Our 2024 Strategic Leadership Visit took 45 business professionals to Salt Lake City, Utah, a city celebrated for its access to talent, quality of life, sports, hospitality and tourism industries, and cultural diversity. Our delegation of leaders explored various facets of Salt Lake’s regional economy, including transportation, education, innovation, healthcare, and entrepreneurship. Here are a few of the takeaways from our visit.
The trip to Salt Lake City kicked off with an impactful address from Governor Spencer Cox. Governor Cox stressed the role of governors as practical leaders who “get things done,” and distinguished between two types of politicians: builders and destroyers. He noted that most governors are builders, focused on solutions and collaboration. He emphasized that while every governor takes pride in their state, Utah has been ranked number one in the nation for the past two years by U.S. News & World Report. While Utah is experiencing record growth and receiving many accolades, Governor Cox reflected that there is still work to be done. Top challenges include housing attainability, an increasing cost of living, and homelessness. Governor Cox ended with an emphasis on strong partnerships, collaboration, and alignment of goals across all agencies and stakeholders.
Key Quote: “As leaders, you can choose to be builders or destroyers. Builders work together, even through tough times, to construct something that benefits everyone. Destroyers choose sides and point fingers as things collapse.”
For the second session of Day 1, Sharon Mason moderated a fireside chat with Salt Lake Chamber and Economic Development Counterparts focusing on the following topics:
Next up, Holly Quinlan with Cobb Travel & Tourism and Tyler Gosnell from Visit Salt Lake discussed the scale and impact of the tourism industry in Salt Lake County. One thing was abundantly clear. Tourism is big business in Salt Lake County. Annually, it generates a $5.84 billion economic impact, provides $379 million in local tax revenue, supports 44,000 jobs, and offers $1,808 in tax relief per household.
Visit Salt Lake is focused on creating a welcoming and inclusive environment and has a bold vision to become the “most hospitable city in the world.” This vision starts at the top. They rely on their partners at all levels to embody the “Utah Way” and help create an authentically welcoming community. They also promote accessible travel, with initiatives like becoming an accredited autism center and working with partners to ensure inclusivity in all visitor experiences. Additionally, their marketing efforts showcase Salt Lake’s year-round appeal to boost local tourism and encourage longer stays.
Lastly, Tyler discussed how Salt Lake is a hub for sports tourism, housing professional teams like the Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake. They recently announce an NHL expansion team, and they are actively working to recruit a new MLB team. To top it all off, the city will host the 2034 Winter Olympics. There is endless opportunity on the horizon for sports tourism economic impact.
Following the morning’s sessions, the group had the opportunity to visit two new developments in the heart of Salt Lake City. The first stop was a tour of the Post District neighborhood and conversation with development executives, Alex & Ben Lowe of the Lowe Property Group. Post District is a walkable community that’s home to the restaurants and retailers that drive Salt Lake City’s creative energy. In addition to commercial tenants, Post District is home to four of the newest apartment buildings in Salt Lake City. The development repurposed historic buildings, blending Salt Lake City’s industrial past with contemporary urban design and meeting the growing demand for vibrant, multifunctional city spaces.
The next stop was Traeger Grills Headquarters for lunch and conversation with CEO, Jeremy Andrus. The group enjoyed a quick tour of the “Traegerhood” and learned about the company’s approach to creating flexible and fun workspaces that showcase their culture. Following the tour, the group moved to the rooftop for a view of the city and lunch cooked by the incredible Traeger culinary team.
During lunch, Jeremy Andrus shared his personal leadership journey, what makes Salt Lake City a great place to do business, and what’s on the horizon for Traeger. Jeremy Andrus has earned a reputation as a standout business leader and visionary, especially in Utah’s entrepreneurial community. As CEO of Traeger Grills, took a traditional, niche product—wood pellet grills—and turned it into a lifestyle brand that has become a household name. Andrus is known for his ability to face challenges head-on. When he joined Traeger in 2014, the company was struggling. Through strategic changes, he revived its brand, rebuilt its team, and scaled it into an industry leader. As the company looks to the future, Andrus is focusing on innovation, community impact, and fostering a strong company culture.
