Category: Lifestyle

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Mercer lunch program for older adults reopens for in-person dining

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, theMercer County Nutrition Program for Older Adultswill resume in-person lunches at nine of its locations starting Monday, May 2, announcedMercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes.

 

 

“For the past two years, we’ve been distributing ‘grab-and-go’ frozen meals at our Nutrition sites at the municipal senior centers, and have provided at-home delivery for those seniors unable to get to the sites,” Mr. Hughes explained.

 

“The pandemic required us to exercise creativity in ways to continue to deliver services to our residents, and we rose to the challenge. In the two years that the program was closed to in-person dining, we distributed an astounding 266,483 meals to our senior citizens,” he added.

The County Executive credits the success to the teams in the County Nutrition Program and the county’s bus transportation program for older adults and people with disabilities, known as TRADE buses. Those departments, along with the staff at our partnering senior centers, ensured that program participants did not go hungry.

“From food preparation to final delivery, it took a cadre of dedicated people and a great deal of flexibility to make sure this important service carried on,” Mr. Hughes said.

 

 

Now with COVID-19 vaccines readily available and communities begin to reopen with less stringent safety measures, Mercer is excited to reopen for congregate meals. This is a welcome return of the essential socialization component that the Nutrition Program provides to battle isolation and loneliness.

About the Program

The Nutrition Program for Older Adults provides a daily nutritionally balanced meal Monday through Friday (except for County and/or municipal holidays). All meals meet the required one-third of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) daily referenced intake (DRI) of nutrients for an individual 60 years or older. Meals are available to Mercer County residents age 60 or older and their spouses (regardless of age), any county resident with a disability whose primary caregiver is a program participant, anyone volunteering in the program, and the personal care aides of program participants (when they accompany a participant to the site where the meals are provided).

 

Locations and information:
In-person services will be hosted at these centers: Jennye Stubblefield Senior Center and Sam Naples Community Center in Trenton, Lawrence Township Senior Center, Princeton Café for Older Adults, John O. Wilson Neighborhood Service Center in Hamilton, Hamilton Senior Center, Hopewell Valley Senior Center, Hollowbrook Community Center in Ewing, and Robbinsville Senior Center. Most meal services begin at 11:30 a.m., although times may vary by location, so please contact the Mercer County Nutrition Program for Older Adults at 609-989-6650 or inquire at your local site.

No payment is required for a meal; however, there is a suggested donation of $1 for each meal provided. Reservations are required; please call 609-989-6650 to reserve your spot. Monthly menus can be found on theNutrition Program for Older Adults web page.

 

If transportation is a barrier to participating in the congregate meals, Mercer County TRADE may be able to help you. They can be reached at 609-530-1971 or trade@mercercounty.org. Some of the sites also may have transportation options for its participants. If you cannot make it to the site for reasons other than transportation, there may be home-delivered options for you. From aging partners such as Meals on Wheels of Mercer County to Medicaid-funded home-delivered meals, there are resources in the community to assist everyone.

Please note that the South Ward Senior Center and North 25 Terminal/Reading Senior Center in Trenton will remain closed due to ongoing construction, and no service will be provided at this time. Additionally, the East Windsor Senior Center is under construction, but will continue to provide grab-and-go and home-delivered services.

For more information, please contact the Nutrition Program for Older Adults at 609-989-6650 or adrc@mercercounty.org.

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Samsung Solve for Tomorrow National Winners tackle food waste, crowd stampedes and bus driver shortages

New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia schools awarded $100,000 each in technology in 12th annual $2 million STEM competition

 

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — After a two-year virtual hiatus resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. announced the three National Winners of the 12th annual $2 million* Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest during an in-person event at Samsung 837 in Manhattan. Students from across the country convened both in-person, virtually and in the metaverse via 837x to present how they used STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills to address local issues and inspire change in their communities. Selected from 10 finalists, the National Winners will receive $100,000 in Samsung technology and classroom supplies.


Over the course of the school year, middle and high students have worked to develop sustainable projects using problem-based learning to address issues in their local community from climate change to public transportation and mobility. These innovations, developed by bright young minds, demonstrate how STEM learning can take an idea and transform a community, while empowering students to make a difference despite the adversities they may face.

 

“We are thankful to have the opportunity to recognize such a remarkable group of inspiring and innovative Solve for Tomorrow students in person after a two-year virtual hiatus,” said Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship at Samsung Electronics America. “These students continue to tackle problems of national importance with extraordinary solutions. We look forward to seeing our Samsung Solve for Tomorrow students continue to make a difference in our world in the years to come.”

