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Charles River Associates (CRA) to Present at Sidoti Fall 2021 Virtual Investor Conference

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI), a worldwide leader in providing economic, financial, and management consulting services, today announced that the Company will present at Sidoti & Company’s Fall 2021 Small Cap Virtual Investor Conference on September 22, 2021. CRA’s President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Maleh is scheduled to present at 3:15 p.m. ET.

A live webcast will be available on the Company’s investor relations website. Online attendees will be able to submit questions as part of a virtual Q&A session. Additionally, Mr. Maleh, Chief Financial Officer Daniel Mahoney, and Chief Corporate Development Officer Chad Holmes will participate in virtual one-on-one meetings with investors.

About Charles River Associates (CRA)

Charles River Associates® is a leading global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial, and management consulting services. CRA advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings, and guides corporations through critical business strategy and performance-related issues. Since 1965, clients have engaged CRA for its unique combination of functional expertise and industry knowledge, and for its objective solutions to complex problems. Headquartered in Boston, CRA has offices throughout the world. Detailed information about Charles River Associates, a registered trade name of CRA International, Inc., is available at www.crai.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005666/en/

Daniel Mahoney

Chief Financial Officer

Charles River Associates

617-425-3505

Nicholas Manganaro

Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc.

[email protected]

617-542-5300

KEYWORDS: United States North America Massachusetts

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Finance Consulting Professional Services Other Professional Services Legal

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Roku and Harris Poll 2021 Holiday Survey Reveals One in Three Holiday Shoppers Expect to Increase Their Spending This Holiday Season, Highest Since the Survey’s Inception

Marketers Expected to Capitalize on Holidays by Following Consumers into TV Streaming

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Roku, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) today announced findings from its 2021 Annual Holiday Consumer Shopping study in partnership with The Harris Poll. This year’s survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults who plan to shop for the holidays offers insights into shifting consumer shopping preferences, spending priorities, and media consumption habits.

“Individual spending could hit record levels this holiday season as consumers report significant growth in their holiday spending plans,” said Dan Robbins, Vice President of Ad Marketing and Partner Solutions at Roku. “As consumers prepare to spend more, they are also changing how they approach gift giving and how media consumption influences their purchasing decisions. Nearly half of holiday shoppers said they shopped for a product after seeing a TV streaming ad. With 1 out of 3 holiday shoppers unreachable on traditional pay TV, marketers need to buy TV advertising where consumers now watch TV to win them over this holiday.”

The 2021 survey reveals:

Holiday Consumer Confidence Is Strong

The 2021 survey revealed a shared expectation of economic improvement in the year ahead, with 72% of holiday consumers expressing confidence that the economy will improve in the next 12 months. This optimism is fueling shopper intent to spend what could be record numbers in 2021. More than 1 in 3 holiday shoppers (36%) plan on spending more this year, a significant increase from the past three years (and the highest number reported since 2018). Furthermore, 39% of streaming holiday shoppers (shoppers who have streamed content in the last three months) plan to spend more in 2021, a major increase from 2020. The report also finds consumers expect to spend a record $937 on holiday purchases – a nearly 5% increase year-over-year.

Consumers Report Spending More Time Streaming than Watching Traditional TV

In 2020, consumers reported for the first time that they spent more time streaming TV than watching traditional TV on average. The 2021 holiday report finds that the delta between time spent streaming and watching traditional TV grew 5X year-over-year. The average US holiday shopper reported they now spend 78 minutes more per week streaming. These self-reported numbers trend with the rapid growth in TV streaming. Millennials watch 30% more TV streaming content than linear television content, according to July 2021 Roku viewership insights. Overall, one-third of holiday shoppers (32%) stated they do not have traditional pay TV. Nearly half of Gen Z holiday shoppers are cordless, and 83% of baby boomer cord cutters said that it was unlikely they would reactivate or purchase a new pay TV subscription.

TV streaming is now mainstream with 86% of US households now streaming – that’s the same number that report owning a washing machine according to Statista!

