# Tanner Bell

> Tanner Bell is a Utah entrepreneur and Founder-in-Residence at Philo Ventures. He co-founded Ragnar with Dan and Steve Hill in 2004, helped expand its overnight relay format internationally, and became CEO and an owner of Cardiff Snowcraft in 2023. He also mentors student founders and announced an effort to fund Ragnar events and pursue an acquisition in August 2026.

- **Role:** Founder-in-Residence at Philo Ventures
- **Organizations:** Philo Ventures, Ragnar Events, Cardiff Snowcraft, Sandbox, Running USA
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science; field not verified, Brigham Young University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Ragnar and helped grow the original 22-team event into an international relay series., Named to Utah Business Forty Under 40 in 2010, according to the Cardiff appointment announcement., Helped Ragnar raise growth capital from Dolphin Capital Group and later investors.

## Career timeline

- **2004** — Co-founded the Wasatch Back relay with Dan Hill and Steve Hill; the event became the Ragnar Relay Series.
- **2005** — Graduated from Brigham Young University with a BS.
- **2013** — Ragnar announced its trail relay series with Salomon.
- **2019-2023** — Served on the Running USA board and as vice president, June 2019 to October 2023.
- **2022** — Publicly interviewed as Ragnar CEO and FitLab general manager of events after the FitLab acquisition.
- **2023** — Announced departure from Ragnar after nineteen years and appointment as CEO and an owner of Cardiff Snowcraft.
- **2024** — Spoke at UVU on April 4; began a Sandbox founder advisory role in June.
- **2026** — Publicly affiliated with Philo Ventures as Founder-in-Residence; explored upcycled product concepts.
- **2026-08** — Announced interim funding for Ragnar Trail Rainier and Trail Soldier Hollow while pursuing a broader acquisition.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Ragnar and helped grow the original 22-team event into an international relay series.
- Named to Utah Business Forty Under 40 in 2010, according to the Cardiff appointment announcement.
- Helped Ragnar raise growth capital from Dolphin Capital Group and later investors.
- Led a national CEO search while serving on the Running USA board.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — On August 14, Bell said an interim agreement with FitLab had been reached to fund Trail Rainier and Trail Soldier Hollow; a broader acquisition remained in progress.
- **2024-06** — His public profile lists the beginning of his founder advisory role at Sandbox.
- **2024-04** — Spoke at UVU’s Reed and Christine Halladay Executive Lecture Series on April 4.

## Links

- Website: https://philo.ventures
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tannerbell

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/tanner-bell
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09