Rob Galloway: succeeding from the ground up.

• Author: Schulte, Scott
• Position: Spotlight - Occupation overview

Rob Galloway has always had his eyes set upward. Perhaps that's why in his free time, Galloway can be found hiking, camping or rock climbing in the mountains of central Utah--always seeming to be moving toward the sky.

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A 42-year-old married man and father of three small children (and one due this summer), Galloway always anticipated working in the aerospace field. Rockets, space, stars and such, Galloway never thought his career would take him in a total opposite direction. But that's what happened 11 years ago when Galloway joined the team at Orem's US Synthetic, a company that supplies diamond drilling technology to energy companies exploring for oil and natural gas.

"I always expected to have a career in aerospace," Galloway says. "That's where my education had been and what I was doing before coming on here."

After receiving his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Utah, Galloway began working as a research technician at Hughes Christensen and for Lucas Aerospace in Park City.

In 1998, Galloway was promoted to research and development engineer and customer manager. Four years later, Galloway founded and managed Sundance Diamonds, US Synthetics gem diamond business division. In 2004, he was promoted to the position of production manager and eventually became the vice president of operations in 2006.

"One of the nice things here at US Synthetic is that we are about developing our people inside and helping each other reach one another's full potential," Galloway says. "People here really work closely with each other to cultivate one another's strengths."

Galloway currently serves as the company's chief operating officer and is expected to become CEO in...