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Retention Cloud Leader CleverTap Acquires Leanplum

CleverTap

CleverTap, the world’s No.1 retention cloud, today announced it has signed definitive agreements to fully acquire San Francisco based Leanplum, a leading multi-channel customer engagement platform, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition will make CleverTap a truly global company with development centers and customer-facing and success teams across North America, Europe, Latin America, India, South East Asia and the Middle East. Combining the product stack of the two organizations, this acquisition will enhance CleverTap’s capabilities and take its total customer base to over 1200 customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The deal is expected to close in Q2 of 2022. Together CleverTap and Leanplum will work with digital brands to help increase their users’ engagement, retention and lifetime value by making every user experience hyper-personalized, relevant and contextual at scale in real time. As more businesses become digital-first, brands need to serve their users with delightful moments where they are, when they want and on their preferred channel. CleverTap and Leanplum will now bring real-time hyper-personalization, A/B testing and increased scalability to its omnichannel engagement, analytics and segmentation product lines. As a result, growth and marketing teams globally will now be able to utilize the only end-to-end user engagement and retention cloud platform, enabling them to break down user communication silos and increase the overall lifetime value of each user. “We are seeing a seismic shift in the marketing technology landscape,” says Sunil Thomas, CleverTap Co-founder and Executive Chairman. “Users today demand to be treated as individuals, and this has forced brands to change how they engage with them. CleverTap and Leanplum have both purposely built for a mobile-centric omnichannel world.” The acquisition, he says, combines platforms and teams to deliver the best behavior analytics, segmentation, and engagement tools that will enable digital brands to build valuable, long-term relationships with their users. “Our combined strength will be a game-changing force for user engagement, retention and monetization, creating tremendous value for our customers. I am very excited to welcome Leanplum to the CleverTap family.” “When we started Leanplum, our vision was to meet customers' real-time needs at the cutting edge of technology,” says Momchil Kyurkchiev, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Leanplum. “We have succeeded in that, but as the market has matured, to fully meet the increasing demands put on brands today, we needed to bring in the best analytics, segmentation, and engagement tools, to help our customers build valuable, long-term relationships with their customers. This is why joining forces with CleverTap makes the most sense, and I am excited about the combined capabilities we will now bring to Leanplum customers worldwide.” “I am looking forward to the journey with Leanplum. This coming together with Leanplum marks a monumental moment across the marketing technology landscape,” says Sidharth Malik, CleverTap Chief Executive Officer. “This bridges the gap created by multiple martech tools and customer data platforms and will meet the growing needs of user-obsessed digital brands in a much more efficient way. Our ‘better together’ vision is about integrating our cumulative strengths around people, process and technology to cement our position as the global leader in the user engagement and retention space. Joining forces allows us to bring advanced product and technology capabilities as brands strive to do live segmentation, anticipate user intentions and actions, automate and deploy real-time campaigns for the highest possible conversions, all from one single dashboard.” About CleverTap CleverTap is the modern, integrated retention cloud that empowers digital consumer brands to increase customer retention and lifetime value. For brands that understand and value user retention, CleverTap drives context and individualization with the help of a unified and deep data layer, AI/ML powered insights and automation. Customers around the world representing over 10,000 apps, including Vodafone Idea, SonyLIV, Daimler, Gojek, Carousell, and Premier League, trust CleverTap to achieve their retention and engagement goals, growing their long term revenue. Backed by leading venture capital firms including Sequoia India, Tiger Global Management, and Accel, the company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in Mumbai, Singapore, and Dubai. For more information, visit clevertap.com or follow on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. 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/

May 19, 2022 08:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Velocity Global raises $400M in Series B growth round

