“When a kindness is done, it has to be paid back 10 times.” – Margo Provost

After a successful career in marketing, in 1985 Maxine Turner wanted to raise a family and continue to contribute to make a difference in Utah. So she started a catering company, Cuisine Unlimited, opened a small deli, and very worked hard. Her new company took off, and Maxine’s husband, Marvin, left his corporate career to help her run her rapidly growing company. Cuisine Unlimited was on its way to becoming one of the most decorated and celebrated catering companies in the United States!

But Maxine’s success in building her own high-growth company is not the focus of this engaging interview. It’s more about bringing happiness to people and following her passion to create celebrations around food. More than anything Maxine Turner is a giver who, like her friend Margo Provost, the founder of Log Haven, believes that “when a kindness is done, it has to be paid back 10 times.”

Maxine serves as the chairwoman for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Council on Small Business, the U.S. Chamber’s principal policy committee representing small businesses. She serves as a board member for the Economic Development Corporation of Utah and was a member of the first national Key for Women Advisory Board for Key Bank. We hope you enjoy the wisdom and insights of Maxine Turner, leader who has done so much on a national and community level as force for good!

“All life is problem solving.” – Karl Popper

There is something immediately appealing about Natalie Gochnour, the Associate Dean of the David Eccles School of Business and Director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. As if that’s not enough, Natalie also serves as the Chief Economist for the Salt Lake Chamber.

Intellectually gifted and emotionally engaging, Natalie, has spent her career “translating” complex data and bringing together decision makers in the business, policymaking, and academic communities. In short, Natalie is a problem solver with an energy that radiates outward, a humble thinker with a heart!

Utah is fortunate to have Natalie’s uncanny ability to identify challenges and opportunities that others don’t fully see, then unpack intelligent solutions and ideas that build consensus. Please take time to listen to this podcast. You may find yourself nodding in agreement or, if you have a different point of view, seeing new points for agreement. Natalie Gochnour has a way of doing that!

In 2009, Amelia Wilcox had nowhere to go but up. The Great Recession hit hard and her massage therapy practice was leveling off as clients cut costs and prepared for the worst. Her husband’s e-commerce business was also dropping fast. Things were tough. So she sold their inventory (and other things that were even important to her) at a great loss, and with $1,500 started Incorporate Massage.

Unlike so many business leaders who are often in the spotlight, Amelia Wilcox is a very humble and determined person. She quickly began to grow her company brand through social media, and a new website. She “traded massages” for a new logo and identity and things started to grow. It wasn’t long before Amelia had so many clients, her strong hands could no longer keep up. She began to screen, interview, and hire the best massage therapists in Utah who shared her vision and passion to be the best. Amelia began winning what she calls “the war for talent”, Incorporate Massage is now in 42 U.S markets, and her husband now calls her his “sugar mama.”

So much of Amelia’s success was and is fueled by hard work, drive, and the will to be successful. Even though she started Incorporate Massage to survive, she finds real meaning in mentoring and helping her team. “Part massage therapist, part entrepreneur,” Amelia Wilcox is helping her team, and the corporate clients that they serve, thrive and improve! We hope you enjoy Amelia’s valuable insights!

After 20 years of practicing internal medicine, in 2007 Dr. Donna Milavetz wanted to dramatically improve care for her patients. She was also, like some of her patients, feeling “healthcare fatigue.”  At the height of her career, this accomplished MD who trained at one of Harvard’s hospitals, worked at the Mayo Clinic, and holds a master’s degree in public health from the prestigious University of Minnesota, decided to walk away from a broken system.

Dr. Milavetz made several bold strategic moves.  She left the traditional fee-for-service model behind, raised capital, and made a “cold call” to Susan Johnson, the President of Futura Industries. Six short weeks later, she opened her first clinic at Futura Industries. Futura’s employees loved their personal care, their overall health improved dramatically, and the company enjoyed major cost savings from their new and innovative healthcare.  OnSite Care was born!

Ten years later, OnSite Care is a much bigger success story, and Futura Industries, OnSite Care’s first corporate clinic and client, continues to thrive. Their employees are healthier, and they have not had a single increase in the company’s healthcare costs over the past ten years.

It’s nearly impossible to listen to Dr. Donna Milavetz without sensing her intelligence and passion and love for people. She is a compassionate doctor and a bold leader who enhances the lives of everyone she meets and personifies the power of one!

