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Pioneering AI technology from Bain & Company powering Athena Pathway’s bid for British victory in inaugural Women’s America’s Cup

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Unique, cutting-edge AI simulation tools and technology deployed by Bain to optimise British competitors’ racing performance in the world’s premier global sailing competition

LONDON, Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Pioneering AI advances developed by Bain & Company are being harnessed by Britain’s team of world-class women sailors in their bid to make sporting history by winning the inaugural Women’s America’s Cup in this weekend’s finals at the pinnacle of global sailing competition.

Bain is partnering with Athena Pathway and its sailing teams, Britain’s entrants in the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup races, to bring state-of-the-art AI technology to power their challenges for victory in the world’s oldest sporting trophy contest, with this year marking the first-ever women’s race in the competition. Watch the video here.

Athena Pathway was founded by the British sailing champions Hannah Mills OBE and Sir Ben Ainslie, the world most decorated Olympic sailors, to change the landscape of competitive high-performance sailing by bringing diversity and equal opportunities to the sport in the UK. Britain’s Athena Pathway teams in the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup include women sailors and youth sailing talent with a collective six Olympic medals and 22 sailing World Championship medals. They are competing against crews from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand.

Bain & Company’s Advanced Analytics Group, the firm’s AI practice, and a team of expert Bain consultants have worked in close collaboration with Athena Pathway sailors, coaches and teams at its base in Barcelona and remotely, to develop and deploy unique AI-powered simulation tools and technology to enhance and optimise the performance of the Athena Pathway teams in their bid for America’s Cup wins.

The AI technology developed by Bain for Athena Pathway exploits detailed race performance data pulled from sensors fitted on the specialised, high-performance AC-40 yachts used in the America’s Cup racing – a new class of one-design foiling monohull yacht designed to ensure teams secure wins based entirely on the talent, technique and skills of competing crews.

Harnessing the data captured from race trials, practices and early phases of the America’s Cup competition, the unique AI technology from Bain enables sophisticated analysis by the Athena Pathway teams  supported and advised by Bain’s expert consultants, to maximise speed and optimise manoeuvres on the water, enhancing sailing efficiency in the high-speed racing and helping to achieve the best overall race performance. AI-powered simulations allow the Athena Pathway teams the test multiple “what if” race scenarios onshore during training, saving time versus testing these on the water, as well as adjusting real-time decision-making in simulated race conditions on the water.

Hannah Mills, Athena Pathway’s co-founder and Team Principal at the yacht’s helm in the women’s races, said: “Using AI to really help us learn and evolve and upskill very quickly has been a huge part of our training in preparation for the America’s Cup. Bain’s partnership with us has been integral to trying to achieve our goal of winning. When I look at what Bain has been doing with us, particularly on the ground, I’ve never had a partnership quite like it.”

The AI simulations, driven by Bain’s custom-built deep-learning AI model, unique to this project, acts as a ‘digital twin’ of Athena Pathway’s real-life AC40s yachts. This enables the crews to optimise so-called “velocity made good” (VMG), a key driver of race performance, for the yachts using interactive mapping enabling visualisation of both past, real sailing manoeuvres as well as simulated scenarios the teams want to test out. The AI models, pulling from around six million individual data observations captured by the sensors used, across more than 40 types of input variable, provide instantaneous feedback and real-time insights on specific scenarios of interest to the teams as they plan their race tactics and strategy.

Chris Draper, head coach for Athena Pathway, added: “Having the AI tools and being able to share that collaboratively has been enormous for us. It really has been a game-changing relationship. We’ve got sensors throughout the boats that give us direct feedback on how things are moving, the loads and strains, so you can identify exactly what is happening. We’re literally learning every day how to optimize performance and the AI tool is enabling us to do that, providing us with really, really interesting results. It thinks slightly outside of the box and it’s proving exceptionally useful for us.”

Discussing the partnership with Athena Pathway, Hugo Parkinson, Bain senior partner and leader of the firm’s Advanced Manufacturing practice in EMEA, said: “We are hugely excited to have partnered with Athena Pathway in this ground-breaking way. The unique AI tools we’ve been able to bring to their challenge in the America’s Cup is pioneering and is helping the teams solve some of their biggest challenges in the racing. It’s learned how to sail the boat and now it makes a series of AI-powered recommendations on how to sail it faster. Being able to bring this sort of advanced analytics to such an exciting environment is incredibly helpful in furthering the ambitions of Athena Pathway in this top-tier sport. For us at Bain, there’s also the tremendous benefit of what we’ve learned through this collaboration where we’ve been able to identify multiple real-world applications for this technology in all kinds of business use cases.”

In addition to backing Athena Pathway’s challenge for the America’s Cup with AI technology, Bain has also worked with the teams, and their coaches and leaders, to enhance their operations at their Barcelona base in multiple additional ways, with Bain support for optimising teamwork, help with upgrades to IT systems, onshore base efficiencies and planning, and improved documentation in the teams’ playbooks.

