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BANKING
- Chartway Credit Union, based in Virginia, has appointed Desai Madrigal as associate director on its board of directors. Madrigal is the owner of WIN Home Inspection in St. George and president of the Southern Utah Latino Business Alliance, a part of the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce. His experience includes more than two decades of leadership in the financial and real estate sectors.
- Bank of Utah, based in Ogden, has hired Kevin Thompson as a loan officer at its St. George location. Thompson is one of two interns who received a full-time offer from Bank of Utah after its inaugural internship program earlier this year. He interned as a credit analyst. His education includes an A.S. in aviation from Southern Utah University and an AAS in diesel maintenance. He is currently working toward his MBA in finance from SUU. Thompson was a special operations diesel mechanic with the U.S. Air Force for four years and spent two years as a Rapid Deployable Heavy Operations squadron leader.
- D.L. Evans Bank has appointed Spencer Pack to vice president commercial loan officer at its Orem branch. Pack has been in the banking industry since 2006, finding fulfillment in helping clients and small-business owners reach their financial goals. Throughout his career, he has held a range of roles in retail and commercial banking, including personal banker, branch manager, business banking officer, relationship manager and business development officer. He earned an associate degree in business administration, from Ensign College (formerly LDS Business College).
- TAB Bank, based in Ogden, has reported that it closed $98.4 million in credit facilities with 385 deals in the third quarter. Several companies are Utah-based, including Dirty Dough, based in Lindon. The deals span numerous sectors, including homeware, restaurant, manufacturing, real estate and transportation. The largest was $12 million for a multifamily community developer based in Texas. The bank’s services include working capital, equipment financing, term loans, lines of credit and commercial real estate loans.
DIVIDENDS
- The board of directors of Zions Bancorporation NA has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 43 cents per common share. It is payable Nov. 21, to shareholders of record Nov. 14. The board also declared regular quarterly cash dividends on the company’s various perpetual preferred shares, including series A, G, I and J. Those dividends are payable Dec. 6 to shareholders of record Dec. 1.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
- The median annual salary in October for Utahns who have stayed in their job for at least 12 months was $49,800, up 4.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data from ADP Pay Insights. The national increase for job-stayers was $56,000, a 4.6 percent increase. For job-changers, the median salary grew 6.2 percent. Details are at https://payinsights.adp.com/.
- The current year-over-year inflation rate “feels like” 6.6 percent to the average Utahn, according to a survey by CardRates.com. That is more than double the actual rate. The highest “feels like” rate is in Maine, at 8.6 percent. The lowest is in Kansas, at 5.5 percent. Forty-two percent of Utah respondents said they think “all the time” about inflation when making financial decisions, while 34 percent said “frequently.” Four percent said they never think about the rise in prices. Sixty-four percent of Utahns said they expect inflation to increase, while 24 percent believe it will hold stable, while only 12 percent of survey takers said they believe it will decrease. Details are at https://www.cardrates.com/studies/how-americans-perceive-inflation/.
- Deer Valley/Park City is the “most expensive ZIP code in Utah,” according to a study by RealtyHop. The report looks at the three most expensive ZIP codes in each state, based off their home listing prices. The top codes in Utah are 84060 in Deer Valley/Park City, with a median list price of $2,125,000; 84098 in Kimball Junction/Park City, at $1,370,000; and 84004, Alpine, at $1,260,000. The most expensive in the U.S. is 94027 in Atherton, California, with a median price of $7,750,000. The least expensive is 72758 in Rogers, Arkansas, at $408,403. Details are at https://www.realtyhop.com/blog/most-expensive-us-zip-codes-2024/.
- Utah has two locations on a list of “cities with the most ambitious young professionals,” compiled by Career.io, a platform for career guidance and success. They are No. 38 Salt Lake City and No. 96 Provo. Career.io identified the 100 cities across U.S. with the hardest-working young professionals. The top-ranked city is New York City. Details are at https://career.io/career-advice/americas-top-cities-for-ambitious-young-professionals.
- Utahns’ dream business is owning a ski lodge in Park City, according to a survey by MarketBeat.com. Other top choices in Utah are a glamping resort and a craft brewery and gastropub. Details are at https://www.marketbeat.com/originals/survey-reveals-americas-most-coveted-businesses-in-2024/.
