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Nine More Student-Athletes Join Class-Action Suit Alleging Abuse on the University of San Francisco Baseball Team and Lack of Oversight by USF and the NCAA, Allegations Dating Back More Than 20 years

FeganScott

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 15, 2022 SAN FRANCISCO – (July 15, 2022) Today, nine former University of San Francisco (USF) baseball players joined the class action lawsuit filed in March 2022 against their two (now former) baseball coaches, USF, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The players allege that USF coaches Anthony Giarratano and Troy Nakamura created an intolerable sexualized environment on the team over the course of 22 years, that USF knew about their misconduct and did nothing to stop it, and that the NCAA has inadequate policies in place to protect student-athletes from such abuse or prevent coaches from moving on to another member institution with impunity. The amended complaint includes the claims brought by the original three plaintiffs. It provides vivid details of an environment rife with emotional abuse and highly sexualized behavior, with the earliest allegations dating back to 1999 -- Giarratano’s first year as coach. The original complaint was filed on March 11, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division. Since the filing, Giarratano and Nakamura have been fired, and USF athletic director, Joan McDermott, has left her position. “Since we filed this case on behalf of three young student-athletes who had the courage to stand up and share their horrific experiences at USF, we’ve been contacted by many former USF baseball players who share similar stories of crippling emotional abuse and perverse sexual behavior by the USF coaches,” said Elizabeth Fegan, founding partner of FeganScott, and one of the attorneys representing the students. “These experiences clearly illustrate why USF and the NCAA should be held accountable for abuse by coaches.” According to Fegan, the intent of the suit is to force the school to adopt and implement best practices to prevent future occurrences and to compensate the young men for the harm they suffered at the hands of the coaches. “These nine new plaintiffs — who played baseball at USF going back to the very beginning of Giarratano and Nakamura’s coaching tenure — establish that this was not a one-off, one day, one player, or one season incident,” said Jonathan Selbin, a senior partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, who has led the firm’s litigation against the University of Southern California and the University of Michigan involving sexual abuse of students and serves as co-counsel on the present suit. “It was a two-decade period during which the coaches created a pervasive and intolerable sexualized environment that did lasting damage to these young players, that USF did nothing to stop despite its knowledge, and for which the NCAA had and has inadequate policies in place to address or prevent it from recurring.” “The reality is that the University of San Francisco has an abysmal record in safeguarding students,” Fegan added. “The deplorable case involving the baseball team comes on the heels of similar allegations involving both the men’s soccer program and the women’s basketball program.” “We are forced to use the civil court system to require the Jesuit school to make the changes it won’t make on its own,” she added. The complaint also challenges the NCAA’s refusal to take meaningful steps to create penalties for sexual, violent, or criminal conduct by coaches or personnel in their athletics programs. While the NCAA freely metes out punishments for student-athletes for poor academic performance and disciplines athletes for profiting off their own likenesses, the NCAA’s bylaws do not contain any penalties for sexual, violent, or criminal conduct by coaches or personnel in their athletics programs. According to the complaint, the NCAA has taken no action in the two decades since the NCAA adopted a coaching code of ethics in 1992, which prohibits sexual harassment and sexual relationships between coaches and athletes. The complaint also cites the NCAA’s failure to track instances of abuse to prevent coaches from moving to different schools. With over 140 pages, the complaint also cites repeated instances in which USF coaches used emotional abuse to force players to leave the team, often forced to walk away from guaranteed scholarships worth as much as $280,000. "Our investigation has revealed that the coaches would routinely berate players with profanity-laced, sexualized screeds intended to humiliate and intimidate them, often in front of other players or fans,” said Fegan. “The intent was clear, to get the kids to quit, freeing up scholarships the coaches could dangle in front of other prospects, and the data supports this conclusion.” According to the complaint of the 13 recruits in the 2017 USF class, only five stayed for four years. Of the 17 recruits in 2020, eight have transferred, and two are planning to, giving the team a 60% transfer rate compared to a national average of just 2%. “Many of the student-athletes we represent are dealing with severe trauma, depression and other health issues stemming from the horrific sexualized abuse and bullying Giarratano and Nakamura put them through,” said Fegan. “These impressionable young men looked forward to a bright future playing college baseball with the training and mentorship they were promised. Instead, the coaches tasked with guiding and teaching them, abused and scarred them. These experiences at USF are an example of what happens when the NCAA is allowed to refuse responsibility.” For more information visit www.feganscott.com ### About FeganScott FeganScott is a national class-action law firm dedicated to helping victims of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Elizabeth Fegan, the firm’s founder and managing member, represents the group of survivors suing criminally convicted movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The firm, championed by acclaimed veteran, class-action attorneys who have successfully recovered $1 billion for victims nationwide, has helped survivors of sexual abuse reclaim their lives and seek compensation from their perpetrators. FeganScott is committed to pursuing successful outcomes with integrity and excellence while holding the responsible parties accountable. About Lieff Cabraser Lieff Cabraser is a national law firm that represents individuals and small businesses in a variety of individual and class action cases, including cases brought by survivors of sexual abuse against physicians, teachers, and the institutions who employ them, including the groundbreaking sexual abuse class action against the University of Southern California filed on behalf of nearly 18,000 women who were abused by USC gynecologist George Tyndall. Lieff Cabraser served as Co-Lead Class Counsel in the USC suit, securing a historic $215 million settlement for the survivors that also included sweeping institutional reforms requiring USC to make significant and substantial changes to ensure such sexual abuse never happens again on its campus. Lieff Cabraser is currently serving as Co-Lead Class Counsel in litigation against the University of Michigan on behalf of student-patient and other survivors of sexual abuse by the late Dr. Robert E. Anderson. Media Contact: Mark Firmani feganscottpr@firmani.com Case No. 3:22-cv-01559 About FeganScott FeganScott is a national class action law firm dedicated to helping victims of civil rights violations, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and consumer fraud. The firm is championed by acclaimed veteran, class action attorneys who have successfully recovered $1 billion for victims nationwide. FeganScott is committed to pursuing successful outcomes with integrity and excellence while holding the responsible parties accountable. Contact Details Mark Firmani +1 206-466-2700 feganscottpr@firmani.com Company Website https://feganscott.com