Velocity Global

Eldridge and Norwest Venture Partners lead funding round Achieves multi-billion dollar valuation, a 7x increase in one year Investment boosts the company’s Global Work Platform™ that enables businesses and talent to work with anyone, anywhere, anyhow Velocity Global, the leading provider of global talent solutions, announced today that it raised $400 million in its Series B funding round, increasing the company’s valuation seven-fold since the same time last year. This second round of funding is led by Eldridge and Norwest Venture Partners which join Series A investor FFL Partners on Velocity Global’s board to lend their deep expertise in the areas of technology, future of work and global scale. The company retains majority ownership and founder Ben Wright continues as CEO and chair of the board of directors. “This is a pivotal moment for our company in the midst of a paradigm shift for employers and talent,” said Wright. “Access to work is no longer limited by borders or the star you are born under as the adoption of global talent accelerates. In March, we tripled the number of new supported talent on our platform compared to the same time last year, and the momentum continues to build. Eldridge and Norwest Venture Partners join FFL Partners to invest in people’s lives and the future of business. Massive kudos to our team for this achievement on our way to even greater heights.” Profitable since its founding in 2014, Velocity Global more than doubled its client roster over the past year, tripled the number of new supported talent on its platform, and will reach an annual net revenue run rate of $200 million by midyear as it continues to scale rapidly. “Velocity Global’s proven technology platform is positioned to transform the future of work, offering businesses a frictionless solution for building and expanding their teams,” said Todd Boehly, co-founder and CEO of Eldridge. “We are proud to partner with Ben and his team as demand continues to grow for best-in-class workforce solutions that support organizations looking to scale across the globe.” Parker Barrile, partner at Norwest Venture Partners, joins the Velocity Global board as a director. Barrile is the former vice president of product at LinkedIn who oversaw 20-fold growth as the company went public. “Velocity Global has a rare mix of scale, growth, and profitability that attracted us to be part of the next phase,” said Barrile. “The company is led by a strong leadership team with an ambitious roadmap, and we look forward to partnering with them as they accelerate the future of work.” The company’s Global Work Platform™ seamlessly connects employers and talent worldwide through proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, personalized expertise, and unmatched global scale. The platform offers a full suite of talent solutions, including global Employer of Record (EoR) and Contractor Management, to help thousands of companies compliantly onboard, manage, and pay full-time and part-time talent, contractors, and freelancers in more than 185 countries and all 50 United States. Velocity Global serves more than 1,200 clients and over 7,000 supported employees worldwide. The Velocity Global team is more than 700 employees strong in 47 countries across six continents with plans to more than double the number of employees by the end of the year. In 2021, the company successfully completed acquisitions of iWorkGlobal and Shield GEO that added capabilities to its Global Work Platform. Velocity Global will use the funds to continue enhancing the customer experience for both businesses and talent. The company will make further strategic investments in technology, sales and marketing, as well as potential future acquisitions to execute on its vision to provide a frictionless solution for businesses and talent to work with anyone, anywhere, anyhow. FT Partners served as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Velocity Global on this transaction. About Velocity Global Velocity Global accelerates the future of work for anyone, anywhere, anyhow. Its Global Work Platform™ simplifies the employer and talent experience through its proprietary cloud-based talent management technology, backed by personalized expertise and unmatched global scale. The platform offers a full suite of talent solutions, including global Employer of Record and Contractor Management, to help companies onboard, manage, and pay talent in more than 185 countries and all 50 United States. Thousands of brands rely on Velocity Global to build international teams without the cost or complexity of setting up foreign legal entities or state registrations. Velocity Global was named a "Leader" in Global Employer of Record Services by prominent analyst firm NelsonHall. Founded in 2014, the company has hundreds of employees across six continents. For more information, visit velocityglobal.com. About Eldridge Eldridge invests in businesses across the Insurance, Asset Management, Technology, Mobility, Sports & Gaming, Media & Music, Real Estate, and Consumer landscapes. The firm seeks to build and grow businesses led by proven management teams that have demonstrated leadership and experience to scale an enterprise. Eldridge is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, with additional offices in Beverly Hills, New York, and London. To learn more about Eldridge, please visit www.eldridge.com. About Norwest Venture Partners Norwest is a leading venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $12.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 650 companies and currently partners with more than 200 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across a wide range of sectors with a focus on consumer, enterprise and healthcare. The Norwest team offers a deep network of connections, operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco, with subsidiaries in India and Israel. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com. Follow Norwest on Twitter @NorwestVP. Contact Details Corporate Communications Anja Koltes +1 720-650-4348 news@velocityglobal.com Eldridge Nadia Damouni +1 212-518-8012 ndamouni@prosek.com Norwest Venture Partners Kate Dishaw +1 650-321-8000 kdishaw@nvp.com Company Website https://velocityglobal.com/

