Market Newsdesk

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Puppet, the industry standard for infrastructure automation, today released the findings of the 2020 State of DevOps Report. This year, over 2,400 IT, development, and information security professionals took the survey, revealing approaches that can help organizations scale DevOps principles and practices through providing more self-service capabilities and modernizing change management practices. Puppet’s State of DevOps report remains the longest-standing and most widely-referenced DevOps research in the industry after nearly a decade and 35,000 global survey respondents.

Taking DevOps from isolated teams to scaling across an enterprise is a significant challenge for any business. According to the report, establishing a platform approach to software delivery helps organizations standardize and scale DevOps practices across more application development teams. While the platform model is a fairly new approach for enabling application teams, it can help achieve overarching DevOps goals: faster and easier delivery of better-quality, more secure software.

Even more revealing in the report was that self-service capabilities were seen at higher levels of DevOps evolution, when companies’ DevOps practices are more mature. More evolved organizations are almost twice as likely as mid-level organizations to have high usage of internal platforms with self-service capabilities. Linked to findings in Puppet’s 2018 State of DevOps report, the DevOps evolution model consists of five stages of DevOps adoption which show critical practices at each stage and the “how” to get from one stage to the next.

“The underlying structural changes that have occurred to get to the highest level of DevOps evolution have reduced complexity in the technology stack, automated away a lot of toil, and reduced handoffs between teams — all while building a high degree of trust. These are all the necessary components for building an internal platform that can deliver higher value for the organization,” said Alanna Brown, Senior Director of Developer Relations and author of the State of DevOps report. “For organizations that are not ready to make the leap to a self-service platform approach, addressing change management processes within your company can also help eliminate toil and speed up software delivery.”

The report also revealed four common approaches to change management based on approval processes, degree of automation and risk mitigation techniques. The four approaches — operationally mature, engineering-driven, governance focused and ad hoc — result in different levels of effectiveness and different performance outcomes. Orthodox approvals make the change management process less efficient. Firms with high orthodox approvals are nine times more likely to have high levels of inefficiency than firms with low orthodox approvals. Teams that automate and practice advanced risk mitigation believe that their change management process reduces risk and downtime while facilitating the rate of change the business needs.

“This year we were able to gather data in-depth on how change management practices correlate with organizational success. The highlights for me were clear evidence that by using CI and automation as the primary change management mechanism outcomes are better, and effectiveness is higher,” said Michael Stahnke, Vice President, Platform, CircleCI. “Surprisingly, teams that have good outcomes are likely to not be satisfied with their change management process. Likely because they strive for continuous improvement — particularly when compared to organizations practicing a more traditional change management approach.”

Additional key findings of the survey, include:

• 63 percent of the respondents state their company has at least one self-service internal platform, and 60 percent have between two and four platforms.
• Highly evolved DevOps firms are six times as likely to report high use of internal platforms as firms with a low-level of DevOps maturation.
• Top challenges in creating an internal platform include: lack of time; lack of standardization; and lack of technical skills within the team.
• Firms whose employees believe their change management is effective are three times more likely to automate testing and deployment than firms where confidence in change management performance is low.
• Among respondents with full security integration, 45 percent can remediate critical vulnerabilities within a day. Just 25 percent of those with low security integration can remediate within a day.

For every person who completed the 2020 State of DevOps survey, $1 was donated to the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. An additional $45,000, provided by our generous sponsors, was donated to several nonprofits helping our most vulnerable communities cope with the effects of COVID-19, including WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, No Kid Hungry and Doctors Without Borders.

*Report Methodology

The survey collected data from technical professionals with a working knowledge of their IT operations and software delivery process. A third-party research firm, ONR, hosted the survey and conducted the data analysis. The resulting report was written by Puppet and CircleCI.

