Pete Ashdown, founder and CEO of XMission, Utah’s first independent and oldest internet service provider, shared with students how ethics influenced the growth of his company during his speech, “Ethical Culture Ethical Workforce” on Nov. 5.

Ashdown, who is a University of Utah alum, started XMission in 1993 and has been a fierce advocate for advancing data infrastructure throughout the nation while protecting individual privacy. He was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2006, and his campaign pioneered methods for expanding democracy through technology.