May 18, 2022 07:01 AM Mountain Daylight Time

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Underline Science Closes Pre-Series A Round To Further Advance Scholarly Research With The Growth Of The Digital Video Library

Underline Science Inc

Most industries have progressed from paper to all forms of content; how is it that one of our most essential industries, science, is staying behind. This is something Underline's founder doesn't understand, and therefore he will change it with the launch of the Underline Digital Video Library (DVL). With a considerable track record, this multi-accomplished founder is now taking on the big publishers in a way that hasn't been seen before as a premier aggregator of streaming scientific conference lecture video content. Together with his team of industry leaders, Underline is aiming to transcend the industry into the 21st century. The mission of Underline is to improve researchers' access to quality scientific conference lecture video content. Historically, if you did not attend a scientific conference, you would miss out on all of the conference's lectures. Underline's DVL contains 26,000+ videos (Health Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering, Technology, Social Sciences, and Humanities). The video content from the world's prestigious scientific societies and universities, like IEEE, Endocrine, AIP, lecturers from MIT, Harvard, Facebook, Google, etc. Each video is complete with abstract, English transcription, bio, picture of the author, and most importantly, a DOI (digital object identifier), which ensures that the video can be searched and discovered. Today, the company announced that it had raised a $2.5 million Pre-Series A round of funding, led by South Central Ventures and the Dutch Founders Fund. As a result, Mr. Jure Mikuz (South Central Ventures) and Mr. Laurens Groenendijk (Dutch Founders Fund) will join the Underline Board of Directors. "With this new round of funding, we'll be able to enhance the Underline DVL features and content greatly. Further to grow the team and expand our go-to-market strategy," Underline CEO and founder Alex Lazinica said in a press release. "We are looking forward to increasing our penetration into the library, government and corporate, institutional subscription market." South Central Ventures, who led the round, Managing Partner Jure Mikuz, said, “Underline’s mission resonates with us very well as they are addressing a global opportunity of creating a library of global scientific video content. I believe they will be successful by facilitating their excellent execution skills and deep industry knowledge. We are very excited to join Underline on this journey.” Founding Partner Laurens Groenendijk of The Dutch Founders Fund states, " We believe that if Underline Science manages to tap into the apparent possible network effects, it can quickly grow to be the dominant player in science content aggregation. We at Dutch Founders hope to see “underlining become a verb”. If anyone is going to do it, We know a seasoned entrepreneur like Alex is. “ Underline's business model is an annual subscription fee for unlimited access to the entire Digital Video Library for the subscribing institution's community. About Underline Science Underline is the premier virtual conference platform for events in science, medicine, academia, and other professional fields. Underline’s mission is to capture and disseminate scientific knowledge through video, making it globally accessible by enriching and preserving both virtual and hybrid conference content. Underline’s groundbreaking scientific Digital Video Library is providing new opportunities to access and expand the scientific record and accelerate scientific discovery. For more information, visit the Underline website and follow Underline on Twitter. About South Central Ventures South Central Ventures is a VC investor with the longest presence in the Balkans. Operating out of four offices – Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje – the team has invested in about 40 early stage tech companies and has been an integral part of the local start up communities. With a strong base of international investors, South Central Ventures is a go-to investor for regional tech companies competing in global markets. SCV’s portfolio companies include Cognism, Celtra, Agrivi, Orgnostic and AdScanner, among others. About Dutch Founders Fund DutchFounders is an early-stage venture capital fund from Amsterdam, started by a group of successful Dutch entrepreneurs like Laurens Groenendijk (Just Eat, Treatwell, Miinto, Hiber), Patrick Kerssemakers (fonQ), Bas Beerens (WeTransfer), Hidde Hoogcarspel (Spacebuzz) and Remco van Zanten ( Booking, Zalando, Vinted and BCG). The fund specialises in marketplaces and companies with strong network effects. Since its launch in 2018, the fund has successfully invested in 16 companies. This includes: YourCampus, Shypple, Vintage Cash Cow, Lumaly, Blanco, Nostics, Reveall, Veylinx, Wonderkind, Voicebooking, Fleks, Minimum, Caya, Winc Academy, Buildstream and Tracedock (exited to CM.com). The total fund has almost €100 million assets under management. DutchFounders is a committed partner of Techleap’s Fundright initiative. ### Contact Details Underline Science, Inc. Darrell W Gunter +1 973-454-3475 darrell@underline.io Company Website https://www.underline.io/

