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CSG Forte Earns Best Performing Payments Gateway by The Strawhecker Group in 2022 Real Transaction Metrics Awards

CSG

CSG Forte, a CSG ® (NASDAQ: CSGS) company, the leader in complete and customizable digital payment platforms today announced its recognition by The Strawhecker Group (TSG) as the Best Performing Payments Gateway in the 2022 Real Transaction Metrics Awards for delivering exceptional performance across transaction and gateway check benchmarks. Additionally, CSG Forte received first place for Lowest Gateway Minute Outage, with the lowest outages recorded in North America and global benchmark groups. The Real Transaction Metrics Awards are based on TSG’s Gateway Enterprise Metrics (GEM) platform, where TSG measures and benchmarks the experience from the merchant’s point of view by using pings and real transactions to monitor each gateway’s performance from over 20 different global locations. “It’s no small feat to be rated the best in The Strawhecker Group’s Real Transaction Metrics Awards and this achievement is the result of the dedication and innovation of the entire CSG Forte team to create extraordinary experiences for our customers,” said Jeff Kump, head of payments, CSG Forte. “The ubiquity of digital payments has elevated the bar for secure and convenient digital transactions. As merchants and partners demand more out of their digital payments platforms, CSG Forte will continue to lead the way in delivering game changing technologies that drive the next era of growth for the industry. I would like to thank The Strawhecker Group for this honor and for recognizing our team’s hard work and relentless efforts.” “We are excited to honor CSG Forte for their stellar performance,” said Mike Strawhecker, President of TSG. “GEM has provided the data to make tangible improvements to the CSG Forte platform, and it shows with this year’s awards.” On TSG’s GEM Index, CSG Forte surpassed the average score by over 12 points. Benchmarked against more than 20 gateway providers, the Index is an overall scorecard for gateway metrics based on five key areas: gateway minute outage, gateway availability, transaction speed, transaction success rate, and authorization rate. For more information on CSG Forte’s single, end-to-end payments platform, please visit: https://www.forte.net/why-csg-forte/. About CSG Forte CSG Forte, a CSG company, delivers scalable digital payments for smarter and faster business growth. Our world-class, award-winning technology offers a unified end-to-end payments platform that easily adapts to changing needs and empowers companies to transform their payments operations into a competitive business strategy. With CSG Forte, companies can process omnichannel payments and offer agnostic payment acceptance, shifting payments from a line-item expense to a profit center. CSG Forte manages billions of payments annually for over 73,000 merchants across government, telecom, insurance and other industries. For nearly 40 years, CSG’s technologies and people have helped some of the world’s most recognizable brands solve their toughest business challenges and evolve to meet the demands of today’s digital economy with future-ready solutions that drive exceptional customer experiences. Our solutions deliver real world outcomes to more than 900 customers in over 120 countries. To learn more, visit www.forte.net and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Copyright © 2022 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: Jordy Spitale CSG +1 (504) 615-8820 Jordy.spitale@csgi.com John Rea Investor Relations +1 (210) 687-4409 John.rea@csgi.com Contact Details Tammy Hovey +1 917-520-2751 tammy.hovey@csgi.com Company Website https://www.csgi.com