July 15, 2022 03:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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International Bank Executive Frank Morisano Joins Treliant as Senior Managing Director to Drive Rapid Growth in Credit Solutions

Treliant

Treliant, an essential, global consulting partner to the financial industry, has named international bank executive, Frank Morisano to the newly formed position of Senior Managing Director, Credit Solutions. This position was created to address significant increases in demand and to bring additional executive focus to Treliant’s credit solutions group, which delivers practitioner-based credit offerings to financial industry clients across the full credit lifecycle – from developing credit programs, undertaking periodic loan review, to enhancing portfolio management, and addressing problem loans. In addition to expanding and enhancing the firm’s Credit Solutions business unit, Frank will also be a member of the executive leadership team, contributing to the overall strategy and operational direction of the company. “Frank Morisano brings over 30 years of relevant experience in financial services and consulting. He is internationally recognized for helping banks meet demanding regulatory requirements without losing momentum toward their ambitious business objectives,” said Treliant CEO David Samuels. “This is Treliant’s sweet spot, and I am thrilled to welcome Frank to the leadership team, where I am confident that his contributions will help us to expand our solution set and sustain our hyper growth.” Frank joins Treliant from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank, where he was Chief Risk Officer with responsibility for the Americas risk profile, strategic planning, governance, and other areas of risk management and operational resilience. He also implemented a compliant cybersecurity framework and procedures as Chief Information Security Officer. Prior executive management roles include the leadership of revenue-generating businesses at PwC, GMAC, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. At PwC, he also gained deep practical, profitable consulting experience in multiple countries where he established and led successful financial services practices. “I’m excited to join the Treliant organization and to have an opportunity to work with a team of professionals who are so grounded in the business, regulatory, and technology foundations of our industry,” said Frank Morisano. “I believe that my background and experience, combined with Treliant’s current credit solutions, will enable us to expand the business with data-driven and technology enabled solutions, that drive significant cost savings and transform the way they operate.” Treliant Treliant is a global consulting firm serving banks, mortgage originators and servicers, FinTechs, and other companies providing financial services. We are led by practitioners from the industry and the regulatory community who bring deep domain knowledge to help our clients drive business change and address the most pressing compliance, regulatory, and operational challenges. We provide data-driven, technology-enabled advisory, implementation, and staffing solutions to the regulatory compliance, risk, financial crimes, and capital markets functions of our clients. Founded in 2005, Treliant is headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York, London, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Łódź, Poland. Contact Details Melissa Pazornik +1 202-249-7932 mpazornik@treliant.com Company Website https://www.treliant.com

