Utah Valley University (UVU) business professor and local investment firm CEO, Jim Mortensen, has been named the new vice president of Finance at the university. He succeeds Linda Makin, who retired last week.
As vice president of Finance, Mortensen will oversee the university’s budget, the Planning, Budgeting, and Assessment (PBA) process, procurement, accounting, and asset management. Mortensen will assume his role on May 23, 2023.
“Jim Mortensen is a great addition to the university’s leadership team,” said Wayne Vaught, acting president and provost of UVU. “He was selected from a strong field of candidates and brings a vast amount of experience and expertise in strategy and finance. This is important as we work to ensure we have the resources we need to fulfill our student-focused mission and continue to be wise stewards of the funds we receive from the state.”
Mortensen is the founder and CEO of Idyllwood Investments, LLC, which oversees a major real estate development project in Wasatch County. Since 2021, Mortensen has also been a member of the Woodbury School of Business MBA Program, teaching courses in strategy and consulting. He was instrumental in creating a partnership between UVU and Silicon Slopes.
Additionally, Mortensen has facilitated strategic planning and training sessions for the Utah Highway Patrol, the Mighty Five Parks, Davis County, the Human Resource Association of Central Utah, and other organizations. He was an adjunct professor of economics, statistics, leadership, and project management at Brigham Young University for seven years. Prior to that, he was a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. In 2019, he received the Ian Wilson Community Engagement Award from the Woodbury School of Business.
In nearly 30 years of management consulting, Mortensen has specialized in helping organizations reposition themselves to successfully thrive in today’s market. His consulting engagements include Fortune 500 and national ministry-level clients, where he has worked on human capital, national preparedness, and international business issues.
Mortensen holds a Master of Public Administration from BYU, a Master of Science in human development from Virginia Tech, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from BYU.
