The impact of COVID-19 on small businesses requires the support of a nation…The site is a means for the millions of small businesses that employ more than half of all employees in America to continue making sales and to feel your commitment to their long-term success.

ATLANTA (PRWEB)
March 18, 2020

Kabbage Inc., today launched http://www.helpsmallbusiness.com to support small businesses financially impacted by COVID-19. The initiative is a call-to-action across the U.S., enabling anyone to purchase an online gift certificate from participating small businesses to provide them with crucial financial support. Certificates can be redeemed in full after they’re issued or in the future when the crisis has subsided. All revenue generated from gift certificate sales will be deposited via Kabbage Payments as soon as the next business day to participating small businesses to aid their ability to withstand cash-flow gaps caused by COVID-19.*

In minutes, U.S. small businesses can sign up for free on http://www.helpsmallbusiness.com to immediately seek financial support through gift certificate purchases from individuals throughout the U.S. Kabbage will also provide businesses a unique URL to easily share their personalized page with customers via text, email, web, social media or print. Consumers can purchase multiple certificates for any amount between $15 and $500. Once certificates are purchased, small businesses will get an immediate notification and can use free technology offered by Kabbage to scan, verify, track and fulfill gift certificates when redeemed.

“The impact of COVID-19 on small businesses requires the support of a nation,” said Kabbage co-founder and CEO Rob Frohwein. “If there is a local small business that you love, they need your patronage now more than ever. Many businesses are closing and others are seeing reduced demand. The site is a means for the millions of small businesses that employ more than half of all employees in America to continue making sales and to feel your commitment to their long-term success.”

“We encourage everyone to think beyond consumer goods and consider all service providers such as local handymen, lawn care providers, dry cleaners and laundromats; they all need our support,” said Kabbage co-founder and President Kathryn Petralia. “Many weddings, birthdays and vacations are being postponed due to social distancing. Think about the small businesses you would have approached for those activities and purchase certificates to plan for future dates.”

Kabbage will not profit from its efforts to support small businesses during this challenging period, and it is actively working with organizations in the payments ecosystem to eliminate or significantly reduce any associated transaction fees. Kabbage’s goal is to provide small businesses with a unique solution to generate revenue during this extraordinary time. The site http://www.helpsmallbusiness.com will remain in operation until further notice.

About Kabbage

Kabbage, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is a data and technology company providing small businesses cash flow solutions. Its suite of products includes Kabbage Funding™, providing access to flexible lines of credit in minutes; Kabbage Payments™, helping small businesses get paid and access the money they earn faster; and Kabbage Insights™, calculating small business’s real-time cash flow. To date, Kabbage has provided more than 225,000 U.S. small businesses access to over $9.5 billion of working capital. Kabbage is funded and backed by leading investors, including the SoftBank Vision Fund, BlueRun Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures and others. All Kabbage Funding U.S.-based loans, including custom loans, are issued by Celtic Bank, a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank, Member FDIC, and are subject to credit approval. Kabbage Payments, LLC, a subsidiary of Kabbage, Inc., is a registered Payment Service Provider/Payment Facilitator sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Cincinnati, OH. For more information, please visit http://www.kabbage.com.

*Transactions that are processed by 5 p.m. ET will be deposited in the merchant’s bank account the following banking day. Any transactions that are processed after 5 p.m. ET will be deposited in the merchant’s bank account within two banking days. Settlements may be delayed if transactions are flagged for review.

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Meyers Research Chief Economist Ali Wolf

COSTA MESA, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 18, 2020

Meyers Research, the housing industry’s foremost advisors, announced today that Ali Wolf was promoted to Chief Economist, effective immediately. In this new role, Wolf will oversee the analysis of the U.S. economy and domestic real estate markets. Wolf will continue to report to Meyers Research Senior Managing Principal Tim Sullivan.

