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HOUSTON AREA URBAN LEAGUE TO EXPAND TECH TRAINING PROGRAM THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH COMCAST

Comcast Houston

Unemployed and underemployed Houstonians will have the chance to train for family-sustaining jobs under a major expansion of the Houston Area Urban League Tech Jobs Program, funded by longtime partner Comcast. “The Urban Tech Jobs Program 2.0 provides an opportunity for our participants to receive in-demand IT training at the collegiate level without student debt. In this current environment where we have seen a huge demand for technical skills due to COVID-19 pandemic, our program will help bridge the digital divide in our communities.” “With the support of Comcast, I foresee HAUL becoming one of Houston’s leading agencies in providing quality technical training and ensuring underserved clients in BIPOC communities have access to technology”, stated Judson W. Robinson III, Houston Area Urban League President & CEO. Tech-related job openings are surging, both nationally and in Houston. According to the 2021 Greater Houston Partnership Houston Tech Report, Houston has the 12th largest tech workforce in the U.S. The Greater Houston area ranks as one of the hot spots in the country for an in-demand area of tech expertise. In fact, the top 10 in-demand roles listed by a World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report are all tech-related — but four in 10 American employers report that they struggle to fill tech vacancies, according to a survey. When tech companies do hire, few of the jobs are going to workers of color. The National Urban League’s 2018 State of Black America® found that of the 40,000 employees of four major Silicon Valley technology firms, only 1,000 were Black. To address the racial opportunity gaps in the digital economy and broadband availability, the National Urban League has developed the Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion. “It is imperative we create new opportunities for underserved communities to participate in the growth of the digital economy,” said Ralph Martinez, regional senior vice Comcast Houston Region. “We are excited to continue our partnership with the Houston Area Urban League and help expand their Urban Tech Jobs Program to ensure more adults have the opportunity to gain the necessary technical skills to compete in today’s workforce.” The Urban Tech Jobs Program is an accelerated training program that recruits unemployed and underemployed adults and provides them with workshops to build solid job readiness and personal resiliency/adaptability skills while offering nationally recognized certification coursework and paid work experience. “The AWS class itself was fine. Jose is an EXCELLENT instructor. Incredibly knowledgeable and great at getting across the information. I am launching a portfolio project on AWS to display some of my knowledge and staying active in the AWS scene in hopes of remaining current. As a freelancer, I have gigs now that utilize the AWS service. As a rule, I am the techie my less techie managers come to, to help them understand an issue. I'm now equipped to have some of those conversations about AWS” “I do hope HAUL continues the program. I keep talking about it to friends who would benefit as a wonderful opportunity to get solid training”. Chere Westmoreland, UTJP 2.0/Amazon Web Service Program Participant. More than 800 workers and jobseekers have taken advantage of the program nationally since 2016, leading to jobs in technology such as network administrator, office manager, installation technician, helpdesk specialist, systems analyst, programmers, and developer. Comcast’s $3 million commitment will enable a total of 240 individuals to be trained through an expansion of the program at six Urban League affiliates: Urban League of Philadelphia (Andrea L. Custis, President & CEO) Chicago Urban League (Karen Freeman-Wilson, President & CEO) Houston Area Urban League (Judson Robinson III, President & CEO) Urban League of Broward County (Germaine Smith-Baugh, President & CEO) Urban League of Greater Atlanta (Nancy Flake Johnson, President & CEO) Urban League of Greater Pittsb urgh (Esther L. Bush, President & CEO) Individuals who are interested in applying for Urban Tech should send their resumes to rwilliams@haul.org. Regular updates regarding future Houston Area Urban League and National Urban League initiatives can be found at www.haul.org and www.NUL.org. Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with over 56 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Comcast Michael Bybee +1 281-605-9658 Michael_Bybee@cable.comcast.com Houston Area Urban League Eric M. Goode +17133938700 ericg@haul.org Company Website https://houston.comcast.com/

May 10, 2021 09:00 AM Central Daylight Time

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Goodway Group Forms Strategic Digital Partnership with Online Grocery Delivery Platform Good Eggs

