Steve Starks
Steve Starks is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Larry H. Miller Company. Before this appointment in 2019, he served as the president of the Utah Jazz and Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment where he oversaw the renovation of Vivint Arena and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the NBA franchise and related businesses.
As CEO, he leads the family investment firm that oversees the Miller family’s portfolio of businesses and investments. He joined the organization in 2007 and held a variety of progressive leadership roles, including executive vice president of LHM Management Corporation, where he oversaw Total Care Auto Powered by Landcar and Saxton Horne Communications, and helped develop a merger and acquisition strategy for LHM Dealerships and the company. During his time with the Larry H. Miller Company, he has helped shape the organization’s growth strategy, led mergers and acquisitions, and oversaw the organization’s transformation.
"Years after Miller had died, his son Greg found a note in a box. 'I think you’ll want to keep this,' he said, handing the note to Starks. The note recorded something Larry Miller had said during one of their monthly family meetings: 'Steve Starks, flat-out superstar — as good as it gets, will be one of the five best employees we ever had.'”[1]
Starks also serves in the community, including the governor’s Olympic and Paralympic Advisor and leads Big League Utah, the coalition aimed at bringing an MLB expansion team to Salt Lake City. Starks also serves on the Zions Bank Advisory Board. He is the past chair of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Directors, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and served on the Weber State University Board of Trustees where he also received an honorary doctorate.
Prior to joining the LHM Group, Starks worked for Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., where he helped manage the governor’s transition team and led The Utah Policy Partnership aimed at improving efficiencies within state government. After graduating from university, he worked as an intern for Senator Orrin Hatch in Washington and then was hired by Nolan Karras to direct his campaign for governor of Utah. As soon as that campaign was finished, Rob Bishop, who had observed Starks’ work for Karras, hired Starks to manage his congressional campaign. When that concluded, Huntsman, who had seen Starks’ work for Karras, hired him as one of the managers of the governor's transition team.[2]
Starks holds a degree in integrated studies from Weber State University (where he was student body president). "He grew up in an old farm house in Huntsville and paid for his education by driving bread trucks, working on golf-course maintenance crews and hanging siding."[3]
He had planned to go onto business school, but after a ride in an elevator with Larry Miller, Starks was offered the opportunity to learn business from Miller himself.[4]
He served as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mississippi. He resides in South Jordan, Utah, with his wife, Camilla, and three daughters.