“I’m so proud of Ali and her many accomplishments at Meyers Research,” said Jeff Meyers, CEO Meyers Research. “Her rapid career growth is a testament to the learning culture we’ve cultivated throughout the company with the goals of supporting a quest for knowledge, an open mindset and creating a platform to launch careers. Ali is a very driven individual, and I’m excited to have her continue to grow with Meyers Research.”

As head of the Economics Department, Wolf manages and analyzes the content for Zonda and Metrostudy, provides data analytics, runs special research projects, and does presentations across the country on topics spanning both the housing market and the wider economy. Her curiosity drivers her to explore and research a myriad of topics ranging from what a presentation election means for the homebuilding industry to reasons to care about government debt and the impact of headlines on consumer behavior. Wolf has focused a lot of her career on understanding prior recessions and led the charge on ‘Millennials discussing Millennials’ in the homebuilding space. She has been quoted in major national publications such as Forbes, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, MarketWatch, Realtor.com and more.

“The team at Meyers Research is constantly pushing each other to look at information in different and better ways,” Wolf said. “I’m excited to continue to drive our research and data analytics projects forward to help our clients make the best decisions possible, especially in today’s uncertain economic climate.”

Wolf joined Meyers Research in 2015. Previously, she held positions as a researcher for both the Canadian and UK Parliaments. Wolf holds a Bachelor’s Degree from The Ohio State University in Economics and a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics in Real Estate Economics and Finance.

She will remain based in Costa Mesa, California.

About Meyers Research

Meyers Research represents the housing industry’s leading provider of rich data, backed by Zonda and Metrostudy, and the industry’s top advisors for residential real estate development and new home construction. With products and services geared for homebuilders, multifamily developers, lenders, and financial institutions, we provide innovative solutions to maximize opportunities in today’s real estate development landscape. To learn more, visit meyersresearchllc.com.

Meyers Research, Hanley Wood, Zonda, Metrostudy, and the company logo, are trademarks of Meyers Research, LLC and/or its subsidiaries.

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David Barton, Chief Technology Officer, High Wire Networks

“High Wire’s mission is to give midmarket enterprises and small and medium businesses access to the best security experts and systems in the world, which they can’t realistically obtain or afford on their own. Our role in the cybersecurity world is part missionary, part equalizer.”

CHICAGO (PRWEB)
March 18, 2020

High Wire Networks, providers of the Overwatch Managed Security Platform-as-a-Service, announced today that cybersecurity expert David Barton has joined the company as Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In his role, Barton will have oversight of technology solutions and channel sales engineering for the Overwatch Managed Security Platform as a Service.

Barton joins High Wire with more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity with companies in various industries, including telecommunications, health care, software development, finance, mortgage and government.

Most recently, Barton was the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Stellar Cyber, makers of the Starlight Open Detection & Response (Open-XDR) security platform. Prior to that he was COO for 5Iron LLC, a managed security services provider (MSSP), and CISO for ForcePoint Inc., a provider of cybersecurity user and data protection technology. He also spent 12 years working for telecommunications giants AT&T/Cingular and Sprint/Nextel. Barton began his career with the United States Air Force, where he spent five years developing and deploying classified and unclassified networks, an experience he calls the foundation for his long career in IT and cybersecurity.

Significantly, Barton has developed, implemented and supported security programs in highly regulated environments with emphasis on Sarbanes Oxley (SOX), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI – DSS), NIST and ISO 27000 Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) standards.

“David has a broad range of experience working with organizations of all sizes and industries – from a highly regulated hospital to a midsize MSSP,” said High Wire CEO Mark Porter. “This gives him a unique perspective to support our MSP partners and their most exacting customers. He also has a first-hand understanding of the challenges that MSPs and their small and medium business customers face in securing their data and IT systems.”

“The reality is there’s not enough security talent to go around, which leaves many organizations vulnerable,” said Barton. “High Wire’s mission is to give midmarket enterprises and small and medium businesses access to the best security experts and systems in the world, which they can’t realistically obtain or afford on their own. Our role in the cybersecurity world is part missionary, part equalizer – to me, that’s exciting.”