Goodway Group

Goodway Group, the digital partner advertisers trust to deliver campaign performance and media efficiency, has formed a strategic partnership with online grocery delivery platform, Good Eggs. Within this new partnership, Goodway Group is focused on driving Good Eggs’ customer acquisition by building the brand’s performance and direct marketing capabilities. Since the onset of the partnership, Goodway Group has helped achieve Good Eggs’ aggressive new customer goal, delivering more new customers in March 2021 than ever previously recorded as being delivered by paid media. As a growing DTC startup, Good Eggs is committed to providing the best quality groceries directly to customers' doors in the San Francisco Bay area, while supporting local, ethically sourced food. Additionally, the company is the only solution in the market that provides groceries and meal kits without a required subscription. Marketing has always been a key initiative at Good Eggs, and the company found that Goodway Group’s unique approach was unlike any other option it had seen in the market. In order to further highlight the Good Eggs brand, Goodway Group is focused on creating a customer service function that uses site and predictive analytics to drive marketing investment decisions, while prioritizing custom solutions tailored to the platform. Goodway Group is acting as Good Eggs’ direct response agency and is the only provider of digital execution, running all forms of the DTC brand’s media, social, SEM and display, audio, native, video, and CTV. “Everything we do at Good Eggs is centered around our customer. We’ve always looked for the best quality products to offer and local farmers and producers are core to this. Our brand is dependent on a top-of-the-line customer experience, which means that our customer acquisition engine must always be top of mind,” Vineet Mehra, Chief Growth and CX Officer at Good Eggs. “From our website to social media, all touchpoints must be prioritized to offer the best possible experience for our customers. We are excited to be working with Goodway Group as they help us to achieve our business goals.” Through this partnership, Goodway Group is taking site-side data from all major platforms and using that to identify how to best utilize it in the customer acquisition engine, while pulling from data on a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual scale to drive top of the line predictive outcomes. Good Eggs has also hired a dedicated team of engineers to make real-time changes, such as tagging, tracking, event UX and website changes or enhancements, based on the needs of the business – ultimately to aid in getting changes to market in a faster, more efficient way. “We are thrilled to partner with Good Eggs as they continue to provide an exceptional experience for their customers,” said Jay Friedman, President at Goodway Group. “Through a focus on performance marketing and unique digital solutions, we’ve been able to act as an extension of the Good Eggs in-house team and form a successful partnership that has already seen valuable results.” About Goodway Group: Goodway Group is the digital partner advertisers trust to drive campaign performance and media efficiency. Proud to be completely independently owned and operated, Goodway provides trustworthy expertise that meets its clients' needs – and no one else's. Using predictive intelligence, Goodway helps advertisers get the most value out of every impression across all paid digital media. Through the combination of employing the smartest technology and the most experienced people in the industry, Goodway delivers authentic results. Find Goodway Group online at goodwaygroup.com. Goodway Group. Honestly Smart Digital. Contact Details Kite Hill PR for Goodway Group Rachel Wyncoop +1 631-338-7248 rwyncoop@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.goodwaygroup.com/

May 06, 2021 01:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Tribevest Introduces Multi-Member LLC & FDIC-Banking Account Creation in 48 hours for Investor Groups

