Keith Nellesen (born 1967) is an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and the co-founder of

Vivint Vivint is a public smart home company in the United States and Canada. It was founded by Keith Nellesen and Todd Pedersen in 1999. In 2012, The Blackstone Group acquired Vivint for more than $2 billion. In January 2020, the company completed ...

, Inc., a

home automation Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home, called a smart home or smart house. A home automation system will monitor and/or control home attributes such as lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It m ...

, security and solar energy company. Vivint, Inc. was acquired in late 2012 for $2.2 Billion by the

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...

. Following the sale of Vivint Nellesen invested in

NUVI Nuvi is a software and marketing services company that develops a SaaS customer experience management (CXM) and social media marketing platform. The Nuvi platform has eight tools: Listen, Plan, Publish, Engage, Analyze, Locate, Review, and Capture. ...

where he subsequently assumed the role of

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

from founder David Oldham. Nellesen, served as CEO from May 2014 to October 2015 and again resumed the CEO position from Cameron Jensen in late 2016. Nellesen also previously served as Chairman and CEO at MoneyReef.

Biography

Keith Nellesen grew up in

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, where he attended

Idaho Falls High School Idaho Falls High School (IFHS) is a four-year public secondary school in central Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA. The current building opened in 1952, though the school itself has been in operation since 1897. Idaho Falls is the older of the two tradition ...

. He later attended

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

, where he obtained a Masters of Accountancy in 1992. Following BYU, he was contacted by his old High School friend

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. Biography Todd Pede ...

, and the two embarked on establishing the company now known as Vivint (formerly APX Alarm). Under Nellesen’s and Pedersen’s directorship, the firm branched into other venues such as

Vivint Solar Vivint Solar was an American provider of photovoltaic solar energy generation systems, primarily for residential customers. The company was established in 2011 as an offshoot of home automation and security company Vivint and was headquartered in ...

Energy. After obtaining the buy-out of Vivint by Blackstone, Nellesen embarked on his current business venture, NUVI. Nellesen is the also a founding partner of McColee Partners, a venture capital investment firm specializing in early stage investments. Keith Nellesen, along with his wife Melisa, contributed the initial donation for the Cole Nellesen Building at

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July 2008. History ...

(UVU). This will house the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism at UVU In June, 2016 Nellesen made a lead donation for UVU's 14,500-square-foot $3.5 million practice and conditioning facility to house its men’s and women’s basketball teams, to be known as the NUVI Basketball Center. He also has a special interest in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

and collects early editions.

Innovations and awards

Company innovations include a First Class restaurant at the Vivint corporate headquarters in Provo where daily meals are provided to employees, a free

medical clinic Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

, and various recreational outlets including a University-Class basketball court and a

weight room Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the physical strength, strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Acros ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nellesen, Keith 1967 births Living people American Latter Day Saints Brigham Young University alumni American chief executives People from Idaho Falls, Idaho People from Mapleton, Utah