Supporting Quotes

“When it comes to change governance, larger organizations tend to be the ones to experience difficulties in succeeding with DevOps at scale. The findings of this year’s report highlights this pain point,” said RJ Jainendra, VP and GM, ITBM and DevOps at ServiceNow. “Part of the problem is that older change processes, which many larger organizations still use, have reinforced silos, leading to change evasion. By leveraging adaptive change, teams can eliminate toil, increase success, and in turn become high-performing. This can be achieved using a policy-based approach to automate the change process while ensuring the highest levels of governance and on-demand deployment.”

“Secure DevOps is a hot topic and it is exciting to see organizations are taking action,” said Omer Azaria, VP of Engineering at Sysdig. “From this year’s State of DevOps Report, we’ve discovered that highly productive DevOps teams automate security and compliance as part of their change management process. These are the teams that are able to both reduce security risk and accelerate application releases.”

Additional Resources

• Download the 2020 State of DevOps Report
• Learn more about Puppet
• Follow Puppet on Twitter and LinkedIn
• Read our blog

About Puppet

Puppet makes infrastructure actionable, scalable and intelligent. From the data center to the cloud, Puppet helps enterprises modernize and manage their infrastructure to deliver innovation and efficiency through continuous automation. More than 40,000 organizations — including more than 80 percent of the Global 5000 — have benefited from Puppet’s open source and commercial solutions to ensure business continuity, optimize costs, boost compliance and ensure security – all while accelerating the adoption of DevOps practices and delivery of self-service. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Puppet is a privately held company with offices in London, Belfast, Singapore and Sydney. Learn more at puppet.com.

Media Contact
Zibby Keaton
Head of External Communications @ Puppet
[email protected]

DENVER, CO, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via NewMediaWire— Gateway Proven Strategies, LLC (GPS) announced today a partnership to offer the ValidCare CBD (Cannabidiol) Consumer Experience databases as part of its integrated cannabis consulting offering. These databases feature more than two years of blinded and aggregated real-world data and real-world evidence provided by actual consumers of CBD products. These data provide unique visibility into consumer reported safety, demographics, preferences, and uses and effects of numerous CBD products and brands.

Many consumer packaged goods (CPG) and pharmaceutical (Rx) companies are very interested in pursuing product innovation pipelines featuring CBD and given the lack of movement by the FDA, most CPG/Rx companies are eagerly awaiting these safety findings. GPS is the cannabis industry’s leading consulting firm, encompassing a full suite of cannabis business expertise. By being able to offer the ValidCare database and Research Solutions to our potential clients without a consulting commitment, we hope to stimulate more meaningful conversations and eventual client engagements around what to do about these findings.  

GPS will offer the ValidCare databases and Research Solutions to clients for the same price offered directly by ValidCare. The difference is that when purchasing from GPS, clients also have the option to access GPS experts for meaningful application from the data/findings. “We are excited to partner with GPS and its team of business intelligence experts,” said Patrick McCarthy, CEO of ValidCare. “We believe that by having GPS as a partner, CPG, and pharmaceutical companies can more efficiently gain insights and make important strategic decisions from our data.  Together we can help companies conduct proprietary research to advance their portfolios as well as assess regulatory and safety considerations, market entry timing, product development, and market segmentation opportunities.”

Despite U.S. Federal legalization with the 2018 Farm Bill, the FDA has yet to announce whether it will treat CBD as a dietary supplement.  FDA’s inaction is primarily due to concerns the FDA has with CBD causing liver damage and drowsiness, based on findings from excessive dosing experiments as part of the GW Pharmaceuticals drug approval trials.  ValidCare is currently sponsoring a multi-branded safety study aimed at answering the FDA’s repeated request, including the agency’s March 5, 2020 report to Congress, for science-based data so it can confidently determine the appropriate regulatory path(s) for hemp-derived CBD products. This data is expected to be critical to unlocking innovation pipelines for CPG and Rx companies. 

“Charlotte’s Web invests in precision science through our CW Labs and also through important research studies such as this ValidCare study because this research will provide much-needed data,” said Tim Orr, Vice President of Innovation at Charlotte’s Web.

