Tradewinds — Companies on the go, people on the move

SterlingRisk has announced that Mark Escobedo has been named vice president of sales for the Utah division of the insurance services company. SterlingRisk is ranked among the nation's top independently owned insurance brokerages, with annual premiums topping $650 million. Escobedo has more than 20 years experience in the property and casualty insurance business.

Weston Judd, a medicinal chemist from Farmington has been named laboratory services director for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. He previously worked at Myriad Pharmaceuticals in Salt Lake City, which is developing anti-cancer medicines. Judd also developed mineral nutritional supplements for Albion Labs in Clearfield.

Spectrum Engineers has announced that Chris Kobayashi has joined the firm as a principal electrical engineer. He previously provided electrical engineering services to clients such as Swire Coca-Cola, Utah State University, Intermountain Healthcare and Westinghouse. Kobayashi holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah.

The Salt Lake City-based law firm of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, announced that Gregory P. Williams and Tacy A. Hartman have been named to the firm's board of directors. Also, it noted Williams, a shareholder and former chairman of the firm's business section, was elected president. Williams focuses his practice in the areas of real estate, natural resources, mining and energy law. Hartman is a shareholder and chair of Van Cott's business section. She focuses her practice on finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and commercial transactions, and real estate and property law, including an emphasis in the finance of affordable housing.

Attorney Cecilia Romero has been named the recipient of the Utah State Bar's Raymond S. Uno Award for the Advancement of Minorities in the Legal Profession. Romero was instrumental in creating the Utah Minority Bar Association Diversity Pipeline Initiative, which pairs attorneys from the law firm of Holland & Hart with students from the law schools at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.

Neal R. Wilson has been hired as a commercial lending business developer for Bank of Utah, Ogden. He has 28 years of commercial lending experience, having served in senior leadership positions for Zions Bank and Bank One.

The Community Foundation of Utah, which serves as a catalyst for philanthropy in Utah, has added four members to its board of directors. Trish Coughlin is a philanthropist and community volunteer. She retired in 2012 from Goldman Sachs, where she was a managing director, most recently in the Salt Lake City office. Scott Huntsman is president and CEO of GlobalSim, a technology and simulation company. Kym McClelland is a Realtor with Chapman Richards and Associates. She helped establish Chapman Richards Cares, a Corporate Advised Fund through the Community Foundation. Eric D. Shaw is the director of community and economic development for Salt Lake City and the former vice president of programs and policy at Foundation for Louisiana.

Allegiance, a provider of customer data and analysis, has noted that Jason Taylor, its executive vice president of development and technology, was recently presented with the Chief Technology Officer of the Year award by the Utah Technology Council. Taylor has been an engineer for almost two decades serving with such companies as Novell and Omniture. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. The council aims to foster growth among the state's 7,000-plus technology companies.

Submit information about hires, promotions, appointments and honors to steve@sltrib.com. Photos may be attached as .jpg files.