Name: Dale E. Puhl
Title: Owner/President
Company: Southwest Escrow Company
Type of Business:
All types of escrow transactions, including real estate sales and loans, sales of businesses, start-up companies, foreclosures, contracts and loan servicing.
Location: Headquartered in Green Valley, satellite office in northwest Las Vegas
Years in Nevada: 29
Years with company: 8
Biggest Business Challenge:
Converting existing escrow company into a full-service title insurance agency.
What do you like most about your job?
The interaction with staff and involvement with numerous interesting types of escrow transactions.
How do you spend your time when you are not working?
I enjoy spending time with my wife and children. I also enjoy reading, fishing, traveling and volunteering for community-based service and philanthropic organizations.
What would you like your legacy to be?
To be remembered as a responsible member of the business community and an active member of organizations that assist children in all walks of life.
Favorite Business Book:
The One Minute Manager, by Kenneth Blanchard and Spenser Johnson
Best Business Advice:
Be honest and forthright in all dealings with staff and customers. Act professionally when representing your firm and the customers you serve.
Name: Malyn Malquist
Title: General Manager
Company: Truckee Meadows Water Authority
Type of Business: Water purveyor, supplying 77,000 customers in the Truckee Meadows.
Location : Washoe County
Years in Nevada: 7.
Years with Company: 1 (CEO of Sierra Pacific Resources in prior years)
Biggest Business Challenge:
Protecting and encouraging the wise use of our most precious resource – water – and helping our customers understand how valuable it is. Now that we are a municipal utility, TMWA has a unique opportunity and great challenge to lead by example and to be good stewards of the Truckee River and the whole water system.
What do you like best about your job?
The incredible team of people I get to work with everyday. When TMWA was formed, most employees were able to choose whether they wanted to take on the challenge of starting with a new water company, or staying with Sierra. Those employees who transitioned to TMWA are the ones who embrace the idea of change and the excitement of a challenge. I believe TMWA got the cream of the crop!
How do you spend your time when you’re not working?
I must love our water system because I spend winter weekends on the snow, skiing and checking out our snowpack, which will be our future water supply. I spend the warmer months enjoying the stream flows, as I am a hiker and avid fly fisherman.
What would you like your legacy to be?
To procure and preserve a lasting supply of clean, pure water for the Truckee Meadows, and for its citizens, without negatively impacting our fragile environment.
Favorite Business Book:
Danger in the Comfort Zone, by Judith Bardwick.
Best Business Advice:
Surround yourself with people with better skills, knowledge and experience than you have. Help create a cohesive, yet diverse team of people with a common goal. Then, rely on them to do their jobs.