Tribevest

Tribevest, the first collaborative, group investment platform, today announced the launch of its latest, enhanced banking tool enabling investor groups to set up business bank accounts and fund their newly formed business ventures in less than 48 hours. Tribevest partnered with Unit, a banking-as-a-service platform, to enable rapid access to business banking for group investors. “Before Tribevest, family and friends looking to invest together spent over $3,000 and 100 hours to set up their legal business entity and business bank account,” said Travis Smith, founder and CEO of Tribevest. “Our enhanced banking tool leverages Unit’s technology to help investor groups start transacting 85% faster. We're proud that Tribevest empowers friends, family, and financially aligned groups to invest together — without a country club network.” The partnership with Unit enables Tribevest’s investor groups to easily make individual capital contributions to an FDIC-insured business checking account and withdraw funds for investments. Unit’s technology helps tech companies launch and embed financial features into their products. “At Unit, our mission is to make it easy for tech companies to build financial features into their products,” said Itai Damti, CEO of Unit. “Tribevest has already become a game-changer for investor groups over the last couple of years. We believe our partnership takes Tribevest to the next level.” Based on your investor group size, Tribevest’s annual pricing starts as low as $3 per member and monthly at $5 per member. The core features of Tribevest include: Tribe Operations & Dashboard. Collaborative, transparent space for members to share, record, and vote in real-time Business Creation & Banking. Create multi-member LLC in all 50 states and FDIC Banking Account in one combined single step Capital Contributions. Members can link their personal accounts and set up recurring capital contributions Portfolio & Member Management. Tools to manage the company cap table, track transactions, and manage LLC In the midst of the pandemic, Tribevest saw significant growth with a 400% increase in investor group creation from October 2020 to April 2021. To date, 60% of tribes invest in real estate, 15% put their money in investment syndicates or funds, and 10% target business ventures, collectibles, cryptocurrency, and the stock market. For further information, visit www.tribevest.com About Tribevest Founded in 2018, Tribevest is a collaborative, group investing platform that enables friends and family to organize as an investor group, pool money, and manage joint investments. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Tribevest was founded by entrepreneur Travis Smith. Tribevest believes that forming and funding small to mid-sized investment groups will allow the general U.S. population to uncover a wealth of viable investment pathways to achieving personal financial freedom. Learn more about Tribevest at Tribevest.com or follow the company on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Tribevest is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Tribevest and Unit’s bank partner, Blue Ridge Bank N.A.; Member FDIC. About Blue Ridge Bank: Blue Ridge Bank, N.A., is the wholly-owned banking subsidiary of Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, Blue Ridge Bank provides a wide range of financial services including retail and commercial banking, payroll, insurance, card payments, wholesale and retail mortgage lending, and government-guaranteed lending. The bank provides commercial banking services to customers located throughout Virginia and North Carolina. Visit mybrb.com to learn more. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain information contained in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent plans, estimates, objectives, goals, guidelines, expectations, intentions, projections and statements of Blue Ridge Bank's beliefs concerning future events, business plans, objectives, expected operating results and the assumptions upon which those statements are based. Forward-looking statements include without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and are typically identified with words such as "may," "could," "should," "will," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "aim," "intend," "plan," or words or phases of similar meaning. Blue Ridge Bank cautions that the forward-looking statements are based largely on its expectations and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond the Blue Ridge Bank's control, including those risk factors included in Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Contact Details Eric Nemeth nemeth@ericpr.com Company Website https://www.tribevest.com/

May 06, 2021 09:07 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Osmo’s Math Wizard Debuts Two Additions That Let Students Embrace Math, Just As Studies Suggest Larger Learning Loss in Math Due to Pandemic