January 26, 2022 06:15 AM Mountain Standard Time

First United States Open Registry to be Launched in Washington, DC

COPE

A landmark Revitalization Plan for US Maritime Trade, Commerce and Strategic Competition to support and assist in resolving America’s supply chain crisis, ensure maritime sovereignty and security, and revitalize maritime commerce will be launched at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on February 1, 2022, at 1:30PM with remarks by Ambassador John D. Negroponte, the first U.S. Director of National Intelligence and former Deputy Secretary of State; the Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Honorable Albert Bryan, Jr.; and President Eric R. Dawicki of the Northeast Maritime Institute. Highlights of the Plan include the formation of the first U.S. open registry, and other maritime initiatives designed to make the United States more competitive and propel it into a stronger leadership position as a maritime nation. Governor Bryan and President Dawicki will participate in the signing of a historic agreement between the U.S. Virgin Islands and Northeast Maritime Institute which features the collaboration on the development of the first open U.S. registry. Following initial remarks outlining the Revitalization Plan, there will be a panel discussion moderated by Jeremy Greenwood, a Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbott Center on Security, Strategy, and Technology. Panel participants include Stephen Flynn, PhD, Founding Director of the Center for Global Resilience at Northeastern University, leading Homeland Security advisor under the Bush and Obama administrations, and global expert on supply chain resilience; Admiral James Watson, Northeast Maritime Institute Trustee and former Director of Prevention Policy for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship at the United States Coast Guard and the first Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement at the US Department of Interior; Captain Anuj Chopra, Co-Founder & CEO of FNI ESGPlus; Carleen Lyden Walker, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the North American Marine Environment Protection Association, and Captain John Konrad, Founder and CEO of gCaptain. Additional commentary will be provided by Nishan Degnarain, former Chairman of the World Economic Forum – Global Agenda Council on Oceans; Jonathan Kempe, Verifai Australia; and Dr. Sal Mercogliano, PhD, Campbell University. Remarks from all are expected to cover topics such as decarbonization of shipping, capital investment in new technologies, supply chain security, transparency in shipping, economic growth opportunities, the status of the U.S. maritime industry, U.S. national security interests, and more. The event will outline how implementation of the Revitalization Plan for US Maritime Trade, Commerce and Strategic Competition will provide economic stability and environmental protection, as well as revitalize the position of the United States as a major competitor in international maritime trade and commerce while enhancing national security, both domestically and internationally. A Revitalization Plan for US Maritime Trade, Commerce and Strategic Competition was developed by a team of Distinguished Fellows at the Northeast Maritime Institute – Center for Ocean Policy and Economics (COPE) and advised by an array of leading thinkers in the maritime industry. Key elements of the plan include: Formation of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ open international ship registry—the first, and only, international U.S. open ship registry. Development of a short sea transshipment hub in the Caribbean to alleviate supply chain congestion by moving a portion of east coast distribution from land to sea and increasing the number of ports importing ever-increasing quantities of goods from overseas. Build public/private/international partnerships to address strategic maritime issues, increase transparency and enforce legal and ethical standards. Establish and implement a green shipping strategy, including decarbonization of the U.S.-flagged fleet. Establishing a Maritime Venture Capital Fund to finance commercially advanced technologies that solve maritime and ocean industry problems with a focus on environmental vulnerabilities. Modernization of the maritime workforce by deploying state of the art education and training tools in the US and abroad. Additional information can be found at COPE Advanced registration to attend this event will be required for access to the live stream. About Northeast Maritime Institute Northeast Maritime Institute (also called NMI) is a private, coeducational, maritime college offering an Associate in Applied Science in Nautical Science degree. Established in 1981, Northeast Maritime Institute is the only private maritime college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college was originally established to provide an alternative to traditional education and training, with an emphasis on preparing mariners for employment. Graduates receive an Associate degree and are eligible to receive a United States Coast Guard Masters license upon graduation. The college operates a training ship, the M/V Navigator, as well as the brigantine tall ship S/V Fritha. About COPE The Center for Ocean Policy and Economics (COPE) is hosted by the Northeast Maritime Institute – College of Maritime Science: Created to tackle some of the ocean’s “wicked problems.” A culmination of years of extensive research and conversations with leading experts in the maritime and ocean related fields, COPE is a facilitator for cogent maritime and ocean policy and economic development project initiatives linking academic, corporate, non-governmental, and governmental partners to create impactful solutions. Contact Details COPE Carleen Walker +1 203-260-0480

January 25, 2022 07:51 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Top Camping Destinations in America

YourUpdateTV

In the past several years, there has been tremendous growth in the outdoor travel industry. The increased popularity of camping has been fueled by a combination of long-term trends and more immediate factors related to the pandemic, such as remote work, vacations closer to home, and travelers seeking safe, outdoor vacations away from crowds. Recently, Michael Scheinman, Chief Executive Officer at Campspot, participated in a nationwide satellite media tour to discuss the top camping destinations in America and results from the first annual Campspot Awards. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/Zsi5jOBc7tE Camping really surged during COVID and has become a go-to option for friends and families to have a fun, safe, socially distant, outdoor vacation. Once people got a flavor for camping, they wanted to keep doing it. For example, from Q2 2020 to Q2 2021: The number of parks on Campspot increased by 145% Nights camped increased 191% The percent of customers who were repeat bookers grew by 21% Reservations placed increased 193% Campspot is now the largest online camping marketplace in North America, with over 140,000 campsites across the United States and Canada According to a customer survey we conducted last year, high quality showers / bathhouses (36%) was the top amenity that matters most when booking a campsite, followed closely by family activities (32%). Family vacation time (27%) was the number one reason consumers say they camp, and not surprisingly, family is who most respondents said they typically camp with (52%). Camping with friends was the second most popular response when it comes to camping companions (22%) followed by spouse (12%), an organized camping or outdoors group (8%), and solo (6%). Some of the top Campgrounds in the US include Angel Fire RV Resort in Angel Fire, NM, Cava Robles RV Resort in Paso Robles, CA, and Dark Sky RV Campground in Kanab, UT. A few of the most popular campgrounds include Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort in Felton, CA, Canyonlands RV Resort & Campground in Moab, UT, and Oceanside RV Resort & Campground in Coos Bay, OR For more information, visit www.Campspot.com, or download the Campspot Mobile App on Apple IOS and Android About Michael Scheinman: As CEO, Scheinman focuses on growing Campspot’s user and supplier base, while continuing to enhance the site’s products, features and functionality. An executive with more than 10 years in the travel industry, Scheinman brings a breadth of experience in e-commerce, technology, and corporate strategy. Prior to joining Campspot, Scheinman headed up Orbitz and CheapTickets, two portfolio brands of online travel giant Expedia Group. Prior, he served as general manager for the lodging division at Hotwire, another of the group's brands. He has also held leadership positions in hotel partnerships, product management, marketing, and business operations. Scheinman holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where he studied Hotel Administration About Campspot: Campspot is a leading online marketplace for RV resorts, family campgrounds, cabins, glamping options and more, providing access to more than 140,000 campsites across the United States and Canada. Campspot’s real-time, cloud-based campground management solution enables a best-in-class reservation system (site inventory and ancillary add-ons) by giving its customers a POS system and the necessary management tools (utility billing, housekeeping tracking, etc.) to provide the best possible user experience. Campspot provides an intuitive easy-to-navigate guest booking experience that returns relevant and easy-to-modify searches, making planning a vacation seamless. For more information, please visit www.campspot.com. Follow Campspot on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download the Campspot Mobile App on Apple IOS HERE and Android HERE. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

January 25, 2022 02:56 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Akeneo Scales Leadership Team to Accelerate Global Growth

