Anderson Family Bios

Family Owned and Operated for Three Generations

In an industry dominated by conglomerates and big businesses, the fact that MRI is a family-owned and operated business (now entering its third generation) is a source of pride for us.  Why? At MRI, the Anderson family can take the long-term view. Our mission is to improve global well-being through mineral nutrition. That means we don’t take any shortcuts in concentrating and harvesting the minerals. Our minerals are made with all-natural, solar concentration. It generally takes well in excess of 100 gallons of Great Salt Lake water to make even a single gallon of MRI's premium and most-desired mineral concentrate.  While these methods may be more “difficult,” “time-consuming,” and not "cost effective," by some standards, the result is what the family believes to be the finest all-natural mineral and trace element product crafted by nature that truly captures the essence of “all natural” in a way that other mineral products and ingredients can’t come close to touching.

The Anderson family is the originator of mineral and trace elemental supplements and ingredients from Utah’s Great Salt Lake. In 2009, the Anderson family celebrated its 40th-year anniversary in its mission.

The executive family members of Mineral Resources International, Inc. include:

Gaye Anderson, Co-Founder

Gaye Laub Anderson is the co-founder of Mineral Resources International, Inc. She and her husband, Hartley, are the inventors of mineral and trace mineral supplements using minerals harvested from Utah’s Great Salt Lake. She and her husband first started in business more than 40 years ago. The inspiration for their idea and new business was a serial news column called “The Worry Clinic” written by Dr.George W. Crane, which advocated the health benefits of minerals and trace minerals found in sea water.

“Forty years ago, Hartley, my husband and sweetheart, and I embarked on a new and unexpected adventure selling Great-Salt-Lake-based mineral supplements,” recalls Gaye. “At that time, nutrition was such a new concept that enriched bread—like Wonder Bread(R) —was considered health food. When people learned that we were selling mineral supplements from Utah’s Great Salt Lake, we were greeted with skepticism and, at times, ridicule.” Hartley and Gaye began selling their first product, Inland Sea Water(TM), in health food stores across the U.S. in the late 1960’s. In addition to launching and managing a new business with her husband, she raised a family of six sons and one daughter.  At the time of his passing, Hartley and Gaye had been married for 56 incredible years. Gaye remains an active contributor to MRI, and most days, you will find her at MRI’s offices. She is closely involved with MRI and serves as a board member. Gaye is a wonderful grandmother to 31 grandkids and has nine great-grandchildren and counting.

Bruce Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer

Bruce is the fifth son of Hartley and Gaye Anderson.  Bruce developed leadership skills early in life. He became president of the trace mineral business in 1986 at age 22. He helped grow the family of businesses from ten employees to over fifty at times. Bruce has also served as president of MRI the majority of the time since its inception. While serving in a leadership capacity, Bruce has traveled extensively domestically and internationally, meeting with customers and giving lectures to large audiences. He has worked with all aspects of the company such as marketing, production, quality accounting, finance, business development, and legal.

Bruce was elected Weber County Commissioner in 1995 and served for four years. He has served on more than 16 government, community, or company boards.  Further, Bruce was elected as Chairman of the Weber County Commission, Chairman of the Weber Area Council of Governments, Vice-Chairman of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, and Treasurer of the Rocky Mountain Nutritional Foods Association.

MRI has seen great success internationally, working with MRI’s partners selling MRI’s products via network marketing. Recently, Bruce has worked to develop a new division of MRI, Ionique, which sells MRI products via network marketing. Bruce Anderson has been married for 24 years to Susan and has six children. He enjoys skiing, camping, the outdoors, and being involved in the political process. Bruce has volunteered for many years in the Boy Scouts and other community programs

Val Anderson, Executive Vice-President, Director of Sales and Marketing

Val Anderson is the youngest of six sons of Hartley and Gaye Anderson. He is the Executive Vice-President and Director of Sales and Marketing at Mineral Resources International Inc., majority owned by the Anderson Family. 

Val has developed various mineral nutrition products targeting health needs, collaborated with some of the world’s top doctors and research scientists, and has traveled to more than twenty international countries working towards the family's and MRI's mission. Val is President of the Ogden Breakfast Exchange Club. He is married to Karie Neeley Anderson with two children and lives in North Ogden, UT.

Matthew Anderson, Director of International Sales

Born 1961, Matthew is the fourth son of Hartley and Gaye Anderson. He is the Director of International Sales for Mineral Resources International, Inc. Matthew graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, UT with a bachelor’s in Marketing and Sales and Far Eastern Studies. Following college, he lived and worked in Japan for eight years teaching English. Following his return to the U.S., Matthew returned to the family business. He sold the world’s first bottle of Anderson’s Concentrated Mineral Drops and launched the international sales department at MRI.

Matthew currently serves as Executive of International Sales at MRI with emphasis on Canada and Japan. He speaks fluent Japanese and is conversant in some Indonesian. He has been married for 24 years to his wife, Chieko, with whom they have four children. He and his family reside in West Haven, UT.

Marysa Anderson-Cardwell, Human Resources Manager

Marysa has worked on and off at MRI since the age of eight and became a full-time employee in 2007 after graduating with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah. Marysa oversees payroll, safety, employee benefits, and employee development as well as several other miscellaneous jobs including participating as a non-voting member of the Executive Committee.

She enjoys participating in sporting events including running, swim meets, and triathlons and uses several of MRI’s products religiously. Marysa is currently working on her Master's of Nutrition Degree at the University of Alabama and is anticipating completing her degree in two years.

Corey Anderson, Corporate Vice-President/ Quality Assurance, Research and Development & Brine Consultant:

Corey has been involved with the Anderson family’s families of businesses since 1969, with over 27 years experience as a full-time employee of these businesses.  Corey has been heavily involved at one time or another in every aspect of the business.

Over the years, Corey has participated in numerous industry trainings on manufacturing, quality, ingredients and nutrition, and spent several years as a member of National Nutritional Foods Association’s (NNFA)(now Natural Products Association) ComPLI committee (the Committee on Product and Label Integrity), in addition to numerous industry committees related to quality and standards.  Corey contributed significantly in establishing the company’s tablet manufacturing operation, helped create the protocols for MRI's original manufacturing support software (MRP/ERP) system, established many of the product testing requirements, and created the job of Production Planner, which he performed for a number of years.