CEO of the year.

It takes a lot of things to sail a ship, like a skilled crew and a sturdy hull--and, of course, a capable captain at the helm. From among the throng of excellent leaders helping guide Utah's businesses to success, we've picked 10 who have led their teams through a year of remarkable change and growth. From companies and nonprofit organizations big and small, join us as we pay tribute to the 2017 CEOs of the Year.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT--LARGE COMPANY

JACK PELO

PRESIDENT & CEO, SWIRE COCA-COLA, USA

Jack Pelo has been CEO of Swire Coca-Cola for the past 20 years, but his association with the company extends back into his childhood. Pelos father owned a small Coca-Cola franchise in Washington, and Pelo worked in the business while in high school and college. Early in his career he worked as a certified public accountant, but came back to the Coca-Cola business when his father began thinking about retirement.

The family business was eventually sold to Swire Coca-Cola, and Pelo began working his way up the management ranks there. In 1996 he took the helm of Swire at a time of deep crisis for the company--the four senior leaders of Swire were onboard a small aircraft that crashed, killing its eight passengers. As the new CEO, Pelo helped the company heal and move past the traumatic situation.

Most recently, Pelo has led a period of rapid and extreme growth for the company. For most of its history, Swire Coca-Cola grew slowly and methodically. But three years ago, the company had an opportunity to expand when Coca-Cola moved from company-held franchises to an exclusive independent bottler approach. By the end of 2017, the company "will have grown by a factor of three or four times. We've gone from 1,700 employees to about 6,200 employees, and the population served has increased about three and a half times. So it really is exciting to be part of an organization that is growing that fast," says Pelo. "To expand at this rate and at this magnitude was very challenging, so we thought long and hard about if this was the right thing to do."

Among the challenges that came alongside growth was an imperative to integrate the new team members into Swire's tight-knit culture. Furthermore, an expanding organization calls for managers to take on ever-increasing leadership roles. "People are asked to, in a way, step out of their comfort zone," says Pelo.

The key to effective leadership, he says, is simply to listen. "THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS YOUR ASSOCIATES HAVE, YOUR CUSTOMERS HAVE, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO CO OUT AND HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY. WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING DECISIONS, YOU HAVE TO GET A LOT OF INPUT. BUT TO ME IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THAT INPUT, ANALYZE IT, AND THEN MAKE THE DECISION AND MOVE ON, BECAUSE NOTHING IS WORSE THAN PEOPLE BEING UNCERTAIN, AND I THINK YOU NEED TO PROVIDE DIRECTION."

Pelo has brought his decades of leadership experience to the American Beverage Association, where as chair, he has helped transform the industry. Susan Neely, CEO of the American Beverage Association, says Pelo oversaw the implementation of a groundbreaking initiative to reduce the calories in beverages sold in schools. "Leading by example, Jack inspired competitors and fellow Coke bottlers to deliver on the pledge to transform the beverage landscape in schools," says Neely. "The result was an astonishing 90 percent fewer calories from beverages shipped to schools."

In addition to his work with the American Beverage Association, Pelo has served on the board or held leadership roles with the Salt Lake Chamber, United Way of Salt Lake, The Waterford School, American West Heritage Center, Juvenile Diabetes Research Center, the University of Utah President's Association and many others.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT--MEDIUM COMPANY

RANDY SHUMWAY

FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN & PARTNER, CICERO GROUP

At the beginning of this year, Randy Shumway stepped away from his role as CEO of Cicero Group. The move was not a result of Shumway separating from the company he founded in 2001. Instead, it was a planned, strategic move intended to bring new life and energy to the firm--and to solidify it as a company that can and will grow into the future.

Shumway explains that he and his partner, Trent Kaufman, knew they wanted to establish a "perpetual" organization. "One of the ideas was that we needed to change leadership at some point," he says. So now Shumway remains as chairman and partner of Cicero, while Kaufman has taken the lead as CEO.

When the company was founded 16 years ago, operating out of Shumway's home, the consultancy firm had three clients. Now, with 350 employees, Cicero Group maintains offices in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Boston, Boise and Hong Kong. The data-driven strategy consulting firm counts numerous Fortune 1000 companies as clients.

Shumway's vision for the company was to utilize data--internal big data, secondary data and primary research--to help organizations pinpoint effective strategies. He says three principles are core to the success of Cicero Group: over-delivering on client expectations, a focus on people, and what he calls "scrappy conservatism."

Early in the company's history, Cicero had an engagement with a computer giant. But Shumway says the team quickly realized they could not provide what they promised--and over-deliver on expectations--on the budget they quoted to the client. But they were committed to delivering what they promised--and more--and so they plowed ahead with the project. And they lost "real money" on the deal, he says. But the computer company was more than pleased with the work and over time hired Cicero for several new projects. And as their executives left and went to other organizations, they spurred those organizations also to hire Cicero.

"Over-deliver on clients' expectations regardless of the cost," says Shumway. "It comes back to benefit the company in the long term."

A focus on people has helped Cicero Group build a top-notch team that Shumway would stack up against any other team in the world. In addition to great pay and a family-friendly work environment, Cicero offers 100 percent tuition reimbursement for graduate school. In fact, several nights a week Cicero employees can be found huddled together after hours, studying and preparing for upcoming projects and tests.

"CICERO'S BEEN EFFECTIVE AT REALLY ATTRACTING, INVESTING IN AND RETAINING THE ABSOLUTE MOST INCREDIBLE TEAM OF PEOPLE, AND I THINK THAT'S CREATED A FOUNDATION THAT OFFERS EXHILARATING GROWTH. IT ALSO MAKES ITA GREAT PLACE TO WORK. YOU GET TO WORK WITH AND LEARN FROM SOME OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE HUMAN BEINGS," Shumway says.

Although Shumway is no longer Cicero's CEO, he still plays an active role in the firm. He says his new job description is basically to do whatever Kaufman tells him to do. "Trent's given me a couple of assignments that are not just new to me, but they're new to the organization. So in many ways I'm starting all over; I'm learning new skills and new...

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