Todd Pedersen

Todd Richard Pedersen (born November 23, 1968) is an American entrepreneur and the founder of Vivint, Inc., a home automation, security and energy company. Vivint, Inc. was acquired in late 2012 by the Blackstone Group.^[1]

Biography

Todd Pedersen was born in Seattle, Washington, the fourth of eleven children, and grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he attended Idaho Falls High School.^[2] After finishing a 2-year mission for his church, he returned and settled in Provo, Utah. He began selling pest-control on a door-to-door basis from a trailer in Arizona in 1992.^[3][4][5] After a few years, he switched to a different product, burglar alarms, though with the same marketing technique.^[5][6][7] Thus was Vivint founded in 1997 in Provo, Utah, though under its prior name of APX Alarm Security Solutions, utilizing a successful door-to-door marketing strategy. In 2011 APX Alarm changed its name to Vivint, to reflect its emphasis on living intelligently through home automation.^[8] This marketing strategy proved tremendously successful, and the company soon became a major competitor in the industry, as well as expanding its marketing to more traditional venues such as television advertising and telephone sales representatives.^[9] Pedersen has been retained as Vivint's CEO following its acquisition by Blackstone Group. Pedersen lives with his wife and five children in the Provo, Utah area. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[10]

Innovations and awards

Pedersen championed various innovations in employee relations, making his workforce of approximately 7,000 full-time and part-time employees extremely loyal and energetic. These innovations include a First Class restaurant^[11] at his corporate headquarters in Provo where he provides daily meals to employees, a free medical clinic,^[12] and various recreational outlets including a University-Class basketball court and a weight room.^[12]

Under his directorship, the firm branched into other venues such as Vivint Solar Energy.^[13] As a result of his efforts in the business world and the community, Pedersen was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010 in the services category for the Utah Region.^[14][15] The award recognizes "outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses." The Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum named Pedersen as the Entrepreneur of the Year at its 2012 annual awards banquet.^[14] Likewise, he has been named as entrepreneur of the year for 2013 by Mountain West Capital Network.^[16][17]

Outside of his industry, Pedersen has sought innovation in public education, particularly emphasizing use of the abacus in the classroom at early ages to strengthen mathematical skills.^[18][19] He also partners the 501(c)3 non-profit Vivint Gives Back with numerous worthy organizations such as Feed My Starving Children.^[20][21][22]

References