 “By being both science and data-driven we can secure long term consumer trust, while also addressing the FDA’s safety concerns with CBD products.” 

About Gateway Proven Strategies

GPS, LLC is a global consulting group dedicated to connecting the dots of the global CBD supply chain. Through it’s comprehensive consulting and advisement service offerings, GPS supports entrepreneurs on the front lines of innovation, advises governments to develop reasonable cannabis policies that support growth and innovation, guides the hand of investment capital, and navigates enterprise clients through the nascent waters of the emerging CBD industry providing education, vision, strategy, and results. For more information on Gateway Proven Strategies, LLC, visit www.GPS.Global

About ValidCare

ValidCare, LLC provides clinical research outsourcing (CRO) and consumer intelligence solutions for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) and life sciences industries. ValidCare’s proprietary platform supports virtual research powered by real-world evidence (RWE) including self-reported consumer data to deliver insights that help improve research, regulations, product development, and consumer health. For more information on Valid Care, visit www.validcare.com or call 844-825-4322.

Danielle Staley
800-667-1221
[email protected]

DUBLIN, Ireland and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FINEOS Corporation (ASX:FCL), the global market leader in core systems for life, accident and health insurance, and Ushur, the leading no-code platform for customer engagement and Intelligent Automation, are partnering to deliver faster processing time, lower operating costs for carriers and a world-class user experience, the two announced today.

The partnership will enable FINEOS AdminSuite customers to leverage Ushur’s AI-powered automation tools that come with a no-code workflow builder, unique conversational AI and rich connections to systems of record to automate RFP intake journeys and provide a state-of-the-art digital experience to their employers, insureds and brokers.

Benefits of the integrated FINEOS Platform and Ushur solution include:

• Faster processing of RFP intake requests
• 24/7 personalized interaction with employers, insureds and brokers
• Increased customer satisfaction as measured by NPS
• Automating data collection to reduce reliance on agents and specialists

Irish Life, Unum and Tower Insurance are among leading carriers using Ushur’s multichannel automation tools and AI-powered workflows to engage employers and insurers over email, SMS and mobile apps, providing a convenient, personalized customer experience while dramatically reducing outgoing calls. Ushur’s AI can also be used to streamline outbound sales operations and automatically direct internal email flow.

“Partnering with Ushur complements the FINEOS Platform Smart Automation capabilities to enable insurers to provide even better and faster service to their customers, and is part of our Open Ecosystem approach to working with product partners,” said Michael Kelly, CEO of FINEOS. “RFP Intake is often a tedious process, fraught with mistakes and bad data. We look forward to working with Ushur to streamline this process to increase our customers’ service speed and accuracy. We are also exploring how Ushur can help us enhance our market-leading FINEOS Claims product even further using their AI tools to provide even better service across the claims process.”

“Carriers, employee benefits providers and companies in general are having to deal with massive shifts in customer behavior and technology trends,” said Simha Sadasiva, CEO of Ushur. “Our mission at Ushur is to help bring companies closer to the members they serve through a multichannel frictionless engagement. This partnership with FINEOS, a modern, cloud-based SaaS platform, will allow carriers to deliver straight-through processing to their members, brokers and claimants. It’s a real breakthrough for the industry!”

About FINEOS

FINEOS is a market leader in core systems for life, accident and health insurance carriers globally with 7 of 10 group life and health carriers in the US as well as 6 of the top 10 life and health carriers in Australia. With employees and offices throughout the world, FINEOS continues to scale rapidly, working with innovative progressive carriers in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The FINEOS Platform, powered by Amazon Web Services, provides customers full end-to-end core administration for group, voluntary and individual across life, accident and health. The FINEOS Platform includes the FINEOS AdminSuite core product suite as well as add-on products, FINEOS Engage to support digital engagement and FINEOS Insight for analytics and reporting.

For more information, visit www.FINEOS.com.