May 17, 2022 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Data Integrity Company Claravine Secures $16 Million in Series B Funding

Claravine

Claravine, a pioneer in data integrity with its platform, The Data Standards Cloud, announced a $16 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Five Elms Capital with participation from existing investors Grayhawk Capital, Next Frontier Capital, Peninsula Ventures, Kickstart Fund and Silverton Partners. This new funding will help Claravine meet its aggressive growth goal of doubling its headcount this year, accelerating product development, and investing in its integrations to automate data standards across digital experiences. Founded in 2012, Claravine empowers a proactive approach to data by activating standards across people and technology – bridging the silos that limit speed and decisions. The company has forged successful partnerships with well-known Fortune 1000 companies such as Under Armour, Ancestry and Vanguard and is currently working with a quarter of the Fortune 100. With a collaborative user interface and strategic integrations with top customer experience platforms such as Adobe and Google, The Data Standards Cloud helps global organizations define, apply and connect standards across their ecosystem for faster decisions, greater agility and increased ROI. This latest round of funding comes as Claravine continues to experience significant company growth. As first-party data becomes paramount and industry-wide demand grows for more solutions for data standardization, measurement, and personalization, Claravine is substantially expanding its integration library to be compatible with more of the major platforms powering digital advertising, including measurement solutions, creative optimization and customer data. Funding will also enable the company’s investment in talent and plans to hire key roles for teams in the disciplines of product management, engineering, sales, customer success and marketing. "CX-focused organizations are frustrated by an ever-growing trove of marketing data they can't trust or use in a timely way. There are many tools, workarounds, over-engineered spreadsheets, ETLs, etc. to manage the problem, but these only treat the symptoms,” said Verl Allen, CEO, Claravine. “We've been able to pioneer a new category by refocusing the process and developing a healthier overall organizational approach to data. Rather than being reactive and improving data quality after the fact, we help our customers proactively build in data integrity from the start using standards. We have found this approach to be most effective because, by controlling inputs, companies have the ability to adapt and react to any market change – including what the industry is experiencing with marketing measurement." “Claravine has carved out a new category that continues to redefine how top brands manage their digital experience. We have been exceptionally impressed by Verl, his team and their mission,” Stephanie Schneider, Partner at Five Elms Capital, said. “Claravine is positioned to become a dominant player in the space as it continues to scale its platform and offerings. We are proud to support the company on this exciting growth trajectory.” In addition to raising its Series B, Claravine was also recently named a “Momentum Leader” and “High Performer” in the Spring 2022 G2 Rankings. The company has ranked consecutively for the last five quarters in categories such as best relationship, support and easiest to do business in the enterprise relationship index for the data governance category. About Claravine Claravine is a pioneer in data integrity for the global enterprise. We empower a proactive approach to data by activating standards across people and technology, bridging the silos that limit speed and decisions across digital experiences. That’s why a quarter of the Fortune 100 use our platform, The Data Standards Cloud, to define, apply and connect standards across their ecosystem for faster decisions, greater agility, and increased ROI. For more information, visit www.claravine.com. About Five Elms Capital Five Elms Capital is a leading growth equity firm that invests in fast-growing B2B software businesses that users love. Five Elms provides capital and resources to help companies accelerate growth and further cement their role as industry leaders. For more information, visit www.fiveelms.com. Contact Details Michael Kocher Kite Hill PR claravine@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.claravine.com/