 

The three National Winners in the 12th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest and their grand prize-winning STEM innovations are:

 

1. Princeton High School – Princeton, New Jersey

Food waste is the third-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and Princeton, NJ does not have any specialized municipal collection of organic waste. Therefore, most of the food that is not consumed within the community is thrown into the garbage and ultimately winds up in landfills. To combat the overproduction of greenhouse gas emissions in landfills, the students utilized technology, and the black soldier fly to bioremediate food waste into usable products such as protein for animal feed and as a substitute for palm oil in cosmetics like soap.

 

Princeton High School was also named the Samsung Employee Choice Award Winner, winning an additional $10,000, bringing their total to $110,000 in technology for their school.

 

View Princeton High School’s project video here: https://youtu.be/VmYo5etiWII

 

2. Porter High School – Porter, Texas

To help get students to safety and prevent crowd panic caused by an active shooter, or the threat of one, students from Porter High School developed an evacuation system to address crowd stampedes. First, a mesh network of microcontrollers will detect if there is an active shooter and relay that information. Second, if an evacuation is necessary, the microcontrollers will activate a color-coded system of lights and arrows located along the floor and walls of the hallways that will convey the most expedient and safest route out of the area to help reduce panic.

 

View Porter High School’s project video here: https://youtu.be/wcbbE-mirAA

 

3. Great Bridge High School – Chesapeake, Virginia

When faced with an unreliable public transportation system, students from Great Bridge High School developed AcceleRoute, a system to help bus drivers construct personalized and efficient routes determined by the students they are transporting on a given day. As the students board the bus, they scan a programmed card that connects to an app that will determine the most efficient route to transport all students to their homes.** The system increases efficiency and bus ridership while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Great Bridge High School was also named the Community Choice Award Winner, winning an additional $10,000 bringing their total to $110,000 in technology for their school.

 

View Great Bridge High School’s project vide here: https://youtu.be/hRYP3k1S8iM

 

New this year, Samsung partnered with the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) for the first Solve for Tomorrow Sustainability Innovation award, furthering Samsung’s commitment to sustainability. This year, Central Falls High School from Central Falls, Rhode Island, was selected as the winner by a committee of judges for addressing environmental justice and redeveloping abandoned areas to increase urban greenery.. The school was awarded a $10,000 in energy efficient Samsung technology prize package of products to help bring their project idea to life.

 

“NAAEE is proud to collaborate with Samsung for the Solve for Tomorrow Contest to select a Sustainability Innovation Award Winner,” said Judy Braus, Executive Director NAAEE. “The students at Central Falls High School exemplified the thoughtful and community-focused innovation we need to create an equitable and sustainable future for all. It was inspirational to see how so many of the projects tackled environmental challenges and highlighted the power of teamwork, creative problem solving, and passion in creating positive community change.”

 

As part of Samsung’s guiding vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Solve for Tomorrow launched in 2010 to encourage innovative thinking, creative problem-solving and teamwork to address the most pressing issues impacting society. Today, the competition fosters critical thinking and creative problem solving, anchored in problem-based learning. For the past decade, Samsung has awarded $20 million in technology and classroom materials to more than 2,500 public schools in the United States.

 

To learn more about the National Finalist schools, please visit www.samsung.com/solve or follow on Instagram @SolveForTomorrow. For official rules and judging criteria, click here.

 

*$2 million prize is based on an estimated retail value.

**The school is responsible for ensuring the proper handling and security of all data potentially shared and/or collected as part of their project. Samsung takes privacy very seriously and encourages all Semi-Finalists to consider how information that is part of their project is being handled.

 

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.

Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA) is a leader in mobile technologies, consumer electronics, home appliances and enterprise solutions. The company pushes beyond the limits of today’s technology to provide groundbreaking connected experiences across its large portfolio of products and services, including mobile devices, home appliances, home entertainment, 5G networks, and digital displays. As EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Corporate Commitment Partner, SEA is dedicated to making a positive impact on the environment through its eco-conscious products, practices and operations. To learn more and to get involved, visit Samsung.com. For the latest News visit news.samsung.com/us and follow @SamsungNewsUS. SEA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

 

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI and LED solutions. For the latest News please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com.

Contacts

Cat Lyons

Allison+Partners for Samsung

SamsungSFT@allisonpr.com

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Business Lifestyle

Premier Specialties, Intarome and Fragrance Solutions unite as OnScent

MIDDLESEX, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Premier Specialties, Intarome and Fragrance Solutions—companies with solid reputations for innovation and customer-centricity—are joining forces under a new name, OnScent.

 

 

As OnScent, the unification expands the companies’ abilities to provide the fragrance solutions, expertise, responsiveness, and infrastructure that innovative Consumer Package Goods (CPG) brands, contract manufacturers and private-label manufacturers need to accelerate success.

