www.slenterprise.com March 18, 2019 Volume 48, Number 34 $1.50 Transportation Weber & Davis CountiesTravel & Recreation leads largest CPI pages 15-18 PAGE 15 Sponsored by: drop in 3 years The cost of transportation includes the price of both gasoline and vehicles and both took a slide in February. Local trans- portation costs fell 3.6 percent last month, pages F1-F8 leading to the largest one-month drop in consumer prices in over three years. The Chad Heath (left), managing director at Endeavour Capital, makes a point during a panel discussion at last week’s ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Utah Intermountain Growth Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Conference and Capital Connection. Listening are (from left) Greg Warnock, co-founder and Index (CPI) fell 0.5 percent from January managing director of Mercato Partners; LeGrand Lewis, managing director at Sorenson Capital; to February, the biggest month-to-month and Bill Hunscher, partner at TZP Group. drop in 39 months. In the past 12 months, the CPI has Sponsored by: grown 3.9 percent, while the national Con- sumer Price Index has increased 1.5 per- 'Vibrant market' results in nearly cent. Gasoline prices — the primary con- tributor to the falling CPI — are at their 100 Utah acquisitions per year lowest point since December 2016. The ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) drop in overall transportation costs is the Brice Wallace Utah Intermountain Growth Conference largest since last March. The Enterprise and Capital Connection. “The decrease in gas prices has rip- “Utah is a very vibrant market,” said ple effects in the economy as shipping and Utah companies remain strong targets Geoffrey Loos, director of investment transportation costs decrease,” said Ran- for acquisitions, with a variety of factors banking at D.A. Davidson & Co. and pres- dy Shumway, chairman and partner at Ci- working in the state’s favor. ident of ACG Utah. “It’s generally in that cero Group, a Salt Lake City research fi rm Three of the past six years, the number 90-100-transaction range.” that does data collection and analysis for of acquired Utah companies has been 100 During the past decade, the number the CPI. “Overall goods prices tend to or more, and the 2018 fi gure of 91 trans- become cheaper as transportation costs actions followed a 102-deal 2017, accord- decrease.” see GROWTH page 4 ing to statistics discussed last week at the Housing and recreation costs both inched up in February, by 0.3 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. Both housing and medical care prices have experienced Biskupski takes unilateral action, large year-over-year leaps, with housing prices increasing 8.3 percent and medi- cal care prices growing 11.7 percent since sues over Inland Port Authority February 2018. Comparatively, transpor- port was created and had threatened to sue tation prices saw their fi rst year-over-year John Rogers to stop it since the law passed during the drop since April 2017, ticking down 1.6 The Enterprise 2018 general session. Her action last week percent. was prompted by legislation that was mov- “The average Utahn spends 38.7 per- In a move that came as no surprise to ing through the 2019 session of the legisla- cent of their monthly expenditure on hous- most observers, Salt Lake City Mayor Jack- ture that would have banned a mayor from ing costs, which is the highest percent- ie Biskupski last week fi led a lawsuit in the unilaterally taking legal action against the age measured since July 2010,” Shumway 3rd Judicial District Court of Utah ques- port board by requiring full city councils to said. “The clearest cause remains Utah’s tioning the legality of creation of the Inland take such a move. The bill, HB433, passed strong and steady job market.” Port Authority by Utah’s Legislature. The late last week but only after the provision The Bureau of Labor Statistics report- mayor has objected to the way the board that would have prohibited Biskupski’s suit ed that Utah’s 12-month job growth has was formulated, saying it usurps “taxing was removed. been higher than 3 percent every January and land use authority over one-third of Salt since 2014. And unemployment, similarly, Lake City.” has stayed below 4 percent since March Biskupski has opposed the way the see BISKUPSKI page 4 2014. 