John Pestana was the co-founder of Omniture, a software company based in Orem, Utah. John helped build and grow Omniture to become a company of more than 1,200 employees. Omniture went from a student-run business to a worldwide, publicly traded company in 2006. In November 2009, Omniture was sold to software giant Adobe. A distinguished entrepreneur, John has been honored with awards such as the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Entrepreneur of the Decade by the BYU Marriott School Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology. Off to the races again, John currently owns and operates several new companies, including ObservePoint, a software service company and ExactRail, a model railroad manufacturer, as well as manages an active real-estate portfolio of housing complexes in Utah and Idaho. Of all his accomplishments John is most proud to be married to his lovely wife, Heidi, and to be the father of three wonderful children.
D. Ty Brewer is a partner and director of Brasher’s Auto Auctions, a third generation family business that employs over 1,000 people in the western United States. For more than 10 years, Ty has overseen I.T. development for the auctions, helping create and leverage technologies and establish strategies to enhance their auction services. In 2006, Ty co-founded and was the president of Auction Pipeline, Inc., the nation’s premier platform for auto dealers to source inventory online from independently owned auctions from across the country. Ty holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He and his wife, Kellie, love life, cherish liberty and hope to help provide the brightest of futures for their 5 sons and most recently born daughter.
Chris Knudsen is CEO of Dizzle, a social media ecosystem, and co-founder and partner at SocialPlayz, a social marketing firm specializing in online user acquisition. He works with numerous technology companies on start-up sales, partnership development, demand generation, and social media acquisition strategies. Previously, Chris was the CMO and VP of Business Development at SEO.com, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Doba SMB, and an executive in several other internet-based businesses including GearTrade (COO), Speaking Roses (VP of eCommerce), and Podango (VP of business development). Chris earned his MBA from the Gore School of Business at Westminster College. He occasionally instructs at Westminster College where he teaches strategy, business plan development, search and social marketing, and entrepreneurship. Chris has been named to the vSpring v|100 list of Utah’s top venture entrepreneurs every year since 2007.
Ryan Money is an avid entrepreneur currently working on a couple start-ups. Ryan has been a partner and VP of Business Development at Franchise Foundry. Previously, he co-founded HireVue, which developed the industry’s first internet-based, employer-driven, video interviewing solution. For numerous years Ryan has been selected as one of Signal Peaks’ top 100 entrepreneurs. He received a business degree from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Ryan has worked with state legislators to pass a few bills in recent years and takes great pride in them. He is a father to an amazing daughter and a husband to his better half.
Connor Boyack founded Libertas Institute in 2011 and serves as its President. Previous to Libertas, Boyack served as director of the Utah Tenth Amendment Center. He is the author of Latter-day Liberty: A Gospel Approach to Government and Politics and Latter-day Responsibility: Choosing Liberty Through Personal Accountability, along with hundreds of columns and articles championing individual liberty. A California native and Brigham Young University graduate, Connor currently resides in Lehi, Utah, with his wife and two children.