Juan Carlos Gay, Bain senior partner in the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources practice and global Head of the Capital Projects Acceleration team, who co-led Bain’s Athena Pathway collaboration with Hugo Parkinson, added: “Our partnership with Athena Pathway has been a tremendous opportunity to bring our technological and AI capabilities, and our deep business expertise in a wider range of ways, to this thrilling realm – competitive yacht racing – outside of the business world. Bain champions diversity in everything we do, which is core to our mission, so it’s been particularly inspiring for us and Athena Pathway to come together in support of the young and female talent competing in this inaugural Women’s America’s Cup race.”

Media contacts
To arrange an interview or for any questions, please contact:

Gary Duncan (London) — Email: gary.duncan@bain.com
Katie Ware (New York) — Email: katie.ware@bain.com
Ann Lee (Singapore) — Email: ann.lee@bain.com 

About Bain & Company

Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future.

Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today’s urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a gold rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 2% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry. 

 

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SOURCE Bain & Company

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U.S. Department of Commerce Announces 2024 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Winners!

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October 11, 2024

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — United States Secretary of Commerce, the Honorable Gina Raimondo, today announced the 2024 winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest award for performance excellence presented in the nation and the only award presented by the President of the United States.

The Baldrige Award has returned after a two-year re-design in which the award criteria were updated to focus on organizational resilience. “The 2024 Baldrige Award recipients are role-model organizations that are helping us address some of our nation’s most critical needs, and they demonstrate the resilient spirit of the American people,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These five awardees are bettering the lives of American workers, strengthening our infrastructure, and improving the quality of life in communities across the nation. Each awardee demonstrates how the Baldrige process makes it possible for any type of organization to achieve excellence on behalf of the people and communities they serve.”

“The next chapter of Baldrige has begun,” remarked Al Faber, President and CEO of the Baldrige Foundation. “For more than 30+ years the Baldrige Framework has helped organizations of every size, and from all sectors of the economy, improve their performance. Now, we look to the future with great confidence in the Baldrige Framework’s ability to continue driving performance excellence, and to help identify national role models for resiliency and long-term success.”

The 2024 Baldrige Award winners are:

Alamo Colleges District, (Texas)Chickasaw Nation Department of Health, (Oklahoma)The City of Henderson, (Nevada)Freese and Nichols Inc., (Texas)Northeast Delta Dental, (New Hampshire)

Baldrige Award recipients will be recognized during a formal ceremony in Baltimore, Maryland, in the spring of 2025. The ceremony will be followed by the Quest for Excellence Conference®, where Baldrige Award recipients and other leading organizations share best practices and innovations that can help any organization improve.

“The Baldrige Foundation is immensely proud to have been the private sector partner to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program over the past 30 years,” concluded Faber, “and we look forward to our continued partnership over the next 30 years and beyond with great excitement and commitment.

Now more than ever, Baldrige remains America’s best investment!”

For more information, contact: Mark Wayda, 614-600-0432 or at mwayda@baldrigefoundation.org.

About The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Inc.
The Baldrige Foundation was created as the private partner to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program in 1988. Its mission is to ensure the long-term financial viability of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and to support organizational performance excellence throughout the U.S. and the world. The Baldrige Program located at NIST within the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a separate entity and is solely responsible for managing and administering the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. For more information on the Baldrige Award process please visit: https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-award.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-department-of-commerce-announces-2024-malcolm-baldrige-national-quality-award-winners-302273544.html

SOURCE Malcolm Baldrige Foundation

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eHealth Is Ready to Help Medicare Beneficiaries Navigate a Challenging Annual Enrollment Period This Year

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46 mins ago

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October 11, 2024

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eHealth offers Medicare beneficiaries comprehensive support, including its new “LiveAdvise” tool, to help them enroll in 2025 Medicare coverage

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Starting on October 15, this year’s Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is widely expected to be the most dynamic in recent memory, but after a year of disciplined preparation, eHealth, Inc. (Nasdaq: EHTH) (eHealth.com) is ready to help beneficiaries review their options and identify and enroll in the right Medicare plan for their personal needs and budget.

A Year of Innovation

For the third consecutive year, eHealth is leveraging new technology and internal processes to support Medicare beneficiaries this AEP. The company is officially launching its “LiveAdvise” experience (formerly known as “Advisor in the Room”), allowing beneficiaries to navigate the shopping and enrollment process with a live agent by video, building personal relationships and bridging the gap between the online and in-person shopping experience. Additional technology improvements this AEP include:

“MatchMonitor,” a tool to simplify AEP for existing eHealth customers whose plans may be changing”AppTracker,” to keep customers informed of the status of their application every step of the wayIntuitive improvements to the customer experience, including enhanced usability and personalization across the ecommerce siteUp-front needs analysis tools to help beneficiaries focus on the plans that are best suited to their prioritiesImproved live agent chat and co-browsing functions

Building on a foundation of success

Last year eHealth successfully launched a new brand identity based on rigorous consumer research and testing, and a new company spokesperson, Eve, who embodies the company’s brand and represents the compassion and expertise eHealth customers deserve. This year eHealth is building on that foundation with new direct-response television ads, online ads, and other marketing content featuring Eve and showcasing real-life Medicare beneficiaries using eHealth to review their coverage options and save money on premiums and out-of-pocket costs. eHealth will also deploy an integrated marketing strategy across paid search, direct mail, email, search engine optimization, affiliate, and strategic partner channels. See Eve’s newest ad here.

