Category Archives: Business

Press Releases from the Business World. Announcements, Product releases, Appointments.

Business: Executives

Stellar Solutions Announces Defense Programs Leadership Transition

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Betsy Pimentel, Stellar Solutions

Betsy Pimentel has provided Stellar Solutions with invaluable technical expertise in defense policy, program management and in-depth knowledge of customer and contractor relations. — Celeste Ford, Stellar Solutions’ Founder and Board Chair


PALO ALTO, Calif. (PRWEB)

Silicon Valley aerospace company Stellar Solutions has announced that longtime Vice President for Defense Programs Betsy Pimentel will transition to a consulting role for the company effective July 1. Pimentel, who was part of the first U.S. Air Force Academy class of women in 1976, has amassed forty years of proven experience in all aspects of space systems planning, acquisition and operations as well as systems engineering and defense program management.

“Betsy has provided Stellar Solutions with invaluable technical expertise in defense policy, program management and in-depth knowledge of customer and contractor relations. We are incredibly grateful for Betsy’s illustrious leadership and presence over the past 17 years,” said Celeste Ford, Stellar Solutions’ Founder and Board Chair.

Succeeding Betsy Pimentel is Janet Grondin, who joined Stellar Solutions as Director of Emerging Space Capabilities in 2018 after supporting Northrop Grumman Corporation as Director for Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Exploitation Systems as well as Operations Director for MILSATCOM and National Program ground systems. Before that, Grondin served 25 years in the U.S. Air Force in numerous leadership, project management and technical roles, developing significant expertise in command, acquisition, program management, and systems engineering for space and ground systems. These positions included Chief of the Range and Network Division that oversaw the Eastern and Western Ranges; Air Force Satellite Control Network and Standard Space Trainer; Program Manager for the Global Positioning System (GPS) Operational Control Segment; Program Element Monitor for Space Situational Awareness and Special Access; and a Director of Engineering supporting the National Reconnaissance Office.

As VP for Defense Programs, Grondin will assume leadership and oversight of Stellar Solutions’ robust technology, management, and expert solutions for Department of Defense customers related to space and missile systems for national protection and security. These efforts include space superiority, launch enterprise integration, and web services development programs; major programs like GPS and the Space-Based Infrared System; and related capabilities that serve the Air Force in missile warning, weather, precision navigation and timing, and communications. Stellar Solutions has established an exemplary breadth of engagement to ensure continuity of operations across the globe in the event of a threat. The company, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020, is recognizing and leveraging this legacy of success resulting from the decades of commitment by dedicated leaders like Betsy Pimentel, while positioning its team and capabilities for the next 25 years of satisfying customers’ critical needs.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Lencioni remarked, “We are also pleased to further Stellar’s rich history as a woman-owned company by maintaining our comparatively high percentage of women in top leadership positions. There are five points of the Stellar ‘star’: intelligence, defense, civil, commercial, and international. As of today, Stellar’s eight technical Vice Presidents include three women—in addition to Janet, we have Melissa Ferrell as VP for Commercial Programs and Amy Chaput as VP for Civil Programs. Women are responsible for a majority of these key technical lines of business, in addition to Celeste Ford and Betsy Pimentel remaining in vital executive positions—yet another example of our company ‘Leading the Way’.”

Stellar Solutions: Delivering High-impact Performance on Earth and in Space

Founded in 1995 by Celeste Ford with the vision to satisfy critical customer needs while realizing employee dream jobs, Stellar Solutions is a small business that delivers high-impact engineering expertise to government and industry customers across a range of professional and technical disciplines. Named one of the best small and medium workplaces in the U.S. by Fortune Magazine and Great Place to Work® since 2014, Stellar Solutions recently received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest honor in performance excellence and sustainability.

Serving the intelligence, defense, civil, and commercial sectors, Stellar Solutions provides rapid-response capabilities related to global surveillance and cyber-security, space exploration, risk management, and technology optimization. These solutions to clients’ critical needs involve satellites in space, sensors on Earth, and intricate technology connections across multiple frontiers. This agile business has forged a competitive advantage by crossing boundaries among vital programs and applying the expertise of its entire seasoned workforce to technical challenges. We offer global reach through international sister companies and programs in the UK and continental Europe, and social responsibility with our foundation and QuakeFinder humanitarian research and development effort.

