Leadership

It's through her example that Carolyn leads and carries on the legacy of her father, Obert C. Tanner. Like him, she believes in honest and transparent business practices, supporting employees and giving generously to charitable organizations and communities. When she's not looking after 1400+ employees, Carolyn is supporting foundations like the YWCA of Salt Lake City. She also served the Salt Lake community as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah from 1996 to 2010.

Dave arrived at O.C. Tanner offering his services without a job interview or offer. If the company wasn't pleased after a month's work (without pay), he'd pack his things. Lucky for us, 30 years later he's proven his determination, dedication and capabilities time and time again, in literally every department of the company. Coupled with a bachelor's degree in international business from Brigham Young University an MBA from Thunderbird American Graduate School of International Management, make him a globally-minded leader for our global company.

A veteran auditor and consultant, Scott Sperry has always worked well with numbers. But, as our Chief Operating Officer, Scott really shines when working with people. He knows great results come from a team's hard work, starting at O.C. Tanner in 2003, he has endeavored to be transparent and build trust. Scott is a Certified Public Accountant, with a wealth of experience from work at two global accounting firms. He has an accounting undergraduate degree and an MBA, both from the University of Utah. Scott is a big college basketball and football fan, but also enjoys fishing and spending time outdoors with his wife and their seven children.

As our Chief Technology Officer, Niel Nickolaisen has a passion for the development and delivery of innovative technology, providing exceptional customer service, and building great teams. He loves nothing better than seeing his IT teams grow and succeed. At O.C. Tanner, he leads teams focused on developing market-leading products, supporting our global customers, and inventing tools that help our clients gain insight into engaging their employees. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. and bachelor’s degree in physics from Utah State University. A frequent contributor to SearchCIO, he enjoys playing basketball, running the trails, and spoiling his grandchildren.

As O.C. Tanner’s Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Beth Thornton knows the power of recognition firsthand. During her 24 years with the company, Beth has consulted with thousands of global companies—including: Disney, FIS, Bank of America, Capital One, U.S. Bank, and more—helping them create effective recognition strategies that drive strong cultures of innovation, creativity, and performance. Beth now leads a global sales team of over 200, coaching them on how to help create great workplace cultures for each of their clients worldwide. She encourages her team to approach every client with the same goal: understand where they are in their journey and determine how to best support them in a unique way, aligned to their specific needs. With a belief that recognition creates powerful interactions between people, Beth has seen how recognition done right has the ability to transform teams and organizations, all while delivering tangible business results. Beth sits on the Council for the Deer Valley Music Festival, works as a cancer support mentor for those diagnosed with oral or brain cancer and was named one of the Utah Business 30 Women to Watch for 2017. A graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Communications, Beth lives in Park City, Utah with her husband and three children.

A team player, Scott Archibald is always ready to listen and learn. He knows how to get the story from the details, and brings a wealth of experience from both the private industry and public accounting. Prior to working at O.C. Tanner, Scott has held a range of positions, including Vice President of Finance, Controller, and Auditor. A certified public accountant, Scott has an undergraduate accounting degree and an MBA from the University of Utah. He and his wife Lori are the proud parents of five kids.

In addition to his role as our Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, David Sturt is the author of the New York Times bestseller, “Great Work: How To Make A Difference People Love.” He has been a leading innovator in the industry, helping to pioneer the first-ever web-based recognition programs, and leading how the world's top organizations think about accomplishing and appreciating great work. With a bachelor’s degree in human resources and an MBA focused in strategy and marketing, along with experience as the Vice President of Product Development and Technology at Learning.com and over 18 years at O.C. Tanner, David is uniquely qualified to lead out on our marketing and business development efforts. He frequently consults with Fortune 500 leaders and speaks to audiences worldwide. He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Human Capital, and is a regular contributor to Forbes.com.

As a career in-house attorney, Beatryx has always strives to help business leaders accomplish their strategic goals. She has previously counseled listed companies in the aerospace, nuclear services and multi-level marketing industries. As O.C. Tanner’s General Counsel, Beatryx also leads the Strategic Agreements and Internal Audit teams. She has an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of law. Beatryx likes to volunteer and has served on the board of Komen Utah since 2013. She most enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children.

As our Executive Vice President of Supply Chain, Gary Peterson engages and empowers our employees, leading our manufacturing, buying, engineering, refining, and logistics teams. Gary has also delivered great work for clients as a leader in our Market Research, Award Strategy, and Administration and Research teams. His greatest joy on the job comes from interacting with and inspiring our people. He holds an M.B.A. from Brigham Young University, and when he's not at work, Gary plays basketball, snowboards, and spends time with his family.

Scott has played a key role at O.C. Tanner for more than 30 years, and today leads one of the largest teams in the company as Senior Vice President of Client Services. He sees appreciation as a sustainable business practice and leverages that to do what he considers "the most important work of his career"—building incredible teams. He believes great work pays off, and helps our clients understand how recognizing it can help companies operate more efficiently. Scott is a graduate of the University of Utah in Advertising and Public Relations. He enjoys golf, boating, and time with family, especially his five grandchildren.

Mindi Cox works to connect people with purpose. She believes an organization’s business potential is intimately tied to its sense of humanity. Her goal is to help cultivate workplace cultures where people feel connected to the greater purpose and impact of their work. Mindi believes it’s this connection, this soul spark, that inspires people to seek personal and professional progress, inspiring the most powerful business breakthroughs. Her belief that every company has a soul people feel and respond to drives her passion for cultivating powerful clarity and connection to high-level purpose for leaders, employees and organizations. Mindi is currently honored to serve as O.C. Tanner’s Senior Vice President of People & Great Work. She has 17 years of experience in Sales, Marketing and as a Human Resource Executive focused on practices that contribute to strengthening the workforce through culture. Named one of Utah’s 40 under 40 in 2013, Mindi is SPHR and SHRM – SCP certified. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and an M.B.A. from the University of Utah.

Dynamic. Innovative. Energetic. Each has been used to describe David Hilton, our Senior Vice President of Product Development. He leads the team with speed, delivering some of the best services and products available in the recognition industry. David is a longtime Appreciateologist. Before spearheading Product Development, he led innovations at O.C. Tanner in Client Services, Marketing and Sales. He has delivered great work for us for nearly two decades and has a degree in Economics from the University of Utah. Outside of work, David is a marathon runner and tries to spend as much free time as he can on the lake enjoying water sports.

Whether he is in Germany or Jamaica, Ty Brown travels anywhere for a great adventure. That dedication helps recognition culture grow all over the globe. He listens, he experiments, and he builds consensus. He aims to meet needs of colleagues and clients alike by drawing on his background in operations, human resources, sales, manufacturing, and supply chain management. He also has a bachelor's degree in Accounting and an M.B.A.-both from Brigham Young University. This reservoir of experience has benefitted our company since Ty joined O.C. Tanner in 2003, helping our organization deliver award fulfilment solutions to clients in 130 countries. He shares all of his professional accomplishments with his staff, but the adventures Ty cherishes most are those with his wife and their four children.

A mind for numbers and a talent for inspiring people, Jennifer Gates leads finance, production, purchasing, client services and human resources efforts in Canada. She firmly believes in empowering people, understanding it’s important to arm employees with the right tools so they can deliver great work. Jennifer has an M.B.A. from McMaster University and a C.G.A. designation. When she isn’t overseeing operations in Burlington, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children.

Chris Vyse is Vice President, Sales and Marketing of O.C. Tanner Recognition Company Limited. Chris also is a member of the company's Board of Directors and has been with O.C. Tanner since 2007. Chris graduated from Queen's University with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, and with a Masters of Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario.