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CDFI Coalition Praises Biden Administration and Congress for Release of Rapid Release Funding for CDFIs.

CDFI Coalition

The CDFI Coalition applauds the release of $1.25 billion in emergency funding for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which will use these new resources to provide patient capital and technical assistance to businesses and projects in low-income rural and urban communities. “ Our mission is to encourage fair access to financial resources for America’s underserved people and communities,” said John Holdsclaw IV, President of the CDFI Coalition and Executive Vice President of the National Cooperative Bank. “The hard work and efforts of our CDFI Coalition members have forged an achievement today that will pay dividends across underserved, hard-hit communities and businesses. I’m proud that our voices brought action at the highest levels of government to the needs that exist.” Over the last 18 months, as the coronavirus was upending small community businesses, the CDFI Coalition worked with Congress to support and enhance the work of CDFIs in low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color. Congress ultimately provided new resources for CDFIs through a Paycheck Protection Act (PPP) set-aside and $12 billion in new funding for the CDFI Fund. The idea to significantly boost support for CDFIs originated in the House Appropriations Committee in 2020. HR 6800, The HEROS Act, included $1 billion in financial assistance for CDFIs to support businesses and communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Later, in the December 2020 coronavirus relief package, the House provision grew to $1.25 billion in financial assistance for CDFIs, which was awarded Tuesday by the Treasury Department through the Rapid Response Program. The December 2020 legislation also included $1.75 billion through the Emergency Support and Minority Lending Program to support financial services in communities of color, as well as an additional $9 billion for the Emergency Capital Investment Program to support capital and services in low- and moderate-income, historically disadvantaged communities impacted by COVID-19. In total, Congress provided a record $12 billion to the CDFI Fund. These resources will significantly enhance the work CDFIs are already doing in low-income communities. In FY 2020, CDFI Fund financial assistance recipients made over 1,000,000 loans or investments totaling more than $25.4 billion. [1] The average size of each loan or investment was under $25,000. CDFIs also financed over 41,000 affordable housing units. CDFI loans and investments include $10 billion for consumer loans, $6.5 billion for home improvement and purchase loans, $3.9 billion for business and microenterprise loans, and $2.2 billion for residential real estate transactions. CDFIs also helped ensure PPP resources reached underserved communities, but not without some changes to the program. The initial round of PPP left many economically distressed communities behind. In April 2020, the Coalition led the way to establish a set-aside for CDFIs and other mission-driven lenders – Community Financial Institutions (CFIs). Newly armed with a PPP set-aside, CFIs went to work. According to data from the Small Business Administration (SBA), as of May 31, 2021, CFIs had made 1.6 million PPP loans (21% of all PPP loans) for $34 billion in PPP funds (11% of PPP loan funds offered). Loans made through CFI lenders had an average PPP loan size of $21,254, compared to $41,560 across all lender classes, demonstrating the focus of CFI lending to small and micro-businesses. In addition, nearly 40% of CFIs’ loans reached businesses in low and moderate-income communities, compared to 28% across all lending sources. Both the Rapid Response Program and the PPP set-aside helped CDFIs expand their reach in communities hardest hit by the coronavirus. CDFIs are using these resources to promote job creation, business opportunities in low-income, minority, rural and tribal communities across America. [1] Audit of the CDFI Fund’s 2020 financial statements by the Treasury Dept. Office of Inspector General About the CDFI Coalition The CDFI Coalition is the unified national voice of community development financial institutions. Formed in 1992 as an ad-hoc policy development and advocacy initiative, the Coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI Coalition) is the lead national organization in the United States promoting the work of community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Through its 150+ member organizations, the Coalition represents CDFIs working in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and includes community development loan funds, community development banks, community development credit unions, microenterprise lenders, community development corporations and community development venture capital funds. The CDFI Coalition coordinates industry-wide initiatives to increase the availability of capital, credit, and financial services to low-income communities across the nation. Read more at cdfi.org. Contact Details CDFI Coalition Greg Wilson +1 571-239-7474 greg@curleycompany.com Company Website https://cdfi.org/

June 16, 2021 03:12 PM Eastern Daylight Time

ForwardPMX Expands Agency Consultancy Solutions and Appoints Femi Taiwo as New Head of Consultancy for Europe

ForwardPMX

ForwardPMX, the global data and technology-driven marketing services company, has announced the appointment of Femi Taiwo as Head of Consultancy for Europe. Taiwo joins ForwardPMX from a previous leadership position at OMD, bringing over 10 years of experience in digital marketing and consultancy solutions, as well as significant industry thought leadership and participation across a number of global award programs including the AOP Digital Publishing Awards and the M&M Global Awards. In the new role, Taiwo will drive the wider business strategy for consultancy services within ForwardPMX, with a focus on key areas such as in-housing media, data ownership and strategy, including international growth and expansion. Additionally, he will support the business across new and existing client accounts, creating opportunities for ForwardPMX to deliver products that answer clients’ more complex business challenges. ForwardPMX Global Head of Consultancy, Tom Manning, commented, “Consultancy is one of the fastest growing areas of our business, and that’s a huge testament to our teams. It’s fantastic to bring in such an incredible talent as Femi into this leadership role to collaborate and lead across the business to take our consultancy engagements to the next level.” ForwardPMX continues to grow its strong presence internationally with over 1,000 experts across more than 15 countries worldwide. Moving with the changing market, the agency has built up its Consultancy capabilities over the last several years and continues to embed them within the business to help clients identify strategic areas of growth. With the accelerated shift to digital and e-commerce through COVID-19, ForwardPMX was able to aid clients globally in pivoting to new routes to market and developing a deeper understanding of the changes in their customers’ behavior to impact their decision making. Manning added, “More than ever, brands are looking to us as growth partners who can push beyond media to help them digitally accelerate and find new revenue streams. By adding Femi to the team, we’re furthering our commitment and confidence in this space, allowing us to deliver more innovative solutions for our clients.” On joining ForwardPMX, Taiwo said, “I’m thrilled to be joining this dynamic team. ForwardPMX has not only achieved significant growth over the last several years, but they also have a strong proposition that has evolved to answer the needs of senior level stakeholders within client businesses. I share a common vision with the leadership team at ForwardPMX about where we need to go as a business to continue to be the partner that brands need in today’s complex digital, data and technology-led environment.” About ForwardPMX: ForwardPMX is a global data and technology driven marketing services company, designed to help brands find the change that delivers meaningful growth to their businesses. With over 20 offices worldwide and 1,000 of the industry's most distinguished talent, ForwardPMX brings a unified global vision, with local depth and expertise across a comprehensive set of data, technology, consultancy and performance solutions that reach people all over the world. By pairing people with data-led process and powerful technology capabilities, ForwardPMX is uniquely positioned to deliver scale and accelerate problem solving. ForwardPMX is a proud member of The Stagwell Group. About The Stagwell Group: The Stagwell Group is the first and only independent, digital-first, and fully integrated organization of size & scale servicing global brands across the continuum of marketing services. The group includes over 9000 employees operating in more than 25 offices around the world. Collaborative by design, The Stagwell Group is not weighed down by legacy points of view and its people are united in their desire to innovate, evolve, grow and deliver superior results for their clients. Stagwell’s high growth brands include experts in four categories: digital transformation and marketing, research and insights, marketing communications, and content and media. For more information go to: www.stagwellgroup.com Contact Details ForwardPMX Dammi Afolabi - Marketing Communications Manager (EMEA) +44 7958 069108 dammi.afolabi@forwardpmx.com Company Website https://www.forwardpmx.com/

June 16, 2021 05:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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New DynAdmic innovation deeply fuses Connected TV with connected audiences for first time

