The new Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame inductees are Warren Osborn: Serial Entrepreneur, Investor, & Board Member (posthumous award); Todd Pedersen: Chairman and Founder of Vivint Smart Home; and Astrid S. Tuminez, Ph.D.: President of Utah Valley University.
Three new breakthrough leaders will be inducted into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame on Thursday, February 24 during the 2021 Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards program held at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.
Those named as new inductees to the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame are
- Warren Osborn: Serial Entrepreneur, Investor and Board Member (awarded posthumously);
- Todd Pedersen: Chairman and Founder of Vivint Smart Home; and
- Astrid S. Tuminez, Ph.D.: President of Utah Valley University.
These new inductees join 65 additional business and technology leaders previously admitted to the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame, each with deep ties to the state of Utah.
“These three individuals have each set an extremely high bar for all to aspire to and to be inspired by as leaders, creators and inventors,” said Clint Betts, Executive Director of Silicon Slopes. “They join our 65 other inductees who have preceded them, and we invite all to unite with us in welcoming Warren, Todd, and Dr. Tuminez into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame.”
Brief Biographies of Warren Osborn, Todd Pedersen, and Astrid S. Tuminez, Ph.D.
Warren Osborn: Serial Entrepreneur, Investor and Board Member (awarded posthumously)
Warren Osborn (1964—2021) was an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur, an investor’s investor, and a friend to those in need, both in his native Utah and around the globe. During his career Osborn founded 11 different companies, firms that shipped literally billions of units worldwide, winning numerous accolades and awards in the process.
Additionally, he invested in over 100 companies, including such notable firms as Ancestry.com, Boom Startup, Braven, Fusion-io, Jamba Juice, Luvaire, Omniture, ObservePoint, SkullCandy, Sales Rabbit, Stance, TaskEasy, VidAngel, and WorkFront, among others.
Philanthropically, Osborn traveled to China and India over 100 times combined to provide on-the-ground humanitarian support and aid to disadvantaged children, orphans and lepers.
During the past three-plus years, however, Osborn fought a very public and brave fight against the ravages of Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a war that eventually led to his passing in November of last year.
For his lifetime of accomplishments and exemplary leadership, both professionally and personally, Silicon Slopes is honored to induct Warren Osborn into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame posthumously.
Todd Pedersen: Chairman and Founder of Vivint Smart Home
Although known primarily today as the founder and chairman of Vivint Smart Home (the multi-billion-dollar home security company featuring young, door-to-door sales professionals), Todd Pedersen actually struggled with his efforts to convince the owner of a pest control company to allow him sell its services door-to-door on a commission-only basis.
That rejection led him to launch his own successful D2D pest control business as a college student that summer, which then transitioned within a few years to selling burglar alarms and then into full-blown, automated security systems.
Pedersen’s success led to the $2 billion acquisition of Vivint Smart Home in 2011 by investment firm, Blackstone, with the subsidiary launch of Vivint Solar coming in 2012. Two years later, Vivint Solar went public as a standalone company, as Pedersen helped lead Vivint Smart Home to become the dominant D2D home security provider in the United States.
Today Pedersen serves as the Chairman of Vivint Smart Home, while being actively involved in such charitable causes as innovation in public education and fighting against childhood starvation.
For his lifetime of accomplishments and exemplary leadership, both professionally and personally, Silicon Slopes is honored to induct Todd Pedersen into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame.
Astrid S. Tuminez, Ph.D.: President of Utah Valley University
From abject childhood poverty on a Philippine island to her current role as president of Utah’s largest university, Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez is a huge advocate for (and a proof point of), the ability of education to uplift and transform individuals.
With the blessing of a scholarship that allowed five-year-old Astrid and her sisters to attend a school taught by Catholic nuns, she made the mighty jump to entering Brigham Young University and then graduating Summa Cum Laude with undergraduate degrees in Russian and International Relations. She then received a Master’s degree in Soviet Studies from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Political Science and Government from M.I.T.
During her career Dr. Tuminez has held national and global research, consultancy, and leadership positions with such organizations as AIG Global Investment Group, Bank of Philippine Islands, Carnegie Corporation, the Council on Foreign Relations, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Microsoft, U.S. Institute of Peace, and the World Bank.
As the leader of over 41,000 students and 5,500 professionals at Utah Valley University today, and due to her lifetime of professional success in contributing to global education initiatives, Silicon Slopes is honored to induct Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame.
The Relaunch of the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame
Launched in 1999 by the then Utah Technology Council, the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame identifies and applauds the technology pioneers and breakthrough leaders who have contributed to the ongoing and growing success of Utah and Silicon Slopes.
Sixty-five inventors, creators, and business leaders have been inducted into the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame since its launch over 20 years ago, with honorees ranging from such people as Alan Ashton and Bruce Bastian to Gretchen McClain and Fred Lampropoulos.
In addition, from hundreds of nominations, 89 organizations and individuals have been selected as Finalists this year for the inaugural Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards Program, which is designed to identify Utah’s best of the best from 2021, while also serving as a return to the past with the rebirth of the Hall of Fame program.
Nominations and Finalists were verified by Best Company, a Pleasant Grove, Utah-based business-to-business, Software-as-a-Service consumer reviews platform. Also assisting Silicon Slopes in the Hall of Fame & Awards Program is Boom.ai, Lehi, Utah-based developer of artificial intelligence powered customer engagement tools.
The Finalists are broken out as follows:
- 43 individuals have been named as Finalists across 11 different Categories.
Additionally, Finalists representing Utah-based organizations are based throughout the state, from Logan to St. George, and across diverse industries that range from
- Aerospace to Architecture, and from
- Cryptocurrency to eCommerce, as well as from
- Fashion to Healthcare, and from
- Software to Solar Power.
These Finalists, as well as the new and current Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame inductees, will all be fêted at the 2021 Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards program the evening of Thursday, February 24 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City during a one-of-a-kind black tie and sneakers awards gala.
{NOTE: Silicon Slopes extends its gratitude as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to Zions Bank for its support as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2022 Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame Awards Program.
Individuals and organizations interested in becoming a Hall of Fame Awards sponsor should visit this link.}
