Industry Briefs 2-3-25

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ASSOCIATIONS

• Michael Poulter has been named president of the Salt Lake Chapter of the BYU Management Society, part of a worldwide network of business professionals with a shared vision of growing moral and ethical leadership and a common code of business conduct and integrity. Poulter has been a chapter member for over a decade and a member of the board for almost six years, where he has chaired or co-chaired the chapter’s Distinguished Utahn Gala. After spending several years in private law practice, Poulter has managed private bank teams in Utah for large multi-national banks. He currently is a managing director with the Bank of Montreal. He joined the organization in 2022 and has nearly 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Poulter’s education includes splitting his undergraduate education between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, graduating from the latter with a Bachelor of Science in political science.

BANKING

• Jeremy Hafen has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s Salt Lake City branch board of directors. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco oversees the 12th Federal Reserve District. Members of the Salt Lake City branch board serve as liaisons between local communities and the federal government. The board members provide regional perspectives and advice on economic conditions, which help shape the Federal Reserve’s actions in their district. Hafen is president and CEO of Clyde Cos., a construction materials and services company based in Utah and operating in the Intermountain West and Great Plains. Hafen began his career with Clyde Cos. in 2004. Earlier, he spent several years with Deloitte as a senior tax consultant. He earned a Master of Accountancy degree in tax from Brigham Young University.
• Utah First Credit Union, based in Salt Lake City, has named Chad Dilley as chief operating officer. Dilley has two decades of financial leadership experience in retail banking, digital strategy and financial marketing. Most recently, Dilley served as senior vice president and director of retail branch banking at Zions Bank. He earned a B.S. in business marketing and finance and an Executive MBA from the University of Utah.

CONTESTS

• RevRoad, which invests in founders of tech ventures, is accepting applications through Feb. 27 for the annual RevRoad Entrepreneur Competition, a pitch event for B2B tech innovators. Applicants must be located in the U.S. and must be in the AI/ML, SaaS, cleantech, fintech, mobility or Web 3/blockchain industry. The grand prize is $20,000 in cash, with second place being $10,000 and third place $5,000. The final event in the competition takes place March 27 at IHub Provo, 1555 Freedom Blvd., Provo. The event is free and open to all. Event details are at Eventbrite.com. Applications and info at ecomp.revroad.com.

DIRECT SALES

• USANA Health Sciences Inc., a Salt Lake City-based company focused on nutritional and lifestyle products, has appointed Kathryn Armstrong as chief scientific officer. Her predecessor, Rob Sinnott, announced his retirement at the end of 2024 but will continue to assist the company as its senior scientific fellow. Armstrong has served as USANA’s executive vice president of research and development since July of 2024. She has 17 years of experience. She began her professional career at Whirlpool as a senior engineer with the Advanced Chemical Process Team and worked her way to lead engineer with the Technology and Chemical Process Group. She then joined Bissell Homecare Inc. in 2010 as associate director of product attributes. Most recently, Armstrong spent nearly nine years at Amway in different roles, including as vice president of new ventures, sciences, plant, agriculture and systems.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

• Utah is ranked No. 36 on a list of states with the largest increase in the number of mental health care providers, compiled by Mission Connection. It said that over five years, Utah’s number grew from 10,543 to 13,036, a 24 percent increase. Alaska led states with a 66 percent increase. Oklahoma had the lowest increase, at 8 percent. In Utah, Millard County saw the largest growth, at 50 percent. Piute saw a 22 percent decrease over the same period. Details are at https://missionconnectionhealthcare.com/blog/care-crisis-levels-in-us-by-state/.
• Utah residents pay an average of $69.01 monthly for Internet, or 72 cents per Mbps, according to a study by HighSpeedInternet.com. The average Internet speed in the state is 95.56. The Utah average is 44 percent less than the most expensive state in the U.S. The highest average is $120 per month in Montana. The lowest is $55 per month in South Dakota. The U.S. average is $75. Alaska is the worst place for internet value, costing $2.92 per Mbps. Connecticut offers the best deal, at 61 cents per Mbps. Details are at https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/state-cost-of-internet.
• Utahns want teachers to earn $34,863 more annually, according to a survey by online education company Test Prep Insight. The U.S. average is a $17,344 increase per year. The highest average is $39,615 in Montana. The smallest is $2,210 in California. Details are at https://testprepinsight.com/resources/survey-americans-want-teachers-to-earn-17k-more/.
• Forty-three percent of single NFL fans in Utah would choose a Super Bowl win for their team (this or any other year) over finding their true love, according to a survey by sports platform Wetten.com. The figure nationally is 48 percent. The highest number is 78 percent, in Michigan. Among NFL fanbases, 74 percent of Detroit Lions would choose a Super Bowl victory over finding their Valentine. Fifty-one percent of women prefer a Super Bowl win over love, compared to 46 percent of men. Details are at https://wetten.com/us/touchdown-or-gown.
• Three Utah locations are on a list of best places in the U.S. to witness a winter sunrise, compiled by photo book company Mixbook based on a survey. They are No. 8 Snow Canyon State Park, No. 48 Mirror Lake Scenic Byway (Bald Mountain Overlook) and No. 67 Dead Horse Point State Park. The top location overall is Hatcher Pass (Talkeetna Mountains), Alaska. Details are at https://www.mixbook.com/inspiration/winter-sunrise-destinations.