DynAdmic

The proportion of households severing their connections to traditional cable is forecast to increase by 44% in the next three years. Consumer adoption has been fast, and the amount of time people are spending on connected devices increases daily. Whilst many marketers know there is a power in the incremental reach created by increasing ad exposure during influential times of the day on CTV, the contextual abilities to target people accurately has been escaping them. Until now. The team, at global media leader, DynAdmic have launched a new contextualization technology that is dedicated to dramatically transforming audience analysis and insight for advertisers and solving this problem. DynAdmic’s revolutionary approach semantically analyses and categorizes CTV inventory for the first time ever. This process allows them to enrich the context of the content with information based on the application itself (themes, audiences, publishers) as well with the specific program or series being viewed at the time. This powerful innovative approach is executed by leveraging a specialist semantic categorization method based on Named Entities Recognition (NER). With the NER process DynAdmic are currently rolling out they are analyzing approximately 100 million unique ad placements per day of which one third are from CTV. This analysis has allowed their team to refine the semantic categorization of the entire CTV inventory by more than 50%. “At DynAdmic we have seen how CTV has improved the customer experience. We want to ensure we are doing the same for the marketers and their ad spend” says founder and CTO, Bruno Champion “ Our experience shows that if we can connect our clients’ brands with the consumer accurately, and with relevance, on the CTV channels they earn more of each viewers time and in return increase their ROI.” The new intelligent systems from DynAdmic leverage the power of semantic algorithms and analytics to disrupt the existing approach and whilst most advertisers still find online video inventory vague, this new arrival in the market is revolutionizing targeting precision based on linguistic programming. “Our technology is the first to market and is addressing a market-wide problem by bringing contextualization technology to CTV for the first time. We are offering our clients specific KPI measurability and targeting, and a far better user experience for their consumers given the context is accurate and relevant to their personal viewing behaviour. This is a groundbreaking shift, and we couldn’t be more excited to roll it out” closed Champion. Find out more at http://www.DynAdmic.com or contact: lara@DynAdmic.com About DynAdmic DynAdmic curates digital video advertising inventory from the world’s leading websites by utilizing smart semantic targeting and activating brand safety and fraud security, while focusing on campaign performance metrics. They connect world-class advertisers with qualified audiences across Youtube, apps and the largest publishers reaching more than 450MM viewers globally and targeting viewers in real-time based on what they are about to watch by using their proprietary AI audio recognition technology. Their exclusive demand platform scans 20,000 pages per minute and scores every page according to brand safety, contextual relevance and qualified audience parameters. By leveraging a superior and owned code, the DynAdmic team can identify and target viewers’ real-time interest and prospective consumers from their audience catalogue in 60 languages across the world with a fraud rate of less than 1% according to Moat. DynAdmic is the only certified Google partner that connects the online with offline world with TV Sync, and has a 96% context relevance score as well as third-party verification from IAS. DynAdmic partners with the leading brands, agencies and publishers and is comprised of 130 people in 7 countries. www.us.dynadmic.com Contact Details DynAdmic Corp. Lara Krumholz +55 11 94135-2008 lara@dynadmic.com Dynadmic Corp. Lara Krumholz +13477467971 Company Website http://us.dynadmic.com/

June 15, 2021 08:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Pennsylvania Video Gaming Association (PaVGA) Advocates for Transition of Skill Games to Regulated Video Gaming Terminals (VGTs)

Pennsylvania Video Gaming Association (PaVGA)