About Ushur


Ushur
is the complete solution for intelligent automation. Companies such as HealthSpire, Irish Life and Unum use Ushur to automate claims and broker interactions and collect missing information for member journeys over email, apps, SMS and more using conversational AI and intuitive workflows. Ushur’s end-to-end platform accelerates time to value with features like a no-code visual builder, powerful tools for data extraction and integrations with back-end core systems. Ushur is headquartered in Santa Clara with an office in Bangalore and is backed by investors including Third Point Ventures and 8VC.

U.S. Media Contact

Chris Ulbrich
[email protected]
415 848 9175

Highlights

Q3 2020
revenue
w
as
up
21.5% over Q3 2019
,
hitting the highest
quarterly
 r
evenue in the company’s history

Q3 2020 revenue was up 31.0% over Q2 2020, marking a significant recovery from the COVID-19 shutdown

Gross margin for Q3 2020 was 42.3% up from 37.9% in Q3 2019

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rideshare Rental, Inc. (“RSR” or the “Company”) (Other OTC:YAYO), a leading provider of vehicles to the rideshare and delivery gig economy industry, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rideshare Car Rentals, LLC, today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

“We are very pleased with our performance in Q3 2020,” commented Ramy El-Batrawi, CEO. “Although the COVID-19 shutdowns caused our quarterly revenue to decrease in the beginning of the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, we saw a positive upward movement in revenue by the end of the second quarter. Q3 was up 21% year over year and was up 31% over Q2 2020, hitting the highest quarterly revenue in the Company’s history. Gross margins grew to 42% up from 38% from Q3 2019, making the Company’s core rental operations profitable before taking into account corporate overhead and one-time costs.”

“This significant increase in revenue is a result of our immediate pivot in marketing to the delivery gig industry, a sector which continued activity throughout the COVID-19 shutdown. With Proposition 22 passing that established workers as independent contractors, superseding a California law that aimed to make gig workers, including ride-hailing and food delivery drivers, employees with full benefits, will create more demand as drivers make more money. This is important because the majority of our fleet are in California. We anticipate seeing continued growth in revenue as we add more cars, demand is strong not only in California but also in all cities we service. We are running at a 95% utilization rate on available cars to rent in all areas,” CEO Ramy El-Batrawi added.

Rideshare Car Rentals LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary, is an online rideshare vehicle booking platform to service the ridesharing and delivery gig economy which includes both our owned-fleet and third party fleets.

Fleet Management

Distinct Cars LLC, our wholly-owned subsidiary, maintains a fleet of passenger vehicles that are commercially available for rent by gig-economy drivers.

About Rideshare Rental, Inc.

Rideshare Rental, Inc. bridges the gap between rideshare drivers in need of a suitable vehicle and rideshare companies that depend on attracting and keeping drivers. Rideshare Rental, Inc. uniquely supports drivers in both the higher and lower economic categories with innovative policies and programs. Rideshare Rental, Inc. is a leading provider of rental vehicles to drivers in the ever-expanding gig economy.

Rideshare Rental, Inc. provides SEC filings, investor events, press and earnings releases about our financial performance on the investor relations section of our website (www.yayyo.com).

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

Public Relations Contact

Ramy El-Batrawi
Phone: 888-209-5643
Email: [email protected]

RIDESHARE RENTAL, INC. (FORMERLY YAYYO, INC.)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019