May 17, 2022 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Myles Peacock Appointed Worldwide CEO of Investis Digital

Investis Digital

Investis Digital, a leading global digital communications company, announced today that Myles Peacock has been appointed worldwide chief executive officer, effective immediately. In his role, Peacock will focus on driving the global executive team’s strategic vision, client service and performance offerings to support the evolving needs of its clients and the market. Peacock is a proven innovator and visionary leader with more than 20 years of marketing communications experience living and working across Asia, Europe and North America. An Omnicom veteran, he most recently served as global CEO of CreativeDrive, where he built the company into one of the largest global content creation and production studio networks. Under his leadership, CreativeDrive gained industry recognition as a new business model that challenged the advertising agency status quo with an innovative approach to content ideation, creation and production. The company was acquired by Accenture Interactive in August 2020 to bolster the company’s content expertise at scale. This appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Investis Digital as it looks to further deepen its technology-driven digital services and solutions across specialty practice areas in corporate communications, investor relations, life science s, talent acquisition and broader marketing services to help drive measurable business performance for its more than 1,400 global client partners. The company’s client roster includes Vodafone, Russell Athletic, Rolls-Royce and many more. Peacock said, “I simply could not be more excited to join Investis Digital, which has been on a remarkable journey of constant reinvention, having grown internationally both organically and via numerous strategic acquisitions. Investis Digital has a unique opportunity as a market maker with Connected Content™ to provide both existing and future clients a scaled platform that drives accelerated growth outcomes with success measured." Nigel Morris, chair of Investis Digital, said, “The appointment of Myles is the result of an extensive search for a CEO who embodies Investis Digital’s global values of embracing clarity, bringing passion, innovating, and inspiring greatness. His extensive cross-cultural knowledge and depth of understanding of how interconnected teams work globally make him the right person to lead Investis Digital through our next chapter of growth.” About Investis Digital Investis Digital is a global digital communications company. Through a proprietary approach we call Connected Content, we unite compelling communications, intelligent digital experiences, and performance marketing to help companies build deeper connections with audiences and drive business performance. A unique blend of expertise, technology and "always on" service allow clients to trust that their digital footprint and brand reputation is secure and protected 24/7 by our dedicated team of 600 digital experts across 9 global offices. To learn more, please visit www.InvestisDigital.com Contact Details Investis Digital Kristen Kalupski +1 312-933-6714 kristen.kalupski@investisdigital.com Company Website https://www.investisdigital.com

May 17, 2022 04:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Steve Weber Reflects on 30 Years in Business As Minuteman Press Franchise Owner in Norwich, CT