The Pennsylvania Video Gaming Association (PaVGA), the statewide trade association representing manufacturers, distributors and operators of video gaming terminals, continues to support legislation to ensure that skill games are subject to the same regulatory requirements as gambling devices. Currently, skill games are not regulated by any state agency and are not subject to gaming taxes on net revenues as are slot machines, video gaming terminals (VGTs) and iGaming platforms. “Regulation would provide much-needed revenue to small businesses like bars, restaurants and veterans’ clubs, which would benefit from VGTs in those locations. The anticipated revenue from VGTs versus skill games is substantial,” stated PaVGA Executive Director Denise Calabrese. The operation of these games in bars, clubs and restaurants will provide a viable, sustainable revenue stream for struggling establishments who have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a stable base of new revenues to the Commonwealth. “Because there has been no alternative sustainable option to gaming revenue for bars, veterans’ clubs, and restaurants throughout Pennsylvania, those venues have turned to the skill game industry for that revenue,” Calabrese explained. “The issue is that these devices, and the companies that own and manufacture them, are not regulated and there is no oversight of those companies, the individual’s who own those companies, or the devices. Pennsylvania’s bars, restaurants and veterans’ clubs, Pennsylvania Operators, and the thousands of consumers who choose this form of entertainment, deserve to know that their gaming options are being overseen by a government agency and that proper protocols are in place to protect them.” PaVGA believes that the Pennsylvania General Assembly needs to pass legislation with urgency to resolve this issue and ensure that any gaming devices operated in the Commonwealth are subject to the full oversight of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). During a Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee hearing on June 7, a Pennsylvania Senator stated there could be as many as 55,000 unregulated skill games currently in operation in Pennsylvania. While opponents to skill game regulation warn of detrimental impacts to the Pennsylvania Lottery and casinos, both continue to realize record high revenues. Furthermore, the same operator-based model PaVGA is advocating for in Pennsylvania has been successfully implemented in Illinois with negligible impact on the revenues of the lottery or casinos. “All we want to do is bring these unregulated games under the purview of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to ensure that adequate protections are in place for consumers, establishments and operators,” Calabrese said. “This is more about applying equal standards to skill and gambling operations in the Commonwealth than it is VGT expansion. We have a statutory and regulatory structure already in place in the Commonwealth that provides for the safe, fair and equitable operation of VGTs. Skill games should be brought under that construct and be treated just like current gambling devices.” Contact Details Michelle Keyser Director of Communications +1 717-724-9166 communications@pavga.org

June 11, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

World’s largest product discovery platform RangeMe opens UK retailers to over 750,000 products

RangeMe

The world’s largest product discovery and sourcing platform RangeMe has launched in the UK today. Buyers at British retailers will now be able to source over 750,000 products and connect with more than 200,000 suppliers to fill their shopping aisles and online stores with curated products meeting consumer demand. Buyers at high street chain LloydsPharmacy are currently partnering with RangeMe. RangeMe first launched in 2013 and is used today by over 12,000 retailers in the U.S., including Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, and Albertsons. It has quickly established itself as the industry leader for retail product discovery and sourcing by becoming the world’s largest source of brands and products purchased by buyers in the US. RangeMe helps retailers and their buying teams scale product sourcing efforts with streamlined submissions, simplified discovery tools, and the industry standard digital sell sheet. RangeMe enables buyers to filter searches to find brands meeting exact sourcing needs, enables seamless connectivity and collaboration with suppliers and provides curated collections to help identify and understand category trends and emerging brands. “Consumers are looking for a variety of products from all over the world and sourcing them online. The British public is no different, yet high street retailers have struggled to offer these products in store or online principally because they don’t have sight of all that’s available in the market. RangeMe will change this for retailers bringing more choice to shopping aisles and a significant revenue opportunity,” said Nicky Jackson, CEO of RangeMe. “We will pick up the heavy lifting for buyers and present the global product market opportunity in one screen”. LloydsPharmacy which caters to the medical, lifestyle and well-being needs of millions of people in the UK is an early adopter of the RangeMe platform. “We pride ourselves on offering the widest range of products that meet the highest standards for consumers. RangeMe is already helping us to identify a wider spread of products for our customers. Equally importantly, we will quickly scale our buying operations through the platform and reduce the time to get more products on our shelves” added John Acland, Head of Category Management and eCommerce at McKesson UK, parent company to LloydsPharmacy. RangeMe also invites British suppliers to join the platform for a front-row audience of the biggest high street retailers. It is a single place to represent their brand and products to a network of thousands of retail buyers. RangeMe helps suppliers grow their retail relationships with a platform that gives them the tools and insights to manage their products, market their brand, and build awareness. RangeMe is the global online platform where retailers and suppliers can discover, connect, and grow their business. Suppliers can showcase their range, bring new products to market, increase brand visibility, and grow sales, while buyers use RangeMe to discover new products, search trends, and communicate directly with brands. “Our mission has always been to empower retailers and suppliers to be productive and successful. The world has become a smaller place but it remains distant for forging strong cross border buyer and seller relationships. RangeMe will bridge this gap for buyers and sellers around the world and ensure extraordinary products hit store shelves, faster than ever before” added Nicky Jackson. About RangeMe RangeMe, an ECRM company, is the leading online platform that streamlines new product discovery between suppliers and retailers. The platform empowers retail buyers to efficiently discover innovative and emerging products, while streamlining the inbound product submission process. For product suppliers, RangeMe enables them to grow their retail relationships with a platform that gives them the tools to manage their products, market their brand, and build awareness. Now integrated into the ECRM product offering, RangeMe adds increased breadth and depth to the industry's most complete sourcing solution for top retailers and product suppliers. Contact Details RangeMe Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.rangeme.com/