Akeneo

Akeneo, a global leader in Product Experience Management (PXM) solutions, today announced making several key executive appointments to support its rapid expansion in the global marketplace. Following Akeneo’s recognition as one of Built In's Best Places to Work and as an Innovatech Award Winner, the hires leave the company poised to expand, drive innovation, and unlock customer success. The executive appointments include industry veterans Dagbert Sansen as General Manager for the Americas; Johan Benoualid as General Manager for EMEA and APAC; Lisa Manske as Vice President of Business Operations; and Antoine Barbier as Vice President of Product. Collectively, the new appointees bring decades of industry expertise, and position Akeneo to bring its game-changing PXM offerings to new markets in 2022. A global ecommerce leader with a 10-year record of growing companies from start-up to exit, Dagbert Sansen joins Akeneo from Rokt, the ecommerce advertising leader, where he served as SVP of Business Development. Sansen previously held top leadership roles with major U.S. software and services companies including digital experience management leader Sitecore, martech innovator STYLELABS, and open-source business software vendor Odoo. Known for his success in forging partnerships to bring complex software solutions to top global businesses such as Diageo, P&G, The Coca Cola Company, Unilever and Columbia Sportswear, Sansen has built and managed agile teams operating across Europe, North America, and APAC. In his new role as General Manager for the Americas, based in Akeneo’s U.S. headquarters in Boston, he will spearhead Akeneo’s expansion throughout the Americas with a specific growth focus on the U.S. In the rest of the world, Akeneo’s explosive growth will be overseen by General Manager Johan Benoualid, who steps into the new role following a successful four-year tenure as Akeneo’s VP of EMEA and APAC Sales. A veteran software sales manager who previously served as Managing Director for Southern Europe at Hootsuite, and as Regional Manager for Adobe, Benoualid is a powerful champion for Akeneo’s PXM offering, and has used his expertise to help hundreds of leading global enterprises to leverage the power of product data to grow their businesses and optimize sales, marketing, and customer experiences. Other key additions to the Akeneo global leadership team include Lisa Manske, who joins the company as VP of Business Operations after working as Director of Strategy and Operations for ServiceNow, the cloud computing and digital workflow management leader. Manske formerly served as Head of SMB Sales for EMEA for Facebook, and spent four year as part of the Business Operations team at LinkedIn. Educated in New York, and with experience working in France, Ireland, and the United States, she brings deep experience identifying and capitalizing on growth opportunities in new global markets. Antoine Barbier also joins as VP of Product, bringing deep technological and business operations expertise gained working for top tech companies in Silicon Valley, the United Kingdom, and France. A SaaS product specialist with 18+ years of experience working in the global digital media and advertising industry, Barbier comes to Akeneo from Ogury, where he served as SVP of Product. He previously served as Director of Product Management at Adobe, where he led digital video, display, native, and social products for Adobe Advertising Cloud, and held senior product and business development positions at TubeMogul, Rhythm, and End2End Mobile. “At Akeneo, we know we’re only as good as the people we hire — and that’s why we’re so delighted to welcome Dagbert, Johan, Lisa, and Antoine to the executive leadership team,” said Frederic de Gombert, Akeneo CEO. “All of these supremely talented leaders bring deep experience in the world of ecommerce, along with the entrepreneurialism, dynamism, and genuinely global mindset needed to scale Akeneo and bring our innovative experience-driven product to new markets. We have ambitious plans for 2022, and our new executive team gives us the expertise and strategic vision required to build out our product and expand into new markets all around the world.” About Akeneo Akeneo is a global leader in Product Experience Management (PXM) solutions that help merchants and brands deliver a compelling customer experience across all sales channels, including eCommerce, mobile, print, and retail points of sale. Akeneo's open-source enterprise PIM, and product data intelligence solutions, dramatically improve product data quality and accuracy while simplifying and accelerating product catalog management. Leading global brands, including Fossil, Staples, Tarkett, and Grundfos, trust Akeneo's solutions to scale and customize their omnichannel and cross-border commerce initiatives. Using Akeneo, brands and retailers can improve customer experience, increase sales, reduce time to market, go global, and boost team productivity. For more information, visit https://www.akeneo.com/ Contact Details Ran Xu +1 213-309-2373 ran@rosebudpr.io Company Website https://www.akeneo.com

January 25, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

The Retail Industry Customer Experience Market Will Reach $10.9 Billion in Revenue by 2026, According to Dash Research