 

“The combined strengths, talent and long-standing customer relationships of Premier Specialties, Intarome and Fragrance Solutions will enable us to become a disruptive force in the industry,” said Bertrand Lemont, OnScent CEO. “We provide the creativity, science, market intelligence and regulatory expertise our customers need to deliver authentic solutions that differentiate their brands, delight their customers and enable category leadership.”

 

OnScent will maintain fragrance research, creation, production, and distribution through two state-of-the-art facilities in Middlesex, NJ (formerly Premier Specialties) and Norwood, NJ (formerly Intarome).

 

“OnScent is passionately devoted to creating unique and authentic fragrance and natural cosmetic solutions that are consistently on brand, on brief and on trend,” said Lemont. “Our team has the expertise, creativity, and commitment to operational excellence that product innovators need. We deliver solutions through a partnership model that is based on trust, transparency, and mutual success.”

 

About OnScent

OnScent partners with product innovators to create fragrance and natural cosmetic solutions that accelerate your success. Our multi-disciplinary team of fragrance industry experts combine creativity, science, market intelligence and regulatory expertise to deliver authentic solutions that differentiate your brands, delight your customers, and enable product leadership. Visit OnScent.com.

Contacts

Contact: Rosita Presti, OnScent

Phone: 201.450.1691

Email: rpresti@OnScent.com

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Business Lifestyle

Founders Federal Credit Union completes successful migration to Corelation, cites IMM’s eSign conversion services as pivotal to success

Credit union eliminates 22% of member-facing documents, boosts efficiencies across organization and improves member experience

 

RAHWAY, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #DigitalTransformation—IMM, the only eSignature provider specializing in eSignature and digital transaction solutions exclusively for financial institutions, announced today its conversion services was instrumental in the successful migration of long-time client, Lancaster, S.C.-based Founders Federal Credit Union, to a new core processing platform, Corelation. The credit union cited the seamless integration of its eSignature platform, IMM eSign, with its Corelation Keystone platform, as the critical element that enabled such a successful migration.

Founders initially partnered with IMM more than 10 years ago. The credit union considers IMM an extension of its team and credits the eSignature provider’s in-depth knowledge of credit union operations and industry expertise for the smooth transition during the core conversion process. Knowing that IMM is the only eSignature provider specializing in digital transaction solutions exclusively for financial institutions reinforced Founders decision that every key objective would be addressed. The credit union leveraged IMM’s experienced team throughout the migration process, ensuring its critical eSignature platform was easily migrated and integrated into the new Keystone operating environment.

 

Founders’ CTO, Bob Bender, said, “We wanted to provide a digital-first advantage to our members, and Corelation provided that functionality. However, it was paramount that we did not lose any of our digital capabilities we had already implemented with IMM’s eSignature solutions. Together with IMM, we immediately implemented more efficient procedures and operations. For example, prior to the conversion, we had five resources dedicated to back-office operations, and we were able to reduce that to one, allowing the other four individuals to focus on better serving our members. The history we have with IMM bolstered our confidence that it would be a seamless transition. We worked with more than one hundred IT vendors through this conversion, and IMM’s partnership has been one of the best, if not the best. IMM knew what we needed to do to be successful.”

 

Founders maximized IMM’s e-document conversion capabilities and developed a workflow that created new efficiencies in data conversion which eliminated 22% of the member-facing paper documents Founders had previously relied on for day-to-day operations. IMM not only provided a conversion service that consistently produced zero errors, but it also significantly cut back on time. Founders can now produce precise documentation for members, accelerating the overall process. Even more, IMM’s e-delivery knowledge helped Founders to augment its staff, allowing them to take on much more complex workloads since IMM spearheaded all conversion and project management tasks, ensuring a smooth transition.

 

Michael Ball, SVP at IMM, said, “IMM values our client relationships, and the long-term partnership with Founders exemplifies perfectly why our clients turn to us for their digital transformation needs. Our conversion services team has a strong reputation for going the extra mile to help our clients through what can often be a very stressful process. They manage every implementation with extra care, paying attention to the smallest details so they can meet the key objectives. Ultimately, our years of knowledge and experience in working with credit unions enabled our joint success in this core conversion.”

 

The organizations have grown and evolved together. IMM has observed Founders accomplish its objectives from paper reduction, to increased employee productivity, to substantial cost reductions in the overall process. IMM’s ability to interface with virtually any core, LOS, or imaging system allows both credit union employees and its members to maintain the eSignature experience when back-office vendors or lending systems change. This helped ease Founders’ transition to its new system and created additional connection points for the credit union to leverage IMM’s full array of eTransaction automation solutions.