As CTO, Barton will ensure that the Overwatch Managed Security Platform has the most current cybersecurity technologies delivered in a cost-effective manner. He will work in tandem with High Wire Network’s CISO Philip Burnett, who will oversee the security analysts that monitor the platform and guide their response to the data the platform generates.

As the technical sales leader, Barton will be able to translate customer requirements into technology solutions. He’ll leverage his extensive real-world experience as a trusted adviser to High Wire Network’s MSP sales partners and their customers.

About Overwatch by High Wire Networks

Overwatch by High Wire Networks simplifies cybersecurity by delivering end-to-end protections for an organization’s networks, data, endpoints and users as an affordable monthly subscription service with predicable costs and no capital outlay. Customers get instant access to a scalable, future-proof security platform, including a 24/7 security operations center (SOC), continuous vulnerability assessments, managed secure remote access, security awareness training, real-time patch management and video surveillance.

High Wire Networks’ Overwatch Managed Security Platform-as-a-Service simplifies the delivery of cybersecurity services for managed services providers (MSPs). By tapping into our platform, MSPs can achieve instant scale and immediate ROI, sidestepping the significant investment and time to market required to integrate best-of-breed technology, attract and retain expert security talent, and optimize processes.

About High Wire Networks

For nearly 20 years, High Wire Networks has been a trusted partner to VARs, MSPs, distributors, integrators, manufacturers and telecom providers by enabling them to minimize overhead while extending delivery capabilities around the world. Our flexible workforce delivers vendor-agnostic technical field, professional and security services in more than 180 countries. Our services include design, installation, configuration and support for unified communications, wired and wireless networks, cabling and infrastructure, and electrical systems. Our new Overwatch Managed Security Platform-as-a-Service enables our partners to deliver comprehensive cybersecurity that’s easy to sell and easy to buy for an affordable monthly subscription. We also offer a variety of on-demand, rapid-response solutions with service levels ranging from two hours to next business day for onsite break-fix and remote technical support. With High Wire Networks, partners Get Work Done. Learn more at http://www.highwirenetworks.com.

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WASHINGTON (PRWEB)
March 18, 2020

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) today announced that Stephen R. Akers will serve as the College’s new President. Akers, Managing Director and Senior Fiduciary Counsel at Bessemer Trust in Dallas, Texas succeeds ACTEC Fellow John A. Terrill, II from West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

ACTEC is a national, nonprofit association of lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC Fellows have extensive experience in a range of practice areas including estate and trust planning; estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping tax planning; fiduciary income tax planning; charitable planning; planning for owners of closely-held and family businesses; fiduciary litigation; and estate and trust administration.

Akers, who has served in various roles at the College for 33 years, was officially presented at ACTEC’s “passing of the gavel” ceremony on Saturday, March 7, 2020 during its annual meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. As an officer of the College since 2016, he previously served on the Board of Regents, as Chair of the Business Planning Committee, as Chair of the Program Committee and as Editor of the ACTEC Law Journal. Additionally, Akers was an active member of the College’s Audit Committee, Communications Committee, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, Financial Management Committee, Long-Range Planning Committee and Sponsorship Advisory Committee.

Akers is a member of the Advisory Committee to the University of Miami Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, where he is a frequent speaker, and previously served as Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law and as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law Section. Akers has received the Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner Award from the National Association of Estate Planning Councils; the Distinguished Probate Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts and Estate Section.

“I am honored to have the privilege of leading ACTEC over the course of the next year,” said Akers. “As President, I hope to support Fellows in maximizing their contributions to the College and to advance the effective administration of trust and estate law while championing the improvement and interpretation of laws affecting our communities throughout the nation.”