June 09, 2021 04:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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SCIENTISTS WORLDWIDE PLEDGE THEIR TRUST IN SCIENCE IN CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF LIGHT

International Day of Light Steering Committee

The UNESCO International Day of Light on May 16 th celebrated the worldwide campaign promoting the importance of science and the scientific process for society and sustainable development. The Trust Science pledge saw supporters of science worldwide join together to affirm their appreciation for science. Notable signatories include Nobel and Breakthrough laureates, UNESCO prizewinners, CEOs, representatives from scientific societies and academies, individual scientists and students from nearly 100 countries. “After a year in which we have seen science lead the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, we thought it was essential to highlight the importance of trusting its methods in guiding decisions,” said Steering Committee Chair John Dudley. “The pledge focuses particularly on science’s role in improving quality of life, a sentiment that clearly resonates around the world.” The International Day of Light recognizes the value of light science and technology and its role in providing clean energy, clean water, high-speed connectivity and medical treatments. The day was celebrated with events and hands-on activities in more than 55 countries. The International Day of Light also highlighted the achievements of a number of Champions of Science, individuals from all fields whose work is changing the world. “As a scientist, seeing this kind of support for the scientific process is inspiring,” said Neysha Lobo-Ploch, FBH Berlin, UVphotonics NT GmbH, Germany and LightDay 2021 champion. “I’m honored to have my work acknowledged in this way.” After its initial launch with the International Day of Light, the #TrustScience campaign will continue throughout 2021, and scientists worldwide will be organising targeted actions throughout the year. Dudley explains, “A central aim of this initiative has been to remind members of the scientific community that we share a responsibility to ensure that the public has confidence in science and its outcomes. It is up to us to explain how science works and why it can be trusted.” The Trust Science campaign is organized by the IEEE Photonics Society, SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and The Optical Society (OSA), together with the International Day of Light Steering Committee. To sign the pledge and to learn more, please go to https://www.trust-science.org Contacts For questions about how you can engage with the campaign, please contact: info@trust-science.org For media inquiries, please contact: pr@trust-science.org Social media: please share using #TrustScience and #LightDay2021 Social media links: Facebook; Instagram; Twitter About the International Day of Light The International Day of Light (LightDay)is a worldwide initiative that provides an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications and energy. The International Day of Light is administered from the International Basic Science Programme (IBSP) of UNESCO by a Steering Committee that includes representatives from a broad range of international partners: the American Institute of Physics (AIP), the American Physical Society (APS), Bosca, the China International Optoelectronic Exhibition (CIOE), Chinese Optical Society (COS), the European Centres for Outreach in Photonics (ECOP), the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC), the European Physical Society (EPS), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the IEEE Photonics Society (IPS), the International Commission on Illumination (CIE), lightsources.org - the international network of accelerator based light sources, Light: Science and Applications, The Optical Society (OSA), Tampere University, SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics, SESAME, Signify, Tampere University, Thorlabs, Transitions, the Université de Franche-Comté and Velux. For information about the International Day of Light, please visit www.lightday.org Contacts for IDL: John Dudley and Joseph Niemela Bethany Downer 2021 Steering Committee Chairs 2021 Communications Coordinator Email: contact@lightday.org Email: contact@lightday.org Media Contact for Trust Science: pr@trust-science.org About IEEE Photonics Society The IEEE Photonics Society is the professional home for a global network of scientists, engineers and allied professionals who advance laser, optoelectronics, and photonics technology. As a technical society representing the IEEE, it is a vital part of the world’s largest technical professional organization of more than 400,000 members dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, educational activities, and humanitarian initiatives, the IEEE Photonics Society provides its members in more than 160 countries the opportunity to grow professionally and stay on the forefront of transformational breakthroughs in photonics. PhotonicsSociety.org About SPIE SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, was founded in 1955 to advance light-based technologies. Serving more than 255,000 constituents from 183 countries, the not-for-profit society advances emerging technologies through interdisciplinary information exchange, continuing education, publications, patent precedent, and career and professional growth. SPIE annually organizes and sponsors approximately 25 major technical forums, exhibitions, and education programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. In 2020, SPIE provided more than $5 million in support of education and outreach programs. www.spie.org About The Optical Society Founded in 1916, The Optical Society (OSA) is the leading professional organization for scientists, engineers, students and business leaders in light science and technology. The society serves over 432,000 customers and 22,000 members from more than 100 countries who fuel discoveries, shape real-life applications and accelerate achievements in the field. OSA provides quality research, inspired interactions and dedicated resources for its extensive global network of optics and photonics experts through world-renowned publications. For more information, visit osa.org. Contact Details pr@trust-science.org +1 703-907-0010 pr@trust-science.org Company Website https://www.trust-science.org