In-Store Makes Comeback, but Online Remains Dominant

2021 is expected to see a return to in-store shopping. Nearly half of shoppers (43%) plan to shop in-store this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This marks an 11-percentage point increase from 2020 (32%), when COVID concerns kept many shoppers away from retail stores. However, online shopping remains dominant, with the majority of shoppers (57%) planning to do most of their shopping online.

Millennial Holiday Shoppers are Streaming and Spending More

Millennials, America’s largest generation with a combined spending power of more than $1.4 trillion annually, are leading the pack away from traditional TV to TV streaming. Nearly one-third of millennial shoppers (31%) are cordless and unreachable via pay TV ad campaigns. This demographic is also primed to spend with more than half of these millennials (51%) – highest among generational groups – planning to spend more on gifts this holiday than in 2020. Millennial holiday consumers report planning to spend more than $1,000 on gifts this holiday.

Big Ticket Purchases Increase

With the holiday consumer economic confidence improving, 32% of consumers plan to purchase big-ticket items over $500 this season – the most since the study’s inception. What are they buying? Two in three holiday shoppers (63%) said they plan to purchase consumer electronics this year. Who are they buying for? With spending increasing in the forecast there will be a lot of gifts to go around this year and millennials plan to spend the most on themselves ($157) compared to other age groups. They also plan to spend the most on their pets as they prepare to wrap up $44 in gifts for fido – that’s the same as they plan to spend on their co-workers. Men plan to spend nearly twice as much on their spouse/significant other than women do this holiday season ($213 versus $118) and they are also feeling generous towards themselves as men plan to spend twice as much on self-gifting as women plan to ($120 versus $61).

Marketers Shifting To Buy TV The Way Holiday Consumers Watch TV

Nearly half of consumers (49%) said they have seen an ad on their TV streaming device that caused them to pause what they were watching and shop for the product online, a significant increase from 2020. 46% of holiday consumers say they rely on traditional or TV streaming ads for inspiration when shopping for gifts. The “always-on” consumer is driving marketers to buy TV advertising where holiday shoppers now watch TV, making streaming a must-have for advertisers this season.

“This is the fourth year we have conducted the consumer holiday shopping survey and the trends have never been clearer. The consumer march away from traditional television to streaming TV is now a full stampede. Holiday shoppers on average spend more time streaming TV than watching traditional TV. This shift will break decades-old advertising models as brands adapt to the new consumer streaming landscape by reaching shoppers where they now spend most of their TV viewing time. The good news is that the US consumer is confident in an improving economy, plans to spend significantly this holiday season, and wants brands to engage them on the big screen in their homes via streaming,” said Connie Xu, Director of Brand Strategy at The Harris Poll.

Methodology

The 2021 Holiday Streaming Survey was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Roku, Inc. Two thousand and seven Americans ages 18 and over who plan to purchase gifts this holiday season were surveyed in between August 16, 2021 and August 20, 2021 about their personal content consumption habits and their holiday shopping intent. Data were weighted where necessary by education, age by gender, race/ethnicity, region, income, household size, marital status, and employment size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

The full report can be accessed online at www.advertising.roku.com/2021holidaysurvey.

About Roku, Inc.

Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku TV™ models and Roku streaming players are available in select countries around the world through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with TV brands and service operators. Roku audio products are available in select countries through direct retail sales. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. U.S.A.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited those related to consumers’ holiday shopping intent; trends in cord cutting and TV consumers’ shifting away from linear TV to streaming; trends in marketing and advertising; factors affecting such trends and intent, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; how such trends and factors will develop; and the need for marketers to realign their advertising investments and focus. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.