During the Boca Raton Meeting, ACTEC’s Board of Regents elected the following 2020-2021 officers, each of whom will serve on the Executive Committee and the Board of Regents:

• President-Elect: Ann B. Burns (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
• Vice President: Robert W. Goldman (Naples, Florida)
• Treasurer: Kurt A. Sommer (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
• Secretary: Susan D. Snyder (Chicago, Illinois)

About the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC): Established in 1949, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) is a national, nonprofit association of approximately 2,500 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas. The College’s mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust and tax laws and procedures and professional practice standards. ACTEC frequently offers technical comments with regard to legislation and regulations but does not take positions on matters of policy or political objectives.

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WASHINGTON (PRWEB)
March 18, 2020

In response to the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA) today announced the activation of its Emergency Assistance Fund, making available an initial $50,000, to promote the health, education and financial stability of our community, especially those residents who have or will be impacted by restrictions and closures of schools, businesses, and community institutions designed to slow the spread of the virus. Pepco was first to respond with a $100,000 investment and are being joined by M&T Bank who has also committed resources.

“As businesses and agencies across the region undergo temporary closures and other restrictions, much of the region’s workforce will experience severe reduction in income that they desperately rely on to live,” said Rosie Allen-Herring, president and CEO, United Way of the National Capital Area. “These emergency resources will enable our nonprofit partners to meet the increased demand for economic assistance and access to food and other basic necessities. By first increasing capacity to these non-profit organizations, we want residents to know their United Way stands by them through this crisis.”

United Way NCA is calling on the community—both corporate partners and individuals in the region—to join them in fighting for the health, education and financial stability of our community, including those impacted by COVID-19, by matching its investment or making a donation.

“At Pepco, our priority is to support every customer to make ends meet during tough times and we are proud to be the first to contribute to the Emergency Assistance Fund to do just that,” said Dave Velazquez, president and CEO of Pepco Holdings. “In addition to our own programs, we work day-in and day-out with community and government partners to get funding into the hands of those customers who need it most. This fund and partnership between the United Way NCA is a great example of coming together to support the residents and customers that make our communities thrive.”

In the weeks and months ahead, the Emergency Assistance Fund will provide additional capacity to community-based organizations in the region to deliver economic assistance and access to vital food and basic need supplies to the thousands of school-age children who depend on their school’s meal programs and workers in the region who already have and will be impacted by the temporary loss of income. United Way NCA’s Emergency Assistance Fund may also be deployed to strengthen the region’s ability to prepare for and respond to a variety of health and other emergencies, as well as to support programs and initiatives that are focused on fighting for the health, education and financial stability of our community.

Initially, United Way NCA’s Emergency Assistance Fund will be directed as follows:

• Martha’s Table to support food distribution throughout the DMV and 350 families around wage assistance and food insecurity.
• Northern Virginia Family Service to support their Hunger Resource Center’s food distribution. They are expanding their services to target over 500 school-aged children and their families in their catchment area.
• Community Service Agency to support affected union workers and their families through emergency wage assistance.
• Capital Area Food Bank to support their food distribution through pop-up markets in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland, and Northern Virginia.
• Arlington Food Assistance Center to support individuals and families with their food and nutrition needs through distribution of pre-bagged groceries.
• Manna Food Center to meet the nutrition needs of MCPS students and families impacted by school closures and food distribution and delivery to those in need throughout Montgomery County.

“We are grateful for the support from United Way NCA,” said Kim R. Ford, president & CEO, Martha’s Table. “As always, we remain deeply committed to putting the health, safety, and wellbeing of our children, team, and community first. It is exactly in times like these that our city needs leaders like Martha’s Table to stand up and do what is right to support our neighbors, and we are proud to stand alongside United Way NCA and our community in this effort.”

United Way NCA is also partnering with Gepetto Catering to help identify individuals in need, from older citizens who aren’t able to cook and grocery shop to employees who are suddenly out of work, to receive high quality and nutritious meals through its newly launched “Send a Meal” program.

“We are uniquely positioned to convene resources and partners to help during this time of need,” said Allen-Herring. “We will continue to partner and coordinate with the funding community such as the Greater Washington Community Foundation and others to provide support. We are calling on the public to join us in caring for our neighbors in need and to donate to the Emergency Assistance Fund.”

