ACG Utah recognized two Utah companies at the 2012 ACG Utah Intermountain Growth Conference for their contribution to economic growth in Utah during the past year. Fusion-io was recognized as the 2012 Dealmaker of the Year, and Goldman Sachs was recognized as the 2012 Job Maker of the Year.

“Utah continues to lead the nation in economic growth according to wide variety of indicators,” said Mark Lehman, president of ACG Utah and shareholder of Parsons Behle & Latimer. “At our ACG events and meetings, we see firsthand the commitment, creativity, investment and leadership from local companies that make Utah a great place to do business. Goldman Sachs and Fusion-io are two prime examples of innovative companies in the Intermountain region that are driving sustainable economic growth.”

The Dealmaker of the Year award recognizes a mid-market company for the size and nature of the deals completed in 2011 along with the growth impact of the proceeds for the company and the local economy. Fusion-io, a pioneer of a new storage memory platform that significantly improves the processing capabilities within a data center, completed both an IPO and an M&A transaction in 2011 and is investing heavily to grow the company in both revenue and jobs.

Criteria for the Job Maker of the Year include the number of jobs added and plans for further expansion within the region. Goldman Sachs, a global investment firm with Salt Lake City as its second largest U.S office and fifth largest worldwide, has consistently added jobs for several years including in 2011, with plans to have 1,600 employees in the State of Utah by the end of 2012.

The awards were presented last Friday in front of 350 attendees at the 2012 ACG Utah Intermountain Growth Conference in Salt Lake City. The annual conference brings together growth-oriented middle market businesses and the intermediaries who work with them in Utah, Idaho and Northern Nevada to gain unparalleled access to private equity groups from around the country.

Other highlights from the conference include:

·         A keynote address by Urban Meyer, Ohio State head football coach and former University of Utah and University of Florida football coach and two-time BCS National Championship winner on leadership principles and building a team that becomes stronger through adversity, which creates a pathway to success.

·         A keynote address by Brendan Ryan, Kennecott Utah Copper vice president, on making investments to drive sustainable growth for your company in today’s economy.

·         A keynote address by Jeff Davis, president and CEO of Orabrush, on leveraging social media to create a market for a company’s goods and services.

·         An economic update on the State of Utah from Spencer P. Eccles, executive director for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

·         A collection of workshops on building corporate growth, finding private equity and debt financing, exploring M&A opportunities and creating new market opportunities from many of Utah’s most innovative business leaders.

·         Networking events for connecting middle-market companies with private equity firms, investment bankers and lenders to help them grow their businesses

For more information about ACG Utah, please visit: http://www.acg.org/utah.