Innovators: Thirty Women TO Watch.

• Author: Spendlove, Gretta

New ideas have power. They fuel political races, religious movements, and scientific breakthroughs. They also fuel successful businesses.

Spotlighting 30 Utah businesswomen who are "innovative," we define the concept as one of creativity, inventive nature, putting a new and successful spin on an old way of doing things. An innovator, in essence, harnesses the power of new ideas.

There are many ways to demonstrate the groundbreaking business savvy required to achieve the status of innovator. Some women we spotlight have created or developed a new product, such as Sanchaita Dattas' invention of RAIL technology, on which she has patents pending; and Nichole Toomey Davis' development of the "do-box."

Others, such as Colleen Loveless-Ash, have taken products created by others -- in Colleen's case, specialty vacuums invented by her husband -- and developed niche markets for them. Other specialized markets developed by women profiled here include the heating and cooling consulting market, developed by Patti Case; Cindy Pack's upscale specialty baby-clothing market; the giant billboard market, as designed by Kim Griesemer; and Julie Smith's Utah-market-savvy family-vacation-in-Disneyland concept.

Other innovators have created fresh and original marketing strategies, as Lori Chillingworth has at the Women's Financial Center at Zions Bank; and Marva Sadler has with her training and strategic planning programs at Franklin Covey. Matching creative human-resource ideas with a "knowledge" company, as Pat Freston is doing at NPS Pharmaceuticals, is innovative; as is the effort to move "outside the box" in developing a job that embraces many skills, as Amanda Wirth has done at the Utah Healthcare Institute Inc. She combines work as a practicing physician with her work as supervisor of community outreach programs in Midvale and downtown Salt Lake.

Also requiring innovation is creating a number of related, ever-larger businesses, as Barbara Zimandja has done with the resort rental industry, LaRee Waldron with video production and development, and Maxine Turner with catering. Chay Peterson appears on our list as someone who has created an entire cluster of companies serving divergent needs and different markets. Marie Osmond expanded beyond acting and singing to create a highly successful business selling porcelain dolls.

Our list includes not only women from Salt Lake City, but also from smaller cities and towns across Utah. Cathy Bagley of Torrey has grown alongside her town for over 30 years, developing businesses that match and reflect Torrey's development. Likewise, the previously mentioned Cindy Pack is from American Fork, and Colleen Loveless-Ash is from Price.

We include pioneers, such as Georgia Ball, first woman president of the Utah Board of Realtors; and Alicia Bremer, first female owner of a Utah public relations firm. Some of our innovators are young, but on their way up, such as Utah Healthcare Institute's Amanda Wirth, still in her 20s.

Our list includes women who specialize in innovative ideas, business consultants such as Kate Kirkham and Meg Wheatley.

These are only a few of Utah's many innovative women in business, but they illustrate the spectrum of creativity invested in Utah business today.

CATHY BAGLEY

Boulder Mountain Realty

Cathy has developed businesses for 30 years in the Capitol Reef area. Ventures include a livestock company, the first real estate brokerage, and an art gallery that features Wayne County artists she encouraged to settle in the area. She is a member of the Utah Open Lands Commission and part Native American.

PAT FRESTON

Today's "knowledge workers" -- scientists and writers -- demand special working conditions. After 20 years at Questar as head of personnel, Pat Freston moved to "this little company," NPS Pharmaceuticals, intrigued by the challenge of providing innovative benefits and working conditions to such knowledge workers.

With the support of company president Hunter Jackson, Freston implemented a human resource system that provided stock options for everyone from janitors to senior scientists. The system did away with annual reviews and allows employees to initiate promotion reviews whenever they feel ready. Supervisors, as well as peer review committees, consider promotions. NPS received a Utah Best Practices award from Arthur Andersen in 1997 for motivating and retaining employees. "The innovations have...