Dash Network

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related recovery trajectory have impacted a wide range of industries, but perhaps none as visible as retail and e-tail. Disruptions to both customer-facing processes (shopping, purchasing, and returns), as well as operational processes (distribution, shipping, and employee/customer safety procedures) forced retailers to deploy new procedures and tools to ensure customers’ needs were met, or accelerate existing plans to place more attention on a customer’s total experience with the retailer. According to a recent report from Dash Research, the global market for retail industry customer experience (CX) and customer engagement (CE) software and services continues to experience robust growth amidst the pandemic recovery. The market intelligence firm forecasts that the global retail CX/CE market will reach $10.9 billion by 2026, up from $5.9 billion in 2019, reflecting a 2019-2026 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1%. North America, with its large concentration of software vendors and huge base of large, multinational retailers, will lead the forecast, generating $6.3 billion in 2026 revenue, up from $2.5 billion in 2019. North America’s leadership position is also due to the relatively less restrictive privacy and data sharing laws that are currently in place in the region, compared with Europe, and the willingness of North American customers to trade access to data for both perceived and real shopping benefits. “While CX improvements are largely driven by organizational change management, software is increasingly being used to support these initiatives by managing and making available the plethora of customer data that is captured and aggregated from a variety of sources,” says principal analyst Keith Kirkpatrick. “Whether taking a platform approach or using disparate applications, the goal is to enable a 360-degree view of the customer’s interactions with the retailer, while simultaneously removing the friction points and barriers that can interfere with promptly and intelligently responding to sales queries, service requests, or complaints.” Kirkpatrick adds that the key market drivers spurring the growth of CX software and services in the retail industry include the following: The operational and behavioral shifts that were the results of the rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent reopening process Increasing customer expectations for consistent and seamless omnichannel experiences The growing use of CX to improve sales channel effectiveness An increasing use of zero-party and first-party data to support omnichannel experiences Dash Research’s report, “CX in the Retail Industry”, looks at the current and future market issues, market drivers and barriers, and case studies within the retail CX/CE industry. Market forecasts include segmentations by geography, functional area, product offering, and visibility to the customer. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the changes in the retail segment that were driven by a staggered reopening, are also discussed. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website. Dash Research, the market intelligence arm of Dash Network, provides in-depth research and insights on the worldwide CX market including a comprehensive assessment of technology solutions, business issues, market drivers, and end-user dynamics across industry sectors. Dash Research’s global market coverage combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to provide a complete view of emerging business opportunities surrounding contact center technologies, customer data & analytics, customer data platforms, customer insights & feedback, customer relationship management, personalization & optimization, and employee experience. For more information, visit www.dashresearch.com or call +1.720.603.1700. Contact Details Dash Research Clint Wheelock +1 720-603-1700 press@dashnetwork.com Company Website http://www.dashnetwork.com

January 25, 2022 06:05 AM Eastern Standard Time

SwingJuice Apparel swings into 2022 by Exhibiting at The PGA Show

SwingJuice

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SwingJuice Apparel Swings into 2022 by Exhibiting at The PGA Show Pawtucket, RI – January 24, 2022- SwingJuice.com, a lifestyle clothing and apparel brand, will be Exhibiting at the 2022 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL January 25-28, Booth 3865 to Launch their New Line of Custom Performance Polos. “We are So Excited to be back at the Show and give people a true Taste of what the SwingJuice Brand and SJ Life is all about,” said Jon Mason, Founder and Creative Director at SwingJuice. “Our New Line of Performance Polos and golf inspired gear are exactly what Golf Retail has been looking for, I’m beyond thrilled to Show it off to the World.” SwingJuice has been rapidly expanding into Green Grass and Brick & Mortar Retail during the past year in addition to having their entire collection being available at swingjuice.com. SwingJuice has developed a rabid Fan Base that has long been wondering when the launch of High Quality Performance Polos would happen, the answer is here. “The Quality of our Performance wear has far exceeded our expectations and thus our Customers should absolutely Love them,” says SwingJuice CEO Steve “Dakota” Happas. “This next phase for SwingJuice will continue to bring High Quality gear, fun designs and an overall Great vibe to the Industry. Can’t wait to see what the Future holds” The PGA Merchandise Show is happening January 25-28, 2022 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando FL where SwingJuice will be exhibiting at Booth 3865. If you happen to be at the Show and would like to Book an appointment to view the Entire SwingJuice Collection please contact Wholesale Director Cindy Belden at cindy@swingjuice.com. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ABOUT SWINGJUICE: SwingJuice is a golf-inspired clothing and apparel brand that trailblazed the philosophy that molds were made to be broken and that clothing should be a conversation-starter. SwingJuice apparel allows consumers to display their passion for sports in a more fun, unique and approachable way. SwingJuice is also a community – established through the love of golf and expanded through the passion for all sports. The staff at SwingJuice are sports junkies just like the consumers they serve and they are always dreaming up new ways to bring unique personality to the products they design.For more information, please visit www.swingjuice.com. Keep up-to-date with all of the SwingJuice news on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swingjuice Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swingjuice YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/swingjuice Contact Details SwingJuice Jon Mason +1 781-710-9374 jon@swingjuice.com Company Website https://www.swingjuice.com