 

About IMM

For 25 years, IMM has been the premier provider of eSignature and Digital Transaction solutions designed exclusively for financial institutions. Today, more than 1,500 banks and credit unions use IMM’s eSignature and Digital Transaction Management solutions across the Institution to elevate consumer experiences while streamlining back-office processes in a comprehensive, end-to-end digital processing environment.

 

For more information, visit www.immonline.com or call 1.800.836.4750. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

 

About Founders Federal Credit Union

The credit union, one of the largest and most innovative in the nation, was founded in 1950 in Fort Mill, South Carolina to provide financial services to the employees of Springs Industries, Inc. Founders serves over 220,000 members and has more than 30 locations. The credit union has nearly $2.6 billion in assets. More information about Founders Federal Credit Union can be found online at https://www.foundersfcu.com/.

Contacts

Anna Stanley / Adrie Morales

anna@williammills.com / adrie@williammills.com
251.517.7857 / 678.781.7227

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New Fiserv core platform enhancements tackle key client challenges

From planning and design to ongoing evaluation and feedback, Fiserv clients provide invaluable direction on new core experience

 

BROOKFIELD, Wis. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, is enabling enhanced customer servicing, training, deployment flexibility and staffing with the launch of a new user experience for the Premier core platform.

Over 50 clients have been involved with the design and development process since the start of the project through both panels and advisory councils, providing direct feedback via testing and monthly meetings. “Our entire team had the opportunity to work extensively with the product team to test the new experience,” said Crystal Wichita, COO at Cornhusker Bank. “We had people from retail, loans, operations and IT participating in the process.”

 

A new navigation experience improves the speed at which clients can service their customers due to enhanced search functionality and the addition of bookmarks for key accounts. “With Premier, we are able to get to the information we need faster and with fewer clicks,” said Abby Sedlak, Loan Operations Quality Specialist Supervisor at TBK Bank. “The search feature will improve the customer experience due to not having to view multiple screens to get to the necessary information.”

 

The new Premier redesign will reduce the amount of time required to train new employees. “Bank staff will be able to help our customers faster and with fewer errors,” said Wichita. ”When a new employee starts, we always provide hands-on training within the core system. The Premier redesign is now more intuitive, which speeds training time, reduces the need for clicks and ultimately saves time. It matches our mantra – work smarter, not harder.”

 

The new Premier experience includes technologies that allow for continuous enhancements and the release of new and upgraded features on a regular basis. The new interface is built on React, a JavaScript library, and uses REST services that provide greater agility and flexibility. Updates can be deployed quickly and seamlessly. The underlying technology leverages an open platform that provides the ability to package and run applications in loosely isolated environments called containers and enables the separation of applications from infrastructure. A second platform orchestrates the deploying and scaling of these containers, which improves overall stability and allows for application self-healing.

 

Because Premier is designed with modern components used by major consumer websites, it will take less time for new employees to acclimate to their digital work environment. “The search functionality of the new Premier experience is intuitive for users,” said Chris Ritchey, Business Application Specialist at Kearny Bank. “It’s a similar experience to using Amazon or Target.”

 

“The look and feel of the new experience are very familiar, as if we have used it before,” Sedlak added. “It’s a perk when you are trying to attract new employees if you can show them a system that is modern and sleek and works on a range of devices.”

 

“The way our clients operate is constantly evolving and we wanted the technology we provide them to reflect those changes,” said Jim Cross, senior vice president and general manager of Bank Solutions at Fiserv. “The new Premier navigational experience will soon enable more than 1,000 financial institutions and over 145,000 bank employees to serve their customers in a faster, more intuitive way.”

 

About Cornhusker Bank

Cornhusker Bank is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska and has been a member of the community for more than 100 years. The bank has assets of $867.5 million and 6 branches throughout Nebraska. For more information about Cornhusker Bank, please visit https://www.cornhuskerbank.com.

 

About TBK Bank

TBK Bank, SSB, Member FDIC, is a subsidiary of Triumph Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: TBK) and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The bank has assets of $6 billion and offers consumer and commercial banking products from 62 branches throughout Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Iowa, Illinois and Texas. https://www.tbkbank.com

 

About Kearny Bank

Founded in 1884 as a New Jersey building & loan association, Kearny Bank now serves communities throughout New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York and Staten Island, New York. The bank is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey and has assets of over $7.2 billion. For more information about Kearny Bank, please visit https://www.kearnybank.com/.

 

About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) aspires to move money and information in a way that moves the world. As a global leader in payments and financial technology, the company helps clients achieve best-in-class results through a commitment to innovation and excellence in areas including account processing and digital banking solutions; card issuer processing and network services; payments; e-commerce; merchant acquiring and processing; and the Clover® cloud- based point-of-sale and business management platform. Fiserv is a member of the S&P 500® Index, the FORTUNE® 500, and has been recognized as one of FORTUNE World’s Most Admired Companies® for 11 of the past 14 years and named among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company for two consecutive years. Visit fiserv.com and follow on social media for more information and the latest company news.