July 14, 2022 02:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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New Axiom Research Ties Company Growth to Corporate Model

Axiom Consulting Partners

82% of ~ 200 leaders surveyed think they make the right decisions, but the time, energy, and resources required to implement them diminishes their effectiveness Only 33% of respondents feel their decisions are executed as intended 1 in 3 companies changed their operating model in the 12 months before the study A new research study from business advisory firm Axiom Consulting Partners (“Axiom”), suggests that companies need to consider their current size and growth objectives when developing their corporate model. The study, entitled The Corporate Model’s Effect on Performance, reflects input from nearly 200 executives at major companies from a wide range of industries. The study found that most companies employ one of four distinct corporate model archetypes, each of which has different implications for corporate center accountabilities, operational leadership, governance, and approaches to strategic capabilities. Examples of the Operational Owner model archetype include Toyota, Walmart and BMW; companies run under the Operational Leader archetype include Pepsico, John Deere and Nike; Strategic Leader archetype companies are exemplified in Sony, Apple and Starbucks; and the Portfolio manager archetype includes companies like Berkshire Hathaway, Samsung and Nestlé. One notable difference among the archetypes is the degree of centralization or decentralization each carries. “Companies make changes to their corporate model for many reasons, including strategic shifts, financial duress, a significant merger or acquisition, or a leadership change. Our research strongly suggests that a company’s current stage of growth is another reason to consider doing so. It provides critical evidence that supports a situationally driven approach to designing a corporate model based on growth aspirations,” said study leader Aaron Sorensen, an Axiom partner and head of the firm’s Business Transformation practice. “This may well be the most important factor to consider rather than, say, how your company’s industry competitors are organized.” “Our analysis of the data showed that different archetypes apply to certain stages of a company’s growth,” Sorensen continued. “For example, a business with between $1 and $3 billion in annual revenues generally wants to employ a cohesive, profitable growth model to avoid performance deterioration, so relatively strong, centralized corporate control over the enterprise would be called for at this stage. And the corporate model that got a company to $1 billion is not going to be the same model that gets a company to $3 billion or $5 billion.” The study also found that: While 82 percent of respondents believe that their organization makes the right decisions, the effectiveness of these decisions is diminished by the amount of time, energy, and resources required to implement them Only 33 percent of respondents believe that decisions are ultimately executed as intended One in three companies changed their operating model within the past year with the intent of improving speed and agility, but only 60 percent report that they are now able to make decisions faster than competitors The study analysis also provides insights into the implications of each operating model archetype on the organization of the corporate center, business units, and support functions, as well as the performance and decision-making effectiveness of each archetype. As detailed in the analysis, some corporate models create better conditions for decision making and performance than others at different points along the growth journey—there is not a one-size-fits all approach to optimizing the corporate model. Study Methodology Axiom Consulting Partners' study gathered the thinking of 174 executive leaders, including CEOs, CFOs, COOs, and CHROs and global organizations ranging from $500 million to over $20 billion in annual revenue. The researchers had strong cross-industry representation, including respondents from consumer & retail, industrial & energy, insurance & financial services, and technology. Leading brands like Chubb, Constellation Brands, Delek US, Kemper, Northwestern Mutual, and Raytheon Technologies were among the represented organizations. Axiom Consulting Partners help clients accelerate growth and transform their organization and workforce to improve execution. We leverage expertise in behavioral and data science to establish strategic direction and improve organizations alignment and execution. We measure our value by the impact we create, evidenced in our clients’ sustained results. Unique to our solutions, we combine deep analytical capabilities, technology-based tools, and practical experience, helping clients to determine priorities and then focusing our work on developing and sustaining excellence in those areas. Contact Details Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com Company Website https://axiomcp.com

