Utah Ignite Staff

Glenn Ricart brings experience in innovation from academia, federal agencies, and large and small corporate experiences. Glenn is an Internet pioneer who implemented the first Inter-net interconnection point (the FIX in College Park, Maryland) and was recognized for this achievement by being inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in August 2013. In one of his previous roles where he was academic CIO at the University of Maryland, his campus implemented the first institution-wide TCP/IP (Internet) network in 1983 using low-cost PDP-11 routers (“Fuzballs”) with software devised at the University of Maryland. Glenn was the principal investigator of SURAnet, the first regional TCP/IP (Internet) network of academic and commercial institutions.

Dr. Ricart has also held other senior management positions including Executive Vice President and CTO for Novell in the 1990s, Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and CEO and President of National LambdaRail. Dr. Ricart is also the founder or co-founder of five startups; the one previous to US Ignite, CenterBeam, was sold to Earthlink in 2013 after 14 years of independent operation.

Glenn’s formal education includes degrees from Case Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve University, and his Ph.D. in Computer Science is from the University of Maryland, College Park. His inventions have resulted in more than a dozen patents. Dr. Ricart has served on the boards of three public companies, CACI, the SCO Organization, and First USA Financial Services, in addition to numerous non-profits.

Mark Welcker has lived most of his life in Utah in the North Utah County area (Lehi, American Fork, and Highland). He is a graduate of Utah Valley University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and later from The US Chamber of Commerce Foundation with a certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management. He has 23 years’ professional experience in the field of business. This background includes Nonprofit Organization Management, Sales, Marketing, Finance, Product Development and Real Estate Development. He has served on various Boards and committees such as Chair of the Utah State Chamber of Commerce, Lehi City Economic Development Committee, Mountainland Association of Governments, and the Regional Advisory Council. Mark has a strong sense of civic duty. He was the co-founder of the Highland City Youth Council, served on the American Fork City Beautification Committee, Utah State Delegate, Utah County Delegate, Utah Best of State judge, and a volunteer for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. 

Under Mark’s guidance as President & CEO of the Point of the Mountain Chamber of Commerce, the chamber has experienced tremendous growth, won several Utah State Chamber awards in recent years including Best Member Benefit, Best Community Partnership, Fastest Growing Chamber, and Best Weekly Communication, and has become well known and respected across the state of Utah. 

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, being outdoors, traveling, going to the movies, and socializing with good friends.

​Peter is the former Associate Director of Economic Development at the Utah Science Technology and Research Agency (USTAR) and Utah Valley University (UVU). An attorney with an MBA, Peter Jay, has several years of experience working in international business, owning and consulting small businesses, and serving as Executive Director and Corporate Counsel at a company in the high tech, entertainment, and airline industries.

​Holly is our Office Manager of the Point of the Mountain Chamber of Commerce.She was born and raised in Utah. Holly is married and has two beautiful children. Holly was a founding member of a Charter school and has helped to open and grow the school. Her background is in office management. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, camping and being outdoors. She loves being involved in the community and helping others to get involved also!