2022 CEO of the Yr
Each calendar year, we rejoice Utah’s most achieved professionals—the CEOs who have led their businesses with energy, braveness, and stamina and have built it their mission to alter the way we do company in Utah.
Roy Financial institutions
CEO | Weave
What are you wanting ahead to carrying out most in 2022?
Even though continuing to make and effectively guide Weave, I’m wanting ahead to our ongoing endeavours and motivation to enhancing range, fairness, and inclusion (DE&I) in Weave and the total point out of Utah. Specified the divisive and corrosive mother nature of our countrywide community discourse, I hope to unite and deliver our country and local community jointly by demonstrating the therapeutic ability and added benefits of embracing and increasing DE&I.
What issues have you get over to get right here nowadays?
Even though I’m a little bit hesitant to share this figuring out its prospective for controversy, I know it is vital and will support some others. I have experienced to get over racism, discrimination, and the inequitable remedy by those people that judged me as remaining inferior, incapable, or unqualified merely due to the fact of how I appeared. Even though everyone’s journey and issues are distinct, my issues symbolize hundreds of several years of ongoing racial injustice and discriminatory techniques that have denied persons, and even the environment, of the contributions and influence of numerous people today just about everywhere. Luckily, I have experienced a fantastic affiliation with people today who thought in me and observed what I generally did not see in myself.
Josh Baxter
CEO | NetDocuments
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
Like lots of in my discipline, technological innovation observed me somewhat than me locating technological innovation. How did it hook me? I like that there are tough troubles to imagine about. I like the rate of alter and innovation. I could identify lots of factors that I come across worthwhile, but most of them boil down to a single thing—PEOPLE. This sector is stuffed with wise, hardworking, considerate people today. I have been privileged to have been surrounded by lots of up coming-stage thinkers. I have been blessed to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with people today who want to clear up troubles, make companies, and mentor some others.
What does good results search like to you?
My father lately requested me this problem when we sat on his back again patio overlooking a huge hayfield and the Pahvant mountains. My original reaction to him was, “This feels a great deal like good results to me.” Far more severely, good results is a continual want for progress and development towards your personal prospective. Acquiring a willingness to consider new factors, are unsuccessful, and mature from them is a significant portion of our development. I truly think that when we come across comfort and ease in our personal pores and skin to go after our targets, benchmark versus personalized bests, and press for the up coming stage individually, we come across good results in methods most of us hardly ever imagined.
Doug DeFries
President & CEO | Lender of Utah
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
As a banker, I’m in the company of serving to persons, family members, and companies accomplish their desires. That could be getting a new household, commencing or increasing a company, or conserving for college or university or a new vehicle. The financial institution offers the monetary resources and knowledge to support them attain their targets a lot quicker than they could possibly have even considered attainable.
If you weren’t a CEO, what would you do?
I’d generate a significant truck and produce essential materials to some others. On the farm at an early age, I received to generate a single of our two-ton sugar beet vans to the sugar beet dump. It was quite near to our farm, so it was not a extended generate, but I cherished the sensation of pleasure by effectively offering the load and contributing to good results for the household.
Miles Hansen
President & CEO | Entire world Trade Heart Utah
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
See the vision—the greatest influence, extended-phrase end result of the company, ascertain the mission that is essential to accomplish that eyesight, and manage groups close to certain targets, routines, and metrics that function synergistically and align absolutely everyone with the mission and eyesight. Encompass you with people today smarter and extra gifted than you. Get to function with grit, fantastic humor, and humility, and then take pleasure in the adventurous route to satisfying the mission and attaining the eyesight.
Who conjures up you most? Why?
All close to us are persons who are inspired by a enjoy for their Maker and other people today. They are not searching for personalized development, moi, or superficial indicators of success—wealth, ability, social standing, and so forth. They come across success and inspiration in building the most of what they have to enhance their minor corner of the environment. From weak mother and father residing in war zones, CEOs of some of the most significant corporations on earth, or startup founders attempting to innovate a much better environment, I have experienced the prospect to function with lots of persons from all walks of everyday living who all attempt to merely do fantastic. I contemplate them heroes due to the fact they encourage me and those people close to them.
Ben Hodson
Co-founder & CEO | JobNimbus
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
I massively think in our firm mission which is to “Make Contractors Heroes.” Viewing clients correct their companies, employ the service of extra people today, and get nearer to attaining their desires is just so impressive. It animates almost everything we do at JobNimbus. Together with that, each individual of our group users receives to stage up every day as we make a constructive influence in the environment and mature ourselves into the heroes we want to be.
What does good results search like to you?