For more information, visit http://www.stellarsolutions.com.

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Business: Executives

Gary Nemmers Named Chief Executive Officer of Magaya Corporation

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“The supply chain industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges – and opportunities,” said Gary Nemmers. “I feel a tremendous sense of both duty and pride as I take on the role of CEO at Magaya during this pivotal period.”


DORAL, Fla. (PRWEB)

Magaya, the leading provider of end-to-end logistics and supply chain automation software, today announced the appointment of executive board member Gary Nemmers to Chief Executive Officer. Nemmers is a charismatic and visionary leader who has worked with several other private equity-backed software companies prior to Magaya. He joined the Magaya Board of Directors in early 2020 and brings with him more than two decades of supply chain industry experience.

“The supply chain industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges – and opportunities,” said Nemmers. “I feel a tremendous sense of both duty and pride as I take on the role of CEO at Magaya during this pivotal period. All of us at Magaya share an absolute devotion to helping our customers succeed and thrive, now and in the long run.”

“Gary has been a valuable contributor to the Magaya board for the past year, and we are thrilled that he has accepted a broader leadership role in the organization as CEO,” said Michael Pantilione, Principal of LLR and Board Member at Magaya.

Nemmers most recently served as CEO and board member of IQMS Software, where he spearheaded significant EBITDA expansion and doubled the revenue before the company was acquired by Dassault Systèmes in January 2019.

Previously, Nemmers served as COO at HighJump Software, Senior VP at Infor, and was the founder and CEO of DataTrend Information Systems, which provided ERP solutions to the JD Edward and PeopleSoft community. His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Psychology from Northwestern University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

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Business: Executives

The Top 50 Financial Technology CEOs of 2020

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NEW YORK (PRWEB)

The Financial Technology Report is pleased to announce the Top 50 Financial Technology CEOs of 2020. These exceptional executives lead some of the most prominent financial technology companies across the globe and have helped define many of the wide scale advancements the industry has undergone over recent years. They are innovators, strategists, and corporate leaders, who have built important organizations that are driving massive change in the way people spend, save, invest, or otherwise manage their financial lives. Thousands of CEOs were reviewed from which a select set was invited to participate in this year’s nomination process.

The process yielded several hundred nominations, which were closely evaluated – a more detailed review of each candidate based on demonstrated leadership capabilities by researching qualified information sources was performed. A keen focus was placed on technological impact on the financial industry, breadth of organization, number of businesses or consumers reached, career achievements and influence in the field and among peers.

It gives The Financial Technology Report team great pleasure to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of these deserving CEOs.

Gary Norcross (FIS), Patrick Collison (Stripe), Douglas Cifu (Virtu), Max Levchin (Affirm), Dan Shulman (Paypal), Simon Paris (Finastra), Anthony Noto (SoFi), Noah Kerner (Acorns), Jon Stein (Betterment), Eric Poirier (Addepar), David Zalik (Greensky), Jeffery Yabuki (Fiserv), Jonathan Corr (Ellie Mae), Anne Boden (Starling Bank), Jason Gardner (Marqeta), Michael Hayford (NCR), Rob Frohwein (Kabbage), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), Brock Blake (Lendio), Paul Taylor (Thought Machine), Adam Hughes (Amount), Sergei Bogatenkov (Admiral Markets Group), Michael Reitblat (Forter), Kelly Rodriques (Forge), Michael Carvin (SmartAsset), Renaud Laplanche (Upgrade), Sallie Krawcheck (Ellevest), Colin Walsh (Varo Money), Sam Graziano (Fundation), Sankaet Pathak (SynapseFI), Michael Cassau (Grover), Eyal Shinar (Fundbox), Tore Steen (CrowdStreet), Dan Holt (BillGO), Peter Maragos (Dash Financial), Mazy Dar (OpenFin), Mike Babineau (Second Measure), Angela Ceresnie (Climb Credit), Doug Ricket (PayJoy), Matt Rodak (Fund That Flip), Patrick Boyaggi (Own Up), Michael Nicastro (Continuity), Cale Johnston (ClickSWITCH), Kumesh Aroomoogan (Accern), Saum Noursalehi (tZero), Noah Breslow (OnDeck), Ryan Williams (Cadre), Guillaume Pousaz (Checkout.com), David Kerr (bonkers.ie), Yoshi Yokokawa (Alpaca Markets).