FISV-G

Contacts

Media Relations:
Ann Cave

Vice President, External Communications

Fiserv, Inc.

+1 678-325-9435

ann.cave@fiserv.com

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Business Lifestyle

AM Best Webinar: ‘Six critical ways to transform insurance to a lifetime partner’

OLDWICK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #insurance—AM Best will host a complimentary webinar entitled “Six Critical Ways to Transform Insurance Business to a Lifetime Partner,” sponsored by Zelros, on April 26, 2022, at 1 p.m. EDT. Customer churn and lost loyalty is costing insurers over $470 billion globally, much of it due to poor consumer experience. Join a panel of technology and insurance experts to share practices and concrete takeaways on how data analytics and AI are leveraged to digitally transform the business of insurance with a more-humanized experience, while proactively assessing risks, preventing loss and protecting people’s lives and assets.

Register now: https://www.ambest.com/webinars/zelros/index.html

Panelists include:

  • Linh Ho, CMO, Zelros
  • Niels Keuker, CEO, iptiQ Sales Solutions at iptiQ by Swiss Re
  • Seth Rachlin, EVP, global insurance leader, Capgemini
  • Deb Zawisza, senior principal, Aite-Novarica

 

Attendees can submit questions during registration or by emailing webinars@ambest.com. The event will be streamed in video and audio formats, and playback will be available to registered viewers shortly after the event.

 

Zelros is a pioneer in insurtech, transforming insurance distribution with its award-winning AI solution, enabling a unique customer and agent experience through hyper-personalized insurance recommendations across channels. The world’s largest insurance companies, such as BPCE Group, Crédit Agricole, Groupama, MAIF, Matmut, Baloise Group, AssurOne and Simpego, trust Zelros to help them stay competitive, boost client acquisition and cross-sell revenue, and adhere to Responsible AI governance. Zelros is headquartered in Paris with offices in Canada, Germany and Italy.

 

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Contacts

Lee McDonald
Group Vice President, Publication & News Services
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5561
lee.mcdonald@ambest.com

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Business Lifestyle

Stonepeak successfully completes $3.0 billion equity recapitalization of portfolio company Cologix

NEW YORK & DENVER — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets, today announced the successful closing of its previously announced equity recapitalization of Cologix, the largest private interconnection and hyperscale edge platform in North America. At $3.0 billion in equity value, the transaction represents the largest single asset continuation vehicle raised in digital infrastructure to date. Cologix also completed a $1.65 billion asset-backed securitization earlier this year to support continued growth.

The recapitalization was effectuated as a sale of Cologix by Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund II LP and co-investors (Fund II) to Stonepeak-managed vehicles comprising a combination of existing Fund II investors who have chosen to reinvest in the business in partnership with a number of new third-party investors.

 

Cyrus Gentry, Managing Director at Stonepeak, said, “We are excited to extend and deepen our partnership with the Cologix team through this transaction and look forward to supporting Bill and team as they continue to build out Cologix’s leading North American interconnection and hyperscale edge platform in the years ahead.”

 

“With this transaction, we are accelerating our investments to match the growing demand from cloud services and network providers as well as digital enterprises,” added Cologix Chairman and CEO Bill Fathers. “We will build and acquire ScalelogixSM hyperscale edge data centers in current and new markets to complement and expand our network dense digital edge business.”

 

Cologix is North America’s leading network-neutral interconnection and hyperscale edge data center company with a carrier-dense ecosystem of more than 600 networks, 300+ cloud providers and 29 onramps across its platform. The company provides colocation and connectivity solutions to more than 1,600 customers through its operations that span 40+ digital edge and Scalelogix hyperscale edge data centers in 11 North American markets. Cologix maintains a strong focus on environmental, social and governance efforts across its business and to date has undertaken various sustainability initiatives, including the use of hydropower, optimizing water usage and installing the most efficient uninterruptible power supplies in the industry.

 

Fund II acquired a majority stake in Cologix in March of 2017 and subsequently partnered with Mubadala Investment Company (who have exited their position as part of this recapitalization) for an incremental growth capital investment in January 2020. Since 2017, Cologix has invested $1 billion of incremental capital in building out the company’s footprint through various organic and inorganic initiatives.

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Stonepeak. RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as financial advisor to Fund II. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to Stonepeak.