Osmo

With research suggesting a greater learning loss in mathematics, over reading, among K-8 students during the pandemic, and many school districts have yet to reopen full-time, in-person learning, parents are looking for affordable, supplemental at-home learning to help kids with math, and avoid a gap in learning. They are also looking for products to help a child struggling with math or needing a confidence boost to learn it. To meet this growing demand, Osmo launched, for the first time ever, a learning series-- Math Wizard, which now offers two additions. The curriculum-inspired series’ active learning approach allows kids to learn math through tactile play and use of creativity and imagination, so much that they are eager, if not thrilled, to learn more. “What’s amazing is that 20,000 kids played Math Wizard and solved more than 3.5 million math problems since Oct. 1, 2020,” says Pramod Sharma, CEO of award-winning STEAM brand Osmo. “Parents who witnessed their kids using the product were thrilled with their child’s engagement and really liked the healthy screen time.” Self-Paced Games Build Math Confidence, Decrease Anxiety The eight-part Math Wizard series allows kids to experience math through hands-on, narrative- and adventure-driven games, where kids use manipulatives to experiment, exercise their imagination and creativity. The self-paced games drive enthusiasm and help build math confidence, decreasing math anxiety commonly-felt by students and parents, and inspire kids to solve problems on their own--a hallmark of all Osmo games. For struggling learners, targeted hints are built into the games to nudge them along so they find a correct answer, and remain engaged. The series is intended for kids 6-8 years (grades 1-2), and perfect for learning at home. The first two titles of the series cover the foundations of addition and subtraction, and introduce students to measurement standards, while the third and fourth titles focus on laying foundations for multiplication and division, adding more than two numbers, understanding how equations are formed, and addition and subtraction fluency. Families can start a child’s education by purchasing any title within the series. Newest Additions to Math Wizard The third title in the series is Math Wizard and the Amazing Airships (available for iPad and Fire; retail $59.99 at playosmo.com and Amazon.com ), which focuses on mathematical thinking, where kids join Rupert the robot mouse in building and designing airships for the many islands of Spellbarrow Port. Using math and Rupert’s magical wrench, kids deliver packages, balance objects so they can fly, and navigate challenges like thunderstorms and high winds. Amazing Airships features two games and the box contains: 1 Magical Board; 16 Ship Pieces; 16 Cargo Pieces; 12 Balloon Pieces. The two games contained within are: Airships - players build airships on their mat and test them in the skies, learning how to balance lift (balloons) and weight (packages, wood blocks) so they can fly. Clockwork - in this all-digital game, players use their fingers and counting skills to wind up a team of quirky clockwork robots, to the right amount, so they can move around the port Kids will learn: Building and balancing equations Practicing addition and subtraction Solving for an unknown value Introduction to algebraic thinking The fourth title is Math Wizard and the Enchanted World Games (available for iPad and Fire; retail $59.99 at playosmo.com and Amazon.com ), which sets the foundations of multiplication and inspires critical thinking. Here, kids create power smoothies and meals for athletes across various competitions! Using math skills, they give their team the right mix of magic ingredients needed to win the gold. The box features 2 games and contains: 1 Lunchbox Mat; 27 Fruit & Veggie Pieces; 1 Juice Mat; 12 Fruit Strips; 1 Magical Token. The two games contained within are: Bento Box - players choose from five different sports and help athletes by packing them a magic lunchbox requiring the best combination of fruits Juice Team - elite athletes across four different sports count upon players to blend the right number of fruits to create a magic juice, so they can win trophies Kids will learn: Repeated addition as a foundation of multiplication Advanced addition and subtraction Number decomposition Analytical skills Osmo also offers a 4-box set featuring 4 Math Wizard titles ( Magical Workshop, Secrets of the Dragons, Amazing Airships and Enchanted World Games ) and includes a base for iPad or Fire ( retail $236 at playosmo.com and Amazon.com). The fifth title in the Math Wizard series will debut in Fall 2021. Praised By Parents & Teachers; Math is a Critical Life Skill “ Math Wizard couldn’t have come at a better time! Since we are distance learning, the kids could use the extra hands on help with math. The creative story lines and fun physical items made teaching math concepts fun! The layout was similar to how they teach common core in school so that was extremely helpful.” Jenielle Chaney, parent, Orange County, California “ Math Wizard is helping my students to subitize basic addition problems. They love to get their turns making potions and that makes them love addition and subtraction. The visual of using tens and ones is also reinforcing place value. Both basic addition and understanding place value are key foundations to success in learning mathematics in the future. To have a successful life, you have to have basic math skills. Math is used in just about every aspect of life.” Zandra Clay, first grade teacher, Lockhart, Texas “In my opinion, math is definitely a critical life skill. Through math, students are able to analyze options, make decisions, and find new ways of thinking and problem-solving. These skills are needed for day-to-day activities....” Alexa Brown, elementary school teacher, Alma, Alabama Additional teacher feedback here. About Osmo Osmo is an award-winning STEAM brand whose products are used in over 30,000 classrooms and 2.5 million homes. It is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination. The company brings physical tools into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence. Founded in 2013 by ex-Google engineers Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, the Osmo Play System fuses digital gameplay and physical interaction to create fun and nutritious play experiences designed for all kids. Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Learn more at playosmo.com. iPad & Fire Compatibility for Math Wizard Contact Details Karen O'Dell +1 310-251-0550 karen@playosmo.com Company Website http://www.playosmo.com

May 06, 2021 04:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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Graphic novel tackles disinformation around COVID-19 Vaccine and critical 5G infrastructure