Congratulations to each of this year’s awardees.

About The Financial Technology Report

The Financial Technology Report is a comprehensive source for market research and insights, business news, investment activity and corporate actions related to the financial technology sector. Based in New York City, the firm is run by a seasoned team of editors, writers and media professionals highly knowledgeable on financial technology and the various companies, executives and investors that make up the sector. http://www.thefinancialtechnologyreport.com.

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Business: Executives

American Security Products (AMSEC) Welcomes Drew Meng as Chief Executive Officer

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Drew Meng CEO AMSEC

I’m very excited about joining AMSEC, a company well known for its many technological innovations in the industry. I join an organization blessed with great people and I’m excited to get to work improving the end user experience and helping drive growth with our broad array of customers.


FONTANA, Calif. (PRWEB)

American Security Products (AMSEC), known worldwide as the provider of security safes and security solutions to the consumer and commercial marketplace, is proud to welcome Drew Meng as the company’s new President and Chief Executive Officer. Drew replaces David Lazier, who has become the company’s Chairman of the Board after successfully leading AMSEC for the past 15 years.

Drew Meng is a result-driven leader with success in growing businesses while partnered with both independent dealers and distributors, along with large multi-category retailers. He has significant experience in end-user focused product development, along with a commercial background in selling in both business-to-business and direct-to-consumer markets.

“We are fortunate to find someone with such an extensive track record of organizational success through product development, brand marketing and commercial partnerships” said Lazier. “Drew’s proven success in dynamic, demanding environments will serve AMSEC well going forward in spearheading operational productivity and quality,” he added.

Drew Meng joins AMSEC after serving as President of North American Spas at Jacuzzi Group Worldwide for the past 4 years. His former leadership roles in sales and marketing at Jacuzzi®, Black & Decker® and Newell Brands® have helped propel Drew into his current position as President and CEO with AMSEC.

“I’m very excited about joining AMSEC, a company well known for its many technological innovations in the industry. I join an organization blessed with great people and I’m excited to get to work improving the end user experience and helping drive growth with our broad array of customers,” Drew said.

About AMSEC

American Security Products (AMSEC) is a global leader of security safes and security solutions, protecting the assets of clients throughout the world. AMSEC offers an extensive array of security safes and consulting services, delivered with the highest degree of quality, integrity and responsiveness. AMSEC got its start in late 1940, housed in a small building in Paramount, California, where founder, Glenn Hall set up shop with little more than a welder, a lathe, and a desire to build strong, reliable safes.

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Business: Executives

Mente Group Appoints Ken Hart as Vice President of Transactions

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Ken Hart

“We are excited to welcome Ken to the Mente team as we continue to grow our transactions team. His broad experience in buying and selling aircraft will be a great asset to our organization,” says Brian Proctor, President and CEO of Mente Group.


DALLAS (PRWEB)

Ken Hart is responsible for managing aircraft acquisition and disposition transaction activities for the company’s Gulfstream and Turboprop clients. He brings strong cross-border experience to Mente Group with import and export transactions to-and-from Europe, Australia and Asia. “We are excited to welcome Ken to the Mente team as we continue to grow our transactions team. His broad experience in buying and selling aircraft will be a great asset to our organization,” says Brian Proctor, President and CEO of Mente Group.

Hart’s career includes most recently, Executive Vice President with Hagerty Jet Group as well as an associate broker with Welsch Aviation and several years as an entrepreneur where he founded and operated several successful businesses.