July 14, 2022 11:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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CollaborationRoom.AI and Provana Announce Joint Solution for Superior Contact Center Effectiveness

Provana

Provana, provider of the industry’s first unified platform for compliance and performance management, and CollaborationRoom.AI, an agent engagement, productivity, and compliance solution for hybrid workforce, today announced a partnership that creates the most holistic agent effectiveness management solution available to contact center leaders. CollaborationRoom.AI has built an engagement platform that recreates the same employee experience whether working from home or from the office. The solution uses an entirely browser-based deployment to replicate an office working environment. In parallel, Provana’s leading Interaction Analytics platform analyzes agent voice call interactions for insights into call quality, compliance, and agent effectiveness. Through this partnership, contact center managers will get a 360-degree view of agent performance by analyzing the agent’s behavioral attributes combined with their voice interactions. This provides a deeper and richer set of insights into agent empathy and the elements that drive increased CX in each agent interaction. Provana’s team will also provide a layer of analytics services to CollaborationRoom.AI customers, even those not using Provana for Insight Analytics. “We are excited to be working with such a notable innovator in the contact center space,” said Sean Clark, SVP Products at Provana. “We strive for the most contextualized and customizable interaction analytics to our customers. CollaborationRoom.AI extends the depth of our ability to provide context for actionable insights.” “Provana brings a unique combination of technology and analysts to contact centers in consumer finance, insurance, and other industries,” said Sameer Maini, Chief Executive Officer at CollaborationRoom.AI. “We are pleased to bring our technology to market with one of the most robust and growing players in the industry.” About CollaborationRoom.AI CollaborationRoom.AI patent pending solution enables the supervisor to manage their remote teams as if they are in a brick-and-mortar facility. The CollaborationRoom.AI solution enables customers to drive higher agent utilization, lower attrition and increase compliance. Learn more at www.collaborationroom.ai. About Provana Provana’s compliance and performance management solutions are the first of their kind, providing effortless control over process-intensive and regulated operations. Available to large and midsize enterprises in the consumer finance, legal and healthcare markets, Provana technology is based on a decade of business process management (BPM), AI, RPA, regulatory compliance, and secure data operation expertise. Provana BPM services operate in hundreds of client back offices. The Provana platform can be enabled with managed services and has modules for call analytics, consumer self-service, policies, procedures, disputes, complaints, internal & external audits, noncompliance resolution, licensing & insurance, and BI for operational control. Learn more at www.provana.com. Contact Details Provana Britney Schaeffer britney.schaeffer@provana.com Collaborationroom.AI Viji Maini Viji.maini@collaborationroom.ai Company Website https://www.provana.com/

July 14, 2022 08:14 AM Central Daylight Time

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Unocoin Collaborates With CleverTap to Offer Its Users Omnichannel Customer Experiences