Roku is a registered trademark of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this press release are the property of their respective holders.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005171/en/

Sarah Saul

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: California United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Entertainment Other Retail Online Retail Consumer Electronics Consumer Technology TV and Radio Retail Other Consumer Marketing Advertising Audio/Video Communications

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Disguise EMEA Recruits New Market Leads for the U.K. and France

POWAY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Disguise, Inc., a leading global costume company, and a division of toy and consumer products manufacturer, JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK), today announced two key costume hires to their growing sales team in EMEA. Disguise brings on Kim Lucas and Nathalie Ferrier to lead the two largest dress up markets in EMEA, the U.K. and France.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005084/en/

Kim Lucas, Business Development Lead for the U.K. and Ireland, will be overseeing the development of the UK business alongside the senior management team. Kim brings to Disguise apparel experience acquired throughout her career most recently at Christy’s by Design where she was pivotal in growing the costume business. Kim’s insight into the U.K. and Ireland licensor-driven dress up industry along with her many retailer relationships will further Disguise’s growth and expansion in these key markets.

Nathalie Ferrier, Business Development Manager for France & Benelux, brings over 20 years in the toy and dress up industry including years working for Amscan. She will develop the French, & Benelux markets via direct-to-retail, working with local distribution partners and accounts. Nathalie’s local presence as well as her dress up knowledge and relationships will build upon Disguise’s rapidly growing business in these important countries.

“We are excited to welcome Kim Lucas and Nathalie Ferrier into Disguise EMEA. With their breadth of industry experience in dress up they are both sure to drive further expansion into retail and deliver a truly professional service to our customers,” said Tony Lewis, Sales and Marketing Director, Disguise EMEA.

“The U.K. and France are Europe’s strongest dress up markets so it is critical we have a talented and experienced staff running the development and local sales there, and Kim and Nathalie are the cream of the crop. Their backgrounds and their personalities are the perfect fit for the Disguise culture and we are thrilled for them to lead our rapidly expanding team,” said Tara Hefter, President and GM of Disguise, Inc. “We look forward to Kim and Nathalie growing some key and soon-to-be-announced major licenses in EMEA.”

Disguise is a world leader in design and development of inventive and cutting-edge costumes and accessories with distribution across the world.

About Disguise, Inc.:

Since 1987, Disguise has been a leader in the Halloween industry creating innovative and trend setting costumes and accessories. Based in San Diego, Disguise produces costumes and accessories under many of the world’s leading licensed brands, as well as its own proprietary brands for the nation’s largest retailers including specialty, party and pop up stores. Disguise designs and manufactures millions of costumes for U.S. and other international markets each year bringing smiles and creating memories for kids and adults alike. To see Disguise’s extensive Halloween collection, please visit www.disguise.com and follow us on Instagram (@disguise.costumes), Twitter (@DisguiseInc) and Facebook (Disguise Costumes).

Disguise is a trademark of Disguise, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005084/en/

Whitney Hatfield

858-391-3639

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: North America France United States United Kingdom Europe California

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Fashion Family Retail Consumer Other Retail Children Specialty

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Disguise EMEA Business Development: Kim Lucas (left), Nathalie Ferrier (right) (Photo: Business Wire)

The Reimagined Park Hyatt Toronto Officially Reopens its Doors

The restored hotel debuts new interiors from Studio Munge, luxury guestrooms, a new world-class restaurant and rooftop lounge

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) and Oxford Properties are pleased to open its doors to the highly anticipated, restored Park Hyatt Toronto hotel. Long considered one of Toronto’s most iconic addresses, the property offers deeply personalized and engaged service as the cornerstone of the hotel’s revival.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005013/en/

The re-imagined Park Hyatt Toronto hotel combines luxury, sophistication, and glamour with a distinctive nod to Canadian heritage, art deco, and literature. The hotel collaborated with world-renowned designer Alessandro Munge of Studio Munge, who drew inspiration from Canada’s striking seasons and natural landscapes to bring this experience to life. The luxurious property offers an elevated home-away-from-home experience with purpose and style through modern materials and soothing color schemes.

“We are proud to welcome guests to the restored Park Hyatt Toronto hotel, with exceptional personalized service at the heart of every touchpoint,” says Bonnie Strome, general manager, Park Hyatt Toronto. “The remarkable transformation was thoughtfully crafted to provide unparalleled luxury experiences across culinary, arts and culture, travel and design.”