June 08, 2021 09:58 AM Eastern Daylight Time

NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY’S MATT WALLACE AND STEVE ALFERY ANNOUNCED AS WORLD CONGRESS KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

National Contract Management Association

NCMA announced that Matt Wallace, Mars 2020 Project Manager, and Steve Alfery, Section Manager, Project Acquisition and Critical Product Management with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL), open World Congress as keynote speakers. For their keynote, Wallace and Alfery will share stories of NASA JPL missions, including the most complex and capable rover ever bound for Mars, the Perseverance, and the decades of contracting creativity it took to lift the rover out of an Earthly crisis to triumph on Mars. “We are thrilled to share powerful stories of creativity and resilience through these keynote speakers! The public doesn’t realize that procurements like Perseverance and Ingenuityare products of intense, ongoing collaboration between industry and government. Space exploration would be impossible without the work of innovators like Mike and Steve,” said Kraig Conrad, NCMA Chief Executive Officer. Wallace graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in systems engineering and received an M.S. in electrical engineering from Caltech. After graduation, he served in the US Navy’s fast-attack submarine fleet. Perseverance is the fifth Mars rover on which Wallace has worked. He began as a power systems engineer on the Mars Pathfinder Sojourner vehicle, led the assembly and test team for the twin Spirit and Opportunity missions, which landed in 2004, and held the Flight System Manager position on the 2012 Curiosity mission. He has worked on other planetary missions at JPL, and as a program manager for Earth-observing satellites in the aerospace industry. Alfery graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Business Economics. Steve’s career spans almost 36 years at JPL. Beginning as an entry-level buyer, his procurement experience covers a wide variety of products and services including IT, labor support services, facility construction, and flight hardware up to and including complete spacecraft systems. Alfery was the Mars 2020 Project Acquisition Manager and led all project acquisition activities on Mars 2020 since 2013. He also served as Project Acquisition Manager on all JPL Mars rover missions since Spirit and Opportunity (Mars Exploration Rovers) and is now leading acquisition management for the Mars Sample Return Program and Sample Retrieval Lander Project. World Congress will be held at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, July 25-28, 2021. Visit ncmaworldcongress.org for more details to learn more about the conference. The National Contract Management Association (NCMA), which was founded in 1959 and is the world’s leading association in the field of contract management. The organization, which has over 18,000 members, is dedicated to the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA strives to serve and inform the profession and industry it represents and to offer opportunities for the open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. To find out more, please visit www.ncmahq.org. Contact Details Jennifer Knowlton +1 571-382-1127 jennifer.knowlton@ncmahq.org Company Website https://www.ncmahq.org/

May 28, 2021 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Osmo Announces New Retail Partnership: Families Traveling Through U.S. Airports Memorial Day Weekend Can Purchase Osmo’s STEAM Products at InMotion Stores