“PEOPLE SPEND TOO MUCH TIME READING THEIR BUSINESS CARDS”

An Influence Podcast with Susan Johnson, President, engineer, and humanist

It was our recent pleasure to sit down and talk with Susan Johnson, the outgoing President and CEO of the most profitable metal extruder in North America, Futura Industries. Over the past 22 years, Susan has led Futura Industries to national prominence by investing in the future and exceeding the expectations of Futura’s employees and the loyal customers they serve.

A graduate of  Cal Poly where amazingly smart people “learn by doing,” Susan is a brilliant business leader, one of the very best. She also has amazing instincts when it comes to inspiring and leading people. Susan has spent her life building companies by providing new opportunities for her family of employees to grow and taking care of clients. She knows everyone’s name, and “has never forgotten what it’s like being at the bottom looking up.”

Under Susan’s steady leadership, Futura Industries has enjoyed incredible growth and has literally filled several rooms full of awards as Utah’s best employer for the past 13 years! Always an innovator and builder of people, Susan opened an on-site medical clinic that takes care of the primary medical need for all of Futura’s employees and their families. There is so much to learn and appreciate about this special leader and place.

This podcast provides a refreshing glimpse into the mind and heart of a very rare leader who believes that “people spend too much time looking at titles on business cards.” Susan Johnson produces amazing results through innovation and efficiency, but she ultimately judges the success of any company by "the countenance of the worker!"

“BIG LESSONS: STAY CALM & GET THINGS DONE FAST!”

This week, we interview a former BYU student entrepreneur who in 1996 began building websites at the dawn of the Internet, John Pestana. His earliest company was JP Interactive, a company that he sold all his (and his wife’s) wedding gifts to buy a computer for, a company that eventually became Omniture. John and Josh James, his partner, put everything on the line to survive the dot-com crash, raise money, meet payroll, and land Fortune 500 clients. Through sheer determination and grit, they built Omniture into a successful public company that was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2009 for $1.8 billion dollars. Early investors in Omniture enjoyed 100x+ returns and hundreds of others, became multi-millionaires! Most founders would have immediately retired. John, like Josh, did not!

John Pestana went on to co-found ObservePoint, a SaaS company based in Provo that improves the technology and data quality of clients engaged in online marketing. Even though he is very busy managing a portfolio of real estate properties that include apartment complexes and commercial office buildings, he still feels most comfortable running another high-tech, high-growth company with Rob Seolas his co-founder and CEO of ObservePoint.

We have had the pleasure of interviewing many of the best entrepreneurs and business leaders in Utah, but no one quite like John. He is versatile and well-rounded, focused but very eclectic, a real Renaissance man! He owns a model train company, writes and records music with his band, SilentMonk, has the best “man cave” in the country–complete with very cool car collection, an amazing aquarium, arcade, recording studio, spa, and two slides, etc. John is also very generous in spirit and deed. We hope you enjoy this illuminating podcast with John Pestana!

INNOVATION AND BRANDING GURU – JEREMY ANDRUS

Everyone who knows Jeremy Andrus–one of the most innovative and charismatic CEO’s on the planet–is glad he decided to move to Utah in 2005! Jeremy graduated with a B.A. from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School before joining Skullcandy, an edgy headphone company.  Under his energetic leadership, Skullcandy went from a startup with a few million in sales to $300 million before their successful IPO in 2011. He was and is the right leader at the right time!

It’s difficult to label Jeremy. He was an “entrepreneur in residence” when he was just a kid, a title he later had with Solamere Capital after eight amazing years at Skullcandy. He is an impact player that has left his mark at Marriott, Monitor Company, BYU, Harvard, Lehman Brothers in London, and Skullcandy where he blew the brand through the roof with the Vans Warped Tour and funky music events with rapper Jay-Z.

For the past three years, Jeremy has led Traeger Wood Fired Grills out of obscurity and darkness to become the preeminent brand for grilling and chilling in the backyard. He is an amazing leader who can connect in Cambridge, recruit Kevin Durant of the NBA to sell Skullcandy headphones or add amazing new innovation and sizzle in a category (wood fired grilling) that is as old as the stone age. He has boldly transformed Traeger Wood Pellet Grills from being a small regional company into an iconic and innovative brand with a cult-like following. Please enjoy this Influence podcast. Jeremy has a humanity and passion and energy that makes everything he touches new and special!