- Utah is ranked as the second-worst state for beekeeping, according to a list compiled by Lawn Love. It compared 39 of the 50 states with available data based on four categories, considering rates of honey production, annual and quarterly colony loss, and apiculture establishments. The top-ranked state is California. The bottom-ranked state is Arkansas. Details are at https://lawnlove.com/blog/best-states-for-beekeeping/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
- Utah Valley University recently held a ribbon-cutting event for its new 24-seat dental hygiene lab and community clinic on the university’s Lehi campus. It will be used to train dental hygienists and provide free and low-cost care to approximately 3,000 low-income community members. Prior to the new facility, the dental hygiene program only had access to 15 chairs/workstations. In addition to the lab, the university’s respiratory therapy program and Police Academy — Peace Officer Standard and Training programs will be housed in the building.
ENERGY
- Sky Quarry Inc., an energy solutions company in the waste asphalt shingle recycling industry, has announced two appointments. Darryl Delwo has been named chief financial officer and Cyla Apache has been promoted to vice president of finance. Delwo has over 28 years of experience and was promoted after serving as vice president of finance since 2020. Previously, He was previously chief financial officer of Noralta Technologies Inc. and was controller and acting CFO for the start-up company Sulvaris Inc. Apache has over six years of controllership experience with background in implementing softwareand developing efficient workflows.
EVENTS
- Qualtrics, an experience management software company co-headquartered in Provo and Seattle, has announced that “X4: The Experience Management Summit” will take place March 18-20 in Salt Lake City. Registration is open now. The event will bring together more than 8,000 C-suite executives, thought leaders and experience management professionals for three days of learning, inspiration and connection. It will feature keynote presentations, breakout sessions and workshops about the latest AI-powered innovations and trends in experience management. Details are at www.qualtrics.com/x4summit.
EXPANSIONS
- Utah-based dessert retailers Mrs. Fields, a retail cookie franchisor, and frozen yogurt brand TCBY, both portfolio companies of Salt Lake City-based Famous Brands International, have opened a co-branded store in the Carolina Place Mall in Pineville, North Carolina. This marks the 15th outlet opened by Famous Brands franchisee Samuel Batt and is the first to offer both brands in the same retail location. Mrs. Fields opened its first store in 1977, while TCBY is marking its 40th year.
FOODS
- Clear Water Distilling, a Pleasant Grove-based craft spirits maker, has named David Schroederas vice president of sales. He will be tasked with helping expand the company’s presence in both domestic and international markets. He joins Clear Water from Guinness and has held positions at Independence Brewing and Third Coast Coffee in Austin, Texas, as well as Diageo, where he worked extensively on the Guinness brand across markets in St. Louis, Houston and Denver.
GOVERNMENT
- Spanish Fork has received a $1.2 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair its water pipeline and damaged embankments as part of a major disaster declaration issued in response to the Spanish Fork River flooding in 2023. Flooding from rapid snow melt damaged part of the drinking water pipeline and embankment in four locations, which affecting the community’s drinking water infrastructure. The $1.2 million in FEMA funding will bring the facility to pre-disaster function and capacity, while making the waterline stronger to prevent future damages.
HEALTH CARE
- Supplemental Health Care, based in Salt Lake City, has named Scott Armstrong as chief revenue officer. He will oversee the company’s client sales organization and business development strategy. Armstrong has 15 years of sales and sales leadership experience from Medical Solutions, in addition to prior roles.
INDOOR ENTERTAINMENT
- Sky Zone, a Provo-based indoor entertainment company, has announced plans to open 10 new parks, including in Austin; Seattle; Henderson, Nevada; Brooklyn; and the Atlanta metro area. They are expected to open in the 2026 first quarter. Sky Zone owns, operates and franchises over 270 parks.
INVESTMENTS
- Voze, a Sandy-based company offering a sales solution, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Origin Ventures and Mercury, with participation from previous investors, including AlbumVC and Pipeline Capital Partners. This funding brings Voze’s total capital raised to date to $15 million. Voze said the funds will be used to expand its product and engineering teams. Voze currently serves a customer base of more than 5,000 sales professionals.
- Databento, a Salt Lake City-based financial data software company, has closed on $10 million in funding, increasing its total Series A round to $30 million. The round features follow-on investments from existing shareholders, with new participation from Belvedere Trading, Clear Street, Lightscape Partners and asset management firms.