Rooted in celebrating the sophistication of the arts, Park Hyatt Toronto features a significant permanent art collection highlighting spectacular pieces from renowned Canadian and indigenous artists. A new public art sculpture “Rendezvous” by renowned Canadian artist An Te Liu, forms a vivid and iconic tableau establishing the hotel as a singular destination. “Dead Ringers”, a large-scale tapestry in the lobby by Canadian artist Shannon Bool, sets the tone for each guest’s enriched and immersive stay.

The 219 guestrooms – including 40 luxurious suites – artfully balance residential comfort with contemporary design. The unrivalled presidential suite located on the 14th floor includes a welcoming foyer, a chef’s pantry and dining room, a study and living room grounded by a stone-clad fireplace with champagne metal accents. The stone-tiled bathroom is a lavish wellness sanctuary featuring a contemporary double vanity, glass-enclosed double rain shower, and a free-standing soaker tub overlooking Yorkville.

The immersive journey continues at Joni, a new culinary destination inspired by the spirit of Toronto’s vibrant arts and culture scene, harmonizes casual bistro dining with contemporary cooking techniques and focuses on fresh and flavorful ingredients. Situated in the heart of the iconic Park Hyatt Toronto hotel, Joni offers breakfast, lunch, cocktail and dinner service with comforting, relaxed yet elevated fare.

The return of the iconic rooftop cocktail bar, now known as Writers Room, pays homage to the history of literary legends that shared moments in the Park Hyatt Toronto hotel. This clever interpretation of a classic cocktail bar reflects the bar’s historical significance as a gathering spot for great minds as they take in the unparalleled Toronto skyline views.

A spa and wellness destination will be unveiled at a later date, welcoming guests to an escape from the surge of city energy. The destination will host personalized treatments with a collection of highly curated relaxation services to treat the body and calm the mind.

For more information on Park Hyatt Toronto and for hotel reservations, please visit parkhyatttoronto.com or follow Instagram and Facebook.

The term “Hyatt” is used in this release for convenience to refer to Hyatt Hotels Corporation and/or one or more of its affiliates.

About Park Hyatt

Park Hyatt hotels provide discerning, global travelers with an elegant home-away-from-home. Guests of Park Hyatt hotels receive quietly confident and personalized service in an enriching environment. Located in several of the world’s premier destinations, each Park Hyatt hotel is custom designed to combine sophistication with understated luxury. Park Hyatt hotels feature well-appointed guestrooms, world-renowned artwork and design, rare and immersive culinary experiences, and signature restaurants featuring award-winning chefs. There are currently 45 Park Hyatt hotels in the following locations: Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Beaver Creek, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Busan, Canberra, Changbaishan, Carlsbad, Chennai, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hamburg, Hangzhou, Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kyoto, Maldives, Mallorca, Melbourne, Mendoza, Milan, Moscow, New York, Ningbo, Niseko, Paris, Saigon, Sanya, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Siem Reap, St. Kitts, Suzhou, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Washington, D.C., Zanzibar, and Zurich. For more information, please visit parkhyatt.com. @ParkHyatt on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and tag photos with #LuxuryIsPersonal.

About Oxford Properties Group

Oxford Properties Group (“Oxford”) is a leading global real estate investor, asset manager and business builder. It builds, buys and grows defined real estate operating business with world-class management teams. Established in 1960, Oxford and its portfolio companies manage approximately C$70 billion of assets across four continents on behalf of their investment partners. Oxford’s owned portfolio encompasses office, logistics, retail, multifamily residential, life sciences and hotels; it spans more than 150 million square feet in global gateway cities and high-growth hubs. A thematic investor with a committed source of capital, Oxford invests in properties, portfolios, development sites, debt, securities and real estate businesses across the risk-reward spectrum. Together with its portfolio companies, Oxford is one of the world’s most active developers with over 100 projects currently underway globally across all major asset classes. Oxford is owned by OMERS, the Canadian defined benefit pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees. For more information on Oxford, visit www.oxfordproperties.com