“STRATEGY ON A SPREADSHEET”

Lately, it seems like the Wasatch Front is home to more startups per capita than any other mid-size market in the United States. Just a few weeks ago in downtown Salt Lake City, the Silicon Slopes Summit drew over 5,000 techies together to connect and learn and celebrate what we are building. It is against this backdrop that we had the pleasure of interviewing Kent Thomas, the founder of Advanced CFO Solutions. Kent launched Advanced CFO Solutions 20 years ago and is highly respected by many the leading founders of Utah’s most impressive high-growth companies.

Always quick to recognize his awesome clients and his friendship with CEOs like Paul Allen (Ancestry.com) and Jeremy Andrus (Skullcandy & Traeger), Kent Thomas is a recognized thought leader who has had a huge impact as a trusted advisor to many of the best executives in our growing ecosystem. More than anything, Kent has been successful in “putting strategy on a spreadsheet” and helping the founders of Utah’s most dynamic companies make the right strategic moves. Kent is humble, but he’s got game!

Kent seems far too young to “retire”, but he recently did just that, selling Advanced CFO Solutions to his able partners so he can now focus on his family and various “projects” that will undoubtedly become more great companies on Utah’s Silicon Slopes. Please enjoy the insights of this great man!

The Other Side Academy: An innovative, self-help academy and residence where some of the most disadvantaged (and incredible) people in our community are learning new ways to succeed.

We weren’t with Tim Stay, CEO of The Other Side Academy, very long before he suggested that we talk with one his students. Within five minutes we had the pleasure of meeting Shawn, who looked street-smart and was very people-savvy.  Tim talked about things like being in “the safest place I have ever been” and a culture of “pulling each other up.”  It was inspiring to meet Shawn.  The inspiration continued with Tim as he talked about keeping it pure and building a sustainable model so even more lives can be changed. It wasn’t long before Parley, “the rescue dog”, joined our conversation by walking into the meeting room with his tail wagging. Even Parley has a mission: to make people happy and feel loved.

It’s a positive irony that Joseph Grenny, the world renowned change agent for the Fortune 500, recruited Tim Stay so they could start The Other Side Academy.  Isn’t it cool that the former cast-offs of society are using “Fortune 500 principles” to transform their very lives, perhaps the greatest transformation of all? Please enjoy this glimpse into The Other Side Academy, a learning laboratory where people acquire new life skills and courage is contagious!

Two key facts

Life before the Other Side Academy

“The toughest of the tough!”

Average number of arrests: 23

After the Other Side Academy (one of many positive Yelp reviews)

“These guys were fantastic.  We used them to move within Park City and they were really quick, courteous, and hard working.  I would definitely recommend them in the future.”

Average service rating: 5 Stars

TECH SAVVY & STREET SMART – INSIGHTS FROM SILVERVUE’S ERIC SMITH

We live in a fast-paced, complex, and sometimes careless world. And it’s rewarding when we can learn from someone who is tech savvy, street smart, and amazingly successful. It’s also impressive if that same person has the ability to connect with people and, in spite of their success, hasn’t gotten caught up in what Tom Wolfe calls “The Bonfire of the Vanities.”

This week’s podcast features just such a rare person, Eric Smith, an entrepreneur and technical visionary who is the co-founder of SilverVue, one of Utah’s most promising high-growth companies. Over the past 20 years, Eric and his business partner, Will West, have successfully launched several leading companies. SilverVue is a company that reflects the vision and experience of Eric and Will, a software care platform that solves complex problems, like providing a simple dashboard that monitors and coordinates patient care in and out of the hospital!

Eric has a real gift for developing sophisticated, yet elegant solutions to complex problems. Prior to founding SilverVue, Eric developed the intellectual property that has made all of his ventures with Will West successful: Control4 (sophisticated home automation), STSN (now iBAHN Broadband), and PHAST Corporation (home automation). Eric knows how to “pivot on the fly” to be successful. He is also grateful for everything he has experienced and for his partnership with Will West. Please enjoy Eric’s passion for building great companies and for living life to the fullest!

Our recent conversation with Ryan Larsen and Dr. Darin Vercillo, two co-founders of Central Logic, and Todd Dalberg, their CMO and brand marketing guru, was both enlightening and inspiring! Central Logic is the innovative leader in providing real-time data intelligence that helps hospitals and healthcare systems improve patient care and solve big problems. The payback for their clients is just three months, and with a 95% retention rate, Central Logic moving fast. We have lift-off!

