Helen Young Hayes named CTA talent champion of the year
Hayes, who founded Activate Workforce Solutions to create onramps to economic success, was recognized for supporting Colorado’s technology workforce.
Business Leaders
Long-time listener
A fan of Denver's AM 950 "The Fan" after college, Sharan vowed to work for a radio station. Now, Sharan’s KKFN is a polished aural blend of host conversation, guest interviews, colorful audio clips and the occasional watershed moment.
How to find fulfillment beyond work
Corporate consultant John Garrett quit his day job as a CPA to pursue stand-up comedy. After a decade-long entertainment career, he’s back in the corporate world, helping companies reach their potential by encouraging employees to seek fulfillment beyond work.
The 2020 CEO of the Year: Kurt Culbertson
Kurt Culbertson's lifelong appreciation for the outdoors continues at Design Workshop, a 130-employee landscape architecture firm that has made its mark on mountain resorts throughout Colorado and urban projects across the country. Get to know Culbertson and nine CEO of the Year finalists.
Kelly Perkins' quest to create clean skin care
Spinster Sisters gained a fast following with its lines of natural soaps with ingredients like lavender, pomegranate and oatmeal, and expanded into moisturizers, bath bombs and other products made at the company's "Microsoapery" in Golden. After a solid 2019, sales are up 70% in 2020 with a big uptick in hand sanitizer sales and the launch of a new mask spray.
Javier Alberto Soto and the Denver Foundation keep moving forward, even in tough times
After a flurry of grant-making, the foundation switched over to recovery mode, advocating for paid family leave, collaborating with Bonfils-Stanton Foundation on relief for artists and launching the Black Resilience in Colorado Fund to double down on racial equity. Soto and the Denver Foundation are committed to continued action in these tough times.
Lloyd Lewis' advocacy inspires employees and customers alike
One of his first moves as CEO was to start hiring people with disabilities. arc is now one of the largest integrated employees in Colorado: 350 of 1,400 employees have intellectual disabilities. The move contributed to a big growth spurt.
Mike Dudick's grand plans in Breckenridge
With 27,000 owners at four resorts and annual revenues north of $100 million, Breckenridge Grand Vacations is the largest year-round employer in Summit County, with a staff of 650, and a philanthropic anchor.
Kirsten Benefiel's historic role in the security industry
Benefiel's "road map" charts a course to grow beyond traditional manned security into adjacent value-added services. HSS is broadening its technology portfolio. One new product, Spotlight, helps secure medical devices.
George Stafford's venture into manufacturing satellites
Before the 2008 launch of Blue Canyon, Stafford and his co-founders thought the coming micro-satellite boom would be hampered by a lack of mass production. The company started making navigation and power systems, then began manufacturing entire satellites. Now, their new factory is projected to output about 20 satellites a month in the next two to three years.
Pat Craig and the largest animal sanctuary in the world
In 2018, The Wild Animal Sanctuary acquired 9,000 acres near Springfield in southeastern Colorado. The property allows for 100- to 300-acre habitats and about 80 animals. The preserve could ultimately house upwards of 1,000 animals.
Christoph Heinrich elevates the Denver Art Museum
Heinrich, 60, came to the Denver Art Museum as a curator of contemporary art in 2007 and stepped into the director role in 2010. He has since helped elevate the century-old institution by shepherding a number of gifts to the permanent collection.
Wanda James and the political voice of the cannabis industry
James worked on Gov. Jared Polis' Congressional campaign and President Barack Obama's finance committee in 2008. But it was her brother's 10-year prison sentence that led her to align her entrepreneurial and political inclinations. James morphed her political consulting career into another venture, the Cannabis Global Initiative, then moved into cannabis edibles and opened her second dispensary, Simply Pure, in 2015.
Denver’s soul food scholar cranks up the heat with ‘Black Smoke’
James Beard Award-winning food historian Adrian E. Miller built a career by breaking from convention … three careers, actually. Now he’s into his third career as an author and the nation’s premier soul food scholar. He’s also a certified barbecue judge who has lectured across the country on such topics as Black chefs, chicken and waffles, kosher soul food and soda pop. Adrian’s latest book covers the culinary contributions Black people have made to American barbecue.
How to make effective decisions for your business
In the midst of uncertain times we actually have the opportunity to make decisions that can result in a positive impact on business. To minimize the stress associated with decision making it’s important to create as much clarity around the decision at hand as possible.
No mountain is too high for Vail's COO
Beth Howard is an icon — and an anomaly. Starting as a college intern at Colorado’s Beaver Creek Resort, she has spent 35 years winding her way through management roles at Vail Resorts nationwide. We talked to her about committing to a career at one company, and more.
6 Questions with Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee Marianne Neifert
In each of her many titles, Marianne Neifert, MD, MTS, has dedicated herself to improving maternal-child health by doggedly providing education to health professionals, implementing model lactation services, helping re-establish breastfeeding as a community norm and advancing the nascent discipline of breastfeeding medicine.
6 questions with bankruptcy lawyer Kevin Neiman on COVID-19 preparations
Neiman answers questions on the short- and long-term economic impacts of coronavirus on the state; how businesses can protect themselves from bankruptcy; and the options available to Colorado companies to protect their long-term profit.
Rob Applegate wins the EY Next Wave Leadership Award
While Rob Applegate’s day-to-day is heavily wrapped up in the realm of math and science, he has dedicated himself after hours to the creative economy in Denver through his service on a number of cultural and nonprofit boards.
Top Techie Kevin Ness is building new tools for biologists
The technology upon which Inscripta was founded was developed at the University of Colorado-Boulder, which has led to a collaborative partnership between the two entities. Together, they're building entirely new capabilities for scientists around the world.
Top Techie Ashlee Collins balances innovation and stability in the digital era
Its newest product, Pass serves as an ecosystem for serving up consumable inventory from a variety of sources to a subscription consumer in a digestible and personalized interface.
Kate Greenberg ushers in a new age of Colorado agriculture
Greenberg is the first-ever female commissioner for Colorado, and at 32, probably the youngest. She differs in every obvious way from her recent predecessors, who were men of a certain age named Don (Ament and Brown) and John (Salazar and Stulp), all Colorado natives who were farmers or ranchers themselves.
How Peter Burns helps promising food companies flourish
During his 23 years in Boulder, Peter Burns has established himself as an expert in the food and beverage space, especially when it comes to preparing promising companies for acquisition by multinational giants.
The 2019 CEO of the Year: John Hayes
From glass jars to surveillance satellites, Ball Corp. has been in 48 different business lines since its founding in 1880. CEO John Hayes is getting ready to lead the company to a new campus in Westminster and continue its sustainable path forward.