		September 30,				December 31,
		2020				2019
		(unaudited)
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash		$	84,732			$	1,256,429
Accounts receivable			53,338				59,331
Prepaid expenses			431,973				782,900
Total current assets			570,043				2,098,660
Equipment, net			2,280				3,395
Rental vehicles, net			7,140,289				4,737,047
Deposit on vehicles			–				164,080
Other assets			200,000				200,000
TOTAL ASSETS		$	7,912,612			$	7,203,182
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable (including $692,386 and $394,183 to related party)		$	1,453,305			$	545,254
Accrued expenses (including $0 and $171,665 to related party)			432,815				405,977
Notes payables, current (net of discount of $4,570 and $32,289)			497,872				287,378
Advance from related party			50,000				–
Finance lease obligations, current			1,689,534				1,416,446
Total current liabilities			4,123,526				2,655,055
Note payable, net of current portion			149,900				–
Finance lease obligations, net of current portion			1,978,238				984,119
TOTAL LIABILITIES			6,251,664				3,639,174
Commitments and contingencies			–				–
STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preferred stock, $0.000001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; nil shares issued and outstanding			–				–
Common stock, $0.000001 par value; 90,000,000 shares authorized; 31,981,374 and 29,427,803 shares issued and outstanding			32				29
Additional paid-in capital			29,708,377				28,735,894
Accumulated deficit			(28,047,461	)			(25,171,915	)
Total stockholders’ deficit			1,660,948				3,564,008
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT		$	7,912,612			$	7,203,182

RIDESHARE RENTAL, INC. (FORMERLY YAYYO, INC.)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 (unaudited)

		Three Months Ended September 30,								Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2020				2019				2020				2019
Revenue		$	2,070,821			$	1,718,439			$	5,399,018			$	5,193,957
Cost of revenue			1,194,957				1,067,373				3,891,307				3,111,614
Gross profit			875,864				651,066				1,507,711				2,082,343
Operating expenses:
Selling and marketing expenses			113,904				80,039				324,546				182,645
General and administrative expenses			1,088,152				761,151				3,845,768				2,221,962
Loss on the settlement of debt			–				–				–				252,900
Total operating expenses			1,202,056				841,190				4,170,314				2,657,507
Loss from operations			(326,192	)			(190,124	)			(2,662,603	)			(575,164	)
Other income (expense):
Interest and financing costs			(65,292	)			(180,531	)			(212,943	)			(792,406	)
Total other income (expense)			(65,292	)			(180,531	)			(212,943	)			(792,406	)
Net loss		$	(391,484	)		$	(370,655	)		$	(2,875,546	)		$	(1,367,570	)
Weighted average shares outstanding :
Basic			31,981,374				26,802,803				30,828,676				26,774,636
Diluted			31,981,374				26,802,803				30,828,676				26,774,636
Loss per share
Basic		$	(0.01	)		$	(0.01	)		$	(0.09	)		$	(0.05	)
Diluted		$	(0.01	)		$	(0.01	)		$	(0.09	)		$	(0.05	)

RIDESHARE RENTAL, INC. (FORMERLY YAYYO, INC.)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)

For the Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 (unaudited)

										Additional								Total
		Common Stock								Paid-in				Accumulated				Stockholders’
		Shares				Amount				Capital				Deficit				Equity (Deficit)
Balance, December 31, 2019			29,427,803			$	29			$	28,735,894			$	(25,171,915	)		$	3,564,008
Stock option expense											457,242								457,242
Net loss															(1,761,220	)			(1,761,220	)
Balance, March 31, 2020			29,427,803				29				29,193,136				(26,933,135	)			2,260,030
Issuance of common stock for cash			2,553,571				3				274,997								275,000
Net loss															(722,842	)			(722,842	)
Balance, June 30, 2020			31,981,374				32				29,468,133				(27,655,977	)			1,812,188
Stock option expense											240,244								240,244
Net loss															(391,484	)			(391,484	)
Balance, September 30, 2020			31,981,374			$	32			$	29,708,377			$	(28,047,461	)		$	1,660,948
Balance, December 31, 2018			26,718,676			$	27			$	19,193,151			$	(21,241,694	)		$	(2,048,516	)
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt			80,000								640,000								640,000
Net loss															(579,463	)			(579,463	)
Balance, March 31, 2019			26,798,676				27				19,833,151				(21,821,157	)			(1,987,979	)
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt			4,300								34,400								34,400
Net loss															(417,452	)			(417,452	)
Balance, June 30, 2019			26,802,976				27				19,867,551				(22,238,609	)			(2,371,031	)
Correction to outstanding shares			(173	)
Net loss															(370,655	)			(370,655	)
Balance, September 30, 2019			26,802,803			$	27			$	19,867,551			$	(22,609,264	)		$	(2,741,686	)

RIDESHARE RENTAL, INC. (FORMERLY YAYYO, INC.)