 

About Stonepeak

Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with approximately $46 billion of assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and portfolio companies, and to have a positive impact on the communities in which it operates. Stonepeak sponsors investment vehicles focused on private equity and credit. The firm provides capital, operational support, and committed partnerships to sustainably grow investments in its target sectors, which include communications, water, energy transition, power and renewable energy, and transport and logistics. Stonepeak is headquartered in New York with offices in Austin, Hong Kong, Houston, London and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.stonepeak.com.

 

About Cologix

Cologix provides carrier and cloud neutral hyperscale edge data centers and services across North America. Cologix is the interconnection hub for cloud service providers, carriers and a rich ecosystem of partners who want to deploy applications at the very edge across Canada and the U.S. With a growing portfolio of next generation facilities that meet the unique requirements for hyperscale growth with deep connectivity, Cologix offers massive scale and tailor-made data center solutions to accelerate customers’ digital transformation. For on-demand connectivity for scale and control, Cologix Access Marketplace provides fast, reliable, self-service provisioning. For a tour of one of our data centers in Ashburn, Columbus, Dallas, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Minneapolis, Montreal, New Jersey, Silicon Valley, Toronto or Vancouver visit www.cologix.com or email sales@cologix.com. Follow Cologix on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

About Mubadala Investment Company

Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.

 

Mubadala’s $243.4 billion (AED 894 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. We leverage our deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates.

 

Mubadala’s Digital Infrastructure unit, headed by Mounir Barakat, invests in physical assets around the world underpinning the global trend of digitalization and increasing demand for connectivity, data storage and compute power.

 

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Mubadala has offices in London, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, New York, San Francisco and Beijing. For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com.

Contacts

Stonepeak
Kate Beers

beers@stonepeak.com
+1 646-540-5225

Cologix
Krista Shepard

krista.shepard@cologix.com
+1 720-739-5396

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Business Lifestyle

Apriori Network System’s innovative Optical Fiber Hack-Proof Solution a better value proposition than Quantum Encryption

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — During the most recent, annual, international Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC 2022) in San Diego, at the expert panel session entitled, “Will Quantum Always Remain Basic Research or is it Ready to Power Great Products?”, the world-renowned telecommunications expert, Dr. Peter Winzer, stated categorically that “Quantum key distribution (QKD) … has yet to yield practical products that solve real-world problems….QKD only strives to provide a secure key, typically at kbps to mbps rates, which is unsuitable for today’s massive traffic needs. Significantly higher speed physical-layer security systems exist, including Apriori Network System’s method for secure, high-capacity optical data transmission.”

There has been a raging debate as to whether QKD will solve the problem of the vulnerability of optical fibers to physical hacking. Despite much research into QKD technology, there remains a lot of skepticism. A United Kingdom National Cyber Security Centre1 (NCSC) white paper referring to QKD, states that “it does not endorse its use in government or military applications…” and the NSA2 asserts QKD, “suffers from limitations and implementation challenges that make it impractical for use in National Security System (NSS) operational networks.”

 

The U.S. Government’s Committee on National Security Systems3 (CNSS) specified a product that monitors fibers for breaches using more conventional technology.

 

Gary Weiner, CEO of Apriori, points out that the CNSS4 solutions are designed to detect fiber hacks, but the emphasis is on detection of tampering and not prevention of fiber hacking or dealing with the tapping problem. Mr. Weiner contends, “the ability of a person-in-the-middle hacker accessing transmission data to monitor, influence and control critical infrastructure could be devastating financially, security-wise, and even impact lives. The sooner service providers recognize this risk and act on it, the better we will all be.”

 

The Apriori PrivaC™ fiber links guarantee privacy-asssured transmission service by intrinsically defending itself from eavesdropper attacks over an entire protected fiber span.

 

About Apriori Network Systems

Apriori Network Systems, as a privately held N.J. company, is positioned to be the world leader in cost-effective, privacy-assuring, efficient, practical prevention of physical hacking of optical fiber communications systems. Apriori’s first product, the PrivaC™ fiber platform, based on a patented solution, is presently in final development and available for demonstrations.

 

Links

1United Kingdom: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/whitepaper/quantum-security-technologies

2https://www.apriorinetwork.com/complementary-to-quantum-key-distribution/

2https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/News-Highlights/Article/Article/2394053/nsa-cybersecurity-perspectives-on-quantum-key-distribution-and-quantum-cryptogr/

3 CNSS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_National_Security_Systems

4 CNSSI https://www.dcsa.mil/Portals/91/documents/ctp/nao/CNSSI_7003_PDS_September_2015.pdf

Contacts

Media:

Gary Weiner, 1-877-807-7482

Gary.Weiner@Apriori-NET.com

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Business Lifestyle

Fortune International acquires D’Artagnan, leader in ‘Farm to Table’ movement and purveyor to top restaurants and retailers