GOVERNMENT

• The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has appointed Dr. Amanda Price as state veterinarian. Price intends to focus on disease outbreak preparedness and response, outreach and education, and streamlining paperwork and registrations required by the department. Before working for the department, Price worked for the largest food animal vet clinic in the United States, Lander Veterinary Clinic in Turlock, California, for 13 years. She brought that knowledge and experience to UDAF as she has worked as assistant state veterinarian.
• The Salt Lake City Council has approved a $100,000 Economic Development Loan Fund loan for City Cakes & Cafe, a vegan and gluten-free bakery at 1860 S. 300 W., Suite D. The bakery has been serving Salt Lake City since 2009, and customers travel from as far away as neighboring states for their wedding cakes. Working with the Business Development division of the Department of Economic Development, the new owners of City Cakes & Cafe, Tim and Marcello Rikli, received a $100,000 EDLF loan to assist with the acquisition of the bakery. The EDLF’s purpose is to stimulate business development and expansion, create employment opportunities, encourage private investment, promote economic development, and enhance neighborhood vitality and commercial enterprise in Salt Lake City by making loans available to businesses.

INVESTMENT

• Mobly Inc., a Lehi-based event marketing technology company, has closed a $4.3 million seed round. The oversubscribed round was co-led by Jump Capital and Eniac Ventures, with participation from Peterson Ventures, which also led Mobly’s pre-seed round. Additional support came from existing investors Tenzing.VC, Peak Ventures and angel investors, including Jeron Pauland Francis Santora. Mobly was founded in 2023. It said the new capital will fuel product development, enhance Mobly’s platform with new features, and integrations, and expand marketing and strategic partnerships to further its market reach.
• The Cynosure Group, a Salt Lake City-based investment firm, has closed an oversubscribed $750 million growth equity fund called Cynosure Partners III LP. CP III aims to continue the firm’s strategy of partnering with founder-led and management-owned companies in the lower middle market across North America. The fund targets traditional industries where growth capital has typically been less available, including financial services, business services and industrials, and consumer services. Cynosure received capital commitments from a global network of existing and new investors, including endowments, foundations, family offices, public and private pension funds, insurance companies, consultants, fund of funds, and RIAs. Mayer Brown LLP served as legal counsel for CP III.
• Real estate investment professionals Brennen Degner and Paul Pittman have launched Platte Canyon Capital, a Denver-based private real estate investment firm with $30 million in GP capital from funds managed by California-based private equity firm Inceptiv, to invest in middle-market multifamily value-add opportunities. PCC will exclusively target mismanaged and undercapitalized multifamily assets in several markets, including Salt Lake City. With Inceptiv’s support, PCC is positioned to acquire up to $1 billion in assets through joint venture partnerships with moderate leverage over the next three years. Pittman serves as Platte’s chairman of the board. Degner, the former founder and CEO of multifamily investment firm DB Capital Management, will continue to be involved in DB Capital in an advisory capacity.
• IDrive Logistics, a Lehi-based company focused on shipping and fulfillment solutions for e-commerce businesses and 3PL fulfillment warehouses, has secured a growth loan from Decathlon Capital Partners, based in Park City. IDrive said the multi-million-dollar investment package will support its ability to meet growing customer demand, deliver expanded functionality, and provide greater value to its customers and partners. Details of the revenue-based financing were not disclosed. Stillwater Capital, a transportation and logistics mergers and acquisition advisory firm, was the exclusive financial advisor to iDrive in the transaction.

NONPROFITS

• The This Is The Place Foundation, a nonprofit that operates and maintains This Is The Place Heritage Park, has named Case Lawrence as its leader. He succeeds Ellis R. Ivory, who concluded 19 years of service as executive director and chairman. Lawrence is a Utah business leader with a track record of community engagement. He is the founder and former CEO of CircusTrix, now Sky Zone. With over 300 facilities, 5,000 employees and 50 million annual guests, Sky Zone is the largest owner, operator and franchisor of trampoline parks in the world. Lawrence also teaches entrepreneurship at the BYU Marriott School of Business. In 2024, he was a Republican candidate for Congress in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District. Most recently, he served as co-chair for the Utah Inauguration Commission and associated events. His education includes a BA in American studies from BYU.
• The Center for Medical Innovation at the University of Utah has announced that philanthropic organization Ann & Gary Crocker Catalyst Foundation will be the new premiere sponsor of its “Bench to Bedside Program.” Now in its 15th year, the competition offers undergraduate and graduate students at universities across Utah the opportunity to develop innovative new medical technologies under the mentorship of clinicians, regulatory experts and industry professionals. In 1983, Gary Crocker founded Research Medical, a manufacturer and marketer of specialty cardiac catheters and related medical devices utilized in open heart surgeries. He served as the president and CEO until 1997, when it was acquired by Baxter International’s Edwards Life Science division. Since 2004, he has been chairman of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, a personalized oncology drug company. He also serves as chairman of orthopedic medical device firms Nexus CMF and Nexus Spine, and TMClear, a neuroprotection drug company based on technology licensed from the UofU’s Moran Eye Center.
• The YCC Family Crisis Center, an Ogden-based nonprofit, has named Denette Stanger as executive director. Stanger has over 14 years of experience in victim services, nonprofit leadership and advocacy. She previously served at YCC as the Victim Assistance Center director. At YCC, she served as an advocate and as a director of the group’s Victim Assistance Center until 2022, when she left to work for the Utah Office for Victims of Crime.
• Rocky Mountain Therapy Dogs, a nonprofit providing health, hope and healing, has named Amber Miller as director of operations. Miller has been a certified dog trainer in the program for the past six years. The nonprofit said that during 2024, the number of its teams grew 35 percent and the organization also expanded its footprint. In addition to serving the Wasatch Back communities of Park City, Kamas and the Heber Valley, the organization now serves Washington and Utah counties and the Greater Ogden area.

