35 - A River Guide Walks Into Sundance...

Chris Conabee’s résumé makes almost no sense until you hear him tell the story.

He grew up in Newark, landed at Brighton High School with a Jersey accent, went back east to work on Wall Street, earned his MBA at Columbia, left it all to care for his mom, came back west, worked Sundance, guided the Grand Canyon and eventually found his way into development and building in Utah.

Chris describes life as a tree: you eventually end up on a leaf you never could have picked from the ground, but when you trace every branch back, somehow the path makes sense.

But what really stood out in this conversation was how often people showed up at exactly the right time. Friends, coworkers and mentors kept grabbing Chris by the elbow and pointing him toward whatever came next.

We talk about old friends who knew you before the résumé, losing his mom, fear of failure, building things, Utah culture, the legislature, housing, raising kids and why—despite the traffic, growth and changes—Chris still thinks this is a pretty remarkable place to call home.

We didn't get through half of what we wanted to ask him. Which is probably the sign of a good conversation.