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ICF Appoints New Head of Corporate Development

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Eric Hakimov to Lead M&A Strategy and Integration Efforts 

RESTON, Va., Nov. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ICF (NASDAQ:ICFI), a global consulting and technology services provider, today announced Dr. Eric Hakimov as their new vice president of corporate development. In this role, Hakimov will be responsible for driving the company’s merger and acquisition (M&A) growth strategy and managing the company’s integration efforts.  

Hakimov brings over 20 years of experience across strategic corporate transitions, investment banking and private equity to ICF. His expertise includes acquisitions, divestitures, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, corporate venture capital investments, restructuring and debt and equity financing. Prior to joining ICF, Hakimov held a number of leadership positions at firms such as Labcorp, IQVIA, Monument Capital Group and JPMorgan. To date, he has completed over 35 transactions globally, deploying over $17 billion in capital across a range of industries.

With formal training as both a physician and business leader, Hakimov holds an MD and an MBA. His combined background in both science and business strategy will help guide ICF’s strategic investments across the company’s key growth markets from federal health and health technology to energy, disaster management, climate and infrastructure services, federal digital modernization, and more.

“Eric has worked on both small and large transactions in the U.S. and internationally and is very well-suited to help ICF continue to execute on our M&A efforts,” said James Morgan, ICF chief operating officer. “An excellent communicator and negotiator, he brings key relationships within the banking sector and extensive knowledge of the markets we serve. I look forward to the innovative approaches and strategic insights Eric will bring to our corporate development and M&A initiatives.”

“I’m thrilled to join such a dynamic and purpose-driven firm at this pivotal moment of growth,” said Hakimov. “The opportunity to contribute to a company that consistently aligns its strategic acquisitions to a clear purpose of creating lasting, positive impact is truly exciting. I look forward to supporting ICF’s continued success and expanding our reach in ways that not only strengthen the business, but furthers our commitment to making a meaningful difference for our clients.”

About ICF
ICF is a global consulting and technology services company with approximately 9,000 employees, but we are not your typical consultants. At ICF, business analysts and policy specialists work together with digital strategists, data scientists and creatives. We combine unmatched industry expertise with cutting-edge engagement capabilities to help organizations solve their most complex challenges. Since 1969, public and private sector clients have worked with ICF to navigate change and shape the future. Learn more at icf.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-looking Statements
Statements that are not historical facts and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may concern our current expectations about our future results, plans, operations and prospects and involve certain risks, including those related to the government contracting industry generally; our particular business, including our dependence on contracts with U.S. federal government agencies; our ability to acquire and successfully integrate businesses; and various risks and uncertainties related to health epidemics, pandemics, and similar outbreaks. These and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ from those indicated in forward-looking statements that are included in the “Risk Factors” section of our securities filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements included herein are only made as of the date hereof, and we specifically disclaim any obligation to update these statements in the future.

Contact: Lauren Dykelauren.dyke@ICF.com, +1.571.373.5577

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REWARD ACQUIRES UK’S LEADING HOSPITALITY DATA INSIGHTS COMPANY (HDI) TO ENHANCE COMMERCE MEDIA OFFERING, DELIVERING DEEPER CONSUMER INSIGHTS FOR THE RETAIL SECTOR

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Reward completes acquisition of Hospitality Data Insights (HDI), a UK market-leading data insights company and longtime partnerThe acquisition will strengthen Reward’s Commerce Media proposition, enhancing consumer insights capabilities that unlock growth opportunities for global retail partnersThis acquisition follows a period of strong growth for Reward, further bolstered by recent strategic investment from Experian PLC, A FTSE 25 company, solidifying Reward’s position as a leader in Customer Engagement and Commerce Media

LONDON, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Reward, a global leader in Customer Engagement and Commerce Media, today announces the acquisition of Hospitality Data Insights (HDI), a prominent UK-based data insights company and trusted partner. This acquisition is set to further elevate Reward’s Commerce Media capabilities, driving enriched consumer insights for retail and bank partners worldwide.

HDI is known for delivering high-quality, independent data solutions to over 100 global and national brands in the hospitality and convenience sectors, including industry leaders McDonald’s, Pizza Express, and Deliveroo. With a focus on high-spend, high-frequency sectors representing over 20% of household spending, HDI strengthens Reward’s capability to deliver significant consumer value, supporting Reward’s commitment to deliver over £2 billion in rewards by 2025.

By combining HDI’s SKU-level data, product range, pricing insights, and consumer sentiment analysis with Reward’s transactional and behavioural insights, the acquisition enhances Reward’s suite of products for retail marketing, performance optimisation, and operational insights. HDI’s extensive sector expertise and talented team of data analysts add further depth to Reward’s offerings, positioning the company for growth as it establishes itself as the preferred marketing and insights partner. This strategic focus aims to help banks and retailers better understand customers while securing a larger share of marketing budgets.