Central Logic solves complex problems, and the past 10 years have been both demanding and rewarding for their exceptional team. This is a company that is full of sneaky smart people, card-carrying geniuses like Ryan, Darin, Todd, and Jennifer Holmes, their CEO. But as we listened to these three leaders, we were taken back by their creativity and humility and perspective. They are as proud of Central Logic’s “like a family” culture as they are of their mind-blowing ability to solve big problems in healthcare. Central Logic is a great company with an impressive trajectory. It is also a collection of smart people who haven’t lost their perspective and passion about what they are building together!

“WHASSUP HOMIE?” –  A TALK WITH HOMIE CEO, JOHNNY HANNA

Homie, a rapidly growing startup focused on automating the home selling / home buying process, is getting a lot of attention these days. In just six short months, Homie’s peer to peer marketplace is saving home buyers and seller’s valuable time and thousands of dollars in commissions. Homie is taking off!

We recently had the pleasure to talk with Johnny Hanna, Homie’s CEO and charismatic homeboy, who is leading this scrappy startup that is already having a big impact in the real estate industry. As one of the founders of Entrata, formerly Property Solutions International, a red hot SaaS company that created the best property management platform in the world, Johnny Hanna knows where he is going and how to get there.

Enjoy Johnny’s insights. He is humble but very determined, a true homie that is always down for the cause, always looking for a new way to disrupt and improve the world!

This week’s Influence podcast features Clint Betts, the authentic, committed protagonist of tech in Utah. Clint is the Founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of Beehive Startups. He is also a very powerful voice for Utah’s burgeoning technology ecosystem. Many of the most influential tech CEO’s in Utah support and respect Clint and the major impact he has had over the past three years in spreading the gospel of tech. Even from the beginning, Beehive Startups has always been bigger and bolder and more committed to the core because of Clint!

But Clint is also humble enough to use his connections and influence to raise $12,000 for a 15-year-old beekeeper named Bryce who had his hives stolen. “We had to. We are Beehive Startups, how could we not?” He cares about tech in Utah, but he also cares about the thousands of children from low-income families in our state that don’t have books to read. So in addition to being the catalyst for over a dozen huge tech gatherings and numerous podcasts, in-depth articles, and Silicon Slopes, Clint is responsible for rallying the tech community for literally thousands of books. He created “Startup Santa” and the books started pouring in! Even though he is only 30, he is determined to have a big positive impact. Enjoy this podcast with Clint Betts, Utah’s young and creative protagonist of tech in Utah!

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Isaac Barlow, the inspirational entrepreneur and president of a thriving workforce analytics company in St. George called BusyBusy. After 15 years of successful business management experience in the construction company, Isaac launched BusyBusy with the goal of helping construction and service companies automate time cards and daily progress on BusyBusy’s innovative mobile SaaS platform. He has never looked back!

Isaac refers to the construction industry he knows so well as “organized chaos.” He saw a real opportunity to help contractors and service companies have greater success by giving them better information to make better decisions in real time. Isaac’s hero is Thomas Edison and it shows in his persistence and commitment! He is always “prototyping new ideas to make sure that they work”, and BusyBusy is rapidly growing with customers in 45 states. We hope you enjoy this inspiring interview with Isaac Barlow who is leading BusyBusy’s team of innovators on their quest to make the construction industry a lot less chaotic and a lot more successful!

This week’s Influence podcast features Linda Leckman, the CEO of Intermountain Medical Group in Salt Lake City and a brilliant trailblazer for women in medicine. In a very real way Linda’s impressive career as a surgeon and CEO in healthcare all started when she was a teenager working as a candy striper when her desire to be a doctor first began. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree in history at Texas Christian University and a medical degree from the University of New Mexico before coming to the University of Utah to do a residency in general surgery. Linda was the first woman in the residency program at the University of Utah at a time when it was commonly thought that women didn’t have the temperament to be good surgeons, but she persisted and succeeded! During her second year, she was so happy that the university let three more women into its residency program.

After graduating in 1982, Linda established her own successful private practice as a general surgeon in Salt Lake City. After 14 years running her own surgical practice, Linda made the bold move to join the executive team of Intermountain Healthcare and three years later she was leading their newly formed physician group. Even though her experience in business and finance was limited, Linda was determined to succeed and worked her way to the top as she grew Intermountain Medical Group from fewer than 100 doctors to more than 1,000 as she greatly expanded her group’s impact to 180 clinics across the state. We hope you enjoy the insights of Dr. Linda Leckman, a brilliant thinker who broke down barriers so other women could move forward in leadership roles that have improved healthcare in Utah.