After two site visits, the group returned to the hotel for the day’s final session. Mike Plant moderated an engaging fireside chat with Steve Starks and Jeff Robbins, two legends in the Utah Sports & Entertainment industry. Both Steve and Jeff have strong personal and professional ties to sports. Steve’s connection includes his work with the Larry H. Miller family and its impact on the Utah Jazz and NBA community. Jeff transitioned into sports through his legacy work with the governor, collaborating with government and private sectors to strengthen Utah’s sports identity. As noted in earlier sessions, the sports and entertainment industry is a huge economic driver in Salt Lake City.
Jeff discussed Utah’s “State of Sport” vision and the vast economic impact from 1,100 sports events hosted annually. The Larry H. Miller Company’s investments also extend to new developments, like Daybreak and the Power District, aimed at elevating the sports-entertainment landscape with potential for an MLB expansion team. The state’s strategic partnerships, experience in hosting large-scale events, and development plans like the Power District make it competitive for major league expansion. Steve and Jeff noted the impact that bringing MLB and other sports could have on the state.
The 2002 Winter Olympics put Salt Lake on the map. Now with soccer, hockey, and the potential of baseball, Salt Lake City is exploding with growth in this sector. Jeff and Steve emphasized the importance of long-range planning and preparing ahead of hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics. No other community has been awarded the Games this far in advance. They plan to leverage this window of time and returning event for long-term economic and social benefits, focusing on youth sports, sustainability, and innovation.
Key challenges that they are working with partners to address include transportation infrastructure and workforce supply and demand. They acknowledged Utah’s low unemployment and strong family values as advantages but emphasized the need for better planning, especially in transit, to accommodate future growth.
To kick off Day 2, Eddie Wade with Croy Engineering moderated a panel with top transportation leaders from the State of Utah. Key takeaways include:
Next up the group heard from a panel of workforce experts, moderated by Sonya Grant of CobbWorks. Once again, all panelists reflected on the importance of existing partnerships and how that enables the community to come together quickly to identify evolving workforce needs and address challenges.
Utah’s high-demand jobs include Aerospace Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Aviation, Construction, and Diesel Mechanics. Talent Ready Utah is focused on creating five distinct career pathways to meet workforce needs, working closely with industry partners to advance policy and progress. Ginger shared that workforce and education are priority advocacy issues for the Salt Lake Chamber, with a particular focus on addressing Utah’s last-place ranking in women’s pay equality and overcoming cultural barriers to women working. To further illustrate this challenge, Trina shared that she founded Tech-Moms during the pandemic to support women entering the workforce, especially in flexible tech roles. The program addresses barriers for women, like childcare and financial access, and builds confidence through a supportive network.
In addition to removing barriers for women and mothers in the workforce, all three organizations are working together to connect underemployed groups with resources and opportunities. Key groups that they have identified are the justice-involved, homeless, neurodiverse, and disabled. They are providing return-to-work initiatives and supportive resources like childcare and skills training to support these individuals.
Following a morning of engaging conversation with local thought leaders, the group headed out for another afternoon of site visits. The first stop was the University of Utah’s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. Lassonde is a nationally recognized hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, offering students resources, programs, and opportunities to develop their business ideas and entrepreneurial skills. Established through a generous donation by Pierre Lassonde, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, the institute supports students across all disciplines who are interested in launching startups, learning entrepreneurial skills, or simply gaining hands-on experience in innovation. One unique aspect that sets this program apart is Lassonde Studios. The studios house about 400 students from all disciplines, creating a diverse community of creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs that can live, work and launch businesses together.
After a short walk across the campus, the group was also able to tour the Doman Innovation Studio, an university-based incubator serving both students and the broader community. Doman works with for-profit and non-profit companies and projects that have existing transactions and prototypes, providing counselling and resources to help them achieve stability and profitability. Both programs showcase why the University of Utah continues to receive awards and recognition from the Princeton Review, Forbes, and others for their focus on entrepreneurship and innovation.
The group departed campus for a tour of Altitude Lab, an innovative startup accelerator and incubator based in Salt Lake City, Utah that focuses on helping early-stage healthcare and life sciences companies scale and grow through mentorship, resources, and access to capital. In addition to touring the lab space, the group spent time with serial entrepreneur and Director of Partner and Investor Relations for Altitude Lab, Kapil Sharma.
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