CXO of the Year champions of the C-suite.

By Utah Business editors

Photos by Eric Delphenich

It takes a team to lead a company.

Behind every successful CEO you'll find a team of executives who are crucial to keep a business running. They oversee day-to-day operations. They manage the flow of information that allows a 21st century business to function. They keep the all-important finances in order. They handle branding, legal matters, product development, marketing and whatever else it takes to make a business thrive.

The first-ever Utah Business CXO of the Year awards honor 11 business leaders who drive the gears and cogs of their companies, driving the engine of Utah's economy.

Chief Operating Officers

The results of Brian Bowers' efforts speak for themselves: Under his leadership as chief operating officer, MityLite increased its productivity by more than 100 percent while reducing labor costs from nearly 14 percent of sales to about 4 percent. Additionally, factory order completion, shipping accuracy and on-time delivery have all improved from about 65 percent to more than 99 percent.

Those improvements have enabled the company to re-shore some of its manufacturing from Asia to Orem. They also represent a big turnaround from the recession. "After the recession, it was difficult for our industry and our company; our year-over-year sales fell almost 40 percent and we had to let go of 30 percent of our workforce," says Bowers. "It was just terrible, it was an awful situation."

Bowers oversees two factories, three distribution facilities, logistics, engineering and supply chain. With about 200 employees under his wing, he says his greatest satisfaction comes from helping them succeed. "It's a satisfaction that comes probably from my upbringing on a farm, where at the end of the year, you're in the harvest, you see what you've done, you see what you've produced, and there's something very satisfying about that."

As a teenager, Laura Kaiser's interest in healthcare blossomed through service as a Candy Striper and at local blood drives. That interest propelled her to earn both an MBA and a master's of healthcare administration.

Kaiser moved to Utah and joined Intermountain Healthcare in 2012; prior to that, she was president and CEO of Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola, Fla., president of the Daughters of Charity Foundation, and a regional executive for the Gulf Coast/Florida region of Ascension Health, the country's largest Catholic nonprofit healthcare organization.

Kaiser is now responsible for healthcare delivery and operations at Intermountain's 22 hospitals and 185 clinics, as well as its 1,100-physician medical group, clinical programs and Institute for Healthcare Delivery Research. "At Intermountain Healthcare, our mission is to serve as a model healthcare organization, to provide high-quality, affordable healthcare and to help people live their healthiest lives possible," she says. "With a team as dedicated and talented as ours, the leadership task is to clarify the...