Most of the successful product companies, both global and Utah's own, are built around some type of product innovation. Join us on as we hear from panelists with rich experience in designing products that are cutting edge and original, while creating incredible consumer appeal. We'll hear about their design philosophies, their methodologies on how to build an innovative consumer product line and what trends they believe will be the next big thing.
PANEL
* Alex Adema - DPS Skis, COO
* Jacob "Charlie" Bessey - Coalatree, Founder / CEO
* Reyn Soffe - Nena &Co., VP Creative and Marketing Director
LOCATION
Please note that we are holding this event in Sandy at the Salt Mine this month.
Free lunch provided by this month's sponsor LedgerGurus
DPS Skis
COO
Nena & Co.
VP Creative and Marketing Director
Coalatree
CEO
Alex Adema is the COO of DPS Skis, managing daily operations, finance, and strategic direction of the young, growing company, headquartered in Salt
Lake City, Utah. DPS Skis designs and manufactures the world’s most advanced skis. DPS is a key contributor to the Outdoor Recreation Economy in Utah with an ever-growing global reach.
Alex’s background consists of distinctly varied and unique experiences in both, large corporate and entrepreneurial start-up organizations. This began with a decade of experience in the financial services industry before making an unorthodox shift to focusing on founding two non-profit community oriented startup organizations. After these successful launches, Alex transitioned to managing a venture development organization in upstate New York.
Alex earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics & Business from Colorado College and the Executive MBA from The University of Buffalo (SUNY). In 2014, Alex participated in the Leadership Buffalo program and after moving to Salt Lake City in 2015, subsequently completed its sister program, Leadership Utah. He also serves as a board member on a number of local trade associations including, the Utah Outdoor Association (UOA) and the Utah District Export Council (DEC).
After studying advertising in Miami, Reyn landed his first job in Hamburg Germany working on BMW and Mini Cooper. Eventually he moved to LA to work on Old Nave at Deutsch and then was recruited to NYC to be the Sr Art Director for a clothing company called Martin and Osa. Six months later he quit and became a photographer and director in NYC for 12 years. He now lives in Utah working for Nena and Co. in the women’s handbag industry.
With 15 years of professional experience in the Action Sports/Outdoor fashion industry. Charle's expertise in the area of entrepreneurship is very broad. He has now led Coalatree and his team in raising over 2 million in crowdfunding and has become an expert in the field.
LedgerGurus
Committee Chair
PMD Beauty
Chapter Committee Member
BuyItLive
Chapter Committee Member
Rags
Chapter Committee Member
Chapter Committee Member
