Gail Miller, owner and co-founder of Larry H. Miller Company, named to University of Utah’s business school hall of fame

Gail Miller, owner and co-founder of Larry H. Miller Company, was recently inducted into the David Eccles School of Business Hall of Fame, two decades after her late husband’s induction.

The company was established by the Millers in 1979, with the purchase of their first automobile dealership in Murray. More than four decades later, the Utah-based company has a diversified portfolio of businesses and investments across the United States. The Miller family is the former owner of the Utah Jazz.

David Eccles School of Business Dean Rachel Hayes described Gail Miller as “a true pillar of Utah’s economic and community landscape.”

Miller is also chairwoman of the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation and presides over the Larry H. Miller Education Foundation.

Earlier this year, the Miller family and Larry H. Miller Company assembled a broad-based coalition of stakeholders, identified the site for a stadium and officially launched an effort to bring a Major League Baseball franchise to Salt Lake City.

According to Hayes, Gail Miller’s induction to the business school’s hall of fame is in recognition of her impact on the business school, the University of Utah and the state as a whole, according to a press release.

“Her business savvy and generous philanthropy touch just about every industry, from sports and entertainment to healthcare, and from real estate to our state’s enthusiasm for fancy sodas,” Hayes said in a statement.

“We are especially grateful for her investment in higher education in Utah, here at the U. and at many other institutions around the state. Her scholarship support at the Eccles School has extended the opportunity for countless students to receive a top-ranked business education, launching them on their own paths to success,” Hayes said.

The business school’s hall of fame was established in 1989 to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves in their careers and are role models for current and future students.

The inaugural inductee was Spencer Fox Eccles. Other notable inductees in attendance at this year’s ceremony included Bill Child, inducted in 1996; Ellis Ivory, 2013; Roger Boyer, 2016; Kem C. Gardner, 2022; and Katharine B. Garff, 2023.

The event also recognized Anfissa Smith, vice president of finance for Mercato, with the Rising Star Award; John Fackler, retired director of development, corporate and alumni relations at Salt Lake Community College, with the Alumni Service Award.

Schuyler Welch, Brandon M. Welch and Dylan Turner, founders of doxy.me, were honored with the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award.

The David Eccles School of Business provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation.

Founded in 1917, the business school educates more than 6,000 students annually. It offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, eight other graduate programs, doctorate programs in five areas and executive education curricula.