He holds a B.S. in Business Administration, with a Major in Marketing from NYIT, Old Westbury, New York. He will be based at Mente Group’s corporate headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

With offices in Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Portland, and Scottsdale, Mente Group professionals have handled more than $10.5 billion in aircraft transactions, compiled more than 60 years of aviation experience, and executed more than 500 business jet deliveries.

The company specializes in aircraft transactions, asset management, and strategic, operational, and technical consulting. Mente serves large corporations, growth companies and private individuals. The company offers completion management services that include interior outfitting oversight and new business aircraft delivery.

Mente Group partners with many of the world’s largest corporations, prominent entrepreneurs, growth companies, and private individuals, including Andor Capital, Bank of Texas, BNSF Railway, Capital One, Delhaize Group, Entergy, Food Lion, JPMorgan Chase, LG, MassMutual Financial Group, Medical Properties Trust, MetLife, Quexco, Inc., Raytheon, Sprint, Stanley Black & Decker, Summit Alliance, and Williams-Sonoma.

Mente Group is a member of Air Charter Safety Foundation, International Business Aviation Council (IS-BAO), International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA), National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), and the National Aircraft Finance Association (NAFA). It is an IADA-accredited aircraft dealer. Brian Proctor is former Chairman of IADA. For more info on Mente Group see http://www.mentegroup.com.

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Business: Executives

Customer Retention Platform Brightback Takes Aim at Enabling Consumer Subscription Managers to Launch Delightful, High-Performing Online Cancel Experiences

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…With this beta launch of Experience Manager, we’re giving subscription companies what they’ve asked for again and again: a way to easily create and evolve online cancel experiences without a reliance on engineering resources, so companies can react quickly to customer behavior and market forces.


SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)

Brightback, the first customer retention solution to automatically save customers at the moment of cancel, today announced the beta launch of Experience Manager, an easy way for direct-to-consumer subscription companies to create and test high-performing cancel experiences to retain more customers.

The beta launch of Experience Manager comes two years after Brightback raised $11 million in equity and debt from over 30 industry investors. Brightback is now taking advantage of the gulf in the market for automated solutions to help any subscription business—not just top-tier tech companies like Netflix and Amazon—achieve world-class retention results without diverting resources away from product and engineering projects.

Brightback’s Experience Manager gives subscription retention leaders the ability to replace static exit surveys and outdated call centers with personalized online experiences that deflect 10 to 30 percent of cancels, while delighting customers at a critical point in their journey.

The future of subscription cancel experiences for consumer businesses is online

Brightback sees a clear gap in the market between the algorithm-driven online retention systems that only a handful of leading-edge tech companies are equipped to build and the notorious call centers that customers loathe and companies need, but are unable to improve. Brightback aims to close this gap in the exploding consumer subscription industry by making available customer-friendly, smart retention tools that empower direct-to-consumer leaders to save more customers.

“Today every e-commerce site has a shopping-cart abandonment tool, and yet, subscriber retention is an afterthought and trails 10 years behind marketing tech,” said Guy Marion, co-founder and CEO of Brightback. “With this beta launch of Experience Manager, we’re giving subscription companies what they’ve asked for again and again: a way to easily create and evolve online cancel experiences without a reliance on engineering resources, so companies can react quickly to customer behavior and market forces.”

Why now? Retention reigns supreme in 2020

Earlier this year, Brightback published a study that found 96 percent of retention professionals believe they lose customers that could otherwise have been retained if they could be identified and engaged in real-time. More recently, the economic upheaval resulting from the Covid-19 global pandemic is reshuffling the subscription landscape into clear winners and losers: winners being those who are spinning on a dime to proactively improve customer relationships and retain subscribers despite a near total halt of consumer spending.

Additionally, regulation and governments are increasingly pro-consumer. Legislation passed in California in 2018 requires subscriptions that can be purchased online must also be able to be cancelled online. The industry is steadily moving toward a customer-centric approach, with Visa introducing similar requirements for credit-card accepting merchants.

What’s available in the Experience Manager beta?

Brightback is flexible enough to support multiple types of customer journeys, including cancels, downgrades, and trials, while easily integrating with the retention tools that most direct-to-consumer subscription businesses use.