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 (unaudited)

		2020				2019
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net loss		$	(2,875,546	)		$	(1,367,570	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization			1,047,075				730,610
Stock option expense			697,486				–
Common stock issued for services			–				–
Amortization of debt discounts			27,719				29,860
Loss on the settlement of debt			–				252,900
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable			5,993				(78,643	)
Prepaid expenses			350,927				1,394
Accounts payable			908,051				(419,958	)
Accrued expenses			26,838				697,518
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities			188,543				(153,889	)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from notes payable			342,675				1,951,300
Proceeds from sale of common stock			275,000				–
Proceeds from advance from related party			200,000				–
Repayment of advance from related party			(150,000	)			–
Repayment of notes payable			(10,000	)			(967,652	)
Repayment of finance lease obligations			(2,017,915	)			(1,025,863	)
Net cash used in financing activities			(1,360,240	)			(42,215	)
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH			(1,171,697	)			(196,104	)
CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD			1,256,429				277,444
CASH, END OF PERIOD		$	84,732			$	81,340
CASH PAID FOR:
Interest		$	185,224			$	715,250
Income taxes		$	–			$	–
SUPPLEMENTAL NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Payment of accounts payable/accrued expenses with common stock		$	–			$	421,500
Value of equity recorded as debt discounts		$	–			$	–
Finance lease obligations		$	3,400,922			$	510,136

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce that Quinncy McNeal has joined the firm in the newly established position of Pro Bono Counsel in its Houston office.

His hiring expands Husch Blackwell’s Pro Bono team as part of HB Communities for Change, the firm’s effort to harness the energy throughout its offices nationally to make positive change in the United States with respect to racial justice.

“Quinncy will focus on the establishment and support of minority-owned businesses by seeking creative solutions to foster their greater economic success, and hopefully, making a difference that compounds over time,” Margaret Richards, Husch Blackwell’s Director of Pro Bono Services, said. “During the last decade, Quinncy has made pro bono work a centerpiece of his practice. He brings with him experience working with minority-owned entrepreneurs, providing legal advice to burgeoning businesses seeking a foothold in the marketplace. Quinncy is absolutely perfect for this new pro bono position and we are very excited to welcome him to the firm.”

“After ten years representing Fortune 100 corporate giants, I am thrilled to now dedicate my practice exclusively to expanding access to the legal system for those most underrepresented in our communities,” McNeal said. “I am delighted to get started on this critically important initiative and to provide a strong, supportive and steady hand to the minority companies that already add such immeasurable value to the many communities in Husch Blackwell’s national footprint. With the help of this firm’s terrific and dedicated professionals, we are going to do something very special.”

McNeal earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and his B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University. Before focusing his legal practice on pro bono matters, he worked on extensive complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, dispute resolution, compliance counsel, and transactional matters. Prior to pursing a legal career, McNeal was a television journalist in Texas and in Wisconsin.

# # # 

About Husch Blackwell

 Husch Blackwell is an industry-focused law firm with 21 offices across the United States, including its virtual office, The Link. The firm represents clients around the world in major industries including energy and natural resources; financial services and capital markets; food and agribusiness; healthcare, life sciences and education; real estate, development and construction; and technology, manufacturing and transportation. For more information, visit huschblackwell.com.

Steve Renau
Husch Blackwell
816-983-8783
[email protected]

Half Moon Bay, Calif., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Athena Alliance, the global digital community of the top executive women in business, and Stanford Women on Boards, the elite organization of board-ready Stanford alumnae, faculty and staff, today announced a joint commitment to expanding board opportunities and governance education. Stanford Women on Boards will offer Athena membership to its 1,000+ female leaders to augment its member experience. Through Athena’s platform, created exclusively for senior executive women, Stanford Women on Boards members will access community, learning and even more board and CXO opportunities.