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company offering 20 premier brands. As of June 30, 2021, the Company’s portfolio included more than 1,000 hotel and all-inclusive properties in 68 countries across six continents. The Company’s purpose to care for people so they can be their best informs its business decisions and growth strategy and is intended to attract and retain top employees, build relationships with guests and create value for shareholders. The Company’s subsidiaries operate, manage, franchise, own, lease, develop, license, or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences, and vacation ownership properties, including under the Park Hyatt®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt®, Alila®, Andaz®, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Destination by Hyatt™, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Zilara™, Thompson Hotels®, Hyatt Centric®, Caption by Hyatt, JdV by Hyatt™, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Place®, tommie™, UrCove, and Hyatt Residence Club® brand names, and operates the World of Hyatt® loyalty program that provides distinct benefits and exclusive experiences to its valued members. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005013/en/

Jordan Hinke

Hyatt

[email protected]

Taylor Clifton

Pomp & Circumstance

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: Illinois United States North America Canada

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Lodging Destinations Travel Vacation

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Park Hyatt Toronto King Guestroom (Photo: Business Wire)

Hudson Pacific Properties to Participate in BofA Securities 2021 Global Real Estate Virtual Conference

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (NYSE: HPP) today announced that Victor Coleman, the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and other members of the company’s senior management will participate in a roundtable discussion at BofA Securities 2021 Global Real Estate Virtual Conference on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 11:15 a.m. ET.

The following is a link to the live, listen-only webcast of the discussion, where a replay will also be available one hour after the event concludes.

BofA Securities 2021 Global Real Estate Virtual Conference Webcast

About Hudson Pacific Properties

Hudson Pacific is a real estate investment trust with a portfolio of office and studio properties totaling over 20 million square feet, including land for development. Focused on global epicenters of innovation, media and technology, its anchor tenants include Fortune 500 and leading growth companies such as Google, Netflix, Riot Games, Square, Uber and more. Hudson Pacific is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol HPP and listed as a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. For more information visit HudsonPacificProperties.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events, or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. Furthermore, the Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company’s future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005008/en/

Investor Contact

Laura Campbell

Executive Vice President, Investor Relations & Marketing

(310) 622-1702

[email protected]

Media Contact

Laura Murray

Director, Communications

(310) 622-1781

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America California

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Professional Services Commercial Building & Real Estate Finance Construction & Property REIT Banking

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Elephant in the Waiting Room: A Healthcare Staffing Crisis Is Upon Us

As allied health salaries and job openings rise, the number of qualified candidates is falling. A Stride, Inc. survey reveals what employers are looking for in a perfect candidate.

HERNDON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Mirroring the reality of many industries, allied health employers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain qualified staff for an increasing number of open positions. According to a survey conducted by Stride, Inc (NYSE: LRN), 75% of employers say it is more challenging to fill positions now than it was prior to the pandemic and 3 in 4 reported that it is taking more time to fill open positions.

The allied health professions include all health-related professions that are distinct from medicine and nursing, such as medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, physical therapy aides, and electronic health records and reimbursement specialists. The talent crisis in this essential industry is driven by two major forces pulling in opposite directions:

1. The increased demand for skilled talent, as most employers expect to recruit for even more open positions in the next 12 months.
2. Two-thirds of allied health employers are receiving fewer applications for their open roles than they were before the pandemic. This is happening even as 95% of employers maintain or increase employee salaries.

“The growing number of open, well-paying jobs in such a foundational economic sector presents a terrific opportunity for job-seekers,” said Dr. Shaun McAlmont, President of Career Learning Solutions at Stride, Inc. “As more hiring managers prefer candidates with recent, relevant certifications over those with two- or four-year college degrees, finding career success in a rewarding and high-growth industry has never been easier.”

The vast majority, 97%, of employers believe credentials will play an important role in the hiring process over the next two years. Candidates with recent or extensive certifications can more easily prove their ability to perform well in a potential role without extensive on-the-job training – and even without job experience of any kind.

The survey findings prove that employers want to hire and promote hard-working and well-trained professionals with strong critical thinking skills who can quickly deliver value. That’s good news for anyone who wants to accelerate their career.

