CEO
Utility Inc.

With over a decade of experience in design, Todd Jacobsen founded Utility Inc. with three goals in mind: improve the retail in-store experience, craft world-class merchandising tools, and encourage others to live life passionately.

After studying sculpture and industrial design at the University of Washington, Jacobsen worked for high-end furniture designers Roy McMakin and David Gulassa for a number of years before venturing into exhibits and in-store merchandising at Bruce Clark of Clark Productions.

Smith Sport Optics, one of his top clients at the time, encouraged him to start his own business, committing to giving him an account if he could survive for one year on his own. So in 1996, Jacobsen started Utility Inc. A year later, Smith became his client and has remained loyal ever since.

In the first five years, Utility secured a number of major clients, including Patagonia, Woolrich, W.L. Gore, Giro Helmets, Burton Snowboards, and Columbia Sportswear. Around this time, Jacobsen broadened the scope of his business plan, offering branded retail presentation services that would encompass designing retail trade show booths, P-O-P displays, packaging, and full retail environments. In the spring of 2006, Utility launched two new divisions: Lotus Fixture, a Shanghai-based fixture manufacturing company, and the Dept. of Energy, or DOE, which focuses on fashion, product branding, and industrial design. As a result, the client list has grown to include Adidas, Ride Snowboards, Cloudveil, Gene Juarez, and Clarks shoe company.

Today, Jacobsen employs more than 60 retail professionals, artisans, designers, craftsmen, and builders. Utility Inc. operates its $14 million business out of an 85,000-sq.-ft. design and manufacturing facility in South Seattle.