Utah Business

Back By Popular Demand 🎁 We're spreading holiday cheer once again with an exclusive 2-for-1 subscription offer! Subscribe now and gift a colleague, friend, or business partner a year of insightful business news for the price of one. Get offer: https://lnkd.in/gNSSYsPK

Melissa Crotty is the founder and principal designer at Root'd Design Studio. With a focus on historical and contemporary design, she finds fulfillment in building personal connections with clients and collaborating on unique projects. Learn more in this week's edition of the Founder Series: https://lnkd.in/gDNQzC4d

By the numbers: Utah's Tech Industry Landscape edition 🎨: Eliza Anderson, Illustration & Amanda Nogales, Graphic Design Sponsored by Novva Data Centers

Utah business community members Ian Corbett and Isha Dash of auticon US, Samantha Easter💭 and Sharlene Wells of Mountain America Credit Union, and Weslie Ricks of Divergent Talent Consulting discuss why neurodiversity is good for their businesses. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/dBpZVydg 🖋: Laurel Dudley Henderson

Like many counties in Utah, Carbon has a long history with the extractive industry. The county is aptly named for the area’s coal mines, and one of its four cities — Helper — was named for the helper engines that would assist heavily laden coal trains up Soldier Summit. Now, as the county economy moves away from mining, a new artist-centered community brings new life to the town and new meaning to its name. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gDU-a4JD 🖋: Savannah Beth Withers Taylor Carbon County Utah Lenise Peterman

The deadline for CEO of the Year nominations is only two days away! 🚨 Don't procrastinate your opportunity to nominate Utah's best executives. Click here: https://lnkd.in/geS4hg7u We look forward to reviewing your submissions!

VOZZI is Growth Street Partners’ second investment in Utah! We’re thrilled to partner with co-founders Ben Young and Dave Parson as they continue to grow Vozzi and extend the company’s leadership position. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gBwEEgPu 🖋: Nate Grossman and Stephen Wolfe

“Gary Crittenden is the finest person I know. He is full of integrity. He is full of love. He is full of goodness.” — Elder Robert C. “Bob” Gay Meet the methodical executive who transformed CVS Health, American Express and Citi. 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gJxJEwHD 🖋: Tad Walch

December Editor’s Letter 🖋 Leading through letting go If you’re a leader, it’s your responsibility to manage yourself out of a job. That’s not something you’d likely find in your job description, and the thought may even feel a bit uncomfortable. But hear me out. A good leader mentors their team, involves them in strategy and empowers them to execute company objectives in ways that align with their strengths. By investing in your people and helping them grow, you’ll increase their efficiency and effectiveness. Over time, your team will need you less — and that’s a sign of success. You will have made yourself redundant, which is actually a great position to be in. Redundancy brings with it freedom, balance, growth and new opportunities. It challenges the scarcity mindset, which convinces people that there can only be one top spot. But the truth is, you can’t keep climbing if you’re too entrenched in your current role. To move forward, sometimes you need to make room for others to step up. Some of the most complex redundancy planning happens in family-owned businesses, where succession planning can be especially delicate. A report by OnDeck ranks Utah fifth in the U.S. for family-owned businesses, with the Salt Lake City metro area leading the nation in the percentage of people employed by such businesses (49.18 percent), according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 Annual Business Survey. In this month’s issue, Mickey J. takes a closer look at some of Utah’s family-owned companies — including Holiday Oil Co., Nicholas and Company Inc. Foodservice, Ken Garff Automotive Group Enterprises and Chick's Cafe — exploring how they safeguard their legacies through stability and a “business-first” mentality. Meanwhile, Tad Walch profiles Gary Crittenden, a Utah-grown, global CFO whose knack for problem-solving has been leveraged by Wall Street and nonprofit organizations alike. His approach — taking on specific problems and then moving on to the next challenge — enables others to rise and positions the next wave of leaders for success. On page 58, you’ll read about Utah’s Best Companies to Work For, as evaluated by their teams. Employee surveys celebrate these companies for their performance, culture and willingness to mentor their people — a common theme that allows them to attract the best talent. As you flip through this month’s issue, ask yourself: Are you creating a space where new leaders can emerge and excel? Remember, effective leadership is not about being irreplaceable; it’s about fostering a legacy of empowerment and innovation where your team thrives independently of you. Thanks for reading, Melanie Paris Jones

"Money isn’t everything, but experience is. If you start a company just to make a buck at the end, you sell yourself short: you miss out on the journey you get to have along the way." In 2021, Preston Unck founded Tee Box and took on the CEO role full-time in 2022. Under his leadership, Tee Box rapidly expanded to 10 additional corporate locations, including a location in the Delta Center, as part of its partnership with the Utah Jazz. Learn more in this week's edition of the Founder Series: https://lnkd.in/g5-quWFM