Deadlines
Marriott School Closing Banquet 2018
Speakers
Gavin Christensen
Gavin is an entrepreneurial VC with a passion for investing and building Utah and the West. In 2008, Gavin recognized a need for both leadership and capital at the seed stage in Utah. Gavin worked with the Utah ecosystem to found Kickstart Seed Fund to fill this gap. Starting a seed stage firm focused on Utah during the Great Recession was not easy, but Kickstart is now the most active investor in Utah at the seed stage with 85+ investments.
Now into his second decade as a seed stage investor, Gavin was fortunate get his 10,000 hours in venture capital early in his career. Prior to Kickstart, Gavin was an analyst, associate and principal at vSpring Capital (now Signal Peak) where he developed a love for venture capital investing in the Mountain West Region. Before vSpring Capital, Gavin also worked as a Vertical Strategy Associate for Google and as a consultant in Monitor Group's Cambridge office where he advised clients on a range of strategic, operational, and organizational improvements.
Gavin received a Masters of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. in Economics (with Honors) from Brigham Young University. Gavin currently serves on the boards of Banyan, Boombox, Chargeback.com, Chatbooks, Grow, Jackrabbit Systems, Lucid Sofware, Photopharmics, Rackware, TaskEasy, Zenprint.
Merrill J. Bateman
Elder Merrill J. Bateman served as dean of the Marriott School from 1975-1979 and was the 11th president of Brigham Young University from 1996-2003.
He has been a General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1992, when he was made a member of the 2nd Quorum of the Seventy. He served as the Presiding Bishop from 1994-1995 and later as General Sunday School President from 2003-2004.
After leaving BYU, Elder Bateman served in the Presidency of the Seventy until being granted emeritus status. He and Sister Bateman then served as Temple President and Matron of the Provo Temple from 2007 to 2010. Following that assignment, Elder Bateman returned to private consulting and serves as an expert witness in a number of legal cases.
President and Sister Marilyn Bateman are the parents of 7 children and reside in Provo.
The student choice awards were named after Elder Bateman to honor his contributions to the church and community, the Marriott School, and Brigham Young University.