“We’re honored to welcome the women executives from one of the most prestigious universities in the world into Athena,” said Coco Brown, founder and CEO of Athena Alliance. “Stanford Women on Boards is an excellent addition to our existing high-caliber network of the top women in business around the world.”

“Athena’s engaging digital community will be a valued asset to members of Stanford Women on Boards by delivering networking and educational opportunities to accelerate our members’ path to the boardroom. Athena’s mission to advance women at the highest ranks of leadership aligns with our goals to increase the representation, readiness and influence of female leaders on corporate boards,” said Bess Weatherman, co-chair of Stanford Women on Boards and a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

Stanford Women on Boards was founded in 2009 to help Stanford-affiliated female leaders to network, prepare for and discover board opportunities. Stanford’s collaboration with Athena will create a powerful ecosystem of opportunity and support for its members. Through Athena, Stanford Women on Boards members will be able to join or lead engaging live virtual events, access a robust learning library of content created by experienced leaders and board directors from top global brands, participate in a casual virtual community space and gain full access to opportunities, such as board seats, CXO roles and more. 

Athena frequently collaborates with progressive organizations, CEOs, communities and investment firms to enhance member benefits, provide a thoughtful executive development experience and deliver end-to-end board support services such as board director matching and board education. 

About Athena Alliance

Athena is a community platform that brings together women leaders, investors, CEOs, board directors, and corporations in one global, digital ecosystem. Women join Athena for executive coaching, board opportunities, exclusive events, one-on-one mentorship, and more. Athena also guides CEOs, venture firms and corporations to evolve their approach to senior leadership development, to strengthen their boards, and to access the world’s top female leaders. www.AthenaAlliance.com

About Stanford Women on Boards

Stanford Women on Boards (SWB) is committed to increasing the representation, readiness, and influence of Stanford-affiliated female leaders on corporate and fiduciary boards. SWB is a community of Stanford women preparing themselves and their peers to be exceptional stewards of organizations around the world. SWB helps companies find the best talent to build high performing diverse boards and collaborates with many groups to advance thought leadership on women in the boardroom. www.stanfordwomenonboards.stanford.edu.

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Joanna Furlong
Athena Alliance
480-227-2752
[email protected]

London, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sarah Dunn, an experienced international development leader, is joining Abt Associates as Managing Director of Abt Britain. 

 

Dunn spent nearly two decades as a senior executive with the Department for International Development (now Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), where her final role in 2014 was country director for DFID Southern Africa/South Africa. While at DFID, she worked across Africa, the Middle East, and Caribbean and held several other executive and strategic advisory positions.

 

Her public sector experience is complemented by a track record in market competitive and commercial settings, leading on strategy and partnership development for the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), as well as co-starting and raising 116M GBP ($150M USD) in funding as the head of Partnerships and Brands for The Power of Nutrition.

 

“Sarah brings extensive relationships and broad technical knowledge of Abt Associates’ international priorities from her time at DFID,” said company President and CEO Kathleen Flanagan. “As a leader, she is recognised for her values-driven, inclusive, and supportive style. She has a deep understanding of our markets and a focus on results that energizes people around her.”

 

Dunn holds a BA, Psychology from Brunel University in the UK and an MBA from BI Norwegian Business School in Norway

 

“We are delighted to welcome Sarah to Abt and look forward to introducing her to our global team when she starts on Monday, 30 November,” said Flanagan.

 

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About Abt Associates

Abt Associates is a global consulting and research firm that uses data and bold thinking to improve the quality of people’s lives. From combatting infectious disease and conducting rigorous program evaluations, to ensuring safe drinking water and promoting access to affordable housing—and more—we partner with clients and communities to tackle their most complex challenges. 

http://www.abtassociates.com

Huw Sparkes
Abt Associates
+44 (0) 7964 227957
[email protected]