  • Experience Manager: Create and manage multiple cancel experiences from a central view.

  • Page Editor: Edit copy and imagery on the fly while personalizing the cancel page with dynamic content and components.

  • Brand Manager: Apply logos, color schemes, URLs and custom CSS at a global level to ensure a seamless customer experience across all cancel pages.

  • Reason Editor: Eliminate sampling bias in exit surveys with mandatory cancel, and leverage Brightback’s categorized reasons to track actionable change

  • Offer Library: Create, test, and personalize offers using templates from six categories: pauses, discounts, plan changes, extensions, feedback, and support & training.

  • Integrating the retention stack: Use the brightback.js code snippet to integrate with data warehouse and billing systems, or leverage pre-built workflow integrations with Slack, Segment, and Zapier, and enrichment integrations with Salesforce, Recurly and Stripe.

  • Insights and deflection funnel: Gain a bird’s eye view across your retention programs, then drill into aggregated insights, trends and real-time activity.

  • Revenue attribution: Validate save and deflection performance, and assess impact on revenue instantly, via pre-built integrations with Stripe and Recurly.

The beta launch of Experience Manager opens the door for consumer subscription companies to launch high-performing cancel experiences, as well as target customer audiences and test a broad range of offers in order to achieve best-in-class retention results.

Pricing starts at $500/mo. To see Brightback’s Experience Manager in action, request a live demo at: https://brightback.com    

About Brightback

Brightback is the first customer retention solution that automatically saves customers at the moment of cancel. Trusted by high volume subscription businesses like MeUndies and Unbounce, Brightback helps retention leaders deflect churn with personalized cancel experiences, optimize offboarding processes through testing and targeting and gather aggregated insights to drive product and company improvements. Headquartered in San Francisco, Brightback is a remote-first company with a team of subscription-industry veterans located across the United States.

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Business: Executives

MRFC Certification Program Accreditation Board Announces New Board Positions

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Master Registered Financial Consultant

I have respected the work of the consultants who have been on the Board during my time as Chair and will continue to support the new leaders as we move to an aggressive campaign of promoting the MRFC credential to qualified prospects…Past MRFC Board Chair, Barry Dayley, MRFC®


MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (PRWEB)

Moving into their new positions are:

  • Chair, Craig Lemoine, Ph.D., MRFC®

  • Vice Chair, Robert Lawson, MRFC®

  • Secretary, Julie Friend, Public Member

The scope of authority of the MRFC Certification Board (MCB) is set forth in the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC®) By-Laws. The MCB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the IARFC and maintains general oversight of the MRFC Certification Program. The MCB upholds the IARFC’s commitment to public safety in the Financial Services industry.

The MCB clearly focuses on its task of developing and maintaining a strong and highly valued MRFC Certification Program. Their mission is to provide an ongoing benefit to the general public by granting and recertifying the MRFC credential and upholding the credential as a standard of excellence for ethical, valued, competent, and client-focused financial consultants.

The Board operates independently from the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC®) to establish and uphold high standards of competence for the MRFC and its credential holders.

MRFC credential holder Barry Dayley is stepping down from the Chair position, but will continue to be part of the Board of Directors for another term. “I have respected the work of the consultants who have been on the Board during my time as Chair and will continue to support the new leaders as we move to an aggressive campaign of promoting the MRFC credential to qualified prospects,” states Dayley, “I wholeheartedly advocate the mission of the MCB and encourage experienced financial professionals to sit for the exam.”

For those interested in the Master Registered Financial Consultant (MRFC®) credential, visit https://www.iarfc.org/professionals/mrfc.

The MRFC Credential is accredited through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) which is the accrediting body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence. It is one of only 8 accredited credentials listed on FINRA.

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Business: Executives

Achieve3000 Expands Board of Directors with Lynda Cloud and Dr. Wayne D. Lewis

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Achieve3000 CEO, Stuart Udell, stated, “We are absolutely thrilled that both Mrs. Cloud and Dr. Lewis chose to join our board. I have had the past pleasure to serve alongside each of them and can say with certainty, that they will add significant thought leadership and tremendous value to our organ


RED BANK, N.J. (PRWEB)

Two education industry leaders will be joining the Board of Directors of Achieve3000, the leader in personalized and differentiated digital solutions that provide equity for remote and in the classroom instruction. These two additions, effective July 1, expand the company’s Board of Directors to a total of seven members.