Stockwood Strategy

Sophisticated social media campaigns sponsored by bad state actors are responsible for creating and spreading disinformation around the critical Covid-19 Vaccine and emerging infrastructure such as 5G technology for communications. Erly Stage Studios has today published Bug Bytes, the digital graphic novel, which sheds a light on the disruptive forces at work. This book is the second installment of the graphic novels that are a part of the Resilience Series commissioned by the US Cyber Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA). Bug Bytes will inform and educate people on the dangers and risks associated with dis- and mis- information through fictional stories inspired by real-world events. In Bug Bytes, readers will meet the protagonist Ava Williams, a journalist and academic, patriot and member of Symous - a group fighting disinformation and foreign interference in elections as polling day approaches. Ava’s life gets tangled up in a web of lies as her father, a 5G technician gets hurt and she works to understand what a seemingly innocent poll online related to 5G technology has to do with the 5G Vaccine? Ava is surprised by the reaction of the anti-vaccination community at what is proven to be engineered data and has the unenviable task of making the case to the public at large for how they can be weary on data online with unproven provenance. Farid Haque, founder and CEO of Erly Stage Studios commented: “We’re delighted to have been commissioned by CISA to create a practical and engaging communication tool that highlights the existential threat of disinformation in the context of bad state actors. While the story is fictional many of the approaches shown are very much grounded in the reality of the technology we live with and are exposed to almost daily.” Bug Bytes provides a unique education for the reader about the world of social media and how digital resources can be hijacked to serve a more nefarious agenda. The ability for foreign bad state actors to weld this kind of influence on another nation is unprecedented as is their ability to twist and manipulate a narrative to use domestic groups to do their bidding. The work helps the reader understand the need to exercise care when it comes to consuming news and information via social media platforms and online sources of information. In the story, Ava Williams and a team of patriots are racing against the clock to shine a spotlight on the source of disinformation engineered to hurt critical communication infrastructure and damage the Vaccine roll-out efforts. Ava’s investigative journalism leads her through the metaverse to find allies and discovers through hard graft that foreign actors are tinkering with public data to maliciously mislead and influence perceptions of 5G as a communications technology and its fabricated link to vaccine effectiveness. “Bug Bytes is the culmination of the wealth of experience that Clint Watts brings in cyber warfare and disinformation and our studio’s creative direction and storytelling style. We spent months researching the real life incidents and then wrapped them into a fictional story” added Farid Haque. The graphic novel is being made available by CISA to the general public online as a free resource as the Covid19 vaccine roll out continues to have an impact across the United States and the world at large. The work is available for free for the public and media to read at the following URL: https://www.cisa.gov/cfi-resilience-series-graphic-novels. A first title in the series was released a few months earlier last year ahead of the US elections titled Real Fakes. Watch this space and log back into https://publishing.erlystagestudios.com/ to learn more. Contributing artists to Bug Bytes include: Jose Niño Galenzoga, Patricia Beja, Mona Shan and Joel Santiago. Lettering and layouts by Komal N. and Haroon M. Story by Clint Watts and Farid Haque, supported by the script writing team which includes Michael Gianfrancesco and Kabir Sabharwal. Edited by Tolly M. and Laila Khan. Special thanks to Randall Heather and Max Brooks. Erly Stage Studios is an indie publisher, headquartered out of London, United Kingdom, capturing iconic stories in serious graphic novels. We are an expert team of educators, storytellers, and artists working to create awareness about important topics using the graphic novel medium. The team loves shining a spotlight on stories that are yet to see the light of graphic novels. As an expert team of teachers, researchers and designers the team works with innovative organisations and policymakers around the world to deliver soft power through engaging and creative projects. Contact Details Erly Stage Studios Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://publishing.erlystagestudios.com/

May 06, 2021 05:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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NEST joins executives from Ross Stores, Ascena Retail Group, Boot Barn, and Lush to discuss “What’s Next” in Retail Operations on May 11-12

