Buzzworthy - January 14, 2022
LVT to Expand Orem Headquarters
LiveView Technologies, Inc. (LVT) plans to expand its Orem headquarters, bringing up to 3,400 new high-paying jobs over the next 10 years, announced The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) on January 11, 2022. LVT is a cloud-based software platform that collects, stores, and organizes data from various sensors via cellular networks. The primary source of this data comes from proprietary solar-powered portable trailers equipped with cameras and other sensors, typically providing safety and security services in a wide variety of industry verticals. These systems provide condition-based automated responses, including pre-recorded and live two-way audio communication, lighting functions, law enforcement notifications, and more.
“We’re excited to align with the Office of Economic Opportunity,” says CEO and Founder, Ryan Porter. “We started in Utah, and it’s part of who we are as a company. These incentives will make it easier for us to stay competitive and attract top talent to Utah while we help make the world a safer place.”
The state offers an incentive program, Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF), whereby the Utah Legislature authorizes economic development incentives in the form of post-performance tax credits—essentially temporary, marginal tax reductions. Instead of providing up-front EDTIF cash payments for corporate retention and recruitment, Utah provides a limited post-performance tax credit after the company meets specific obligations, including capital investment, new high-paying jobs, and additional state tax payments. Eligible companies operate in one of Go Utah’s five targeted industries and work with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to outline performance criteria. Once the office confirms those criteria have been met, according to statute (U.C.A. 63N-2-106(2)), companies can receive a refund of a percentage of the new, additional state taxes they paid for a finite period.
In this case, LVT may receive up to 20% of the additional state taxes it will pay over the 10-year life of the (EDTIF) tax credit agreement. Each year that LVT meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will qualify for a portion of the total tax credit.
LoanPro To Expand Farmington Headquarters
LoanPro Software, LLC will expand its Farmington headquarters, bringing up to 459 new high-paying jobs in the next 16 years, announced The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) on January 13, 2022. LoanPro, a fintech SaaS company based in Farmington Station, offers a next-generation lending platform enabling lenders to be more efficient, organized, and streamlined. By simplifying the lending process and lifecycle for lenders, borrowers have improved app-based and online visibility to view their loan account, interact with their lender, and keep track of their loans. The company manages over 3.25 million loans with over $17 billion serviced.
“We love living in and growing our business in Utah,” said Lloyd Roberts, co-founder and chief revenue officer of LoanPro. “Utah provides the perfect environment to grow a fintech company. Amazing people, a business-friendly environment, growth-oriented leadership, and a culture that values progress and innovation make it possible to build something that can make a real difference. It’s so exciting to be a part of something bigger than any one individual. That improves the marketplace we all rely on and has a positive impact in the world we live in.”
The state offers the Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) program, whereby the Utah Legislature authorizes economic development incentives in the form of post-performance tax credits—essentially temporary, marginal tax reductions. Instead of providing up-front EDTIF cash payments for corporate retention and recruitment, Utah provides a limited post-performance tax credit after the company meets specific obligations, including capital investment, new high-paying jobs, and additional state tax payments. Eligible companies operate in one of Go Utah’s five targeted industries and work with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to outline performance criteria. Once the office confirms those criteria have been met, according to statute (U.C.A. 63N-2-106(2)), companies can receive a refund of a percentage of the new, additional state taxes they paid for a finite period.
In this case, LoanPro may receive up to 20% of the additional state taxes it will pay over the 16-year life of the agreement. Each year LoanPro meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will qualify for a portion of the total tax credit. “Farmington is proud of what LoanPro has accomplished as part of Utah's fintech revolution,'' said Brigham Mellor, Farmington City assistant manager. “We love seeing LoanPro team members riding Lagoon roller coasters on their lunch break or hiking and biking our beautiful trails. What a great and fun place to work."
MX Names Shane Evans Interim CEO
On January 11, 2022, MX announced Shane Evans has been appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Evans succeeds Founder Ryan Caldwell who is transitioning from his role as CEO to a new role as Executive Chair to spend more time with family and focus on his daughter’s health and recovery. Caldwell will continue to advise the executive team and board of directors on go-to-market, product development, and long-term business growth.
“As President, Shane has worked extensively with the board and executive team to increase revenue, scale the business, and position MX as the leading financial data platform for organizations everywhere. I am confident that Shane is the right person to lead MX through this next phase of growth and category leadership,” said Ryan Caldwell, Founder and Executive Chair, MX. “I look forward to working closely with Shane as we continue to build the business, help organizations connect to and harness the power of financial data to grow their business, and transform the way people engage with their money.”
