salt Lake City market. The purchase was financed with a fixed-rate loan from America First Credit Union.
• C.W. Urban, a Centerville-based real estate development company, has broken ground on theYARD, a 8.58-acre build-to-rent development at 125 S. Navajo St., Salt Lake City. It will be the first build-to-rent community located in the recently designated “Power District.” The transit-oriented development will consist of 157 build-to-rent townhomes, a clubhouse, a fitness center, an outdoor swimming pool, a landscaped greenway bisecting the site, and a riverfront amenity area. The first units expected to be available in spring 2024. C.W. Urban has partnered with Argosy Real Estate Partners on the equity for the project. C.W. Urban will serve as the developer, with C.W. Design, a C.W. Urban affiliate, serving as the lead architect on the project. C.W. Build, another C.W. Urban affiliate, will serve as the general contractor on the project. C.W. Urban also has had the ribbon-cutting to mark the completion of thePEARL at North Shore, a housing development in the Daybreak community. Located at 4647 South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan, thePEARL at North Shore is a mixed-use, master-planned rental community. The new six-acre lakefront rental development features 119 two- and three-bedroom townhomes and 89 apartments across three- to five-story apartment buildings. Capital partners on the project included Argosy Real Estate Partners and Larry H. Miller Real Estate. C.W. Urban served as the developer for the project and C.W. Design was the lead architect. General contractors included C.W. Build and HOME by C.W. Urban, also C.W. Urban affiliates. Other key partners included Spectrum Engineers, Ensign Engineering, LoCi and Perigee Consultants.

RECOGNITIONS

• Seven Utah ski resorts are on a list of the “top 30 resorts in the West,” compiled by Ski Magazine. It includes top-ranked Powder Mountain, No. 2 Snowbasin Resort, No. 7 Alta Ski Area, No. 9 Deer Valley, No. 13 Snowbird Mountain Resort, No. 15 Park City Resort and No. 17 Brighton Resort. The Ski Magazine Resort Guide is based on the results of the Reader Resort Survey.
• Oka, a Park City-based company dedicated to de-risking the voluntary carbon market (VCM) for buyers and sellers of carbon credits, has been included in the ESGFinTech100, an annual list of the world’s 100 most innovative technology companies helping the financial sector tackle environmental, social and governance challenges. Compiled by specialist research firm FinTech Global, the list showcases leading providers harnessing technology to solve a significant industry problem or accelerate ESG initiatives. An expert panel selected 100 companies from over 500 contenders.
• Winners of the 2023 Innovation Awards have been announced. The awards program is a partnership between Foley & Lardner and Utah Business. Nominees in the program are evaluated by leaders within Utah’s business and academic communities, who vote to select the finalists and award winners. The winner in the Advanced Manufacturing, Construction & Design category is Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corp., with Bonnell Aluminum as runner-up and Rebuild-It Services Group, a division of Sentry Equipment, receiving honorable mention. The Commercial Software category winner is Gray Falkon, with Proper Seven as runner-up. In Consumer Products & Services, Vivint is the winner, with EVject as runner-up and Ruvi receiving honorable mention. In Fintech, the winner is LoanPro, with Stena Center for Financial Technology as runner-up and CoinZoom receiving honorable mention. In Food & Agribusiness, the winner is Bactelife Industries Inc. In the Medical & Health Med Tech category, the winner is Halia Therapeutics, with SymbioCellTech LLC as runner-up and Cognitive FX receiving honorable mention. In Professional Services, the winner is the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, with Bloom as runner-up and Rasa Legal receiving honorable mention. In the Sustainability category, the winner is Clean Wake LLC, with Novva Data Centers as runner-up and Nodal Power receiving honorable mention. In Research & Development, the winner is Retego Labs, with L3Harris as runner-up and BZI receiving honorable mention.
• Ashish Garg, co-founder and CEO of Eltropy, a California-based company with an office in Lehi, has been named a finalist for a 2023 Luminaries Award from Credit Union Times in the Executive Leadership category. The awards recognize organizations and individuals who drive innovation and meaningful progress in the credit union industry. Eltropy offers an AI-driven enterprise-wide digital conversations platform for community financial institutions. Finalists were selected from a pool of entries spanning various sizes of organizations nationwide.