The all cash acquisition reflects Reward’s period of significant growth. The recent strategic investment from Experian PLC has further enhanced Reward’s consumer insights capabilities, integrating new assets like its Mosaic product. Reward has also expanded its international footprint, with new investment directed at scaling operations in key regions such as Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Effective immediately, Darroch Bagshaw, Managing Director of HDI, will join Reward’s Leadership Team, reporting to CEO Jamie Samaha. While HDI has been primarily servicing its global brands in the UK, Reward and HDI are well-positioned to scale their enhanced capabilities internationally. The combined efforts will start in the hospitality and convenience sectors and move into other high priority spend categories including convenience and grocery.

Jamie Samaha, CEO of Reward, commented: “In today’s fast-evolving Commerce Media landscape, expanding consumer insights capabilities is more critical than ever. This acquisition of HDI marks a transformative step in our journey to deepen our understanding of consumer behaviour and amplify the value we deliver to our customers, banking partners, and retailers. HDI’s diverse portfolio of leading hospitality brands and innovative insight products opens significant opportunities for us to strengthen our retailer relationships in this key sector, all while driving toward our goal of delivering $2 billion in rewards by 2025.”

Darroch Bagshaw, Managing Director of HDI, added: “HDI’s mission has always been to provide market-leading insights to businesses across the hospitality sector using accurate and actionable data. Reward’s endorsement of our services is testament to our aligned commitment to high quality data analytics that drive investment decisions for the world’s largest retailers. We look forward to combining insights capabilities to provide enriched products and services to retailers and greater value to customers.”

ABOUT REWARD

Reward is a global leader in Customer Engagement and Commerce Media, operating in more than 15 markets across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of banking and retail, Reward’s platform combines technology, data insights and digital marketing to deliver personalised products and services that help brands deepen connections with customers.

As businesses strive to better understand and influence customer behaviour, Reward is poised to lead in the fast-growing commerce media space, offering consumer insights that enhance omnichannel experiences, boost sales and build customer loyalty.

Beyond unifying consumer insight and commerce, Reward is on a mission to make everyday spending more rewarding and every interaction count, delivering billions in rewards to customers.

For more information, please visit www.rewardinsight.com.

ABOUT HDI

Hospitality Data Insights (HDI) is a leading UK insights business, providing independent data insight to global and national brands operating in the UK hospitality sector since 2017, supporting over 100 different clients spanning Pubs & Bars, Restaurants & Casual Dining, QSR, Coffee Shops, Delivery, Convenience, Drinks Suppliers & Manufacturers, Investors and Consulting Firms.

HDI turns vast amounts of high-quality data into meaningful products and services that help operators improve their investment decisions, offer development and customer marketing; and help manufacturers sell and support their brands more effectively

Since late 2022, HDI have extended their capabilities into the UK grocery sector, tracking online pricing for 10 national grocers and monitoring customer spending patterns within over 40,000 individual convenience & grocery stores.

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From Pollution to Restoration: The Art of Living’s Powerful Partnerships to Heal Karnataka

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BENGALURU, India, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On November 11, 2024, The Art of Living Social Projects signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bangalore University, the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), and the Department of Forest Ecology and Environment, Government of Karnataka. This marks a powerful new chapter in advancing environmental sustainability and climate action through rigorous research, community-driven initiatives, and participatory governance. Rooted in Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s vision, The Art of Living Social Projects’ methodology is holistic, nature-centred and emphasises hands-on community involvement to create tangible and lasting change.

The organisation brings extensive expertise in programme management and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) engagement to the partnership, which aims to address some of Karnataka’s most pressing environmental challenges. At the top of the agenda is an ambitious plan to clean and restore the heavily polluted Vrishabhavathi River, which flows through Bangalore University’s campus. 

Reviving the Vrishabhavathi River Through Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)

Traditional approaches to river restoration often fall short when faced with severe pollution, requiring more innovative strategies. This is precisely where the Art of Living Social Projects’ Nature-Based Solutions come into play. Leveraging natural elements like microorganisms, plants, and algae; NBS techniques use bioremediation and phytoremediation to detoxify the water. Microbial communities work to break down pollutants, while specially chosen plants absorb harmful substances. 

In addition to these natural detoxifiers, aeration plays a crucial role by oxygenating the water, which helps revitalise aquatic habitats and promotes the overall health of the ecosystem. These initiatives demonstrate the organisation’s dedication to lasting environmental interventions and will be utilised in the restoration of the Vrishabhavathi River.

Tackling Broader Environmental Challenges in Karnataka

The MoU extends far beyond river restoration to addressing other urgent environmental issues such as deforestation, air and water pollution, waste management, and ecosystem conservation. The alliance plans to drive change through joint research projects, workshops, and seminars, offering hands-on training and creating educational opportunities that empower the next generation of environmental leaders.