CleverTap

CleverTap, the modern, integrated retention cloud, today announced it has partnered with Unocoin, India’s first crypto exchange, to optimize, accelerate their user engagement, and provide a seamless omnichannel customer experience. Through this collaboration, and by integrating CleverTap’s solution into its app, Unocoin is now equipped to better understand user behavior and has the ability to create segments based on user activity, demographics, and other parameters. Unocoin will also be able to create hyper-personalized campaigns to engage with its audience across multiple channels at the right time with precise communication. “As a platform that helps individuals with investments into cryptocurrencies, we need to be cognizant of the exact needs of our users. Understanding a customer’s behavior on our app becomes vital as this helps us provide a tailored experience. Since awareness and understanding of cryptocurrencies at large is at a nascent stage, delivering precise communication becomes all the more important,” said Suhas SK, Senior Vice President - Marketing, Unocoin Technologies Private Limited. CleverTap enables Unocoin to keep track of app activity, in-app purchases, and returning users. Unocoin will also be able to personalize customer experience using real-time behavioral data with precise predictive recommendations, leading to engagement opportunities based on each user’s exact needs. “We are delighted to partner with Unocoin in their journey to make investing in cryptocurrency easy for all. With CleverTap Retention Cloud, Unocoin will be able to hyper-personalize the experience for every investor. Today, hyper-personalization is crucial at every point in a customer’s journey and is a key enabler to growth. We are confident that with our help, Unocoin will be able to grow and offer its customers exactly what they need,” said Vikrant Chowdhary, Chief Growth Officer, CleverTap. About CleverTap CleverTap is the modern, integrated retention cloud that empowers digital consumer brands to increase customer retention and lifetime value. CleverTap drives contextual individualization with the help of a unified and deep data layer, AI/ML-powered insights, and automation enabling brands to offer hyper-personalized and delightful experiences to their customers. 1,200+ customers in 60+ countries and 10,000+ apps, including Gojek, ShopX, Canon, Mercedes Benz, Electronic Arts, TED, Jio, Premier League, TD Bank, Carousell, Papa John’s, and Tesco, trust CleverTap to achieve their retention and engagement goals, growing their long-term revenue. Backed by leading venture capital firms, including Sequoia, Tiger Global Management, and Accel, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Mumbai, Singapore, Sofia, São Paulo, Bogota, Amsterdam, Jakarta, and Dubai. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn and Twitter. About Unocoin Started in 2013, Unocoin is a Bangalore-based technology startup and is India’s first entrant into the bitcoin industry. The company operates India’s largest (in Indian customer base) BTC-INR trading platform which enables Indians to buy, sell, store, use, and accept bitcoin. At its peak, Unocoin processed transactions worth more than INR 2B per month for its 1,300,000+ customers. The startup has been featured among the Top 20 companies in The Fintech20: India List, and have won prestigious titles like ‘The Golden SABRE award’ in financial communications for the project, ‘Bit-by-Bit: Building Bitcoin in India’ and ‘TECH30’ award from YourStory.For more information, visit https://www.unocoin.com/in Forward-Looking Statements Some of the statements in this press release may represent CleverTap's belief in connection with future events and may be forward-looking statements, or statements of future expectations based on currently available information. CleverTap cautions that such statements are naturally subject to risks and uncertainties that could amount in the actual result being absolutely different from the results anticipated by the statements mentioned in the press release. Factors such as the development of general economic conditions affecting our business, future market conditions, our ability to maintain cost advantages, uncertainty with respect to earnings, corporate actions, client concentration, reduced demand, liability or damages in our service contracts, unusual catastrophic loss events, war, political instability, changes in government policies or laws, legal restrictions impacting our business, impact of pandemic, epidemic, any natural calamity and other factors that are naturally beyond our control, changes in the capital markets and other circumstances may cause the actual events or results to be materially different, from those anticipated by such statements. CleverTap does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or updated or revised status of such statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will CleverTap and its affiliate companies be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or any related damages. Contact Details Sony Shetty sony@clevertap.com Company Website https://clevertap.com/

July 14, 2022 04:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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APB Survey Indicates Positive Outlook for Homebuilder Market Despite Possible Recession