– Acquisition to expand food distribution into Northeast, add new relationships with major retailers

– Founder Ariane Daguin to remain with Fortune

 

BENSENVILLE, Ill. & UNION, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Fortune International, LLC, the country’s leading processor, distributor and importer of quality seafood, meats, and gourmet products, today announced the acquisition of D’Artagnan, Inc., a leader in popularizing the sustainable “farm to table” movement over last 35 years and purveyor of free-range meat and all-natural organic poultry, game, foie gras, mushrooms and truffles to the United States’ most renowned restaurants and retailers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Fortune’s acquisition of D’Artagnan as a preferred supplier of food and gourmet products expands the Company’s geographic footprint into D’Artagnan’s markets, as well as adds new relationships with leading retailers. In addition, the acquisition provides an opportunity for Fortune to offer new products to consumers directly as part of D’Artagnan’s successful and fast-growing e-commerce business.

 

Founded in 1985 by Ariane Daguin, D’Artagnan has been redefining the meat industry, distributing organic, antibiotic and hormone-free meats many years ahead of consumer demand for “clean label” and farm-to-table offerings. Since its inception, D’Artagnan has grown from a one-truck and two-employee business to a nationally recognized food brand by developing a network of independent farmers and ranchers that abide by the strictest standards to deliver the highest quality, best tasting, conscientiously raised meat possible. Headquartered in Union, New Jersey, the company has approximately 260 employees and over 80 trucks working from five primary operations located in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas.

 

Today, D’Artagnan remains dedicated to putting only the finest meats on the tables of American gastronomes and is widely recognized for its superior quality and uncompromising standards. The top chefs and restauranteurs in America have relied on D’Artagnan for their daily deliveries, including Grant Achatz, Daniel Boulud, David Chang, Barbara Lynch, Danny Meyer, and the late Anthony Bourdain, who named his daughter Ariane in tribute to his friend. Recognized as a leader in sustainable and humane production practices, Ariane was inducted into James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who in Food & Beverage” in 1994, received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Bon Appetit Magazine in 2005, and awarded “Forbes Small Giants” in 2018.

 

Ariane will remain with D’Artagnan, continuing her life’s work as a devoted advocate for natural, sustainable, and humane production, at the forefront of America’s organic movement as well as continue to develop The D’Artagnan Farms Foundation. D’Artagnan will continue to operate as a subsidiary of Fortune Fish & Gourmet.

 

“We are excited to welcome Ariane and her talented team to our platform as the preferred supplier to top restaurants and retailers in the U.S.,” said Sean J. O’Scannlain, Fortune’s President and CEO. “In joining together, we combine Fortune’s strength in fresh seafood with D’Artagnan’s in free-range meat, offering customers their protein needs across virtually any market. We also look forward to building upon D’Artagnan’s successful direct-to-consumer e-commerce services. Ariane and her team have created a spectacular business and a best-in-class brand in our industry, and we are honored she has elected to join our growing Fortune family.”

 

Ariane Daguin, founder, owner, and CEO of D’Artagnan, commented, “I am excited to partner with and join Fortune, which is a company as committed to its customers and uncompromising service as we have always been. We have come a long way from our humble beginnings, 38 years ago. I am extremely excited for D’Artagnan’s future and want to thank our customers and vendors for their support through all these years.”

 

D’Artagnan represents Fortune International’s 13th transaction since launching its acquisition strategy in 2012, which has accelerated since entering into a partnership in 2020 with Investcorp, a leading global alternative asset manager. Fortune’s previous acquisitions include: JDY Gourmet (2012); Chef Martin Old World Butcher Shop (2014); Coastal Seafoods (2016); Morey’s Seafood International of Missouri, Classic Provisions Inc., and Jubilee Seafoods (2019); Seattle Fish of Missouri (2020), EuroGourmet, and Neesvig’s (2020); and C.C.T. Logistics, Inc., Meat Processors Inc., and Ocean Harvest Wholesale (2021).

 

Fortune International, LLC

Fortune International, LLC, is the parent operating company of Fortune Fish & Gourmet, a full-service processor and distributor providing white-tablecloth restaurants, private clubs, elegant hotels and gourmet retail stores with the finest quality fresh, live, and frozen seafood and gourmet foods. The company handles more than 10,000 seafood and gourmet products daily, selected to exceed the high standards embraced by its quality focused customer base. Fortune currently services more than 10,000 customers throughout the Central and Southeastern United States with a fleet of refrigerated vehicles and nationally through FedEx and common carriers. For more information, please visit www.fortunefishco.net.

Contacts

For Fortune International, LLC

Doug Donsky or Joe Crisci (ICR, Inc.)

