Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed—and the Utah Senate has approved—Curt Doman to the University of Utah’s Board of Trustees.
Doman, a longtime entrepreneur and philanthropist, will begin his term in November. He fills the seat vacated by Jim Sorenson. Sorenson leaves the board after eight years of service.
After learning how to code at the age of 10, Doman first ventured into entrepreneurship two years later, launching the loan document programming company SoftArt. He earned a degree in finance from the University of Utah while co-founding International Document Services, Inc. (IDS), a mortgage services provider. Doman also acquired and developed Checkstop, LLC, before co-founding Progressive Leasing with his longtime business partner 25 years ago.
Progressive Leasing (PROG Holdings) is the leading fintech provider of virtual lease-to-own solutions. Headquartered in Draper, the company has over 1,600 employees, and reported consolidated revenues of $2.4 billion last year.
At his confirmation hearing this fall, Doman told state lawmakers he can see the gaps in STEM education in real time as he hires new graduates—including in product management and data science. He said he would like to help the university boost its education and training programs and advance its research to application in the workplace.
“I think there’s a big opportunity to commercialize and productize research, turn those [ideas] into companies, and help with the mission for growing the economy and helping students find meaningful jobs and careers,” Doman said.
While launching multiple businesses, Doman has worked to support underprivileged young adults.
As a member of PROG Holdings’ Board of Directors, Doman has led the company’s philanthropic efforts through its nonprofit arm, the PROG Foundation, and the PROG Youth Development Center. Working with community partners, including the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce, Latinos in Action, United Way and Pacific Islander Knowledge 2 Action Resources, the centers offer young adults in West Valley City access to in-person and hybrid training, tech certifications, mentorship and internships. His youth development center offers a series of programs at any given time, currently including a 24-week UX/UI design classes, as well as a “Be a CEO” course.
An active “angel investor” for tech startups, Doman also started the Doman Innovation Studio at the University of Utah—an incubator in the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business which provides space for idea, project and product exploration. The studio works with both for-profit and nonprofit companies and projects that have existing transactions and prototypes, providing counselling and resources to help them achieve stability and profitability.
“I’ve seen and experienced everything from startups to a company that has a budget of billions of dollars and thousands of people,” Doman said. “I’m very passionate about economic development and helping individuals move into the workforce and gain a very meaningful career. I just want to help entrepreneurs get to the next level.”
Born and raised in Salt Lake County, Doman is an avid road and mountain cyclist, enjoys chess, and is also a licensed pilot. He served a two-year religious mission in Taiwan for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.