Association of Professional Builders

The Association of Professional Builders (APB), a leading business coaching service for custom home builders, with members in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, today provided additional insights on the homebuilder market in light of a possible recession that U.S. economists are predicting. While construction material costs, labor shortages, and other pandemic implications have arisen, the association remains optimistic about residential homebuilders’ businesses – provided that they know how to prepare for a possible recession. Recently, APB released findings from its annual 2022 2022 State of Residential Construction Industry (SORCI) Report. The report, compiled annually, surveyed more than 700 builders from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and was sponsored by Buildertrend, CBUSA, Buildxact, Xact Accounting and Builda Price. Key findings concluded that 68.9 percent of U.S. homebuilders focus on new construction and take on approximately 13 projects per calendar year. “Smart builders must factor in extended lead times, material price increases, and labor shortages. These factors are all combining to erode what little margins builders have left in their projects,” said Russ Stephens, Co-Founder of APB. “The residential home builders who will continue to succeed are the ones that have a good understanding of their financials; this includes protecting their profit margins with at least a 25 percent gross margin.” The 2022 SORCI Report indicated that the benchmark for fixed expenses is approximately 15 percent of the company’s annual sales for those building companies with over $3 million in annual revenue. 55 percent of the home builders surveyed also projected marking up their jobs by 25 percent or more based on their profitability in 2022. More than 50 percent (56.6 percent) of U.S. builders noted that they monitor their gross margins on jobs every month. Optimistically, 46.7 percent of the residential home builders surveyed indicated that they are on track to earn more money this year, surpassing $120,000 in annual salary, also with 52.7 percent of their jobs completed on budget. APB predicts that with demand now starting to reduce for home builders in the U.S., it’s imperative that builders address how they are marketing their business before it’s too late. “Sales have been relatively easy for builders to achieve over the past two years due to unprecedented demand which has led to a reduction in marketing activity for most building companies,” said Stephens. “However, as demand softens, it’s important that companies factor in the long sales cycle in the industry. This means they need to be generating opportunities right now in order to still be signing contracts in 6-12 months time.” The right understanding of the company’s operating costs, both fixed and variable, accounting for lead times, taking on specific jobs that don’t stretch the company too thin, and marking up jobs correctly to account for the materials and labor market, are all critical with a possible recession looming. As some of the jobs the home builders are completing are already booked out with a more than 18-month lead time in their schedules based on prior demand, the building companies that will still be operating in 2023 will stay close to their financials, recalculating their costs every 30 days. To find out more about the state of the residential construction industry, a free PDF of the report can be downloaded at https://go.associationofprofessionalbuilders.com/sorci-download. ABOUT ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL BUILDERS The Association of Professional Builders is a leading business coaching service for custom home builders in the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It provides tested and proven systems for builders to scale and succeed, based on data, experience, and results. For more information, visit: https://associationofprofessionalbuilders.com. Contact Details The Hoyt Organization Alyson Campbell +1 310-373-0103 acampbell@hoytorg.com The Hoyt Organization Cinnamon Thompson +1 310-373-0103 cthompson@hoytorg.com Company Website https://associationofprofessionalbuilders.com/

July 13, 2022 08:40 AM Central Daylight Time

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Assembly Releases Newest Global Luxury Brand Report: New Horizons for Luxury in China

Assembly

Hot off the press – Global omnichannel agency Assembly is back with our much-anticipated global luxury brand reports. In 2022, we release a first-of-its kind-installment, focused on the market quickly becoming the most critical for luxury brands worldwide: China. Download your copy of: LUXE IN CHINA – New Horizons for Luxury Brands In 2020, it was reported that by the year 2025, China will contribute to half of all luxury goods purchases worldwide. Two years later and that trajectory is very much on track, as experts expect China to take its place as the world’s largest luxury personal goods market within the next three years. Not only are the trends we see in this market relevant to the brands seeking to win the hearts and minds of Chinese consumers – but they also point towards luxury’s future place in the lifestyles of up-and-coming generations around the world. Where China leads in technological advances and innovation and bold, new experiences, others often follow. In the 2022 report, we look at four key defining trends, with insight and examples of successful implementation and transformation done by global brands in the Chinese market: Emerging Media Formats Our Future in the Metaverse The Evolution of Offline Immersive Experiences New Consumer Engagement Beyond Brand We also look at media investment trends across key luxury categories, as a signal of the continued digitalization of luxe brand experiences. While challenging economic conditions and the continued effects of COVID are felt by all, luxury brands are creating vibrant, truly culture-defining moments to create closer connections with luxe consumers. Get your copy today. ABOUT ASSEMBLY: Assembly is made of the ingredients of the modern agency, bringing together data, talent, and technology to deliver a connected set of solutions for media + more to the best brands on the planet. We’re home to more than 1,500 of the industry’s top talent, who bring unmatched global omnichannel media expertise + data, technology, and business consulting capabilities that find change and fuel growth for brands worldwide. Assembly is a proud member of Stagwell, the challenger network built to transform marketing. Visit www.assemblyglobal.com for more information. Contact Details Assembly Kelvin Lee, Associate Director of Marketing +852 2344 6477 kelvin.lee@assemblyglobal.com Company Website https://www.assemblyglobal.com/