As the President and CEO of the Utah Technology Council for the past 16 years, Richard Nelson has played an important role in the growth of Utah’s technology ecosystem. Under his leadership, the UTC has been a force for good in creating the $300M Utah Fund of Funds and securing funding for the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative. Rich is a passionate advocate in helping Utah’s Title 1 schools and was a major force in raising the rigor in Utah’s high school requirements.

As the leader of Utah’s professional association for over 5,000 high tech, clean tech and life science companies, Rich is a connector of people who is always quick to mention others who helped lay the foundation for our current success. Named one of the “100 Most Influential People” and one of the “25 People Who Most Influenced Business in Utah”, Rich shares his valuable perspective on the rapid growth of technology companies in Utah. Rich was named “CEO of the Year” from Utah’s technology industry and received the “Distinguished Service Award” from the College of Engineering at the University of Utah. He has an MBA from Northwestern University and a BS degree in finance from Brigham Young University.

This week’s Influence podcast provides a rare glimpse into the life and success of Aaron and Monica Skonnard. Aaron Skonnard is the co-founder, president, and CEO of Pluralsight, the leading on-demand technology learning platform for developer training, and Monica is Aaron’s wife and invaluable sounding board and adviser. In spite of their personal success and the amazing growth of Pluralsight, they have managed to stay centered and are grateful to be in “a powerful position to make the world a better place.”

Aaron’s strong technical background began when he was a young boy learning his craft on an Apple Macintosh that his father brought home. After graduating from BYU with a degree in computer science, Aaron co-founded Pluralsight in 2004, a company with a core team of top programmers that initially developed course materials and taught classes and seminars to developers all over the world. It was at this time that Aaron, relied on Monica’s faith and strong support to make the bold pivot of immediately focusing his team on building the on-demand learning platform that would “change the way developers learn.” Pluralsight has never looked back!

A skilled programmer that has authored several technical articles, Aaron will always be a developer at his core, and much of the company’s success within the programming community is because Pluralsight is a company of programmers. According to Aaron, Pluralsight’s foundation is built “on this ability to learn from each other, the ability to surround yourself with the right people and keep surrounding yourself with the right people over time.”

Whether they are at work or at home, Aaron and Monica Skonnard share a common passion to make the world a better place! Please enjoy this inspiring podcast.

In this Influence podcast we interview the passionate, technical, and articulate Owen Fuller who grew up in Alaska where he learned how to work hard, before coming to BYU to study history and earn a bachelor’s degree in communication and advertising. Owen is a true entrepreneur and innovator with a successful history of building and growing some impressive technology and marketing companies here in his adopted state of Utah. We hope you enjoy his unique insights in this podcast!

Owen is the Chief Evangelist at Boombox. Boombox with its sister products, Qzzr and Pollcaster, make it easy to create, embed and share interactive content with the world. He was asked to join the executive team at Boombox when Josh Little and Bucky Flowers heard of the success of Fit Marketing and asked Owen and his team to develop their own product called Qzzr. They have never looked back! Even though Owen and the team at Boombox have had a long string of successes with leading clients like Yahoo, NBC, Red Bull, LinkedIn, ESPN, and Ogilvy, he is amazingly humble and compelling at the same time!

Prior to Boombox and Qzzr, Owen founded and doggedly grew Fit Marketing into a top inbound digital marketing agency that doubled in size every year for five years. Fit Marketing became one of Utah’s fastest growing companies, and was recognized two years ago as the 10th fastest growing company in Utah under five years old, before being acquired by Stryde.

In this Influence Podcast interview, we know you will sense the extraordinary determination and talent of Cydni Tetro and Sara Jones, two successful entrepreneurs who, in their “spare time” co-founded the Women Tech Council nine years ago, a scrappy not-for-profit that now has more than 10,000 members!

With a degree in computer science and an MBA, both from BYU, Cydni is a successful technologist and marketing guru who has built a career with some of the world’s largest brands like Disney, Microsoft, Marvel, Star Wars, Facebook, MLB, MLS, Warner Brothers, Dreamworks, Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us. She is the founder and CEO of 3DplusMe, a 3D printing software platform, that was recently acquired by WhiteClouds and is an Operating Partner at Mercato Partners, a leading growth equity firm. Recognized as a respected patent attorney and shareholder at Workman Nydegger for almost ten years, Sara went on to become the Vice President of Strategic Development at Patent Law Works, before becoming the CEO of ApplicantPro, an HR SaaS company providing recruiting tools to over 3,000 clients, where she led the company to profitability and a high valuation. Sara graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University law school and holds a B.S. in chemical engineering, with honors, from the University of Utah. Cydni Tetro and Sara Jones have already had a long-lasting influence on so many women (and men) in our growing ecosystem. Perhaps more than anything else, they continue to show others how to have fun while doing hard things that make a big difference.