NEST

NEST, the leading integrated facilities management company, will host a two-day webinar series with national retail executives on Tuesday, May 11 and Wednesday, May 12. The three 1-hour segments will dive into the future of retail operations following the pandemic. Select attendees will be chosen to nominate charities that will receive monetary donations from NEST Nurtures. Attendees can sign up for the “What’s Next” webinar via NEST’s website. Schedule to include: Session 1 on Tuesday, May 11 at 2 p.m. ET – “How is Post Pandemic Operations Really Different from Business-as-Usual?” Featured speakers: Russell Arbuthnot, Retail Maintenance Coordinator, Lush Josh Witte, Director, Store Operations, Brand Maintenance and Repair, Ross Stores Moderated by Kara Cutino, Vice President, Store Development, Facilities Services, Asset Protection & Store Purchasing, Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Session 2 on Wednesday, May 12 at 11 a.m. ET – “You Heard It from the Experts.” Featured speakers: Stacy Brown, Vice President of Customer Success, SiteCompli CJ Jernigan, Chief Revenue Officer, BFC Solutions Rob Almond, CEO, NEST Moderated by Alana F. Dunoff, ProFM, FMP, IFMA Fellow, Consultant/Instructor, AFD Professional Services, LLC Adjunct Professor, Temple University Session 3 on Wednesday, May 12 at 1 p.m. ET – “Operational Success Goes to New Heights” Randy Rokosz, Boot Barn’s Director of Procurement Rob Almond, CEO, NEST Since the pandemic hit the U.S. and Canada, NEST has played an important role to keep retailers’ doors open and maintain consumer confidence. From implementing new janitorial procedures to decreasing facility management expenses through an integrated approach, NEST is developing industry-leading facility management strategies for more than 40 retail clients. NEST manages approximately 60,000 individual retail locations in North America. NEST is the pioneer of the Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) industry in the United States and Canada since 1994. NEST’s Integrated Facilities Management solution pairs financial acumen and business analytics with a strategic consultative approach. Real-time data, reporting, and analytics technology empower business leaders and facility management teams with the informed insights that enable them to make smarter decisions. To learn more about NEST, visit enterNEST.com or follow NEST on LinkedIn. Contact Details Eric PR & Marketing, LLC Eric Nemeth +1 602-502-2793 nemeth@ericpr.com Company Website https://www.enternest.com/

May 05, 2021 11:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Cincinnati Bell IT Services Division Selects CSG to Power Digital Transformation