Minuteman Press International Inc

Located at 595 W. Main Street, Minuteman Press in Norwich, Connecticut first opened in August 1992. Owner Steve Weber shares the following insights and advice as he reflects on celebrating 30 years in business: “I guess looking at it from the outside 30 years is quite an accomplishment, especially when you realize I was 40 years old when we started. I think that this milestone means it is almost time to retire. Our success can be attributed to a number of things. For the first 25 years, my wife and partner Gail helped grow the business and keep me on track. Since she has retired, I think our continued success can be attributed to surrounding myself with the best people as well as giving excellent customer service and evolving our business to meet the times. Our equipment and services have definitely evolved. Several years ago, we became an all-digital shop. We have invested in the equipment needed to provide excellent quality with the quick turnaround time our customers expect. We also have great suppliers who can provide old school offset printing when the job calls for it. We have expanded into the ad specialty market and learned the specifics of selling clothing. We have also invested in mailing equipment. This has been an excellent complement to our printing. We never sell a large printing job without asking, ‘What are you doing with this printing?’ Often, the answer has been we are mailing it. Providing mailing has earned us many new customers. Our community is relatively rural. We do not have any trade binderies to help support our business. To that end we have invested in our own bindery. We have a collator / booklet maker, as well as a perfect binder and a small die cutting unit. To complement the mailing services, we also have a folder inserter. We do over 100,000 business cards per month so we added a slitter cutter to automate that service. The machine is relatively slow but we have nicknamed it ‘set it and forget it.’ The person in bindery can set it up and do another job while it is running. We are proof that ‘print is dead’ is not truthful. Our customers still want business cards to hand out and annual reports to distribute. We also work with many nonprofits who have learned that the best return on fundraising is by mailing the information. Email just does not work to this end. Minuteman Press International has guided us every step of the way. From our first meeting with Roy Titus to now working with Nick Titus, we always feel comfortable. We have been fortunate to have Ron Rubin as our New England Regional Vice President. His wisdom and guidance have kept me focused on the goal of success. The proprietary software we used originally developed by Minuteman Press has also evolved. The current FLEX management software has been a great help especially when training employees in our company. We have been fortunate over the years to introduce more than a few other people into the Minuteman Press system. Our son Michael and his wife Lindsey now have 3 Minuteman Press locations of their own in Enfield, CT, Springfield, MA, and Brattleboro, VT. We did a mailing a number of years ago to the printers in our area. We have been able to acquire four different independent businesses who were competitors. It creates a win/win because the owners are typically retiring and they know their clients will be left in good hands. Lastly, this is not a business for an absentee owner. You must work in your business to succeed. After 30 years, I no longer work 50 hours/week, but I am still involved. My staff now does the heavy lifting but when we are bidding a large project, I appreciate them reaching out to me to utilize my years of experience.” For more information on Minuteman Press in Norwich, CT, visit https://minuteman.com/us/locations/ct/norwich/ Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Contact Details Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

May 16, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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CoorsTek Recognized as a US Best Managed Company

CoorsTek

CoorsTek is proud to announce it has been selected as a 2022 US Best Managed Company. Sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal, the program recognizes outstanding U.S. private companies and the achievements of their management teams. The 2022 designees are U.S. private companies that have demonstrated excellence in strategic planning and execution, a commitment to their people and fostering a dynamic, resilient culture, as well as strong financials. This year’s designees continued to propel their businesses forward by prioritizing purpose, investing in their workforces, and demonstrating their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. “We are honored to be recognized as a best managed company again this year,” said Jonathan Coors, CEO of CoorsTek. “This award is a tribute to the dedication and resiliency of our CoorsTek team members across the globe over the past several years. It also speaks to the strong values that guide our daily activities and actions, and our focus on delivering essential products and services to the marketplace.” Applicants are evaluated and selected by a panel of external judges focused on assessing hallmarks of excellence in four key areas: strategy, ability to execute, corporate culture and governance/financial performance. They join a global ecosystem of honorees from more than 40 countries recognized by the Best Managed Companies program. About The Best Managed Companies Program The Best Managed Companies program is a mark of excellence for private companies. U.S. designees have revenues of at least $250 million. Hundreds of private companies around the world have competed for this designation in their respective countries through a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practices — strategy, execution, culture and governance/financials. U.S. program sponsors are Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure. About CoorsTek Founded in 1910 and headquartered in Golden, Colorado, CoorsTek is a fifth-generation, family owned and operated global manufacturer of engineered ceramics. By utilizing over half of the world’s known elements in our material formulations, we deliver unique solutions to our diverse customer base by leveraging ceramic properties. With more than 30 facilities across three continents, five million square feet in manufacturing space, and more than 6,000 team members, we are the partner of choice in engineered ceramics. CoorsTek makes the world measurably better by providing customers with amazing solutions, serving customers in numerous industries including semiconductor, aerospace, automotive, medical, energy and many others around the world. For more information about the company and its products please visit our website at www.coorstek.com. Contact Details CoorsTek Nancy Fullerton +1 517-304-4695 nfullerton@coorstek.com Company Website https://www.coorstek.com