Lynda Cloud comes to the Achieve3000 board of directors with deep experience in the K-12 school market as an executive leader, and product development and marketing expert. Cloud has built some of the most significant education platforms currently in use in schools around the world. She currently serves as CEO at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, the world’s largest nutrition school that trains health coaches online. Immediately prior, Cloud served as the founding CEO of EqualEd, a division of GEMS Education, a global school operator and curriculum provider. Earlier in her career, Cloud served as Executive Vice President of Product and Technology at K12 Inc., where she additionally served as General Manager of the $100 million institutional K-12 schools division. Cloud started her education career and spent 24 years at Pearson in a variety of technology, product, and marketing roles, culminating her tenure there as General Manager and Senior Vice President of Science, Humanities, and the Online Learning Exchange. Cloud has a BA in English and Elementary Education from Susquehanna University.

Dr. Wayne D. Lewis, Jr. brings to the Achieve3000 board of directors executive leadership experience in K-12 education, higher education, and state government, as well as deep academic and educational thought leadership. Since January 1, 2020, he has served as the inaugural Dean of the School of Education at Belmont University in Nashville, TN, where he oversees undergraduate and graduate educator preparation programs. Leading up to this role, Lewis served in Kentucky state government, most recently as the state’s Commissioner of Education and prior to that as Executive Director of Education Policy and Programs in the Education & Workforce Development Cabinet. He spent 10 years at the University of Kentucky as a faculty member and graduate program chairperson in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies, as well as an affiliated faculty member with the African American and Africana Studies Program. Lewis started his career in education as a middle and high school special education teacher in Louisiana and North Carolina. Lewis holds his Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy analysis from North Carolina State University, a Master’s in urban studies and public administration from the University of Akron, with post-baccalaureate studies in special education from the University of New Orleans. He also currently serves on the board of directors of Future of School, a public charity focused on fostering innovative education models, and on the Practitioner Council of the Hoover Education Success Initiative (HESI) at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Achieve3000 CEO, Stuart Udell, stated, “We are absolutely thrilled that both Mrs. Cloud and Dr. Lewis chose to join our board. I have had the past pleasure to serve alongside each of them and can say with certainty, that they will add significant thought leadership and tremendous value to our organization. They are both esteemed leaders in the K-12 education space, and most notably, have committed their careers towards making a difference with all students.”

About Achieve3000

Achieve3000 partners with educators to deliver a comprehensive suite of digital solutions that significantly accelerate literacy and deepen learning across the content areas. The organization’s personalized and differentiated solutions provide equity for remote and in the classroom instruction, enabling teachers to help all students achieve accelerated growth. For more than four million students in grades PreK-12, Achieve3000 improves high-stakes test performance and drives college and career readiness.

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Media Contact:

Rebecca Salem

(732) 367-5505 x263

media@achieve3000.com

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Business: Executives

RGA Leaders Of Tomorrow Program Recognizes Industry’s Rising Stars

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Nadia Schmidt, Willis Re, RGA Leaders of Tomorrow award winner

The RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program is designed to support a leadership trajectory for a select group of insurance professionals in an effort to cultivate future leaders by attracting and motivating key talent.


NEW YORK (PRWEB)

The International Insurance Society (IIS) has announced the 2020 RGA Leaders of Tomorrow award winner, Nadia Schmidt of Willis Re for her paper on Robo-Advisors & Insurance-Linked Securities. Honorable mentions include Jessica Baehr of Equitable for her paper on Leading through Crisis and Eva Csapó of Aegon for her work on Underwriting of Tomorrow Today.

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA), a leading global life and health reinsurer, is the sponsor of the RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program. The program is designed to support a leadership trajectory for a select group of insurance professionals in an effort to cultivate future leaders by attracting and motivating key talent. Through mentorship from senior executives and access to their cross-sector networks, the program stimulates creative thinking on strategic issues, provides opportunities for deeper engagement across core business functions, and expands global peer connections.