Evans was promoted to President of MX in 2021 after joining the organization in 2019 as the company's first Chief Revenue Officer. Since joining MX, Evans has helped establish the company as the market leader, scale the sales and go-to-market teams, and more than double revenue. Prior to MX, he spent five years at Qualtrics. He played a critical role in the growth and expansion of a global sales team that culminated in the company's $8 billion acquisition by SAP and laying the groundwork for its $27 billion IPO just two years later.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to help lead MX through our next phase of growth, as we accelerate the business and help organizations unlock the power of financial data,” said Evans. “The MX Founders—Ryan Caldwell and Brandon Dewitt—have built an incredible culture and team despite unprecedented health challenges for themselves and their families. We are grateful for Ryan Caldwell’s continued strategic leadership moving forward as Executive Chair and stand committed to honoring their vision and legacy as we continue to build MX.”
On January 27, 2022, Evans will lead a discussion on the future of fintech and how MX is leading the way in open finance and modern connectivity. Click this link to register.
Tendo Appoints Dr. Bala Hota as Chief Informatics Officer
Tendo Systems announced on January 12, 2022 it has appointed Dr. Bala Hota, a recognized leader in healthcare quality and risk analytics, as the company's senior vice president and chief informatics officer. Dr. Hota brings more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of healthcare and technology, including innovative work building novel healthcare analytics and informatics systems to improve patient care at Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center and Cook County Health and Hospital System.
During the height of the pandemic, Dr. Hota co-led the Chicago Public Health Data Hub, a technology project designed to improve public health surveillance for COVID-19. He also served on the executive committee for Pandemic Response Commons, which created a standards-based, collaborative data ecosystem to improve COVID-19 health outcomes. He and colleagues were also funded by the Centers for Disease Control for INSPIRE, a national study of long COVID-19 syndromes.
“We are thrilled to add a leader with Bala’s rich, front-line experience to the Tendo team,” said Dan Goldsmith, CEO of Tendo. “Analytics and informatics are foundational to transforming the healthcare experience, while enabling delivery models that drive better access, quality, and outcomes. Bala’s work with quality and risk assessment models is widely recognized, and his deep experience as both a clinician and technologist will be invaluable as we strive to create seamless and user-friendly experiences for patients, clinicians, and caregivers.”
Dr. Hota previously developed award-winning analytics software for Rush to assess risk adjustment opportunities in documentation gaps. He was awarded a patent for both the algorithm and software, and this work also led to establishing Rush’s Center for Quality, Safety, and Value Analytics. Dr. Hota also served in various roles at Cook County Health and Hospital System over an 11-year span. He was a physician of infectious diseases and became the chief medical information officer – a position he held for five years.
“Joining Tendo is an opportunity to make an even bigger impact by working across health systems to transform the care journey for more patients,” said Dr. Hota. “By working with a select set of early customers, Tendo is creating a space for all of us to deeply understand the complex issues impacting patient experience and collaborate to better solve those challenges. We all know the patient experience needs to be better, and Tendo is charting the path forward.”
Dr. Hota’s appointment comes just months after Tendo hired Dan Ballough as senior vice president of engineering, Peter Thorson as senior vice president of product management, and Jeffrey K. Rohrs as chief marketing officer. The company was also just named to CB Insights third annual Digital Health 150, which showcases the 150 most promising private digital health companies in the world.
Honeyville Inc. Recognized by Redzone as Plant of the Year
Honeyville Inc., an Ogden-based family-owned food ingredients manufacturer was recognized on January 6, 2022 as Plant of the Year by Redzone Production Systems. TechBuzz mentioned Redzone last month in connection with another Utah manufacturing plant, Xlear, that uses the 80-language software as a tool to enable increased communication among its line workers, some of whom are refugees from Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. While Honeyville, Inc. currently has no Afghan refugee employees it is considering adding some as they make their way to Utah in the coming year.
Founded in 1951, Honeyville Inc. provides co-manufacturing services to include flour and mix blending, private label co-packaging, product formulation, logistics, and consumer retail stores and products.
The Redzone Community Award recognizes outstanding productivity, product quality and safety, as well as phenomenal teamwork across departments. The award considers corporate identity, the collective mission throughout the organization, and cultural transformation that results in a unified team from the shop floor to the top floor. Redzone’s technology focuses on enabling the frontline workers at food, beverage and consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to be more productive, more engaged and in turn help their companies be more profitable. Redzone addresses that goal by giving workers a digital identity and creating an environment where frontline teams can take ownership of their own destiny and together develop a culture of respect and collaboration that results in organic Continuous Improvement (CI). Redzone is the largest and fastest growing manufacturing technology company in frontline teamwork and productivity, with more than 398,000 workers in nearly 1,000 plants.
117 other manufacturing companies competed for this year's Redzone Community Award, including some of the biggest Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) manufacturers in the world.
Salt Lake Chamber's 2022 Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit
TechBuzz attended the Salt Lake Chamber's 2022 Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit to gain insights on the trajectory of Utah’s economy and the business community’s involvement in the upcoming legislative session. Highlights include short- and long-term recovery efforts from the pandemic; initiatives to reduce homelessness and increase affordable housing; education funding; and environmental concerns for air quality and recovery of the Great Salt Lake. In-depth article to follow.