January 24, 2022 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Goodway Group Becomes Two Time Winner for Ad Age Best Places to Work

Goodway Group

Goodway Group, the digital partner advertisers trust to deliver campaign performance and media efficiency, has been awarded Ad Age’s Best Places to Work. This marks the second consecutive year that the agency’s commitment to enhancing the workplace experience and supporting employee wellbeing has earned a place on the esteemed list. Ad Age recognized Goodway Group for its unique remote workforce model – having supported a fully remote team for nearly 14 years – and history of putting its employees first. The last year has been one of monumental change and business acceleration for Goodway Group. Covid-19 has continued to impact the agency’s families, approach to doing business, and staffing levels, in addition to increasing stress and the potential for burnout among employees. As such, the digital agency pivoted, shifting its focus to building upon the post-pandemic realities of marketing and simultaneously launching new initiatives to help employees cope with their own evolving realities. Goodway is special because there's a level of true awareness and concern for our employees, a commitment to improvement, and transparency from leadership that is atypical of private organizations. From implementing Summer Fridays to offering bonuses for those taking a minimum of 15 days of MyTime, our unlimited PTO program, Goodway is always seeking ways to afford better work/life integration. This includes implementing GoodTalks, a program and open dialogue on how we can better communicate across our different positions, ethnicities, genders and viewpoints at a time where that is so needed in the world is unique. Additionally, the digital agency is building teams with diverse skillsets to distribute workloads better. To further meet various needs across teams, Goodway Group has modified its biannual all-company trip to include in-person and virtual attendance options. “At Goodway Group we are committed to creating a supportive workplace that fosters growth, connection, and balance. It is an honor to be recognized by Ad Age for our continued investment in people and culture, validating our principles for the future of work, ” said Kandi Gongora, Chief Transformation & People Officer of Goodway Group. “As a fully-remote company for over a decade, we are passionate about continuing to pave the way for others to evolve the employee experience at a time when the way we work is constantly changing.” Goodway ranked 11th among top companies with more than 200 employees, based on an analysis of questionnaires submitted by employers and survey responses from employees. Ad Age’s scoring system factors in the importance of six key satisfaction areas: company culture, company environment, employee benefits, employee development, employee engagement, and employee perks. In addition to being a two-time recipient of Ad Age’s Best Places to Work Award, Goodway Group has also been recognized by Digiday’s Work-Life Awards. The agency has implemented a number of new initiatives to further improve the employee experience and fight burnout, in recent years, including dedicated development days, expanding Goodway Cares – which offers pro-bono strategy and consulting to nonprofit organizations, The Goods, a bi-weekly newsletter featuring employee stories, and more. Moving forward, Goodway Group will continue to emphasize professional and personal wellbeing through clubs, activities and resources, including an internal book club, yearly wellness stipend, and per annum development budget. The agency is also creating an internal role dedicated to team health through facilitation and playbook creation. See this year’s list of Best Places to Work here. 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 Patrice Gamble goodway@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.goodwaygroup.com/