- Paterna BioSciences, a Salt Lake City-based biotechnology company dedicated to solving male infertility, has closed a $6 million oversubscribed seed funding round, led by SpringTide Ventures, with participation from e184, the Utah Innovation Fund, Freya Ventures, Divergent Capital, Seaside Ventures and several individual investors. The company said the investment will accelerate the development of the its in vitro spermatogenesis technology through preclinical development, as well as to develop the company’s infrastructure and grow its team.
MANUFACTURING
- YESCO, a Salt Lake City-based sign company, has fabricated and installed signage for Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The work included the fabrication and installation of a 31-foot-long illuminated stage sign on an existing structure. A second stage sign measured 50 feet wide. YESCO also installed two sets of letters on entrance arches for the amphitheater.
NONPROFITS
- The Candy Bomber Foundation has named retired Gen. Mike Minihan as its new chairman of the board. Minihan recently retired from the U.S. Air Force after a 34-year career culminating as Air Mobility Command commander. He served as a pilot with 3,400 flight hours, multiple deployments and years of service overseas, including tours in Germany and the Republic of Korea. The Spanish Fork-based foundation honors Col. Gail S. Halvorsen, known for leading airlift missions over East Berlin following World War II during which candy was dropped to children newly confined in the divided city. The foundation conducts educational activities showing the importance of air mobility in humanitarian operations.
- OUR Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to combating sex trafficking and child exploitation, has announced plans to move its global headquarters from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis. The most is scheduled to be completed in January. The organization has operations in 27 countries. OUR Rescue said it will maintain a significant presence in Salt Lake City, where the organization was founded in 2013. The Utah office will continue to operate as one of OUR Rescue’s two Centers of Excellence, focusing on operational and mission support (shared services including marketing, advancement, finance, HR, IS and legal).
PHILANTHROPY
- LifeWave, a Draper-based wellness technology company, has donated $100,000 to The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization working to remove plastic from the world’s oceans. LifeWave said its commitment to environmental sustainability aligns with its larger ESG (environmental, social and governance) goals.
- Maverik — Adventure’s First Stop and Kum & Go on Veterans Day will treat all veterans and active-duty military service members to a free Bean-to-Cup coffee, up to size large, in gratitude for their service. The deal will be offered across their combined footprint of more than 840 Maverik and K&G locations in 20 states.
- USANA Kids Eat has begun its fifth annual Holiday Food Bag Program, an initiative continuing through Dec. 6 that provides a two-week supply of nutritious food for children during December’s holiday school break. People are invited to sign up at usanakidseat.org. The do-it-yourself project includes both donation and service elements. Participants shop for the food, assemble the bags on their own, and deliver the bags. Last year, the program successfully distributed over 4,300 food bags.
RECOGNITIONS
- Three Utah companies are Inc.’s 2024 list of Founder-Friendly Investors, recognizing private equity and venture capital firms with the best track records of success in partnering with founder-led companies. The final list recognizes 208 firms. The Utah companies are Banner Capital Management LLC (private equity), Mercato Partners (venture capital) and Tower Arch Capital (private equity). To compile the list, Inc. went to entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms and had them complete a questionnaire about their experiences partnering with private equity, venture capital and debt firms and shared data on how their portfolio companies have grown during these partnerships.
- Utah’s 529 nonprofit educational savings plan, called my529, is one of five 529 plans to receive the Analyst Rating of Gold for 2024 by Morningstar. It has earned the top rating for 14 consecutive years, the only plan to do so. In its annual industry report, Morningstar evaluated 59 plans for their underlying investment quality and selection process, asset allocation methodology, investment team and state oversight. For Gold-rated plans like my529, distinguishing factors included investment option design, state stewardship and low costs. More than 168,900 my529 beneficiaries have used their funds for qualified education expenses, including K-12 tuition expenses, since 2011, totaling over $7.3 billion in withdrawals.