Producing wonderful, large-paying out work opportunities in a best-notch firm tradition wherever people today can be fulfilled the two skillfully and individually is significant to me. Lifestyle stability is a single of our company’s main values. There are a great deal of methods to make dollars in this environment. I want to make dollars carrying out some thing good—helping development contractors accomplish their desires and building them the hero of their personal tale. This intention is inspirational, significant, and some thing absolutely everyone at JobNimbus can be very pleased to function on each individual working day.
Andrew Howlett
CEO | Struck
Who conjures up you most? Why?
I lately misplaced my father. Given that then, I have mirrored on how he often motivated me to study, mature, and be a fantastic individual. When I was in junior large and large faculty, I labored with him carrying out development virtually just about every weekend and throughout summer time breaks. He pushed me to often “think forward and be all set for what is up coming.” This has trapped with me my total everyday living. I am often attempting to imagine forward and be all set for what is up coming.
What does good results search like to you?
Joy. I notify my young children all the time that I just want them to be delighted. I have satisfied depressing millionaires and extremely delighted minimal wage staff. If you are delighted in your everyday living, then which is good results.
Dirk Jeffs
President & CEO | Ultradent Items, Inc.
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
Our founder has generally mentioned, “Companies are not built of concrete, glass, and metal. They are built of people today.” I imagine of this generally and I area a precedence on choosing and retaining wonderful people today. Expertise is crucial, but I search for wonderful people today with robust main values which includes integrity and treatment. The moment the ideal people today are in the ideal seats on the bus, I begin with our eyesight and make absolutely sure all of our people today are on board with it. Right after that, I come across that all of the other factors of approach tumble extra conveniently into area. As a chief, I know at that stage, my most vital accountability is to allow them know I’m right here to help them and then get out of the way. To get to that stage, although, necessitates a great deal of collaboration, listening, and fantastic interaction. We have so lots of gifted people today at Ultradent and their voices, when united close to a shared eyesight, support condition the greatest results.
What does company search like to you in a publish-Covid environment?
I imagine the classes of resilience and dealing with unpredictability have strengthened us all. I imagine we’ll need to have those people capabilities as we shift ahead in a company setting of an accelerated rate of alter. I imagine we are all much better at recognizing and performing on the need to have for alter as a final result of the pandemic. I think the pandemic has prompted us to rethink almost everything, and I hope we maintain on to that mentality likely ahead.
Jonathan Johnson
CEO | Overstock
What assistance do you have for your young self?
I’d notify my young self 4 factors:
one. 1st impressions are generally, but not often, ideal. Hold an open up thoughts.
two. Be open up to those people who have distinct sights or existence than you. Regard for their individuality and standpoint will make your everyday living richer.
three. Do not choose a career just for bigger pay back. Do some thing you take pleasure in. It can help if you are passionate about at minimum portion of your career.
four. Lousy periods can be the most instructive periods. Be all set to study from your trials.
What is a single detail you want to say to the other users of your C-suite?
I could not check with for much better colleagues. I take pleasure in their candor, help, and commitment. They are wise and they function tough. This recognition is truly their recognition. No mentor has at any time gained a mentor of the calendar year award with out wonderful gamers building the performs on the discipline. My colleagues are the kinds who have realized the switch-close to good results Overstock has viewed in excess of the previous two several years.
John Karony
CEO | SafeMoon
What are you wanting ahead to carrying out most in 2022?
Possibly the products we are operating on in the telecom place. But I am also wanting ahead to the adoption of the SafeMoon ecosystem.
If you weren’t a CEO, what would you do?
Rest.
Brian McCann
CEO | Intergalactic
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
Large-stage, just about every approach I help requirements to prioritize people today 1st. Men and women are the most significant variable in any firm. We have fantastic times and poor times. In some cases we act erratically. Even in extreme, quick-paced industries, I have observed it is considerably much easier to thrive if you prioritize people today. Men and women need to have to relaxation and recharge. Creative imagination and large-stage challenge resolving demand people today to stage absent. If workforce are properly-rested and well balanced, they’ll be happier—and rested, delighted workforce can deliver at a bigger stage. If a approach is properly-considered-out but arrives at the prospective expenditure of the well being and properly-remaining of your people today, it is not a intelligent approach.
Who conjures up you most? Why?
My grandparents and mother and father, each individual of them for distinct factors. My grandparents on my Mom’s aspect are pioneers in the aerospace and astrospace industries. Almost everything I have carried out has been created on the basis they labored so tough to protected. They are in their late 80’s and continue to enjoy to communicate store. My grandma on my Dad’s aspect is the most loving and legitimate individual I know. My Father conjures up me due to the fact of his humility. He does not be expecting considerably, and I imagine it has assisted him to are living a loaded and fulfilled everyday living. My Mother, who handed absent from most cancers at fifty nine in 2020, lifted me to think that tough function qualified prospects to prospect. Most cancers robbed her of her extremely amazing thoughts, but her legacy will often remind me to concentration on what I can regulate by way of enhancement and progress.