A nimble, empowered organization

After last year’s Medicare AEP, eHealth made strategic adjustments in its business organization to empower leadership to more effectively pursue and achieve business goals while encouraging innovation and cooperation across teams. Throughout the spring and summer months the company also hired and trained new licensed in-house insurance agents and representatives to support AEP goals for 2024. To help ensure beneficiary satisfaction, eHealth’s phone agents will be supported by refined and expanded back-office support tools and a “100% Verification” standard for telephonic enrollments to ensure clarity for beneficiaries and higher-quality enrollments for carriers.

A team dedicated to customer care

Across the organization, eHealth employees are doing their part to make this AEP a success. Through company social channels, eHealth is highlighting the personal stories of licensed insurance agents and other employees with its “We are eHealth” campaign. Additionally, for the second year in a row the company’s “AEP Aces” initiative is encouraging employees who do not typically work directly with beneficiaries to undergo special training and volunteer as phone screeners during the busiest weeks of AEP.  eHealth employees are motivated to volunteer to help reduce hold times and assist with providing beneficiaries a great experience.

“Medicare beneficiaries could face a challenging AEP this year because of significant changes to their current plans, including out-of-pocket costs and core and supplemental benefits,” said eHealth CEO Fran Soistman. “We’ve focused all our efforts over the past several months to serve beneficiaries better and more effectively in finding the right Medicare coverage for their personal needs and budget. I am particularly proud of the united determination among our employees to make this a successful AEP, both for our customers and the company.”

About eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) 
We’re Matchmakers. For over 25 years, eHealth has helped millions of Americans find the healthcare coverage that fits their needs at a price they can afford. As a leading independent licensed insurance agency and advisor, eHealth offers access to over 180 health insurers, including national and regional companies. 

For more information about eHealth, visit ehealth.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Open positions can be found on our career page.  

Media inquiries: pr@ehealth.com 

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SOURCE eHealth, Inc.

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DataTracks Achieves Unmatched Turnaround Time with New Tailored Shareholder Reporting (TSR) Automation Capabilities

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October 11, 2024

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NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — DataTracks, a global leader in cloud-based compliance reporting, is thrilled to announce the successful completion of the first wave of Tailored Shareholder Reports (TSR) iXBRL filings with the SEC, using the new TSR automation feature of its DataTracks RainbowTM software. This milestone demonstrates DataTracks’ ability to handle high-volume, complex filings with remarkable efficiency, speed, and accuracy.

 

With this new automation, DataTracks has achieved the fastest turnaround time (TAT) in the industry, helping clients stay ahead in a constantly changing regulatory environment. The enhanced TSR automation feature efficiently streamlines every stage of the filing process—from the initial tagging of report sections to accommodating last-minute revisions—within the shortest time frame. Additionally, the solution manages rich design inputs without requiring rework, highlighting its robust ability to adapt to diverse formats and regulatory requirements.

The TSR automation update is especially effective for handling large-scale filings involving hundreds of fund classes in a single report. The technology can automatically detect these classes using custom HTML markers and create precise extension taxonomy for the data to be tagged, ensuring every report is both accurate and complete. It also features an innovative templating method that accelerates the tagging of similar text blocks across different classes.

Traditionally time-consuming, tables and charts are now easier to manage with the new feature. It accurately identifies and tags data, whether it is on the face of the document or hidden within the HTML. The application also facilitates multiple team members to work on different sections of a report simultaneously, making the whole process more efficient and collaborative.

Sriram Srinivasan, Senior Vice President of US Business at DataTracks, said, “Completing the first wave of TSR filings with such efficiency is a testament to the capabilities of the new TSR Automation update within our cloud-based DataTracks RainbowTM software. Our focus on minimizing manual intervention and maximizing automation has enabled us to achieve unprecedented speed and accuracy, allowing our clients to meet their regulatory filing deadlines with confidence. We remain committed to driving continuous innovation in compliance reporting.”

DataTracks assists Mutual Funds and Exchange-Traded Funds directly and indirectly—through various financial printers and attorneys—in preparing TSR iXBRL reports for filing with the SEC.

About DataTracks

DataTracks has been successfully providing compliance reporting services for the last 20 years. Their full-stack solutions, tailored to help both enterprises and their partners, have helped close to 30,000 clients in 30+ countries seamlessly navigate diverse regulatory regimes worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.datatracks.com/us/.

For Business Enquiries:

Email: enquiry@datatracks.com
Phone: +1 (646) 904-8324

Media Contact: mediarelations@datatracks.com

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/datatracks-achieves-unmatched-turnaround-time-with-new-tailored-shareholder-reporting-tsr-automation-capabilities-302273158.html

SOURCE DataTracks

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