Osmo

According to parents, kids love playing Osmo at school, at home, and even while they are on vacation. To reach families with school-aged kids (3-10 years) who love to shop while traveling, award-winning STEAM brand Osmo announces a new exclusive partnership with the country’s largest airport-based electronics retailer, InMotion, plus its sister venues iStore and Soundbalance, which offer cutting-edge and diverse premium electronics for tech-savvy business and leisure travelers. Starting May 29, 2021, four of Osmo’s best-selling kits will be available for purchase at InMotion, Soundbalance and iStore airport and resort locations across the country. “We’re thrilled to be launching our best-selling STEM/STEAM kits for iPad at so many InMotion locations across the country, during one of the busiest and most anticipated travel holidays, and this pivotal reopening time,” says Richard Ryan, Senior Director of U.S. Omnichannel Sales at Osmo. “Today’s parents feel that traveling with technology is a must, even for their kids, who are looking for the best products and entertainment to use while on the road. And, with tablet technology being easier to operate while in flight, kids can easily play with Osmo’s engaging array of learning games.” “The travel industry’s resilience is clear, and we are ready for the pent up demand for travel. The toy industry is experiencing a 16% increase over last year and InMotion is intent on delivering gaming technology to all ages. Osmo is the ideal kids’ system for engagement and happiness while traveling and we’re elated to introduce our exclusive partnership to the traveling consumers. Families are traveling more as virtual education is more readily available. Families look to toys to help keep their children engaged, active, and delighted,” says Eden Goldberg, Divisional Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at InMotion Entertainment Group, LLC. Almost half of the retail locations will feature Osmo’s STEAM kits stacked in floor displays, while over half of the locations will showcase a powered display with video, interactive display, and all four Osmo kits. Orlando, Detroit and New York City/LaGuardia airport locations will soon offer interactive displays that allow families to sit and test out products, while shopping. The four Osmo products currently offered by InMotion, Soundbalance and iStore, are: Little Genius Starter Kit for iPad (retail $79) Genius Starter Kit for iPad (retail $99) Creative Starter Kit for iPad (retail $69) Coding Starter Kit for iPad (retail $99) InMotion, Soundbalance, and iStore airport locations currently carrying Osmo include: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, Windsor Locks (CT), Baltimore, Washington D.C./Dulles, Washington D.C./Reagan, and New York City/LaGuardia. InMotion casino locations carrying Osmo include: Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. About InMotion InMotion Entertainment Group is the largest airport-based electronics retailer with more than 120 locations throughout the United States. Together with Marshall Retail Group, InMotion is a part of world-renowned retailer WH Smith. InMotion operates in 44 of the top performing U.S. airports as InMotion, Soundbalance, Headphone Hub, and iStore. With access and insight into the latest technologies for business and leisure travelers, InMotion offers lifestyle products and electronics that include a wide breadth of headphones, mobile power, Bluetooth speakers and travel accessories. InMotion has been the recipient of numerous industry awards that include recognition by Airport Experience News for "Best Specialty Retailer" and "Best Concessions, Highest Regard for Customer Service" for four years running. It has been acknowledged by USA Today as one of the "10 Best" Airport Concession Stores nationwide. InMotion Entertainment Group also remains the only airport retailer to appear in the two industry indexes: Dealerscope's Top 101 Consumer Electronics Retailer List for nine consecutive years, along with ranking in the Top 50 of Twice Magazine's Top 100 CE Retailers. The award-winning, knowledgeable sales associates provide an exceptional experience, with live demonstrations of every product in the store to help travelers choose the best products for their journey. For more information and real-time updates, visit InMotion online at InMotionStores.com. Follow the conversations on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. About Osmo Osmo is an award-winning STEAM brand whose products are used in over 50,000 classrooms and 2.5 million homes. It is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination. The company brings physical tools into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence. Founded in 2013 by ex-Google engineers Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, the Osmo Play System fuses digital gameplay and physical interaction to create fun and nutritious play experiences designed for all kids. Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Learn more at playosmo.com. Contact Details Carolyn Kamii PR Carolyn Kamii carolynkpr@gmail.com Osmo Karen O'Dell karen@playosmo.com Company Website http://www.playosmo.com