January 24, 2022 12:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

Global Accessibility Leader Fable Joins InclusionHub as Founding Partner

InclusionHub

InclusionHub, the leading accessibility and inclusive design resource hub committed to improving digital inclusion, is humbled to announce the addition of Fable Tech Labs Inc. (“Fable”) as a founding partner. Founded in 2018 in Toronto, Fable helps organizations build inclusive products by transforming their approach to accessibility testing, research, and training. Fable is the trusted partner of many major organizations to improve their accessibility, including Walmart, Slack, and Shopify. Fable Engage enables companies to connect to people with disabilities remotely and on-demand to accelerate user research, design, and development. Fable Upskill provides custom accessibility training to organizations through videos that are based on their tools and products and the roles on their team. Fable’s accessibility testing community consists of people with disabilities who use assistive technology. Fable’s testers are compensated with competitive, tech-industry wages. Emphasizing the need to “shift left” for inclusive product design is central to Fable’s mission to improve accessibility at scale. When this does not occur, accessibility issues tend to be discovered late in the development process or after release to the consumer market, and retroactive fixes are made in haste. Proactive, inclusive design benefits not only people with disabilities, but elevates user experience for all. “Every organization should be building inclusive products,” says Alwar Pillai, Fable’s Co-Founder and CEO. “We’re excited to be a founding partner of InclusionHub, which will further enable organizations to find the accessibility and inclusion resources that they need.” The addition of Fable caps a tremendous year for InclusionHub, which announced a founding partnership with the industry-leading customer relationship manager platform Salesforce in August. That brings the number of founding partners involved with InclusionHub to four—including Be My Eyes, an app that connects blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers, and Morey Creative Studios, a digital marketing agency that launched InclusionHub in 2020. InclusionHub features crowd-sourced ratings and reviews from a global audience of digital accessibility experts and practitioners, and provides an unbiased, transparent and searchable database of companies that specialize in all aspects of digital inclusion. “We couldn’t be more excited about Fable officially coming on as an InclusionHub founding partner. In addition to being mission-aligned, Fable is a partner that has so much value to bring to our ecosystem,” says Jon Sasala, President of Morey Creative Studios. “The services they provide with assistive tech user testing and accessibility training are crucial for businesses trying to be more inclusive—the exact audience InclusionHub aims to help. This partnership will be so beneficial for everyone involved, especially our community members.” To learn more about our Founding Partners and efforts to improve web accessibility, visit InclusionHub.com. Contact Details InclusionHub Bryan Koegel +1 267-977-5548 bryan@inclusionhub.com Company Website https://www.inclusionhub.com

January 24, 2022 12:15 PM Eastern Standard Time

NORTH SIXTH GROUP ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC EQUITY INVESTMENTS

North Sixth Group

North Sixth Group, a family office with wholly-owned and minority interests in a variety of investments across media, marketing, technology and sports and entertainment, today announced the sale of minority interests to multiple family office and strategic equity investors by its principal owner. Each sale has closed, is pending closure subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions or is the subject of an agreement in principle. Investors include Wavemaker Partners, an international investment firm with over $700 million in assets under management; GRLD Ventures, a diversified growth equity firm that invests in emerging companies and exceptional founders; Infrastructure Group Inc., an asset management firm that provides principal investments in high-growth companies; Geoff Judge, an experienced private equity investor, President of Trio Three Equity and former Partner at iNovia Capital; and the family offices of SpaceX executive Brian Bjelde, software executive Brian Rubin and entrepreneur and investor David Milowitz. Additionally, technology entrepreneur Morgan Harris has purchased a minority interest through his family office, Mammoth Bay Ventures. Harris, who is an accomplished entrepreneur and investor with multiple exits, will work alongside North Sixth Group Chairman Matt Rizzetta to support future portfolio growth. He most recently built and sold video intelligence platform TONIK+ to Edisen (formerly Chimney Vigor Group). “Matt and the team at North Sixth Group have created a unique model built on value creation and diversification, leaning on their network and skill set to source deals and increase asset values by playing an accretive role for each holding,” said Morgan Harris. “North Sixth Group combines elements of private equity, sales and marketing and operating resources that are so critical and rare to find in investment partners.” Joining as a North Sixth Group advisor is media technology entrepreneur and Klay Media founder Mike Pollack. “We aim to take a generational view toward our portfolio,” said Matt Rizzetta, Chairman of North Sixth Group. “Since we are active, hands-on operating partners with our founders, it was important that we bring on investors who lend value to our portfolio companies through unique skill sets, relationships and strong track records as entrepreneurs. We are pleased to have found a great blend of these characteristics within our group of investors and are grateful for their enthusiasm and alignment with the long-term vision for our portfolio.” ABOUT NORTH SIXTH GROUP North Sixth Group is a family office that takes a hands-on approach to its investments. The company has wholly owned and minority interests in a variety of investments across media, marketing, technology and sports and entertainment. Additionally, North Sixth Group dedicates financial, networking and human capital resources to community-based initiatives geared toward Passion, Purpose and Progress. For more information, visit www.northsixthgroup.com Contact Details N6A (For North Sixth Group) +1 212-334-9753 NSG@n6a.com Company Website https://northsixthgroup.com/

January 24, 2022 10:29 AM Eastern Standard Time

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