Andy Myers
CEO | Waterford.org
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
Our mission of offering excellence and fairness for all learners, particularly youthful little ones and their family members, appeals to persons who definitely want to make a constructive variance. A lot of of our workforce had been educators prior to signing up for our group, and some even experienced little ones or grandchildren take part in our packages and then arrived to function with us. Our mission-pushed group is a pure extension of a mission-pushed sector, and I enjoy acquiring the prospect to link with people today who have devoted their professions to educating little ones and supporting the good results of universities, communities, and family members.
What does good results search like to you?
As a chief, I’m accountable for the setting wherever the function will take area, and I think good results in attaining our targets starts and finishes with building our group a desired destination place of work wherever wonderful people today want to occur and keep. I will have to make certain that the ideal approach is in area and comprehended that workforce truly feel safe and sound, empowered, and engaged that procedures are intuitive, productive, and helpful so minor power is squandered. I want all users of my group to be their reliable, greatest, and most inclusive selves at function. We can boost the chance of building the greatest choices when numerous and agent ordeals are introduced into the dialogue and valued, hardly ever suppressed.
Teri Nestel
President & CEO | Children’s Wonder Community Hospitals
What does good results search like to you?
In my environment, good results appears to be like young children who have accessibility to health care at their area children’s medical center, whether or not they have a limited-phrase or extended-phrase cause for remedy. Visualize the choices that would uncover—for young children and their family members to be capable to be young children, participate in with their good friends, be very pleased of their variations, carry on faculty, mature up to grow to be wonderful mother and father, academics, and leaders.
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
In the non-revenue sector, it is all about associations and comprehending the requirements of our hospitals, companions, and employees. Just before we set jointly a proposal or layout a new initiative or option, we begin by inquiring thoughts about would like, requirements, and influence. We marry that with our mission to have interaction communities close to the US and Canada to increase unrestricted money for area children’s hospitals. That can help us make partnerships that are beneficial and significant for absolutely everyone.
Justin Nielsen
CEO | Onset Monetary, Inc.
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
Constantly differentiate! Onset Monetary operates in a extremely aggressive sector that is commodity-based mostly. With that mentioned, the most vital concentration we can have as an group is to consistently accomplish at a bigger stage than other businesses. Onset Monetary constantly produces and implements enhanced techniques to just about every factor of our company. We have been really thriving at developing a clean and progressive tactic to products finance and our outcomes have been impressive.
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
Operating just about every working day with environment-course industry experts is by considerably the most worthwhile part of my position as CEO. There is so considerably pleasure and success in the system of developing profound visions for good results, and then operating with our extremely gifted group to constantly surpass our goals. The group at Onset Monetary definitely produces a magnetic vibe of enthusiasm and good results.
Greg Ott
CEO | Nav
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
Nav is an on-line system serving to modest company house owners assess funding possibilities and simplify accessibility to funding for their company. A great deal of people today communicate about how vital modest companies are to the economic system, nonetheless Nav is a single of the only corporations definitely innovating a wide option to support the smallest of the modest companies. In accordance to the Tiny Organization Affiliation, there are extra than 31 million modest companies in the US and ninety one % of them have a lot less than ten workforce. Nav is a winner for the underdog, and which is motivating to our total group.
What are you wanting ahead to carrying out most in 2022?
We have viewed the constructive influence our function at Nav has experienced on modest companies 1st-hand. Our company grows by serving to extra and extra modest companies. Traditionally, we have targeted mostly on accessibility to cash and credit score as that is a single of the most major agony details for a modest company. In 2022, we will carry on to enhance the methods we empower SMBs to assess their possibilities for funding by including extra solutions—credit products and solutions and new financial loan products—into our market and maximizing our device finding out algorithm to much better forecast results. We will also extend our system to make transparency for modest companies to assess possibilities in supplemental classes, which includes company coverage, financial institution accounts, and some others. Importantly, this all takes advantage of the modest business’s authentic details to ability their practical experience.
Clint Reid
Founder & CEO | Zonos
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
Early in my profession, I was a single of a million workforce at DHL and later on UPS—I was just one more revenue dude. But I caught the eyesight of what cross-border commerce essential and wherever it was headed ten several years prior to the international e-commerce growth of nowadays. Quick ahead 5 years—I’ll hardly ever fail to remember the 1st time I walked into UPS company headquarters in Atlanta as the CEO of Zonos imagining, “I would hardly ever have been invited right here experienced I just stayed in my comfort and ease zone.” I have carried out way extra for UPS by leaving than I at any time could have carried out by remaining.