P: (646) 277-1200

Email: doug.donsky@ICRinc.com or joe.crisci@ICRinc.com

For D’Artagnan

Linlee Hermann

P: 973-344-0565 ext. 200

Email: linleeh@dartagnan.com

Categories
Business Lifestyle

Buckle upsizes term loan to support continued growth of Its insurance platform

 Company also renews all reinsurance panels and launches gig product in additional states to aid ongoing growth

 

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #Buckleup—Buckle, a digital financial services company for the gig economy, has completed a $15 million upsizing of its term loan with participation from Siguler Guff & Company, LP (“Siguler Guff”) along with existing lender Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd. (conducting its re/insurance business as HSCM Bermuda).

 

This increases the total to $35 million. The proceeds of the deal provide capital to support the company’s distribution of its signature gig insurance products and the significant growth of business on its carriers, along with Buckle’s strategy of utilizing a portfolio of reinsurance partnerships across all programs. This transaction brings the total capital raised by Buckle to date to approximately $115 million.

“Today’s announcement underscores Buckle’s unique ability to attract participants in this emerging segment and validates our distinctive approach as we advocate for the economic independence of our drivers,” said Marty Young, chief executive officer of Buckle. “The recent expansion of our gig product across Maryland and Nevada, as well as our ongoing support of our members helps us bolster the success of these drivers.”

 

“We’re thrilled to begin a relationship with Buckle, an emerging leader in the gig insurance space. The deep industry experience of the team, scalability of the platform, and its focus on a unique segment of the market makes Buckle an exciting partner for our investment,” said Ray Miller, managing director, Credit and Special Situations at Siguler Guff.

 

“Our ongoing relationship with Buckle has gone from strength to strength, and we are pleased to provide additional surplus capital to Buckle as they achieve their vision and growth,” said Rachel Bardon, partner and chief actuary at HSCM Bermuda.

 

Buckle is making insurance affordable and easy to obtain for rideshare and delivery drivers by addressing gaps in conventional policies that leave gig workers underinsured. The company also partners with firms that support other transportation audiences to align the efforts of stakeholders across the insurance ecosystem.

 

In 2019, Buckle launched its core rideshare insurance policy that combines personal and commercial coverages. In 2020, the company announced the acquisition and recapitalization of Gateway Insurance Company (Gateway), and in 2021 acquired and recapitalized American Service Insurance Company and American Country Insurance Company to obtain the 49 state insurance licenses the company is utilizing today. Through Gateway, Buckle is expanding insurance coverage to include transportation network companies (TNCs) and delivery network companies (DNCs), as well as traditional taxi, limo, and livery businesses.

 

Over the past three months, Buckle has successfully extended all expiring reinsurance with its incumbent reinsurers in addition to adding a key new reinsurer.

 

“We are proud of the breadth and depth of our ongoing reinsurance partnerships. These renewals speak to the strength of Buckle’s business model, the value our reinsurers see in our approach, and the expertise we bring to the table,” said James Camerino, head of strategic partnerships for Buckle.

 

Buckle’s growth trajectory includes planned expansion across insurance and credit products as well as additional partnerships as it expands nationwide.

 

About Siguler Guff

Siguler Guff is a leading global multi-strategy private markets investment firm which, together with its affiliates, has approximately $16 billion of assets under management, as of December 31, 2021, and over 25 years of investment experience. Siguler Guff seeks to generate strong, risk-adjusted returns by focusing opportunistically on market niches. Siguler Guff’s core investment strategies include opportunistic and private credit, small business private equity, distressed real estate and emerging markets. Siguler Guff’s investment products include direct investment funds, multimanager funds and customized separate accounts.

 

About Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd.

Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd., conducting its re/insurance investment management business as HSCM Bermuda (“HSCM”), is an asset manager focused on alternative investments seeking mezzanine level returns. HSCM focuses on the Re/Insurance and Transportation sectors. HSCM launched in 2016, and as of January 1, 2022 had more than $3 billion in assets under management and committed capital. HSCM focuses on core economic sectors that are likely to outgrow global GDP, offer low correlations with broader markets, and are experiencing a shift from balance sheet and to market financing. For more information, please visit www.hscm.com.

 

About Buckle

Buckle is the digital financial services company providing affordable insurance for the gig industry. Serving the vital, rising middle class, Buckle protects drivers covering personal, rideshare, and delivery driving for leading companies including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Gopuff, Instacart, Amazon Flex, Uber Eats, Grubhub, Favor, Postmates, Caviar, and more. Buckle also offers insurance solutions for select partners. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and www.buckleup.com.

Contacts

Media:

Erica Netzley

media@buckleup.com
(726) 262-5969