CEO, UK baroness, and Utah entrepreneur to receive honorary degrees
Utah business icon Crystal Maggelet, chief executive officer of FJ Management, Inc. and Maverik, will keynote Utah Valley University’s (UVU) annual commencement ceremony on April 30, where she will also receive an honorary doctorate of business degree.
“Crystal Maggelet has built FJ Management and Maverik into powerhouses, leading with both innovation and integrity,” said Wayne Vaught, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs at UVU. “Her remarkable success as a business and community leader demonstrates the values we hold dear at UVU. We look forward to hearing about the experiences and lessons that have shaped her career, inspiring our graduates to reach for their highest potential.”
FJ Management is a diversified family-owned business based in Utah, with a portfolio of wholly owned subsidiaries, including Big West Oil, a petroleum refinery; Maverik, a convenience store chain in the United States with over 840 locations and 15,000 employees; and two fuel transportation divisions: Maverik Logistics and Solar Transport. Other family businesses include TAB Bank and the Crystal Inn hotel chain.
“I am deeply honored to receive this honorary degree from UVU and excited for the privilege of addressing the Class of 2025 as their commencement speaker,” said Maggelet. “As a business leader, I am inspired by the resilience of UVU students, with 76% balancing employment while pursuing their degrees. I look forward to celebrating their achievements and sending them off into a future filled with success.”
Maggelet earned her bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Maggelet is a proud mother of four children.
Additional Honorary Degree Recipients
In addition, UVU will award honorary doctorate degrees to Baroness Dambisa Moyo of Knightsbridge, a world-renowned economist who serves in the United Kingdom House of Lords, and Roger Craig Connors, an author and leader in human performance and leadership. Moyo will receive an honorary doctorate of letters degree, while Connors will be awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree.
Baroness Dambisa Moyo of Knightsbridge
Baroness Dambisa Moyo of Knightsbridge is a globally recognized expert in global markets, macroeconomics, and geopolitics and a principal of Versaca Investments, a family office specializing in growth equities. She also serves as a member of the United Kingdom House of Lords and has done so since 2022.
A five-time New York Times bestselling author, her latest book is “How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World.” She has worked for the World Bank and Goldman Sachs and has won numerous awards and honors for her work, strategic thinking, and insights.
She was named in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, the Oprah Winfrey “O” Power List, and the Honorary Global Angel list of 100 Women in Finance. She has been published in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barrons, and Harvard Business Review. Moyo has traveled to over 70 countries.
Moyo is an internationally sought-after speaker and was a TED Global speaker in 2013 and 2016, with talks that together gained over three million views. She has served on numerous boards, including Barclays Bank, Chevron Corporation, and The National Geographic Society.
A native of Zambia, Moyo studied in the U.S., earning a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Master of Business Administration in finance from American University. She later earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics from Oxford University. She is married to Jared Smith, co-founder of the Utah-based company Qualtrics.
Roger Craig Connors
Roger Craig Connors is an internationally acclaimed speaker, author, and entrepreneur who built businesses based on his extensive knowledge and experience in human performance, leadership, and workplace accountability. He is a four-time New York Times and The Wall Street Journal bestselling author and former chief executive officer who currently serves as chairman of Zero to Ten and Human Performance Technologies.
As a pioneer in the performance improvement field with over three decades of experience, Connors is a recognized thought leader on organizational and individual performance. He was ranked second on Global Gurus’ World’s Top 30 Organizational Culture Professionals list in 2021.
During his career, Connors co-authored eight bestselling books: “The Oz Principle,” “Change the Culture,” “Change the Game,” “How Did That Happen?,” “Journey to the Emerald City,” “Wisdom of Oz,” and “Fix It!” His most recent book is “Get A Coach Be A Coach.”
Earlier in his career, Connors cofounded and served as CEO of Partners in Leadership (now Culture Partners), which, during his tenure, won several national accolades and was recognized in 2015 as the No. 1 e-learning platform in the world, hosting more than one million users. The company has trained millions of people in 50 countries.
Connors and his wife, Gwen, were mission leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in Kennewick, Washington. They are currently filling a full-time assignment for the church’s missionary department in Johannesburg, South Africa. He also serves as a graduate faculty member for the MBA program at the UVU Woodbury School of Business. He and Gwen have five children and 11 grandchildren.
About Utah Valley University
At Utah Valley University, we believe everyone deserves the transforming benefits of high-quality education — and it needs to be affordable, accessible, and flexible. With opportunities to earn everything from certificates to master’s degrees, our students succeed by gaining real-world experience and developing career-ready skills. We continue to invite people to come as they are — and leave ready and prepared to make a difference in the world.