What issues have you get over to get right here nowadays?
I started off Zonos in 2009 and was all in. I give up my career and mortgaged the property throughout the Terrific Economic downturn. I figured if we misplaced the property, the young children would be also youthful to remember—and we did drop the property. 6 several years into the company, we only experienced a couple of thousand pounds in the financial institution. I did not know how I’d make payroll. I obtained a company to support us mature and later on experienced to do a substantial spherical of layoffs. It was particularly challenging. There have been lots of issues, but from the onset and even in those people darkish periods, I realized the prospect was considerably higher than the danger or agony. So I pushed via and saved grinding. “Never give up, hardly ever surrender” is a single of our main values—that frame of mind is why we are continue to right here.
Doug Robinson
Co-founder & CEO | LGCY Electric power
What does company search like to you in a publish-Covid environment?
Our household is starting to be extra and extra the middle of our environment, particularly because of to Covid. Electric power is starting to be extra vital as we see factors like ability outages from freezing temperatures in Texas, or brownouts in California because of to fires and grid infrastructure issues. Staying a portion of the option to this by serving to people today deliver, keep, and eat their personal ability is portion of the legacy we are leaving driving.
What is a single detail you want to say to the other users of your C-suite?
Organization is not an specific sport—it’s the best group activity. I have hardly ever been a portion of a much better group. I’m grateful for all we have achieved jointly and for the friendships that have been created alongside the way. Right now would not be attainable with out each individual of you!
Shauna Smith
CEO | Savory Cafe Fund
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
1st check with thoughts, then actively hear. I have considerably to study continue to, but a single detail I know for selected is that alternatives to challenges, up coming techniques, new approach, and amazing concepts virtually often begin with a juicy, considered-provoking problem.
What are you wanting ahead to carrying out most in 2022?
Opening eighty five new retailers throughout our 7 portfolio companies—Swig, Mo’Bettahs, R&R, Crack Shack, By means of 313, Hash Kitchen area, and Pincho.
Cydni Tetro
CEO | Brandless
What is your go-to company approach? Why?
In all my ordeals, agility and motion are crucial for any company to thrive. Agility implies using concepts and turning them into some thing concrete, and motion is the skill to do it swiftly. You have to be capable to examination, enhance, and are unsuccessful quick so that you can study, proper, and attain your targets in a immediate, steady cycle.
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
My function provides me the prospect to function with so lots of remarkable people today. Brandless is presently on an intense progress approach and getting a firm a thirty day period. That implies I’m speaking to hundreds of business people each individual 7 days to study their tales, explore alignment, and make tactics to speed up professions and progress. Bringing like-minded people today jointly and creating a system wherever absolutely everyone can be thriving and change the market is a single of the most worthwhile factors I have at any time carried out skillfully.
James Thornton
Chairman, Co-Founder & CEO | Tafi/Daz 3D
What are you wanting ahead to carrying out most in 2022?
As a Web3, metaverse-targeted firm, our mission is to support all shoppers make and make their digital identities.
What does good results search like to you?
Achievement arrives from encompassing you with wonderful, gifted people today and paying out the time to support them accomplish their targets. When your group close to you succeeds, as a chief, you obviously thrive as properly.
Amelia Wilcox
Founder & CEO | Nivati
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
We are actually altering people’s life. We often listen to from workforce who essential support and could not get in to see a therapist via coverage for twelve months, but we had been capable to support them in a lot less than forty eight hrs. When you go through responses from workforce that say we adjusted their everyday living, saved their relationship, or prevented suicide, it does not get extra worthwhile than that.
What issues have you get over to get right here nowadays?
The most important problem I overcame to get right here was to pivot my firm into psychological well being when Covid took us from $6M to $ in ten times. We had been a single of the quickest-increasing corporations in the US various several years in a row, offering onsite therapeutic massage providers to companies throughout North The united states. Covid wiped us out entirely and we experienced to come across a new need to have to provide. Right after speaking to our shoppers, we understood there was a large need to have close to psychological well being that we had been uniquely positioned to be capable to clear up much better and a lot quicker than anybody else. Quick ahead to nowadays, it turned out to be a large blessing in disguise—but we did not recognize that at the time.
Austin Woodward
CEO | TaxBit
What is the most worthwhile detail about your career/sector? Why?
Operating intently with remarkable visionaries and some of the smartest minds in the environment who are serving to make the tokenized economic system and Web3.
What are you wanting ahead to carrying out most in 2022?
We experienced an wonderful 2021, with two history-breaking rounds of funding and remarkable progress. 2022 will be large for TaxBit. We have a great deal to search ahead to which includes intercontinental enlargement and scaling an sector-major solution when driving the foreseeable future of the tokenized economic system.
