Patel, a general partner of vSpring Capital and a founder and former executive at Salus Therapeutics, will serve a year at the helm of the nine-member board.
USTAR was created by lawmakers earlier this year as a government, education and business partnership with the goal of bringing $4.9 billion in new research funding and more than 123,000 high-tech jobs into Utah over the next 30 years. Lawmakers have set aside $65 million for USTAR's operations and approved $110 million in bonds to build research facilities.
Wednesday marked the board's first meeting, with Huntsman presiding until handing business over to Patel.
"There's a lot of brainpower, talent and vision here," the governor said. "You are looking at our future, which will be decided a lot by the people at this meeting today."
Patel wasted little time putting the board on the path to organization, including setting deadlines for a number of operational details.
He listed the hiring of an executive director as the board's top priority, opening discussion on the qualifications needed for the post. Board members are to solicit resumes for the job, which has a $106,000 annual salary cap, and suitable candidates will then be invited to apply.
"We should look at doing this by August to mid-August," Patel said. "We don't want to wait too long."
Patel also pushed for an early September meeting with University of Utah and Utah State University officials to discuss projects they would like to see funded.
The board also asked Chris Roybal, the governor's chief economic adviser, for samples of conflict-of-interest policies used by other states with USTAR-like initiatives. Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions First National Bank, said such guidelines are needed to distance members from votes that might conflict with their own interests.
Besides Patel and Anderson, the board is made up of Jack Sunderlage, president and CEO of ContentWatch Inc.; UV Partners co-founder Jim Dreyfous; former NPS Pharmaceuticals CEO Hunter Jackson; Dan Olsen, a Brigham Young University computer sciences professor; Cathy Petti, medical director for the Infectious Disease Laboratory at ARUP; Charles Precourt, a former NASA official now serving as vice president for ATK Launch Systems Group; and State Treasurer Ed Alter.
bmims@sltrib.com