Stride delivers comprehensive online training programs in high-growth industries, including healthcare, to learners of all ages. Immersive adult training programs and preparation for professional certifications in allied health fields are available through MedCerts. Similarly, Stride Career Prep provides career exploration and training in healthcare, as well as business, information technology, and other industries for high school students as they work towards their high school diploma.

Interviews for this research were conducted by Stride, Inc., in partnership with third-party research provider Qualtrics, and took place online between July 27 – August 7, 2021. Results are from a national sample of 524 U.S. professionals who take part in hiring allied health employees at their organization. Full survey results are available here.

About Stride, Inc.

At Stride, Inc. (NYSE: LRN) we are reimagining learning – where learning is lifelong, deeply personal, and prepares learners for tomorrow. The company has transformed the teaching and learning experience for millions of people by providing innovative, high-quality, tech-enabled education solutions, curriculum, and programs directly to students, schools, the military, and enterprises in primary, secondary, and post-secondary settings. Stride is a premier provider of K-12 education for students, schools, and districts, including career learning services through middle and high school curriculum. For adult learners, Stride delivers professional skills training in healthcare and technology, as well as staffing and talent development for Fortune 500 companies. Stride has delivered millions of courses over the past decade and serves learners in all 50 states and more than 100 countries. The company is a proud sponsor of the Future of School, a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gap between the pace of technology and the pace of change in education. More information can be found at stridelearning.com, K12.com, galvanize.com, techelevator.com, and medcerts.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005041/en/

Media

Emily Riordan

Director, Corporate Communications

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Virginia

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: General Health Professional Services Health Human Resources

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Customized Solutions: Regions Bank’s Capital Markets Division Adds Freddie Mac Multifamily Financing Services

Freddie Mac Multifamily Lender approval complements Regions’ focus on affordable housing and conventional multifamily financing.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Regions Bank on Wednesday announced the company’s Real Estate Capital Markets division is now an approved Freddie Mac Multifamily Conventional and Targeted Affordable Housing Optigo® lender.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005047/en/

This additional approval further enhances Regions’ comprehensive Capital Markets agency lending suite, which already includes Fannie Mae DUS and FHA/HUD financing services. As a full-service agency lender serving clients with conventional multifamily, affordable housing, and senior housing financing, Regions Capital Markets delivers a range of competitive options to meet clients’ evolving needs. The Freddie Mac multifamily designation complements Regions’ longtime work to deliver financial solutions for conventional and affordable housing opportunities, supporting strong, vibrant communities and more inclusive prosperity as more housing options are made available to the public.

“Joining the Freddie Mac Multifamily lender network, combined with the insights and experience of our team, positions Regions to offer even more innovative financing solutions to the clients and communities we serve,” said Joel Stephens, head of Capital Markets for Regions Bank. “We have seen tremendous growth in recent years as Regions Capital Markets has connected with more clients across the country, delivering a highly customized approach to real estate lending that supports a healthy, stable and accessible housing market. The addition of Freddie Mac lending will help us not only deepen relationships with existing clients but also attract new clients who are drawn to Regions’ superior service and relationship-based approach to financing essential housing opportunities.”

By serving as a Freddie Mac Multifamily Optigo® lender for conventional and affordable loans, Regions Capital Markets offers financing for the acquisition, refinance or rehabilitation of market-rate and affordable multifamily properties. Products include fixed- and floating-rate loans, student housing, manufactured housing communities, impact investing, HUD Section 8 financing, and more.

“Freddie Mac Multifamily is pleased to welcome Regions Bank to the Optigo® lender network,” said Rich Martinez, senior vice president of Production and Sales at Freddie Mac Multifamily. “We look forward to working with the seasoned and dedicated team at Regions to provide innovative financing solutions for multifamily borrowers.”

