100 Most Influential People.

• Author: Kulicke, Heidi

Every three years, Utah Business magazine features our 100 Most Influential People--individuals who are key to shaping the economic, political and social climate of the state. From the halls of government to powerful boardrooms, these are the people who are responsible for creating the widely held perception that Utah is the most business-friendly state in the nation. The 100 Most Influential People, while leading top companies and heading important government agencies, also have a wider impact beyond their own organizations, nurturing a vibrant and expanding economy.

Stan Albrecht

President, Utah State University

A veteran employee of Utah State University, Albrecht worked as a dean and an executive vice president and provost at Utah State before being named president in 2005. He launched a $200 million fundraising goal and has strengthened USU's branch campuses to reflect a stronger, more cohesive Utah State University system. Forbes has ranked USU the No. 1 public university in the West and Top 5 in the nation.

Amy Rees Anderson

CEO, MediConnect Global

Anderson has helped MediConnect Global Inc., achieve more than 1,000-percent revenue growth from 2004-2009 and be awarded for its growth and technology in 2010. Hosting an online repository of over five million digitized patient medical records, spurred an invitation to be part of President Obama's White House Regional Forums on Health Reform in 2009.

Advice to Execs: "Always, always do the right thing--even when it's hard or scary. If you follow that advice your life will be a success, come what may."

Scott Anderson

CEO, Zions Bank

Zions operates 115 full service branches throughout Utah and 25 full service branches in Idaho. Anderson joined Zions in 1991 and has built Utah's oldest financial institution up, offering investment, mortgage, and insurance services and has a network of loan origination offices for small businesses nationwide.

Jerry C. Atkin

CEO, SkyWest Airlines

In 1975, Jerry Atkin became the youngest president of a scheduled airline at age 26. From the airline's humble beginnings through its immense growth, Atkin built a team of leaders who have positioned SkyWest to become the world's largest independently owned regional airline. SkyWest employs more than 10,500 workers in 39 states, Canada and Mexico. The airline operates more than 1,500 flights per day for United Express, Delta Connection and AirTran.

Deborah Bayle

CEO, United Way of Salt Lake

Deborah Bayle heads United Way of Salt Lake, a $15 million organization with operations in Salt Lake, Davis, Summit and Tooele counties. Previously, she was CEO of the Greater Salt Lake Chapter of the American Red Cross and COO of the Salt Lake Chamber, where she is currently a member of the board of directors.

Most Powerful Influence: "Most of our community's top business leaders passed through the [Salt Lake] Chamber's doors at one time or another--and I learned much from many of them. ... both how I wanted to do things and how I didn't. I was very fortunate to have some of these great people as my mentors and my cheerleaders."

Lane Beattie

President, Salt Lake Chamber

Beattie is known for his "work hard and anything is possible" ideals and shifted the chamber's focus from a primarily networking organization to one that influences public policy to benefit businesses. Membership grew from 4,200 organizations at the beginning of 2009 to 5,700 by the end of the year, a period when many chambers in the country were losing memberships.

Proudest Accomplishment. "The policy decisions and involvement we've had in transportation, education and USTAR [Utah Science Technology and Research], All three have had direct impacts on the state economy and have played significant roles in Utah being considered the top business state in the nation."

Scott Beck

Executive Director, Salt Lake

Convention & Visitors Bureau

Beck has helped attract many new and returning visitors to Utah. he led the SLCVB to its 16th Meetings & Conventions' Gold Service Award in 2010 and helped secure the Outdoor Retailer Show through 2014.

Most Powerful Influence: "My daughter Hannah. She suffers from a very rare chromosomal abnormality, and her perseverance and unconditional acceptance of others has been the best example of true leadership that I could have ever ask for."

Ralph Becker

Mayor, Salt Lake City

Ralph Becker served in the Utah State House of Representatives for 11 years before becoming mayor of Utah's largest city, with nearly 200,000 residents and several redevelopment projects in the city's center. As mayor, Becker has spearheaded several education, environment and open government initiatives.

Michael Benson

President, Southern Utah University

Benson has been president of SUU since 2006 but has also taught as a professor there, as well as at Brigham Young University, the University of Utah and Snow College. Benson was also president of Snow College for 5 years, where he helped raise more money during his tenure than in the previous 117 years of the institution's history combined.

