The Point Names Don Willie as Operations Director

Today the Point of the Mountain State Land Authority announced it has hired a director of operations, Don Willie, to help manage development at The Point. Willie is a business expert with extensive experience managing complex, multimillion dollar projects across the state.

Willie’s decades-long career encompasses a wide variety of work in both the public and private sectors. Most recently, Don served as the chief operating officer (COO) and vice president of marketing for the South Valley Chamber of Commerce. In this capacity, Willie oversaw organizational streamlining and efficiency improvements, established branding and marketing guidelines, and helped to grow the Chamber’s membership through mission aligned programing and initiatives.

Prior to his work at the South Valley Chamber of Commerce, Willie served as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) for the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, accomplishing similar successes. In addition to his leadership experience at chambers of commerce, Willie has worked as an entrepreneur and small business owner. He has provided organizational management consulting to a diverse range of clients, helping them develop effective, data-driven strategies that elevate their profile and impact.

“Don is a dynamic leader with extensive experience launching high-profile, statewide organizations,” said Alan Matheson, The Point executive director. “He is mission-driven and results-oriented, which makes him a perfect fit for the job as the Direction of Operations for The Point.”

Willie possesses a demonstrated history of success with every public- and private-sector entity he has worked for. His signature accomplishment to date was his role as the founding executive director of the Atwood Innovation Plaza at Utah Tech University. In this capacity, he successfully secured more than $3.4 million in federal grants to build southern Utah’s premier entrepreneurship hub and the largest Makerspace in the state. 

“I thrive in impact-driven organizations where I can bring private-sector innovations to the public realm,” said Willie. “The Point represents a remarkable opportunity to utilize my skills in a way that serves the public good and ultimately enhances Utahns’ quality of life.”

In his role as director of operations, Willie will oversee the Land Authority’s budgeting and audits, public financing, interlocal agreements, grant applications, committee management, stakeholder facilitation, and much more. 

“Don is a proven leader who gets things done,” said Utah State Representative Jordan Teuscher, co-chair of the Land Authority. “His impressive ability to bring stakeholders together, improve complex processes, and oversee myriad tasks simultaneously are vital skills that we will put to work at The Point.”

Willie holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Utah. He replaces outgoing director of operations and COO for The Point, Scott Cuthbertson, who recently accepted a position as the president and CEO for the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.

For more information on Don Willie and his new role at The Point, visit thepointutah.org/about/staff.

For previous TechBuzz coverage on The Point, click here.