July 12, 2022 09:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Global Leaders Decry the Trivialization and Hijacking of the ‘Apartheid’ Label to Attack the Jewish State

Combat Hate Foundation

Leaders from around the world spoke out last week against appropriation of the term “apartheid” from its historical South African context with the goal of defaming and isolating Israel by portraying it as a racist entity. At a conference co-hosted by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), NGO Monitor, and the World Zionist Organization titled “ Trivializing History: How Anti-Israel Activists Have Hijacked the South African ‘Apartheid’ Label to Attack the Jewish State,” world leaders, diplomats, legislators, and policymakers discussed what must be done to restore the “apartheid” term to its proper context and delegitimize its use in discourse about a conflict to which it has no relevance. “Categorizing Israel as an ‘apartheid’ state is just plain antisemitic,” said Vice President of the European Parliament and Special Envoy on Combating Religious Discrimination Including Antisemitism Nicola Beer. “In my opinion, such characterization counters progress made in the region concerning the peace process, instead it deepens the rifts and fuels antisemitism around the world.” The conference was held in response to the global rise in antisemitism. The “apartheid” campaign questions Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state by framing Israel as an inherently racist state. During the past 18 months, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International published reports accusing Israel of “apartheid,” and the UN established two bodies where the claim of apartheid will be prominently featured. These attempts distort history of what happened during South Africa’s past system of institutionalized racial segregation. Continuous misuse of the “apartheid” conversation trivializes the suffering endured by true apartheid victims of the oppressive apartheid regime. “The suffering of South Africans under Apartheid was unique and attempts to apply the same label to Israel trivialize that history and are unacceptable,” said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jiří Kozák. “We consider this open antisemitism. By claiming that Israel is a racist endeavor is in violation of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism. Claims of ‘apartheid’ is not about questioning a particular policy, but about challenging the nature of the Jewish state.” “Whatever the world’s greatest and most unforgiveable crime is in any particular moment of history, the Jews will be accused of it,” said Member of the UK House of Lords Baroness Ruth Deech. “Those who accuse Israel of ‘apartheid’ are themselves racist in that their real mission is to deny the legitimacy of the only Jewish state in the world and if they got their way they would return Jews to dispersion, slaughter, and discrimination.” “Attempts to link South Africa’s past system of institutionalized racial segregation to the nuanced complexity of contemporary Israel-Palestinian relations debase history and trivialize the unique suffering of ‘apartheid’ victims,” U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar said. “We must acknowledge the dangerous effects of falsified name-calling.” “A lot of political prisoners during the Apartheid era would have loved to live as a Palestinian in Israel,” said Member of the European Parliament and Vice Chair of the Budgetary Committee Niclas Herbst. “Applying the ‘apartheid’ label serves no purpose other than to delegitimize the Israeli state, demonizing the Jewish people and ultimately bring about Israel’s destruction,” said Former Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defense of the Republic of Ireland Alan Shatter. Alongside the conference, CAM released a public petition urging people to sign a pledge to “urge decision-makers at the international, national, and local levels to vocally reject and condemn the ‘apartheid’ libel of Israel.” NGO Monitor released a number of reports debunking the claims made by Amnesty International and other NGOs. Examples of such reports can be found here and here. These releases highlight their work fighting the “apartheid” libel. “We are combating the ‘apartheid’ calumny with a carefully orchestrated strategy and a dissemination of the truth and the facts,” Elan Carr, CAM Advisory Board Member and Former US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, said. "The antisemitic ‘apartheid’ campaign will be defeated because it is built on lies and hate." NGO Monitor Vice President Olga Deutsch commented, “It is heartwarming to see how many officials rallied to denounce the ‘apartheid’ smear. Preserving the uniqueness of the ‘apartheid’ narrative is central for the South African people, but in the context of today’s event is also crucial for the global Jewish community facing violent antisemitic attacks. Strong message from our elected officials is imperative in setting the tone for the rest of us.” Watch a video of the full event here. The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) is a global coalition engaging more than 500 partner organizations and 1.7 million people from a diverse array of religious, political, and cultural backgrounds in the common mission of fighting the world’s oldest hatred. CAM acts collaboratively to build a better future, free of bigotry, for Jews and all humanity. Contact Details Ashley Perry info@combatantisemitism.org Company Website https://combatantisemitism.org/

