CEO of the Year.

AuthorBicknell, Lindsay

A chief executive officer is more than just the highest ranking officer at a company. A CEO is someone who bring teams together, supports their employees, and gives back to their communities. But, most importantly, they are someone who inspires others to believe in, and live out, the company vision they're working so hard to create. The 2019 CEO of the Year honorees not only put their companies first, but their people first.

BRENDON RODMAN

CEO | Weave

A Eugene, Oregon, native, Brandon Rodman graduated from Brigham Young University in 2004. Working in sales until 2008, he then pivoted his career entirely. Founding Recall Solutions, which later became Weave, from his attic in Lehi, Utah, he changed gears to create an essential business tool used in over 7,000 offices today. But it wasn't easy. In fact, in the beginning, Mr. Rodman and his team struggled. "Our company had been turned down by nearly every investor in Utah," Mr. Rodman says. "We were running out of money. It looked like the company was going to fail. Applying to Y-Combinator was a last-ditch effort to save the company. And it worked." Selected by Y-Combinator for funding in 2014, it was the turning point they needed.

A decade since Weave's inception, Mr. Rodman has used his intimate experience with trial and error to grow his software into something every office needs to function. When he founded the company, there were just two employees. In 2018 alone, he hired 150 new employees. Mr. Rodman attributes his success to his focus on people. "Put people first," he says. "Everything else is much easier if you get people right."

His focus on people has extended to every part of his business, and he has implemented a coaching staff for every single employee, enables instant matching on 401k, and provides stock options for every full-time employee. A father of four, he is particularly proud of the parental leave policy he launched in 2018. Providing new mothers with 100 percent paid leave for 12 weeks and new fathers with 100 percent paid leave for six weeks, diapers for a year, 12 weeks of bi-weekly house cleaning services, six weeks of meals twice a week, and baby clothing. "We are encouraging all companies to review their maternity policies and make at least one improvement to their existing policies," he says.

BRENT ANDERSEN

Founder & CEO | Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

Brent Andersen has always loved the ocean. "I was inspired to become a marine biologist at the age of five, after my grandmother gave me a Time of Life book about the sea," he says. After graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara with a marine biology degree, he had a decision to make. He could get a job in Santa Barbara as a biochemist but his dream was to work in his field of study. "One day, I listened to an audio tape suggesting I answer a question that ultimately catalyzed my dream into reality. That question was: what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

After that, his decision was made, and one van later, he embarked on his journey. Mr. Andersen founded The Living Planet Aquarium in 1997 with the Aqua Van, which visited local elementary schools to educate children about marine science. Bringing the ocean to school children and teaching them about Earth's diverse ecosystems, he hoped to inspire them to continue to explore, discover, and learn, the beginning of a much larger goal for Mr. Andersen. That van grew from one to many as he was slowly getting closer to his dream: bringing a world-class aquarium to Utah.

In March 2014, the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium opened and has since welcomed 4.2 million guests. The aquarium features a 40-foot tunnel that allows guests to walk through the 300,000-gallon shark habitat, a penguin habitat that has grown to house 21 gentoo penguins, and a South American habitat that features free-flying rainforest birds, piranha, a giant anaconda, and 200-pound Amazonian fish. The aquarium also opened the Expedition: Asia exhibit in 2016, featuring two clouded leopards and two Linnaeus two-toed sloths. But Mr. Andersen's dream is still growing, in October of 2018, the aquarium broke ground on the nine-acre lot that will feature nature play areas, special event spaces, and an 80,000-square-foot Science Learning Center.

"I'm proud of where we are now and I'm excited for the future," says Mr. Andersen. But for him, it's about more than just the aquarium, it's about helping the planet. Mr. Andersen and his team at the aquarium have developed an artificial reef system to facilitate faster growth and restoration of coral reefs, which can help them achieve a decade's worth of growth in only three years. "I am excited about the coral conservation work we have begun and am looking forward to scaling up that work exponentially."

CASE LAWRENCE

Founder & CEO | CircusTrix

Case Lawrence spent the beginning of his professional career as an attorney, then a commercial real estate developer in central California. But when the Great Recession hit in 2008, he found himself at ground zero, working over the next two years to avoid bankruptcy. It was the turning point of his career. "The recession wiped me out and forced me to the brink of bankruptcy," says Mr. Lawrence. "The harsh disruption of my career forced me to explore and take a chance."

Now, eight years later, he's completely changed the landscape of the trampoline park industry. After bootstrapping his first five trampoline parks, he relocated the business to Utah, where he cut the first venture capital partnership in the history of the trampoline park industry, eventually growing CircusTrix to over 300 locations. In the last year alone, Mr. Lawrence has opened 22 owned and operated parks across the world. And in 2018, they were named the number two fastest growing company in Utah.

Mr. Lawrence has successfully transitioned from a creative entrepreneur into art effective and transformational CEO, leading and shaping not only his business, but the entire industry. In 2017, he lead the acquisition of California-based Rockin' Jump, consolidating over 40 percent of the trampoline park market. And then, in 2018, he positioned CircusTrix to acquire their largest competitor and franchise platform, SkyZone. Over the past two years, Mr. Lawrence has been instrumental in orchestrating the company's expansion into Europe and Asia.

Today, under Mr. Lawrence's leadership, CircusTrix is on the verge of becoming a "unicorn," a billion-dollar private company. And it all started the day he took his sons to the trampoline park in San Francisco* California. "I was attracted to the idea of being in the business of fun and play," he says. "After opening my first few parks, I developed an addiction to seeing joy and wonder on young people's faces when they experience our parks." And that addiction has lead to some truly innovative technology.

"I want to keep growing and innovating," says Mr. Lawrence. "My most effective years as a CEO are still ahead of me."

ERIC REA

CEO | Podium

In 2014, Podium started as a five-person team huddled in Eric Rea's one-bedroom apartment, Today, the company works with more than 250,000 business to create over four million customer interactions a month. In fact, one in eight US cell phone owners have connected with a local business on its platform. One of the fastest growing SaaS companies in the US, Podium's workforce has swelled to over 400 employees and is projected to hire 400 more through 2020.

But Podium wouldn't be where it is today without Mr. Rea. "I always wanted to be an entrepreneur," he tells us. But his professional career didn't start out that way. "After I graduated from Brigham Young University, I took my...

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