We live in a careless world, and it’s not very often that you find a company that is innovative but has a heart, financially successful but is focused on giving. In this Influence podcast we highlight just such a company, Cotopaxi! Please enjoy this interview with Cotopaxi’s founders, Davis Smith and Stephan Jacob who co-founded this company that is attracting so much attention from outdoor industry leaders like Patagonia and numerous investors because of the success of their business and their focus on doing good!

Davis Smith and Stephan Jacob both earned degrees from impressive schools, BYU and Stanford (Davis), Universitat Mannheim and University of South Australia (Stephan) before they met each other at University of Pennsylvania –The Wharton School. They are true entrepreneurs who, following stints at Alta Ventures, PoolTables.com, and Baby.com (Davis) and McKinsey, Bain, and Kembral (Stephan), decided to “create innovative outdoor products that fund sustainable poverty alleviation and move people to do good”.  We were inspired by our interview with Davis and Stephan, two leaders that inspire others and are making a difference in the world.

There is a healthy dose of perseverance and inspiration in this podcast that features Tom Stockham, the CEO of eXperticity, a high-growth SaaS and analytics company that “collects category influencers and connects them with the world’s top brands.”

Tom received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University, before further developing his foundational business and problem solving skills as a consultant within Boston Consulting Group’s retail practice. Following BCG, Tom was the General Manager of Citysearch where he was successful in his efforts to significantly increase revenues for one of the Internet’s earliest businesses focused on “local information.” Later as President of Ticketmaster, Tom led the company’s transition to electronic ticketing and greater growth. Tom helped create one of the Internet’s leading subscription businesses as the CEO of MyFamily.com (Ancestry.com).

Please enjoy this podcast that provides a glimpse into Tom’s innate talent and passion. More than a successful CEO, entrepreneur, advisor, and private investor, Tom is an innovative technology leader that is committed to solving problems and building companies and people!

This podcast features Carine Clark, the president and CEO of MaritzCX, a market-leading company that gives businesses the power to see and act on the experiences of every individual customer in real time. Carine is one of the most powerful and inspirational executives in our market, and we are grateful for the time and insights that she shared with us. This podcast will inspire you!

Carine Clark has a history of building successful software companies and powerful teams for MaritzCX, Symantec, Altiris, and Novell. She had the vision to acquire Allegiance and merge it with Maritz Research to create a more powerful company called MaritzCX. Prior to MaritzCX, Carine took Symantec’s marketing, branding, and communications to a new level as their SVP and Chief Marketing officer. Carine’s unique talent in driving sales growth was an important factor in establishing Altiris as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the world, growing revenues from $62 million to $230 million in just four years.

Carine’s numerous awards include being named as the 2016 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Utah Region and the 2015 CEO of the Year by Utah Business magazine. Just recently, the Utah Technology Council announced that Carine will be inducted into the UTC Hall of Fame during their September 30th gala at the Grand America Hotel. Carine graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in organizational communications and with an MBA, both from Brigham Young University.

For the initial launch of Tanner’s Podcast Series, we know we wanted to “go big”, so we asked Dr. Greg Warnock, a visionary leader in the growth of Utah’s VC, private equity, and technology community, if he would be our first interview. He graciously accepted!  Garrett Koerner, a tax partner at Tanner, and Dan Griffiths, Tanner’s director of strategy, appreciated Greg’s perspective as a true visionary in Utah’s growing technology community.

Greg Warnock is the co-founder and managing director of Mercato Partners and successful innovator and builder of high-growth companies. He is a brilliant thinker (PhD), technologist, innovator, and turnaround artist. Greg is also an amazing person who has helped so many companies and the entrepreneurs who lead them (Skullcandy, Domo, Cymphonix, and Stance) become better. Prior to Mercato, Greg was the co-founder of vSpring, a scrappy early stage venture capital fund. He has been the principal in more than 20 M&A transactions and has spent his entire career helping other entrepreneurs succeed.

Greg has been the recipient of numerous awards and received a B.S. in computer science, an M.B.A.,  and a PhD in Entrepreneurship and Venture Finance from University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business