For more information about United Way NCA Emergency Assistance Fund, visit http://www.UnitedWayNCA.org/help.

About United Way of the National Capital Area

United Way of the National Capital Area fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in the National Capital community. United Way NCA has been improving lives by creating measurable impact in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties for more than 45 years. For more information about United Way of the National Capital Area, visit UnitedWayNCA.org.

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“These experienced leaders join the Harvest board at a very exciting time,” said Doug Fritz, F2 Strategy. “I’m interested to see how Harvest’s vision to help financial institutions create positive, life-long financial outcomes for their customers manifests over this coming year.”

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)
March 18, 2020

Harvest, the leading provider of integrated savings and wealth solutions for the financial industry, announced today that it has appointed three new members to its board of directors: Lynn Roche, former EVP of the Banking Division at FIS Global, Susan Hawkins, Head of Enterprise Payments at TD Bank, and Jennifer Grancio, former Managing Director at BlackRock.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lynn, Susan, and Jennifer as new directors to the Harvest board,” said Drew Sievers, Harvest’s CEO. “Their complementary set of skills and invaluable experience further Harvest’s strategy of seamlessly linking retail savings and wealth solutions for banks, credit unions, and enterprise wealth firms. We are excited that they chose Harvest and look forward to their valuable perspectives and contributions.”

Lynn Roche is former EVP of the Banking Division at FIS Global. Lynn has accumulated more than 30 years of industry expertise from running a $2.5B Banking Division with more than 8,000 employees to managing core banking, wealth and retirement, digital, image, output solutions, and managed IT and network services divisions. Lynn will be replacing Scott Stiegler, SVP Corporate Finance as the FIS director on Harvest’s board.

Susan Hawkins is currently Head of Enterprise Payments at TD bank in Toronto. Prior to her role at TD Bank, Susan spent 20 years at Metavante and FIS, running eBanking and Digital Services. As as early pioneer in digital banking and payments, Susan has over 20 years of experience developing, maintaining, and growing customer-facing bank technologies.

Jennifer Grancio currently runs her own consultancy, Grancio Capital, in which she works directly with CEOs and founders to drive revenue growth and build new industry leaders. Jennifer most recently spent 15 years at BlackRock as a Managing Director, overseeing iShares distribution across Europe, North America, and worldwide. As one of the founding team members of iShares ETFs, Jennifer has deep wealth industry experience managing P&Ls, strategy, business development, sales, marketing and partnerships.

“These experienced leaders join the Harvest board at a very exciting time,” said Doug Fritz, F2 Strategy. “Customer expectations are increasingly driving bank leaders and wealth managers to integrate digital technologies across their entire ecosystem, and Harvest is enabling financial institutions to do just that. Across the industry, I think we can expect to see more unified solutions along a customer’s full financial journey from savings to wealth, and I’m interested to see how Harvest’s vision to help financial institutions create positive, life-long financial outcomes for their customers manifests over this coming year.”

Harvest’s other board directors include Kelly Rodriques, CEO at Forge and Managing Partner at Operative Capital, Rob Rueckert, Managing Director at Sorensen Capital Partners, and Jay Coppoletta, Chief Corporate Development and Legal Officer at PEAK6 Investments.

ABOUT HARVEST SAVINGS & WEALTH TECHNOLOGIES – Harvest Savings & Wealth Technologies delivers integrated, enterprise-grade digital savings and investment technology to banks, credit unions, trust companies, and other financial institutions. The firm’s technology was architected and engineered to deliver cutting edge, end-to- end digital solutions that unify and automate a bank’s savings, wealth and trust solutions. Harvest supports multiple custodial and trust systems. Harvest is a technology company and has no direct-to-consumer digital advisory offering. For more information, visit http://www.harvestsw.com.

CONTACT:

Jennifer Wu

Harvest Savings & Wealth Technologies

415-366-6583

pr@harvestsw.com

http://www.harvestsw.com

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