May 11, 2022 03:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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City Produce Joins FreshEdge

FreshEdge

INDIANAPOLIS – FreshEdge, a family of produce and specialty food companies backed by Rotunda Capital Partners, acquired City Produce, a fresh food distributor headquartered in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. For many years, City Produce has been serving North Central Florida, the Florida Panhandle, and central to southern Alabama distributing fresh fruits and vegetables, including an array of fresh-cut offerings, dairy, meats, seafoods, specialty foods, and more. City Produce operates out of two facilities, one in Fort Walton Beach, and a second in Foley, Alabama. The addition expands FreshEdge’s footprint into the southern United States and provides space and logistical support to better serve its customer base as it spreads farther south. City Produce joins Piazza Produce & Specialty Foods, Indianapolis Fruit, Get Fresh Produce, McCartney Produce, Monteverde’s, Valley Produce, Vine Line, Garden Cut, CIBUS Fresh and Papania’s. FreshEdge now operates with more than 2,000 employees, approximately 808,500 square feet of warehouse space, and a fleet of more than 720 trucks. “We welcome Tommy Sundy and his amazing team to the FreshEdge family of companies,” said Steve Grinstead, CEO of FreshEdge. “We are excited for this great company to join FreshEdge as we expand farther into the Southeast.” Terms of the deal, which closed on May 10, 2022, were not disclosed. The transaction strengthens the combined business’s presence in Florida and southern Alabama. “City Produce will be a great addition to our expanding group of ‘best in class’ fresh food distribution companies,” said Greg Corsaro, president and COO of FreshEdge. “We look forward to Tommy’s continued leadership at City Produce.” “Our City Produce team is excited to join the FreshEdge family - knowing we’ll be ‘better together’,” said Tommy Sundy, president. “This is the next step in increasing our footprint, serving customers with expanded offerings and growing for our future.” FreshEdge is backed by Rotunda Capital Partners, a lower middle market private equity firm focused on investments in founder and family held companies. Rotunda seeks to provide opportunities for management teams to reach strategic, financial, and operational objectives. Rotunda entered the food business in 2017 with the acquisition of Indianapolis Fruit and Piazza Produce. FreshEdge was created in 2019 when Get Fresh Produce joined the platform. City Produce represents FreshEdge’s seventh acquisition since Rotunda’s initial investment. Together, Rotunda and FreshEdge intend to continue expanding FreshEdge by welcoming more companies into the group—all focused on high quality produce and specialty food products, along with exceptional service—to create a unique group of complementary entities. About FreshEdge FreshEdge was formed in 2019 through the combination of Get Fresh Produce (founded 1982) and the IF&P Foods family of companies, primarily composed of Indianapolis Fruit (founded 1947) and Piazza Produce (founded 1970). McCartney Produce (Paris, TN) joined the FreshEdge family in November 2020 followed by Valley Produce (Knoxville, TN) in June 2021, Vine Line (Grand Rapids, MI) in October 2021, and Monteverde's (Pittsburgh, PA) in November 2021. Collectively, these leading fresh food distribution companies have nearly 500 years of combined experience serving the grocery and food service industries. FreshEdge includes two Garden Cut branded fresh-cut processing facilities, a tomato re-packer, a USDA fresh kitchen (CIBUS Fresh), and two transportation companies. FreshEdge's fleet resource includes more than 720 trucks servicing the Midwest and beyond from 12 facilities totaling approximately 808,500 square feet of warehouse space. Today, FreshEdge is one of the largest independent fresh food distributors in the United States and a category leader in providing both the foodservice and retail industries with fruit, vegetables, proteins, fresh grab-n-go offerings, dairy, floral, and specialty products. For more information, visit www.freshedgefoods.com. About Rotunda Capital Partners Rotunda Capital Partners is an operationally oriented private equity firm focused on transforming family-founder owned companies into dynamic, data-driven platforms able to achieve and manage significant growth. Since its founding in 2009, Rotunda has partnered with management teams to build great businesses within three primary sectors: value-added distribution, asset-light logistics and industrial & business services. Rotunda strives to achieve replicable results by implementing its Rotunda Performance System to create strategic alignment, develop lean processes and create robust, data-driven infrastructures. For more information, visit www.rotundacapital.com. Contact Details FreshEdge Greg Corsaro +1 317-981-3440 gcorsaro@freshedgefoods.com Rotunda Capital Partners Jill Lafferty +1 847-280-1295 jill@rotundacapital.com Company Website https://www.freshedgefoods.com/