- Gov. Spencer Cox recently presented 25 state employees with the Governor’s Award for Excellence at an awards ceremony held at the Governor’s Mansion. The awards recognize the contributions of state employees in the categories of innovation and efficiency, energy and environment, heroism, leadership and outstanding public service. Recipients this year are Shelly Jackson, Lieutenant Governor’s Office; Collin Tanner, Lieutenant Governor’s Office; John Fryer, Department of Workforce Services; Camie Escobar, Board of Pardons and Parole; Heather Sarin, Department of Health and Human Services; Sydney Jorgensen, Office of the Governor; Carrie Trujillo, Department of Financial Institutions; Kara Hetrick, Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice; Kelly Christensen, Department of Insurance; Steve Myer, Department of Public Safety; Tech Sgt. Taylor Hymas, Utah Army National Guard; Tara Connolly, Department of Government Operations; Katie Corak, Department of Commerce; Eric Cropper, Utah State Tax Commission; Rebecca Dilg, Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity; Judy Hut, Cultural and Community Engagement; Laurie O’Connor, Labor Commission; Lesa Bulloch, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services; Mark Taylor, Utah Department of Transportation; Sandi Archibald, Capitol Preservation Board; Emily Willis, Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget; Dylan Martinez, Department of Environmental Quality; Hannah Freeze, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food; James Kirkland, Department of Natural Resources; and Alec Langton, Department of Corrections.
- Six applicants were awarded prizes at the State Bank Business Challenge, a pitch competition that took place during the One Utah Summit at Southern Utah University. Judges awarded a total of $50,000 to young and established businesses. The awardees were selected from 92 applicants, each of whom submitted a 90-second video pitching their business. At the summit, the 45 semifinalists pitched three times to judges. Merch Makers, an AI-driven platform that simplifies merchandise creation by handling design, production, e-commerce and fulfillment, won a total of $19,000 in addition to mentoring from Jeremy Smith and Brad Bonham, Utah’s entrepreneur-in-residence. Tiny’s Botanas, a Mexican specialty snack company founded and run by a mother-daughter duo in St. George, was awarded $14,000, a marketing consultation, an accounting consultation, and an MBC scholarship. Interval AI, a Provo-based company that helps businesses automate their internal collections process, was awarded a total of $6,000 and received the Governor’s Office Choice. Fishing Weed Blocker, a company and product that helps fishermen keep plants off of hooks, was awarded a total of $5,500 and named Best Student Business. Push Pilot, a company and product created for the construction industry to automatically eject wood plugs out of saw holes, won a total of $5,500. SoundSculpt, a royalty-free AI-generated music service, was awarded a total of $3,500 and a legal consultation.
RETAIL
- Arc’teryx Equipment, a Canadian design company specializing in technical high-performance outerwear and equipment, has opened its first retail location in Salt Lake City at City Creek Center. The 4,000-square-foot store will offer a seasonal product focus and will work closely with local partners like Exum Mountain Guides and Park City Powder Cats, as well as a team of five local ambassadors from Arc’teryx’s core sports.
- Image Studios, a Salt Lake City-based franchisor of salon suites, has named Josh Wall to its board of directors. Wall is a 20-year franchise industry veteran with extensive leadership, franchise relations and real estate experience. He currently serves as chief growth officer for Unleashed Brands. He also has served as a board member for the past five years with children’s consignment franchise Just Between Friends. Image Studios has 93 stores in operation across 22 states, and a pipeline of 220 stores in development, 50 of which are projected to open in 2025.
TECHNOLOGY
- BambooHR, a Draper-based company offering human resources software, has appointed Jonathan Vaasas chief legal officer. He will oversee all legal, regulatory, and compliance matters. Vaas has over two decades of experience in law and technology, particularly within the high-growth B2B software category, with experience in corporate and regulatory law, M&A, strategy, governance, software licensing and risk management.
- Ionic Mineral Technologies, a maker of nano-silicon battery anode materials based in Provo, has named Sunho Kang as chief technology officer. He will lead the efforts in advancing Ionic’s Ionisil nano-silicon anode products and their commercial development. Kang has over 25 years of experience in battery technology innovation, with leadership roles at institutions including Argonne National Laboratory, Samsung SDI, Apple and Volkswagen, where Kang helped develop and industrialize li-ion battery materials.
- Qualtrics, an experience management software company co-headquartered in Provo and Seattle, has appointed Rachita Sundar as chief financial officer and member of the executive leadership team. Based in Seattle, Sundar has more than two decades of experience at high-growth and industry leading companies, most recently serving as senior vice president of financial planning and analysis at HubSpot. Before that, she spent more than a decade in finance leadership roles at Microsoft.
