CEO of Year honors for Kara Laws

Blanding resident and local business owner, Kara Laws, was named one of the 2026 CEO of the Year honorees by Utah Business.
The Utah Business CEO of the Year award is one of Utah’s most established business recognition programs and is designed to highlight leaders who are actively building, growing, and leading organizations that are making a measurable impact.
This year’s honorees include leaders from organizations such as Intermountain Health, Stampin’ Up!, Maverik, Kodiak Cakes, Waystar, Minky Couture, and Direct Meds, putting a San Juan County CEO on the same list as some of the largest, fastest-growing, and most recognizable companies in the state.
Most of the companies on this list are backed by large teams, big budgets, and major markets. This one was built in San Juan County.
Utah Business CEO of the Year brings together CEOs from healthcare systems, national brands, construction companies, financial institutions, and fast-growing startups. The expectation is not just that these leaders are running successful organizations, but that they are doing it well by building strong teams, making smart decisions, and creating results that can be seen in growth, stability, and long-term impact.
The selection process looks at revenue, leadership style, company culture, innovation, and the ability to navigate challenges all play a role. In many cases, these are leaders who have grown companies through changing markets, scaled operations, or built something from the ground up.
Laws is an example of a CEO building a company from the ground up. She built her company, Launched, as a fully virtual business. From Blanding, UT Launched serves and supports entrepreneurs across the country and internationally. Through programs, workshops, events, and partnerships, Launched has helped thousands of business owners build stronger foundations, increase revenue, and better understand how to run and grow their businesses.
The company’s flagship program, Launch Your Business Academy, is a six-month business academy focused on helping business owners build the core pieces of a sustainable business. Rather than offering scattered tips or surface-level advice, the program walks participants step-by-step through building a reliable and profitable business foundation.
The Launch Your Business Academy is an end-to-end system teaching branding, marketing, online presence, sales, finances, systems, and long-term growth in structured format.
That structure matters. Many small business owners are good at what they do but struggle with how to run a business. They are often piecing business together as they go, trying to learn marketing, pricing, taxes, and hiring all at the same time, from various sources that all seem to contradict each other. Launched was built to solve that problem by giving business owners a clear path and helping them implement it in real time.
Participants in Launched programs are not just learning concepts. They are building websites, setting up systems, adjusting pricing, improving marketing, and increasing revenue while they are in the program. The focus is on execution, not just information.
In short, Launch Your Business Academy members are learning how to run complete and sustainable businesses, not just selling a product. Many have gone on to open and successfully run multiple businesses.
Laws’ work has focused heavily on making business education clear and accessible, especially for people building businesses in rural areas where access to resources might be more limited. The fully virtual business model and staff allows business owners to access training, support, and community no matter where they live. It also reduces expensive travel expenses from remote businesses.
Launched partners with organizations such as Utah State University, Women’s Business Centers, Small Business Development Centers, the Utah Microloan Fund, SCORE, Custom Fit, and other economic development organizations to help reach and support more growing businesses.
Recognition like the Utah Business CEO of the Year award does not happen often in San Juan County. The last San Juan County CEO of the Year honoree was Michael Jensen of Utah Navajo Health System in 2020.
For San Juan County, this award is less about one business and more about what it represents. It shows that companies built in rural Utah can grow, scale, and be recognized alongside some of the most established organizations in the state.
It also reinforces something many local business owners are starting to realize - you do not have to leave to build something real.
Strong businesses are being built here.
You can learn more about Kara Laws and the company she has built in San Juan County at launchedacademy.com.