PARTNERSHIPS

• Qualtrics, a company focused on experience management and co-headquartered in Provo and Seattle, and SAP, a Germany-based company focused on enterprise applications and business AI, have announced a partnership aimed at helping organizations improve employee experience, reduce unwanted employee attrition, retain and develop top performers, improve employee engagement, and increase productivity. Organizations using SAP SuccessFactors will be able to contract Qualtrics XM for Employee Experience to access the latest innovations.

PHILANTHROPY

• Tim Draper, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, founder, philanthropist and entrepreneurship thought leader, has donated $500,000 to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge and the related High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. The Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is a business-model competition for college students at participating universities across the state, while the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is a business-idea competition for students ages 14-18 across the state. Both competitions are managed by the Lassonde entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. To recognize the contribution, the Utah competitions will be renamed as the Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge and Tim Draper High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. Draper is the founder of Draper Associates, a seed-stage capital firm; Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a venture capital firm; and Draper Venture Network, a global network of venture capital funds. He also is the founder of Draper University of Heroes, an innovative five-week program for entrepreneurs.

REAL ESTATE

• PEG Cos., a Provo-based owner, operator and developer of multifamily, hospitality and build-to-rent assets in the U.S. and Canada with a focus on the Rocky Mountain region, has appointed Andrew S. Kwok as chief legal officer. Kwok’s legal career spans more than 20 years and includes experience in private equity, securities, financing and structured finance. Prior to joining PEG, Kwok was a partner at a Los Angeles-based law firm where he focused on counseling a prominent vertically integrated real estate private equity sponsor. In connection with this role, he served as the general counsel of a Nasdaq-listed real estate investment trust, a public 1940 Act interval fund and a private real estate debt fund. Kwok also led the establishment and operation of a continuous real estate-focused public offering program to retail investors and a private offering program to high-net-worth investors. Prior to that, he was a lawyer and managing director in the legal department of the investment banking arm of a British bank, where he held several roles, including head of legal, non-core markets (global); head of legal, Latin America; and head of legal, structured finance (U.S.). Prior to that, Kwok was a partner at a Wall Street law firm in New York and a structured finance boutique.

RECOGNITIONS

• TAB Bank, based in Ogden, has been named to a list of the “Top 10 Best Online Banks for 2025,” compiled by GOBankingRates. In its annual rankings of America’s Best Banks, GOBankingRates researchers conducted a review of FDIC data and product offerings from over 100 of the largest banks, online banks and neobanks, selecting 10 winners across nine categories. Banks were analyzed across factors including total assets, APY, fees, minimum deposit requirements, products/services offered, mobile app ratings, app experience and more.

SERVICES

• Soltis Investment Advisors, a St. George-based investment advisory firm, has appointed Neal Simon and Clive Cholerton to its board of directors. Simon has over two decades of strategic and leadership experience in wealth management. He previously served as founder and CEO of Highline Wealth Management, a Maryland-based RIA, before merging with Bronfman Rothschild. He then served as CEO of the combined business. His board experience with other RIAs including Savant Capital Management (prior board member) and Exencial Wealth Management (current board member). Cholerton has experience in platform innovation, practice management and business development. He previously served as executive partner at Quintessence Wealth Partners and as senior vice president and head of partnership development at FinLife Partners, a division of United Capital Financial Advisers LLC. He stayed with United Capital to facilitate the integration of FinLife into Goldman Sachs upon its purchase in July 2019.

TECHNOLOGY

• DigiCertDigiCert, a Lehi-based provider of a digital trust platform, has appointed Paul Holt as EMEA group vice president and James Cook as APAC group vice president. Holt and Cook will lead their respective teams in driving customer engagement, building partnerships, and executing DigiCert’s growth strategy. Holt joins DigiCert from Venafi, where he served as vice president of sales, covering both the EMEA and APAC markets. With decades of experience, Holt has also held senior leadership positions at Anchore and VeriSign, where he led sales strategy in security services. Cook has expertise in sales leadership across the APAC region, having served as vice president of sales for APAC at Entrust and as regional sales director for Australia and New Zealand. Before Entrust, Cook spent more than a decade at Thales eSecurity, where he held various leadership roles across the U.K. and India.