May 26, 2021 04:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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Goodway Group Appoints Kandi Gongora as Chief Transformation & People Officer

Goodway Group

Goodway Group, the digital partner advertisers trust to deliver campaign performance and media efficiency, has appointed Kandi Gongora to the newly created position of Chief Transformation & People Officer. In this new role, Kandi is responsible for driving company growth as a leading full service Digital Agency by ensuring the business maintains relevant, innovative and industry-leading standards as the world of work and the landscape of business continues to shift and transform. As Chief Transformation & People Officer, Gongora will be responsible for overseeing the entire organization's brand messaging by considering people, data and infrastructure in a cross-functional way, thus ensuring a seamless transformation across the organization. Gongora will manage employee experience, Center of Excellence, sales operations, internal communications, and business & organizational strategy. She also maintains a global perspective while overseeing Goodway’s international arm, CvE. This role will enable collaboration, cohesion and communication across all functions and employees. “When exploring existing titles such as Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer, I realized these titles didn’t fit the gap I was looking to fill. When I really thought about what the next iteration of people experience and organizational excellence would be, I knew that a Transformation officer was really the way of the future,” said Gongora. “Moving forward, as we adapt and change to a post-pandemic world, we will have to look at things differently and transform in life and as organizations. With compassion as my guide, I’m excited to drive change as CTPO.” This CTPO role is fast-paced, high-impact, and requires both the flexibility and learning agility to pivot with changing business needs and industry trends. Gongora is one-part architect of change, one-part people coach, and one-part mobilizer who can inspire people to make change happen. With businesses looking ahead, there is a need for adaptability and agility within each organization. The future of work and the future of business is evolving, and new roles like the Chief Transformation & People Officer will help businesses to thrive. “We are thrilled to see Kandi take on the new Chief Transformation & People Officer position, an important role that we believe will emerge across industries,” said Jay Friedman, President of Goodway Group. “Kandi is well respected amongst her colleagues and the leadership team and has a passion for working with others to create new experiences that push Goodway Group forward. As a fully remote organization, we need leaders who can connect with our employees through any and all mediums, and Kandi is that person. With her at the helm of our people and organizational operations, I’m confident that Goodway Group will continue to rapidly grow with one of the best teams and company cultures in the business.” Goodway Group has consistently been recognized for its company culture by organizations such as Fortune’s Best Places to Work, Glassdoor, Ad Age’s Best Places to Work List and Digiday’s Work/Life Award. In 2021, Goodway Group was ranked third on Ad Age’s 2021 Best Places to Work list, an annual ranking of companies that lead the pack in benefits, culture and other key factors. Ad Age recognized Goodway Group for its unique remote workforce model and history of putting its employees first. Additionally, Goodway Group has launched key initiatives including Community Resource Groups to provide a safe space for employees to connect and express themselves, ongoing leadership education programs, a well-being program, and additional work/life integration with company-led virtual childcare and flexible work hours. Gongora previously served as VP of people and organizational development and has been at Goodway Group since 2016. Recently Gongora was a part of building a ‘Teams Leading Teams’ model, which focuses on more collaboration and networking and breaking down traditional siloes. Gongora is a member of the Global Goodway Leadership Team and answers directly to the company President, Jay Friedman. About Goodway Group: Goodway Group is the digital partner advertisers trust to drive campaign performance and media efficiency. Proud to be completely independently owned and operated, Goodway provides trustworthy expertise that meets its clients' needs – and no one else's. Using predictive intelligence, data science, and analytics, Goodway helps advertisers get the most value out of every impression across all performance media, including programmatic, social, search, CTV and more. Through the combination of employing the smartest technology and the most experienced people in the industry, Goodway delivers authentic results. Find Goodway Group online at goodwaygroup.com. Honestly, Smart, Digital. Contact Details Kite Hill PR for Goodway Group Rachel Wyncoop +1 631-338-7248 rwyncoop@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.goodwaygroup.com/

May 25, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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