CSG

Denver, May 5, 2021 – CSG ® (NASDAQ: CSGS) today announced it is working with IT services provider CBTS to enable its digital transformation as the company moves into a new era of growth. CBTS selected CSG’s Ascendon cloud-first SaaS solution to rapidly bring new digital services to market and leverage the solution’s product catalogue, rating and charging capabilities. “CBTS continuously evolves to better serve the changing needs and demands of our customers in today’s digital age,” said Shannon Mullen, SVP of Administrative Services for CBTS. “To meet and exceed these expectations, we are investing in tools, processes and technology to deliver exceptional experiences to our customers. Choosing CSG Ascendon provides the foundation for achieving this goal. Not only does the solution give us the flexibility, convenience and efficiencies we need to scale our operations and meet our growth goals, but CSG’s customer-centric culture and strong reputation made it the clear choice for our business.” CBTS, a division of Cincinnati Bell, is focused on providing communications, cloud, infrastructure, and IT consulting solutions to clients of all sizes. With the move to Ascendon’s SaaS-based platform, CBTS will now benefit from a lower total cost of ownership that delivers the flexibility and scalability it needs to bring new products and services to market faster. CBTS will also use CSG’s Managed Services to outsource its billing infrastructure and operations. Additionally, CSG Output Solutions will provide the flexibility that CBTS requires to quickly tailor invoice design to its customer needs, while leveraging CSG’s industry leading print and mail capabilities. “Today’s consumers and business owners increasingly want a one-stop shop for communication and related technology solutions from their service providers. These heightened expectations place tremendous pressure on our customers to be agile and innovative,” said Ken Kennedy, COO and head of Revenue Management and Digital Monetization at CSG. “CSG deploys solutions that deliver immediate impact to our customers. With the Ascendon SaaS solution, they benefit from the continuous investment we make in the platform. CBTS continues to innovate to better support its customers, and CSG is committed to the company’s long-term success.” CSG is a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for its Revenue and Customer Management solutions, which help companies around the world digitally transform their business to monetize and digitally enable exceptional customer experiences. Through this transformation process, CSG empowers customers to focus on core business functions, reduce capital and operating expenditures, and increase the reliability, scalability, security, and overall performance of their business and network operations. For more information on CSG Ascendon visit, https://www.csgi.com/portfolio/ascendon/. # # # About CBTS CBTS serves enterprise and midmarket clients in all industries across the United States and Canada. From Unified Communications to Cloud Services and beyond, CBTS combines deep technical expertise with a full suite of flexible technology solutions that drive business outcomes, improve operational efficiency, mitigate risk, and reduce costs for its clients. For more information, please visit www.cbts.com. About CSG For more than 35 years, CSG has simplified the complexity of business, delivering innovative customer engagement solutions that help companies acquire, monetize, engage, and retain customers. Operating across more than 120 countries worldwide, CSG manages billions of critical customer interactions annually, and its award-winning suite of software and services allow companies across dozens of industries to tackle their biggest business challenges and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. CSG is the trusted provider for driving digital innovation for hundreds of leading global brands, including Airtel Africa, América Móvil, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH, Formula 1, Hutchison 3 Indonesia, Inmarsat, Mastercard, Maximus, Microsoft, Mobily, MTN, New Leaf Service Contracts, State of California DMV, TalkTalk and Telstra. To learn more, visit our website at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Copyright © 2021 CSG Systems International, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“CSG”). All rights reserved. CSG® is a registered trademark of CSG Systems International, Inc. All third-party trademarks, service marks, and/or product names which are referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners, and all rights therein are reserved. Contacts: Tammy Hovey Global / North America / Asia-Pacific Public Relations +1 (917) 520-2751 tammy.hovey@csgi.com Kristine Østergaard Europe / Middle East / Africa Public Relations +44 (0)79 2047 7204 kristine.ostergaard@csgi.com John Rea Investor Relations +1 (210) 687-4409 john.rea@csgi.com About CSG For more than 35 years, CSG has simplified the complexity of business, delivering innovative customer engagement solutions that help companies acquire, monetize, engage and retain customers. Operating across more than 120 countries worldwide, CSG manages billions of critical customer interactions annually, and its award-winning suite of software and services allow companies across dozens of industries to tackle their biggest business challenges and thrive in an ever-changing marketplace. CSG is the trusted provider for driving digital innovation for hundreds of leading global brands, including Airtel Africa, América Móvil, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH, Formula 1, Hutchison 3 Indonesia, Inmarsat, Mastercard, Maximus, Mediacom, Microsoft, Mobily, MTN, New Leaf Service Contracts, State of California, TalkTalk and Telstra. To learn more, visit our website at csgi.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Copyright © 2021 CSG Systems International, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“CSG”). All rights reserved. CSG® is a registered trademark of CSG Systems International, Inc. All third-party trademarks, service marks, and/or product names that are referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners, and all rights therein are reserved. Contact Details Tammy Hovey +1 917-520-2751 tammy.hovey@csgi.com Company Website https://www.csgi.com

May 05, 2021 08:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Shreesha Ramdas to join CIPIO’s Advisory Board to hyper accelerate growth

CIPIO.ai

CIPIO, a B2C Subscription Success company, today announced that Shreesha Ramdas has joined its board of advisors. Ramdas currently serves as SVP and GM for Medallia-owned Strikedeck – a powerful customer success automation solution. Prior to Medallia, Ramdas co-founded Leadformix, a marketing automation platform acquired by CallidusCloud in 2012. A seasoned entrepreneurial executive with a proven track record of launching and rapidly scaling automation solutions for customer success and marketing, Ramdas is constantly on the lookout for the “next big thing” in the customer engagement world – an attitude that led him to join CIPIO’s advisory board. Customer churn is a rampant reality in the B2C Subscription industry, given how easy it is for customers to downgrade, switch, or cancel service providers in a matter of just a few clicks. Industry study suggests that 96% of B2C Subscription businesses believe their customers churn for reasons that could have been prevented, managed, or fixed. Post Covid, Net Revenue Retention (NRR), and Customer Retention have become strategic priorities for B2C Subscription companies and will continue to become table stakes over time. According to Bain and Company, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% increases 25% profits for B2C Subscription companies. “In a world where the bar for customer engagement keeps going higher, I love how CIPIO is redefining customer retention - making it actionable, easy and impactful for B2C Subscription companies through its Data Apps,” said Ramdas. “The SaaS landscape continues to explode with solutions, yet there are literally very few solutions solving NRR and Customer Retention for the B2C Subscription companies. With its code-free Enterprise AI and Domain-Infused Data Apps Platform™, CIPIO offers the precise action to drive measurable results for B2C Subscription companies.” With the B2C Subscription Economy expected to be valued at a whopping $478 billion by 2025, it is surprising that the industry’s churn rate is two times that of the B2B SaaS Economy. CIPIO’s Domain-Infused Data Apps Platform™ aims to tip this balance back and level the playing field. “I’m ecstatic to have Shreesha onboard as we move full-speed into our next phase of growth and innovation. The hybrid economy is here, and you can no longer hope to just focus on acquisition as it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one,” said Growson Edwards, Co-Founder, and CEO of CIPIO. “Our mission is to enable B2C Subscription companies to proactively prevent churn and achieve higher Net Retention Rate for consistent growth. Shreesha’s obsession and tremendous experience in launching customer success solutions and product experience will accelerate our product innovation yielding higher returns for our customers.” About CIPIO CIPIO is pioneering the Industry's first domain-infused Data Apps Platform™ that humanizes and automates predictions and recommendations to increase Subscriber engagement, retention, and growth for B2C Subscription Companies. CIPIO's early adopters include Crunch Fitness, Industry's Gym, Xponential Fitness, Motor City Church, Pure Barre, Club Pilates, AKT, YogaSix, NCFit, Cyclebar, RowHouse, Stretch Lab, and Stride who have witnessed a significant return on investment in a short time. Contact Details CIPIO Chris Foudy +1 831-238-1905 chris@cipio.ai Company Website https://cipio.ai/