2 • March 18-24, 2019 • The Enterprise - Utah's Business Journal Women Tech Council addresses tech gender gap - and ways to improve it “In order for a company to at- tech companies make cultural in- programs and cultures to create in- (in alphabetical order) 3M Health Brice Wallace tract and retain the best talent while clusivity a priority,” the report con- clusivity. WTC said the list moves Information Systems, Adobe, An- The Enterprise driving innovation and bottom-line cludes. “Gender inclusivity can be beyond hiring or human resource cestry, Chatbooks, Clearlink, Con- success, inclusive cultures must be more than the exception or an out- measures and instead “reviews and trol4, Cotopaxi, Dealertrack, De- Women Tech Council wants rooted in the organization’s DNA,” lier in the tech community. It can rates the development and success- greed, Dell EMC, Domo, eBay, to address the gender gap in the said Cydni Tetro, WTC’s president. and will have to become the stan- ful implementation of holistic, or- ExpertVoice, ForgeDX, Franklin technology sector and has issued a “By moving beyond single-fac- dard for any tech company that ganization-wide practices to create Covey, Goldman Sachs, Health report outlining ways to close it. tored solutions to deeper measures wants to compete in the industry inclusive cultures where women Catalyst, HealthEquity, Hire- The national organization, that anchor gender inclusivity fi rm- long term. Tech companies have can contribute and succeed.” Vue, IM Flash, inContact, InMo- based in Utah’s Silicon Slopes ly into an organization, the practic- the amazing opportunity to accel- “No matter the size or type of ment, Instructure, Intermountain area, also released a list of com- es outlined in this research can help erate gender inclusion and their technology company, having high- Healthcare, L-3 Technologies, panies it says are “accelerating re- increase the number of women profi ts by committing long-term to performance teams where men and Listen Technologies, Lucid Soft- moving the glass ceiling for wom- across the technology sector today WTC’s defi ned metrics.” women can contribute and succeed ware, MarketStar, MX, Myriad, en in tech” through programs and and ensure that diverse workforces The organization also released drives success at every level of the Northrup Grumman, O.C. Tanner, cultures to create inclusivity. are sustained in the future.” the fi rst series of best practices organization,” Tetro said. “High- Oracle, Overstock. Pluralsight, The report, titled “The Gen- The report says technology from its Diversity & Inclusion Fo- lighting and explaining these prac- Qualtrics, Recursion Pharmaceu- der Gap in Tech and How to Fix companies can speed the creation rum that details programs imple- tices accelerates progress for the ticals, RizePoint, SaltStack, Tesla, It,” cites a slew of statistics indi- of more inclusive and diverse mented by technology companies entire tech industry by amplifying Veracity Solutions, Vivint Smart cating that fi rms having women teams and cultures for women in to close the gender gap and cre- the programs that are making real Home, WCF Insurance, Workday, leaders have seen increases in net tech through: ate more inclusive cultures. It lists strides in creating more gender- Workfront and Zions Bancorpora- revenue, women-led private tech • Executive engagement, in Adobe’s policy to support parental inclusive cultures and propelling tion. companies achieve a 35 percent the form of active support from the leave, Pluralsight’s work to facili- their impact further to help organi- WTC released the report, best higher return on investment, and CEO, executive team and all lead- tate more-diverse tech hiring, and zations throughout the tech sector practices and Shatter List on Inter- having women on boards or in se- ership. Workfront’s efforts to close the pay grow closer to breaking the glass national Women’s Business Day. nior management and other factors • Company programming, by gap. ceiling.” Details are at www.womentech- have boosted companies’ market having women in executive lead- “Regardless of product or ver- The 2019 Shatter List includes council.org. share and profi tability. ership positions and proactively tical, research shows creating in- However, women account for implementing programs to support clusive environments that leverage only 16 percent of the members of women in technology. the talent of diverse teams propels executive teams in the U.S., with • Community investment, with a company’s overall revenue and Overstock still facing problems the fi guring being smaller in the active participation with the broad- profi tability,” Tetro said. “Identi- tech industry. “While making up Overstock Inc., the par- ery to GSR Capital of retail prod- er community to learn from and fying and disseminating the prac- almost half the U.S. workforce, ent company of Salt Lake City’s uct from Overstock for the inves- share best practices regarding cul- tices that are making real impact women hold less than 20 percent Overstock.com online retailer and tor’s online retail operations in the ture and inclusion. towards gender inclusion helps ac- of U.S. tech jobs,” it said. Many tZERO, a security token trading Far East. The deal stalled when the • Women’s or diversity and in- celerate adoption across the tech- women leave tech jobs because subsidiary, continues to struggle goods were not delivered. clusion groups, through formal pro- nology industry to build a more of poor workplace climates and as an anticipated equity invest- Overstock and the Hong grams to support women internally.