May 11, 2022 07:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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NLPC Targets ConocoPhillips Over Carbon Tax Advocacy

National Legal & Policy Center

On Tuesday, National Legal and Policy Center presented a resolution at ConocoPhillips Company ’s annual shareholder meeting that would require greater transparency and itemization by the corporation about its lobbying expenditures. The company’s board of directors opposed our proposal, as explained in its proxy statement. Speaking as sponsor of the resolution was Paul Chesser, director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project. Excerpts from his five-minute remarks, which you can listen to here, follow: Americans are suffering under the highest gasoline prices in their lives. And they are not only paying more at the pump – they are also sending much larger checks every month to their local electricity providers. But what are ConocoPhillips and their allies at the American Petroleum Institute prioritizing? A carbon dioxide tax. Talk about being tone-deaf. This is just one reason why my organization, as the shareholder sponsoring this proposal, seeks greater transparency and specificity from ConocoPhillips about its lobbying expenditure disclosures. And while I’m at it, we believe it is no longer in shareholders’ interest for the company to remain as a member of API. Let other fossil-fuel haters fund API President Mike Sommers’s $2.5 million-dollar annual salary to advocate for the demonization of his organization’s principal product. And if a carbon dioxide tax continues to be a priority for Mr. [Ryan] Lance (pictured above), then his leadership should be revisited as well… In case you haven’t noticed, ESG is failing. Company leaders may think they are ahead of the curve on ESG, but they are in fact behind, as we are in the middle of another very sharp curve that turns in the opposite direction. The backlash against “woke” is very real and very significant. Just look at what’s happening to Disney in Florida. And what happened to the advocates of racist CRT training and education in Virginia last year. The trend against climate-focused ESG is no different. Americans are furious at the price of gasoline and natural gas, caused by climate alarmist advocacy. Pinning a carbon dioxide tax on top of it should be a non-starter… Make no mistake: Climate change alarmists are anti-science, anti-logic, anti-economics, and anti-humanity. They are anti-science because they fail to understand that the physics of energy dictates that they can never erect enough wind, solar, and other so-called renewables to replace the density and power packed into fossil fuels, to meet the energy demands of global humanity. Yet they disregard this incontrovertible science and instead make repeated false predictions about future climate doom if we don’t abandon fossil fuels. Their prophecies always fail to materialize on their predicted timelines, yet no one calls them on it… It’s time for ConocoPhillips’s directors and executives to exercise real leadership, and to stand for truth in science and against these false prophets. It’s to that end that we seek greater transparency from ConocoPhillips about its lobbying expenditures, to provide assurance that the company truly is acting in the best interests of shareholders, of customers, and of our country. Read NLPC’s shareholder resolution for ConocoPhillips annual meeting here. Read a transcript of Chesser’s full five-minute remarks here. Listen to Chesser’s presentation of NLPC’s shareholder resolution here. Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. Contact Details Paul Chesser +1 703-237-1970 pchesser@nlpc.org Company Website http://www.nlpc.org

May 10, 2022 01:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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