May 04, 2021 02:20 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Cloudrise Honored as Gold Stevie® Award Winner

Cloudrise

Cloudrise was named the winner of a Gold Stevie® Award in the Tech Startup of the Year – Services category in The 19 th Annual American Business Awards®. More than 3,800 nominations – a record number - from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories. As the Gold medal recipient in the category of “ Tech Startup of the Year – Services ”, Cloudrise was heralded by the judges: “Cloudrise’s data-centric approach to cybersecurity, and use of automation, are very much needed services for organizations to enable the digital transformation journey.” Cloudrise was founded in October 2019, and in 2020 they conquered the seemingly impossible, launching a new company amidst a global pandemic and economic downturn. Despite those challenges, Cloudrise had a successful year one in business, exceeding 2020 revenue targets, securing capital investments through investors, and delivering Managed Services and Security Process Automation to over 50 customers. Cloudrise’s CEO, Rob Eggebrecht, shared his thoughts about what makes Cloudrise different: “Cloudrise’s Security Process Automation services are a key differentiator in the marketplace. Organizations are dependent on data stored within a myriad of systems, requiring integration and automation to enable them to work at the speed of business. Cloudrise automates operational processes across data protection and privacy solutions, business applications, and visualization tools, to optimize manual processes, enhance reporting, and provide faster incident response. Starting with an assessment, we identify use cases, develop playbooks, and ultimately build, deploy, and manage the automation.” About the American Business Awards The American Business Awards are the U.S.A.’s premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.A. are eligible to submit nominations – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word meaning “crowned,” the awards will be virtually presented to winners during a live event on Wednesday, June 30. Tickets for the virtual event are now on sale. More than 250 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year’s Stevie Award winners. “The American economy continues to show its resilience, and as we’re poised on the beginning of what should be a phenomenal period of growth, we celebrate the remarkable achievements of a wide range of organizations and people over the past 18 months,” said Stevie Awards president Maggie Gallagher. “This year’s Stevie-winning nominations in The American Business Awards are testament to the ingenuity, the commitment, the passion, the adaptability, and the creativity of the American people.” Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2021 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. About the Stevie Awards Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com. Sponsors of The 2021 American Business Awards include John Hancock Financial Services, Melissa Sones Consulting, and SoftPro. About Cloudrise Cloudrise was founded by business and security entrepreneurs with experience in global markets, successful start-ups, and Fortune 500 companies. Combining decades of data protection expertise with automation, Cloudrise focuses on securing data wherever it resides. They assist organizations by assessing, enabling, automating, and managing their data protection and privacy programs. At Cloudrise, they are redefining data protection. Cloudrise can be found at www.cloudrise.com or on LinkedIn. Contact Details Jodi Lewis +1 800-917-7619 sales@cloudrise.com Company Website https://cloudrise.com/

May 04, 2021 11:11 AM Central Daylight Time

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