Additional information on Regions’ Capital Markets and other Corporate Banking services can be found at www.regions.com/capitalmarkets.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $156 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, and mortgage products and services. Regions serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates more than 1,300 banking offices and approximately 2,000 ATMs. Regions Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005047/en/

Jeremy D. King

Regions Bank

205-264-4551

Regions News Online: regions.doingmoretoday.com

Regions News on Twitter: @RegionsNews

KEYWORDS: Alabama United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Finance Banking Professional Services Residential Building & Real Estate Construction & Property

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Regions’ Real Estate Capital Markets division serves clients nationwide with teams in several high-growth markets including Atlanta, Charlotte, Birmingham, Tampa, and Austin. (Photo: Business Wire)

C3 AI to Enable Ambitious Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Goals with Aluminum Beverage Packaging Category Leader

AI-powered Solutions to Help Reduce Energy Consumption, Utility Costs and Carbon Emissions

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
C3 AI (NYSE: AI), the leading enterprise AI software provider, today announced that Ball Corporation has selected C3 AI Energy Management and C3 AI Ex Machina to help achieve the company’s ambitious sustainability goals, and to identify new opportunities to operate with greater energy efficiency.

Ball Corporation’s aluminum beverage packaging manufacturing plants required an industrial-strength, tried, tested and proven enterprise AI software platform to serve a variety of needs and audiences. Ball was seeking a key partner and solution that could integrate IoT data from 60 global facilities and to use that data with AI to uncover valuable information to help them make predictive, accurate, and actionable decisions to optimize the roadmap to reduce absolute carbon emissions within the company’s own operations by 55 percent by 2030 against a 2017 baseline.

C3 AI Energy Management provides real-time visibility across the entire enterprise and uses AI insights that enable companies to minimize energy consumption, utility costs, and carbon emissions. C3 AI Ex Machina allows business analysts, not just data scientists, to develop, scale, and apply AI insights without writing code. C3 AI Ex Machina is integrated with the underlying energy management data model provided by C3 AI Energy Management and will enable Ball Corporation’s team to easily develop ad-hoc analysis and build novel AI models that provide new and predictive insights that support business requirements.

The C3 AI Energy Management and Ex Machina solutions will address the following customer needs for Ball Corporation:

• Plant operators – Provide near-real time insights for decisions intra-day to improve energy efficiency. This includes integrating data from energy and equipment monitors at each plant (IoT devices) and using AI to make actionable predictions.
• Regional operations – Allow regional leadership across North America, South America and EMEA to benchmark plants within their region and optimize investments aligned with regional practices and governmental regulations, ultimately achieving environmental and economic sustainability.
• Sustainability Performance – C3 AI Energy Management can track, aggregate, manage and report on global energy use and company progress against Ball’s goal to increase energy efficiency by 30% by 2030.

“At C3 AI, we’ve seen a surge in large enterprises such as Ball Corporation setting ambitious environmental sustainability objectives,” said Ed Abbo, President and Chief Technology Officer, C3 AI. “This partnership represents two leaders in their respective segments – manufacturing and enterprise AI – coming together to achieve sustainability goals not only for their own organizations and industries, but to help safeguard the future of the planet.”

“We believe sustainability is a collaborative effort between our employees, global partners and key stakeholders, and we are committed to providing low-carbon, infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging to drive our vision for a more circular and sustainable economy,” said Adam Shalapin, Global Sustainability Manager, Ball Corporation. “As the leading provider of industrial strength enterprise AI tailored for energy management and sustainability solutions for large scale enterprises, C3 AI’s partnership helps us continue to advance our ambitious sustainability goals.”

For more information on C3 AI and its comprehensive portfolio of Enterprise AI solutions, visit https://c3.ai/what-is-enterprise-ai/.

About C3 AI, Inc.

C3 AI, Inc. (NYSE:AI) is the leading provider of enterprise AI software for accelerating digital transformation. C3 AI delivers a family of fully integrated products: C3 AI^® Suite, an end-to-end platform for developing, deploying, and operating large-scale AI applications; C3 AI Applications, a portfolio of industry-specific SaaS AI applications; C3 AI CRM, a suite of industry-specific CRM applications designed for AI and machine learning; and C3 AI Ex Machina, a no-code AI solution to apply data science to everyday business problems. The core of the C3 AI offering is an open, model-driven AI architecture that dramatically simplifies data science and application development.

About Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 21,500 people worldwide and reported 2020 net sales of $11.8 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005006/en/

Ball Corporation

Bradford Walton

425-254-7168

[email protected]

C3 AI Public Relations

Edelman

Lisa Kennedy

415-914-8336

[email protected]

Investor Relations

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America California

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Environment Technology Steel Packaging Utilities Other Technology Software Manufacturing Energy Data Management

MEDIA:

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Former ODNI Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Stephanie O’Sullivan, Joins Accenture Federal Services’ Board of Managers

ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Stephanie O’Sullivan, a distinguished leader in the intelligence community, has joined the Accenture Federal Services’ (AFS) Board of Managers. AFS is a subsidiary of Accenture (NYSE: ACN).

O’Sullivan is the former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) where she focused on operations leadership and intelligence community integration initiatives.

“We are delighted to welcome Stephanie to our Board of Managers. Her expertise within the intelligence community will help us continue to invest in and deliver services that meet the government’s national security needs,” said John Goodman, chief executive officer of Accenture Federal Services. “As emerging technologies play an increasingly essential role in advancing the federal government’s mission, Stephanie’s insights will provide fresh perspectives on innovative ways to help our clients stay ahead of the curve.”

Prior to her appointment at ODNI, O’Sullivan served as the Associate Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she supported the Director and Deputy Director with overall agency leadership, as well as day-to-day organization management.

Currently serving on several corporate and non-profit advisory boards, O’Sullivan holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Missouri Science and Technology University.

About Accenture Federal Services

Accenture Federal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accenture LLP, is a U.S. company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Accenture’s federal business has served every cabinet-level department and 30 of the largest federal organizations. Accenture Federal Services transforms bold ideas into breakthrough outcomes for clients at defense, intelligence, public safety, civilian and military health organizations. Learn more at www.accenturefederal.com.

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 569,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005092/en/

Donna Savarese

Accenture

+1 314 401 8114

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Virginia

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Data Management White House/Federal Government Public Policy/Government Security Technology Software Networks

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Posted on September 15, 2021 9:01 am

LPL Financial Foundation Forms Two New Partnerships to Encourage Equity in Our Industry and Communities

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The LPL Financial Foundation today announced two new charitable partnerships aligned to the foundation’s focus on advancing the economic well-being of underserved populations, with an emphasis on increasing the diversity of the financial services talent pipeline and providing resources to small business owners in underserved communities. The American College of Financial Services and LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) received grants that, combined, total nearly a half million dollars.

“The LPL Financial Foundation strives to support underserved communities, with an emphasis on supporting small businesses, in communities where access to capital is often limited. And the Foundation supports programs that promote a more diverse generation of financial professionals to strengthen the communities they represent,” said LPL Financial Foundation President Tim Carter, senior vice president at LPL Financial, the major funder of LPL Financial Foundation.

Grant Partners

LISC is a nonprofit institution that supports community development initiatives across the nation. With the Foundation’s grant, LISC will provide high-touch, specialized support and technical assistance to at least 100 small businesses led by entrepreneurs of color, specifically targeting the Charlotte and San Diego markets. According to a recent Federal Reserve Bank survey, this year approximately 9 million of roughly 30 million small businesses in the U.S. are at risk of closing for good due to the ongoing pandemic. Support from the Foundation will help improve the financial stability of businesses and is expected to increase sales, improve employee retention and increase capacity to hire new employees, among other benefits.

The American College of Financial Services will use the Foundation’s grant to establish The LPL Financial Foundation Equity Scholars Program. The new career-readiness program will be designed to increase and retain the number of financial services professionals from underserved communities, with a focus on African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, veterans, women and the LGBTQ community. Scholarships will be awarded to qualified candidates who pursue designations such as CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP^®), Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP^®), Wealth Management Certified Professional (WMCP^®), or other financial education programs.

About The LPL Financial Foundation


The LPL Financial Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports advancing the economic well-being of underserved populations, with an emphasis on providing training for individuals interested in the financial services industry and providing resources and training to small-business owners. For more information about The LPL Financial Foundation, visit the LPL Community Involvement page.

Media Contact:


Lauren Hoyt-Williams
(980) 321-1232
[email protected]