Company: ZAGG Inc, Salt Lake City, UT
Entry Submitted By: XO Marketing Group
Company Description: ZAGG Inc., Salt Lake City, UT (NASDAQ: ZAGG) designs, manufactures and distributes protective clear coverings for consumer electronics and hand-held devices. In addition, it has created a line of personal audio and electronic accessories.
Nomination Category: Management Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Executive of the Year - Electronics

Nomination Title: Robert G. Pedersen II, CEO and Chairman

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2011 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

ZAGG CEO and Chairman Robert G. Pedersen II co-founded ZAGG Inc. ® (NASDAQ: ZAGG) in 2005. Under Pedersen’s leadership, ZAGG has grown from being an online store only, to a vendor and distributor partner with Best Buy (today, invisibleSHIELD® is Best Buy’s top-selling electronics accessory), Target, Radio Shack and Walmart, as well as Carphone Warehouse in the United Kingdom.

In 2011, Pedersen led ZAGG to more than $179 million in sales, an increase of nearly 136 percent over 2010. ZAGG also opened a European headquarters and fulfillment center in Shannon, Ireland to better serve its international customers. ZAGG’s products are also available at ZAGG brick-and-mortar stores and kiosks across the United States, as well as college bookstores and Mac stores.

In addition, ZAGG also partnered with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular to provide its products through these companies’ brick-and-mortar and online retail outlets.

In 2011, ZAGG received several awards including Best Consumer Electronics in Utah’s 2011 Best of State competition and an Innovation Award given by the Utah Technology Council. The company received Utah Business magazine’s Fast 50 award and Mountain West Capital Network’s Utah 100 award, which both recognize the fastest-growing companies in the state. ZAGG was also a finalist in the national 2011 Stevie Awards in both executive and product categories. Pedersen was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2010, and is currently in the running for its national award. For the past four years, ZAGG’s products, including the ZAGGbuds (2009), the ZAGGsparq (2010), the ZAGGmate (2011) and the ZAGGkeys FLEX (2012) have been nominated for the prestigious Innovations Design and Engineering Awards at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Finally, in 2011 ZAGG acquired Utah-based iFrogz, a mobile device accessories company. ZAGG now carries protective cases for various Apple devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch. ZAGG has also partnered with Utah-based HzO, a company that provides waterproofing technology for mobile devices.

Pedersen and ZAGG also care about giving back to the local community. Pedersen recently instituted the ZAGGcares program, an internal program that gives employees an opportunity to give back to the community. In 2011 alone, the ZAGGcares program helped provide volunteers for programs like Habitat for Humanity, The Road Home and the Ronald McDonald House, and raised funds for the Festival of Trees and resource support for a local elementary school.

Pedersen also strives to improve the welfare of his employees. To build company morale, the company hosts ZAGGsquare (four-square) games twice a day for its employees, to let them exercise, relieve stress and express themselves. It also offers stock options to all its employees. “Our employees are so special and very important to us. By offering stock options, it helps the employees take a personal interest in the company,” Pedersen said.

It is his business sense, and his care for the welfare of his employees and the community that make Robert G. Pedersen II an ideal candidate for the Executive of the Year award.

Upload a collection of supporting files and web addresses to our server to provide more background information to the judges. You may upload any number of attachments and URLs through the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above. (Do NOT list your URLs below.)

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:

Robert G. Pedersen II has 26 years experience in executive management, communications, sales and marketing. Prior to ZAGG, Pedersen co-owned and managed Del Sol LLC, a Utah-based international specialty retailer of apparel and accessories, where he implemented the in-line retail store model.
Additionally, he created and directed DelSol.com. In 2002, Pedersen founded PayTeck, Inc., a Utah provider of Internet-based payment processing services, which was later sold to Zion's Bank. He co-founded ZAGG in 2005, serves as its CEO and chairman, and led the company to $179.1 million in sales in 2011 alone. Pedersen is ZAGG's largest shareholder.