Proudest Accomplishment: "Helping SUU accomplish its 20-year goal of getting into the Big Sky Conference."

A. Lorris Betz

CEO,

University of Utah Health System

The University of Utah Health System has undergone tremendous growth during the 11-year tenure of Lorris Betz as CEO. During this time, the university has opened or drastically remodeled 12 major facilities for education, research or clinical practice. Also under his leadership, the health sciences budget more than doubled to over $2 million.

Advice to Execs: "Recruit the best, listen with purpose and act consistently."

Bruce Bingham

Founding Partner, Hamilton Partners

The vision of building Salt Lake's newest high-rise can be attributed to Hamilton Partners and, specifically, Bruce Bingham. He helped assemble a team of people and resources, enabling the construction of 222 Main, the renovation of the Boston Building and other Downtown Rising projects in Salt Lake City.

Most Powerful Influence: His membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the experiences he has derived from it.

Advice to Execs: "Act with integrity and be a good listener."

Thomas E. Bingham

President,

Utah Manufacturers Association

As president of the UMA, Tom Bingham serves as a lobbyist and advocate for the state's manufacturing industry, which is the state's third-largest industry and represents nearly 9 percent of the employment in Utah. The organization boasts nearly 800 members and has been an influence in the state for more than a century. Bingham also is a member of the Workers Compensation Advisory Council and the Employment Security Advisory Council under the Labor Commission of Utah.

Dr. Cynthia A. Bioteau

President,

Salt Lake Community College

With more than 35 years in the education, mental health and business fields, Bioteau has helped build SLCC to the highest enrolling college in the state with 13 locations throughout the valley and through SLCC Online. She has helped create the five-college national center for biotechnology workforce, leading the recent development of the National Institute for Advanced Energy Training, located at SLCC, and supporting the creation of the Women's Business Institute.

Most Powerful Influence: "Education-in every form and fashion, at every level, has opened doors at each juncture that I could never have anticipated!"

Jacob Boyer

President, The Boyer Company

Jake Boyer is president of The Boyer Company, a position he assumed in June 2006. He has been instrumental in the development of The Gateway, a 2.1 million-square-foot development, one of Utah's largest mixed-use projects. Boyer also has extensive experience developing governmental, medical, office and retail projects. Boyer served as chair of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors when he was 37 years old, making him the youngest chair in the chamber's history.

David Bradford

Chairman, Fusion-io

In May 2010, Bradford transitioned from CEO to Chairman. During his tenure as CEO, Bradford played a significant role in leading the growth of Fusion-io, brought a new level of teamwork, excitement and talent to the company, including recruiting Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak. He was instrumental in securing more than $100 million in venture capital and bank financing. The company was named the most promising venture-backed company for information technology by the Wall Street Journal and the most innovative up-and-comer in the world by Business Week readers.

Jack Brittain

Vice President, Technology Venture Development, University of Utah

More than 900 student inventors and entrepreneurs statewide participate in the programs Brittain has helped the U of U create. In 2010, the U of U was announced No. 1 in the nation for generating spin-offs, passing MIT with one-fifth MIT's annual funding.

Most Powerful Influence: "My grandparents, who worked as miners, farmers, cooks, truck drivers, railroad engineers, waitresses, washer women, maids, janitors and laborers with a hope that their grandchildren might go to college and have the opportunities that come with a college education. They are all deceased, but with me every day. The great privilege of my life is providing those opportunities to thousands of students."

Lonnie M. Bullard

CEO, Jacobsen Construction Company

Lonnie Bullard became president and CEO of Jacobsen Construction Company in 1996. Since then, he's watched with pride as the company has built and restored some of Utah's most prized buildings, including the LDS Conference Center, the State Capitol, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Grand America Hotel, venues for the Salt Lake Olympics and currently the City Creek Center.

Proudest Accomplishment: "I am most pleased with the evolution of Jacobsen into a 100 percent employee-owned company in 2006, and our attempts to recognize and adhere to a set of values established and followed by Jacobsen's leaders since the company's founding in 1922."

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