“The looming talent gap is an issue that impacts the broad insurance industry, across every sector and region. It is of the utmost importance to the sustainability of the industry to invest in talent, and we are proud to partner with RGA to feature a program which recognizes promising young professionals and supports the collective success of our industry,” said IIS CEO, Mike Morrissey. “At RGA, we believe in the power of shared knowledge. Through the RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program, we celebrate and support the next generation of thought leaders advancing our industry,” said Anna Manning, President and CEO, RGA.

Since inception in 2015, the RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program has included a total of 46 candidates from 12 countries. As part of the program, mentees publish and present original papers during a closed session of top tier global insurance executives who serve as mentors for the program. This year, a select group of the 2020 RGA Leaders of Tomorrow candidates will be featured at the virtual Global Insurance Forum on September 15-16, taking place in lieu of the Global Insurance Forum which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The participants of the RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program represents our industry’s finest talent. This includes a c-suite body of mentors from the industry’s top organizations. The mentees are considered the rising stars who are poised to lead the industry into the future. Biographical details on the 2020 class, outlined below, can be accessed here: https://www.internationalinsurance.org/rga-leaders-tomorrow-2020


  • Jessica Baehr, Equitable

  • Eva Csapó, Aegon NV

  • Jessica Gaudio, The Institutes

  • Elaine George, Chubb

  • Eduardo Godoy Pascal, GNP Seguros

  • Yusun Jeong, Kyobo Life Insurance Company

  • Gaston Nossiter, RGA

  • Maria Schiopu, Milliman

  • Nadia Schmidt, Willis Re

  • Jean-Roch Sibille, Allianz Life Insurance Company

Further details about the RGA Leaders of Tomorrow program is available on the IIS website: https://www.internationalinsurance.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/LoT%20Learn%20More.pdf

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About International Insurance Society

IIS serves as the inclusive voice of the industry, providing a platform for both private and public stakeholders to promote resilience, drive innovation, and stimulate the development of markets. The IIS membership is diverse and inclusive, with members hailing from mature and emerging markets representing all sectors of the re/insurance industry, academics, regulators and policymakers. As a non-advocative organization, the IIS serves as a neutral platform for active collaboration and examination of issues that shape the future of the global insurance industry. Its signature annual event, the Global Insurance Forum, is considered the premier industry conference and is attended by 500+ insurance leaders from around the globe.

Founded in 1965, the IIS is a 501(c) 3 not for profit organization based in New York, NY. IIS is an affiliate of The Institutes.

About The Institutes | Risk and Insurance Knowledge Group

As the industry’s trusted and respected knowledge leader, The Institutes are committed to meeting the evolving professional development needs of risk management and insurance professionals through innovative research, networking, and career resources. The Institutes offers 28 designations, including the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU®). Other offerings include certificate and introductory programs, online and continuing education courses, leadership education, custom solutions and assessments, and industry consortiums such as the RiskBlock Alliance. TheInstitutes.org.

CPCU is a registered trademark of The Institutes. All rights reserved.

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Business: Executives

Half of Industry Cannabis Executives Slash Revenue Forecasts Due to COVID-19, Reallocating Marketing Budgets to Digital Media and Virtual Events

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This joint report provides a real-time snapshot of how leading industry executives are responding to the pandemic, along with hard data derived from our industry executive readership to provide concrete steps companies can take to survive this unprecedented threat.


CHICAGO (PRWEB)

Cannabis executives report slashing budgets and significant disruption to suppliers and services during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a new report published by Cannabis Business Executive (CBE) and cannabis market research firm High Yield Insights. Business-to-business transactions, already complicated by restrictive banking and finance regulations, have been further challenged as 45% of executives report issues receiving payments from customers.

While being deemed an “essential business” in most states has helped sustain the industry, 53% of service and equipment providers expect revenue shortfalls and 49% of “plant-touching” businesses have cut year-end forecasts. Remaining budgets for travel and live events have been outright canceled by some (33%) while other cannabis companies are reallocating to virtual online events (33%) or web-based media (26%). The joint report captures the sentiments of over 700 decision-makers in the cannabis industry prior to and during the coronavirus outbreak.

