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James Lee Sorenson is a nationally recognized business leader and entrepreneur who helped develop several new industry categories in the today's business world, including digital video compression-decompression software, mass market videophones, environmental testing and electro-mechanical medical "pain" pumps for continuous ambulatory regional pain control.
Jim began his early business career in college running Ex-Cel-Cis Cosmetics, an outdated company struggling with $30,000 in annual revenue. He rebuilt and re-energized Ex-Cel-Cis so that within a few years, its revenues were more than $1,000,000 annually. Early in his career Jim ran Utah Biomedical Test Labs and spun out a section of it, DataChem, as an independent venture. Today DataChem Laboratories is one of the nation's premier environmental testing laboratories and helped pioneer a new multi-million-dollar industry.
Jim began in real estate development with the 120-acre Sorenson Research Park in the early 1980s. Today, he is CEO of The Sorenson Group, which owns and develops tens of thousands of acres of industrial, commercial, residential and retail real estate.
As CEO of Sorenson Medical, Jim helped develop a new generation of portable, microchip-controlled medical infusion pumps that infuse medication safely while allowing patients mobility and lifestyle flexibility during chemotherapy or pain treatment.
In 2003, Jim co-founded Sorenson Capital to invest in small- to mid-size western U.S. companies. Sorenson Capital raised a quarter of a billion dollars in private equity, at that time the largest amount ever raised by a Utah investment company.
As CEO of Sorenson Media, Jim developed the world's leading digital compression-decompression software, used on over 600 million PCs worldwide. His team also developed a high-quality videophone appliance that is low cost and simple enough for the mass market. Sorenson Communications then created a completely new communication service around it. The Sorenson Video Relay Service enables the deaf and hard of hearing to effectively communicate with hearing people on an Internet-connected videophone through a sign language interpreter. With its innovative services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, Sorenson Communications expanded quickly, becoming the market leader and growing from 50 employees to 2,500 while achieving over 400 percent revenue growth in 2003 and 2004. Sorenson Communications was acquired by GTCR Golder Rauner, LLC in 2005.
Jim is attracted to philanthropical endeavors that benefit many people and have the potential to become self-sustaining. In 2001, he provided the seed money for the University Venture Fund (UVF) at University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business, a self-sustaining, student-run investment fund. UVF has since provided valuable education and experience to hundreds of students while contributing a portion of investment profits back to the university. He has also been active in donating time, money and effort to micro-credit institutions to help individuals become self-sufficient in poverty-stricken areas of the world. Jim serves on many community service boards, including UVF, Art Works for Kids and Gallaudet University. In 2004, Digital Media magazine named James Lee Sorenson one of the most influential people in digital media, and the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business presented Mr. Sorenson with its Entrepreneurial Achievement Award. | 