July 12, 2022 08:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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‘Ready for Ron’ Releases Research Illustrating Growing Positive Sentiment for DeSantis

Ready for Ron

Today, Ready for Ron, a draft committee encouraging Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to run for President, released research it commissioned from Impact Social showing growing support for Governor DeSantis. The report shows positive sentiment for Governor Ron DeSantis grew 8 points from an earlier analysis released last week. Impact Social researchers analyzed the publicly available social media discussion in relation to Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump among swing voters from June 15 to June 29, 2022. Additional reports are expected every two weeks. Previous reports can be found here. “We carried out detailed language analysis of US social media discussions back to May 2016 to capture social media users into a database of 40,000 swing voters,” explained Phil Snape, Director at Impact Social. “With 40,000 participants, we are operating what is likely the world’s largest focus group – as big as a Football stadium.” The summary of Impact Social’s second report states: The last fortnight has been a productive period for Ron DeSantis which has seen his net sentiment jump 8 pts (-14 to -6) among floating voters. Within the positive conversation (+2pts 19 to 21), those hoping to persuade DeSantis to run for president will be delighted to see the leading topic within this discussion is how they prefer DeSantis to Trump (33%). It is worth emphasizing these opinions are posted without coercion or provocation. These floating voters are merely stating online how they favor the younger man as their next president. A small percentage (4%) are even outing themselves as Democrats before volunteering their support should DeSantis stand. Intriguingly, there is a feeling among his supporters that a sense of momentum is developing around his potential presidential candidacy. They speak excitedly about a poll in NH, an ‘endorsement’ by Elon Musk or simply muse that DeSantis’ ‘is where the smart money is’, that ‘Dems want Trump because they can’t beat DeSantis’ or that Fox will happily anoint him as leader of the GOP when the time arises. A downward trend in the number of negative posts against DeSantis (-5pts 33 to 27) will be welcomed by his camp. Yet their boss continues to take hits from across the political spectrum as some GOP voters see him as too right wing and pine for a leader dedicated to smaller government. That said, the majority of criticism stems from the left who see DeSantis as an overbearing authoritarian. They use DeSantis’ recent decision not to order Covid -19 vaccination for FL kids as a prime example of what he is capable of. This, together with perceived attacks on LGBT rights and support for gun laws increases anxiety among the left many of whom see him as a danger to America. All of which, given the ideological standpoint of the authors, might be music to DeSantis’ ears. “We are excited to see our efforts are paying off. Support for Ron DeSantis continues to grow. While we expect the attacks to increase, we are delighted his support base is increasing too,” explained Ready for Ron legal counsel and spokeswoman Lilian Rodríguez-Baz. “We are hoping to build one of the biggest grassroots movements ever, and with support growing like this, it will happen even more quickly than we anticipated.” Ready for Ron continues its TV and online advertising efforts to engage Americans to sign the petition at ReadyForRon.com to Draft Ron DeSantis to run in 2024. While ‘Ready for Ron’ is completely unaffiliated with the DeSantis campaign per federal regulations, it has taken the novel step of submitting a formal Advisory Opinion Request to the FEC seeking to share its growing supporter list with Governor DeSantis if the Draft succeeds and he announces his candidacy. Impact Social is a specialist social media, online monitoring, and analysis company. It uses big data software to track over 60 million online sites including Twitter, Facebook, all blogs, forums, and news websites. Whatever is said publicly, in the media or online it can follow live, 24/7 in 44 different languages. This is where reliance on algorithms ends. Once the data has been received its in-house experts read and analyze the content - often amounting to 1,000’s of individual posts. Impact Social’s unique methodology ensures unrivalled accuracy to show what has been said and its impact. Impact Social is the only company in the world providing this level of analysis. ### For more information or to schedule an interview with ‘Ready for Ron’ legal counsel, Lilian Rodríguez-Baz, or an Impact Social spokesperson, please contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or dan@readyforron.com Contact Details Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 dan@readyforron.com Company Website https://www.readyforron.com/

July 11, 2022 10:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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