Executives among a diverse cross-section of ancillary service providers and licensees entered the year with bullish expectations. Among licensees, such as cultivators, processors, and dispensary operators, an overwhelming 74% expected a year-over-year revenue increase along with 56% of service providers.

Several months later, in the midst of the pandemic roiling the country, forecasts have been slashed despite speculation that cannabis could be a “recession-proof” industry. While consumer demand remains high, executives are struggling to adjust to unprecedented business challenges in areas such as supply chains, which 63% report having been somewhat or significantly disrupted. Added to the pressure to nimbly adjust to preventative measures like social distancing, many companies have been forced to do more with less. Although 47% plan to maintain pre-COVID staffing levels, 39% of executives intend to reduce headcount.

“We surveyed industry executives early in the year looking for benchmarks on strategic issues like revenue forecasts and growth drivers,” says Mike Luce, co-founder of High Yield Insights. “I was excited to share the results in collaboration with Rob Meagher, CBE Press’s President and Editor-in-Chief. Gathering quantitative data on the perspectives and purchasing decisions of executives can be tremendously challenging. As we began analyzing the results in March, we saw an opportunity to deliver more timely value by also asking executives about the impact of COVID-19. By circling back with a second survey, we created a unique before and after look at the mindset of industry influencers and decision-makers. We hope the data combined with interviews by leaders such as Nancy Whiteman of Wana Brands, Kris Krane of 4Front Ventures, and Tom Siciliano of Elixinol informs difficult strategic choices executives are being forced to make.”

According to Meagher, “Prior to the COVID crisis, the cannabis industry was already dealing with a number of impediments to sustain its meteoric growth, including slow movement on federal policy, a capital shortage, and social equity concerns. When the coronavirus took hold, those challenges looked minuscule by comparison. This joint report provides a real-time snapshot of how leading industry executives are responding to the pandemic, along with hard data derived from our industry executive readership to provide concrete steps companies can take to survive this unprecedented threat. It also highlights the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that is driving one of the, if not the fastest growing industry in the nation and abroad.”

For more information, visit http://www.highyieldinsights.com.

About High Yield Insights

High Yield Insights is led by industry veterans of brand strategy, consumer insights, market intelligence, and analytics. Supported by a team of analysts and research professionals, leadership combines a unique skill set and practice expertise drawn from decades in consumer-facing industries. High Yield Insights conducts exclusive, independent research on cannabis consumers and the cannabis industry, providing data-driven insights and fostering fact-based strategic decisions.

The joint report in collaboration with Cannabis Business Executive marks the first-ever quantitative and qualitative investigation of challenges and opportunities for industry decision-makers. Future reports will continue to provide actionable data designed to aid executives in the cannabis industry chart a path forward in an environment of uncertainty.

For more information about High Yield Insights, send inquiries to: contact.us@highyieldinsights.com.

About Cannabis Business Executive

CBE Press LLC (CBE), founded in 2014, is an integrated business to business media company serving the cannabis industry. CBE’s mission is to provide cannabis industry leaders with utilitarian information to help them run their businesses successfully and advance the cannabis industry by helping its leaders stay abreast of emerging trends that impact their long-term success. CBE currently publishes http://www.cannabisbusinessexecutive.com and distributes CBE Week and CBE Policy & Legal e-mail newsletters to 53,000 plus subscribers each week.

CBE distinguishes itself as a premier Cannabis Industry information authority by developing original content, aggregating news content and partnering with recognized industry experts who contribute thought-provoking feature articles, news, opinions and insights, events and e-media based on their areas of expertise. CBE provides its readers with business intelligence and the knowledge they need to succeed in new and changing markets.

For more information about CBE Press LLC, send inquiries to: robm@cbepress.com or call 703.992.6779 or visit http://www.cannabisbusinessexecutive.com.

Media Contact:

Natalie Bauer Luce

nataliebauerluce@gmail.com

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