We Unveil 89 Finalists for the 2021 Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards Program

David Politis -

Silicon Slopes today unveiled the names of 89 Finalists for its 2021 Hall of Fame & Awards Program, the organization’s first statewide awards and recognition program.

The Finalists are broken out as follows:

  • In the 10 Company Categories, there are 46 companies named as Finalists, while
  • 43 individuals have been named as Finalists across 11 different Categories. Additionally,
  • Finalists representing Utah-based organizations are located throughout the state, from Logan to St. George, and across diverse industries that range from
  1. Aerospace to Architecture, and from
  2. Cryptocurrency to eCommerce, as well as from
  3. Fashion to Healthcare, and from
  4. Software to Solar Power.
“We are extremely pleased with the number and quality of the entrants for this inaugural Hall of Fame & Awards Program, with entrants from across the state and from a wide variety of industries,” said Clint Betts, Executive Director of Silicon Slopes. “In reviewing the recent successes of all our nominees, it’s clear to us why the state of Utah is the hottest economy in the country. ‘We’ are doing amazing things, and it’s an honor to be able to recognize some of our best and brightest through this awards program.”

Finalist Companies for the 2021 Hall of Fame & Awards Program

A list of the Finalist Companies in their respective Categories is highlighted below (with organizations listed in alphabetical order).

Category:  Advertising

  • Backcountry,
  • Harmon Brothers,
  • Kizik,
  • Pura, and
  • ZAGG.

Category:  Aerospace and Defense

  • Catalyst Campus,
  • Defense Unicorns,
  • Fortem Technologies,
  • UAMMI, and
  • Weber State University.

Category:  Branding

  • Homie,
  • Hyperquake,
  • MX,
  • Struck, and
  • Traeger Grills.

Category:  Health and Wellness

  • Hemplucid,
  • Impact Suite,
  • R-Zero,
  • Sword Health, and
  • Tru Fru.

Category:  Media and Entertainment

  • Future House Studios,
  • Limitless Flight, and
  • Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.

Category:  Physical Product

  • Chirp,
  • Cotopaxi,
  • Kizik,
  • Laced Hair Extensions, and
  • Rio Tinto Kennecott.

Category:  Services

  • eLuma,
  • Humanitarian Experience,
  • Nexus IT Consultants,
  • Simplus, and
  • Thanksgiving Point.

Category:  Spaces and Places

  • Ezra Lee,
  • Kiln,
  • Nu Skin Enterprises,
  • Texas Instruments, and
  • Thanksgiving Point.

Category:  Software

  • Aumni,
  • DeepSee.ai,
  • Lucid,
  • Motorola Solutions, and
  • Podium.

Category:  Web3

  • RTFKT,
  • Tafi, and
  • TaxBit.

Finalist Individuals for the 2021 Hall of Fame & Awards Program

A list of the Finalist Individuals in their respective Categories is highlighted below, with individuals listed in alphabetical order by their last names (with the organization where they work shown in parenthesis).

Category:  CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

  • Roy Banks (Weave),
  • Melanie Cox (Backcountry),
  • Jonathan Johnson (Overstock),
  • Dave Petersen (O.C. Tanner), and
  • Karl Sun (Lucid).

Category:  COO (Chief Operating Officer)

  • Harris Clarke (Guide CX),
  • Stephan Jacob (Cotopaxi), and
  • Michael Palmer (TAB Bank).

Category:  CFO (Chief Financial Officer)

  • Gary Bowen (Cotopaxi),
  • Howard Hochhauser (Ancestry), and
  • Robert Simmons (Skywest).

Category:  CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)

  • Sarah Crockett (Backcountry),
  • Meagen Johnson (Jane),
  • Stephen Kirlew (Better Body Foods),
  • Karen Peterson (Lendio), and
  • Todd Smith (Traeger Grills).

Category:  CPO (Chief People Officer)

  • Steve Bartholomew (Thomas Arts),
  • Starr Fowler (Vivint),
  • Benjamin Gross (Backcountry),
  • Brady Haider (Experlogix), and
  • Jeff Weber (Instructure).

Category:  CRO (Chief Revenue Officer)

  • Jed Beck (Vasion),
  • Charlie Besecker (Route),
  • Jay Hampton (Cotopaxi),
  • Sterling Snow (Divvy), and
  • Mark Spencer (Jane).

Category:  CTO (Chief Technology Officer)

  • Derek Adams (Brainstorm),
  • Scott Boecker (CHG Healthcare),
  • Brandon Dewitt (MX),
  • Ceasar Olea (LoanPro), and
  • Rob Wise (Aumni).

Category:  CPO (Chief Product Officer)

  • Skip Lei (Kizik),
  • Karyn McKenna (Cotopaxi), and
  • Matthew Thurgood (Brainstorm).

Category:  CXO (Chief Experience Officer)

  • Jake Christensen (Thomas Arts),
  • Kat Kennedy (Degreed), and
  • Pauline Ploquin (Struck).

Category:  Business Influencer

  • Earl Foote (Nexus IT Consultants),
  • Travis Anna Hallstrom (PassiveLogic), and
  • Levi Lindsay (Neighbor).

Category:  Intern

  • Katelyn Bledsoe (Album),
  • Alex Kelleher (Lumio), and
  • Samantha Loveland (Brainstorm).

Finalist Judging, Sponsorships, and Event Tables

The Finalists will be vetted by a diverse panel of judges selected for their experience and expertise across a wide-ranging yet confidential set of criteria.

Nominations and Finalists are 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.

Winning organizations and individuals will be fêted at the Hall of Fame & Awards Program held February 24, 2022 in Salt Lake City during a one-of-a-kind black tie and sneakers awards gala.

Organizations should visit https://halloffame.siliconslopes.com/ to learn more about sponsoring this event or in purchasing a table of 10 at the gala.

The Relaunch of the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame


The new Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards Program will feature both the best of the best from 2021, while also serving as a return to the past with the rebirth of the Hall of Fame program.

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.

At the festivities in February, several industry leaders will be inducted by Silicon Slopes into its Hall of Fame.

Additional details about the Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards Program will be released in the days and weeks ahead.

{NOTE:  Silicon Slopes extends its gratitude as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to Zions Bank for its support as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 Silicon Slopes Hall of Fame & Awards Program.

Individuals and organizations interested in becoming a Hall of Fame & Awards sponsor should visit this link.}

NOTE:  In a prior version of this story we incorrectly misspelled the company name Experlogix. This has has been corrected above, and we extend our apologies to the company and its team members for this mistake.  Dave Politis