Bridging Academic Research and Practical Implementation

The MoU draws on the unique strengths of each partner. Bangalore University brings academic depth, while EMPRI contributes expertise in policy research. The Art of Living Social Projects’ extensive experience with large-scale projects  and community engagement rounds out this powerful team. The synergy facilitates the implementation of evidence-based plans that are not only effective but also engage the community in enduring practices.

Empowering Communities for Lasting Change

The MoU also reflects a commitment to participatory governance, a principle close to The Art of Living’s ethos. Shared Sri Prasana Prabhu, Chairman of The Art of Living Social Projects, “We believe that sustainability must be rooted in the participatory governance framework. This MoU allows us to deepen our engagement and leverage our resources to empower academia and civil society organisations towards sustainable practices.”

A Model for Environmental Protection

A new standard in environmental governance and action will be set by this collaboration. By bridging academic research with practical, community-driven game plans, it presents a model that could inspire similar initiatives in other regions. As this collaborative effort unfolds, The Art of Living Social Projects, Bangalore University, EMPRI, and the Department of Forest, Ecology, and Environment are poised to make significant strides in tackling Karnataka’s environmental challenges, from cleaner rivers to thriving ecosystems.

Through this landmark MoU, The Art of Living Social Projects, under the inspiration of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, reaffirms its commitment to nature-driven solutions, working towards a future of cleaner water, healthier ecosystems, and stronger communities.

About The Art of Living Social Projects 

Inspired by the world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; The Art of Living is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to peace, well-being, and humanitarian service. Committed to holistic development, The Art of Living champions various initiatives, including water conservation, sustainable agriculture, afforestation, free education, skill development, women empowerment, integrated village development, renewable energy and waste management. Through these multifaceted efforts, The Art of Living strives to create positive social and environmental impact, fostering a more sustainable and harmonious future for all.

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CIOs Struggle to Define AI Value For Their Business as They Continue to Invest in New Projects

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Tech leaders are divided on whether AI investments should boost productivity, revenue, or worker satisfaction

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — New research from revenue intelligence leader Gong reveals widely varying viewpoints among CIOs and other tech leaders over how to evaluate the success of AI projects. Surveying over 500 CIOs and heads of IT across the UK and US, the findings illustrate the challenge many businesses face when it comes to strategically implementing AI and the uncertainty in measuring whether those AI investments are paying off.

While over half of CIOs (53 percent) prioritize productivity gains, an equal proportion focus on revenue growth as their key success metrics, with worker satisfaction trailing closely behind (46 percent). This divergence underscores a broader challenge: confusion about where AI can deliver the most business value and a well-defined approach for evaluation.

Key insights from the study include:

Revenue Growth vs. Time Savings: 61 percent of global CIOs believe increased revenue alone justifies AI costs, while 60 percent say that time savings alone will justify costs. Yet, only 32 percent actively measure both, suggesting that many companies still don’t have systems in place to measure and assess the impact on the variables they say matter most.A Growing Interest in Predictive AI: While generative AI attracts much of the buzz around the technology, it is not the clear leader among CIOs in terms of driving value. Fifty-four percent of tech leaders prioritize generative AI, 51 percent prioritize automation, and 31 percent prioritize predictive AI. To capitalize on this discord and deliver value across a broad spectrum, AI models must be tuned to support workflow automation and predictive analytics.Adoption of Domain-Specific Solutions: While nearly three-quarters of tech leaders rely on off-the-shelf large language models (LLMs) as part of their AI investments, 58 percent are utilizing domain-specific solutions. These AI tools are trained on industry- and function-specific data to deliver more precise and measurable results.Security is a Key Obstacle…: Security remains a top priority for 68 percent of tech leaders, but 28 percent admit this is where their AI projects most often fall short.…As is Data Integration: Data integration challenges also threaten project success, with 36 percent of CIOs likely to pause initiatives if implementation complexities arise. Without the right underlying data, AI outputs risk delivering little value or, worse, biased or inaccurate results.AI’s Long-Term Value Persists: Despite mixed measurement strategies, only a small fraction (under 20 percent) cited a lack of provable ROI as a reason to abandon AI initiatives, indicating that most companies continue to explore its potential and long-term value.Smaller companies are more eager to prove ROI: Smaller US firms (250-500 employees) are more ROI-focused, with 40 percent willing to halt projects lacking clear ROI, compared to just 19 percent of larger companies. This suggests that while smaller US firms see the value in investing in AI, they need to focus on initiatives that deliver measurable and immediate returns and have less budget for experimentation. In contrast, larger companies might have more capacity to invest in long-term projects without immediate ROI.

“Over the last two years, the AI hype and pace of innovation has created incredible excitement and confusion for CIOs and tech leaders about its potential and where to focus,” said Eilon Reshef, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Gong. “But one thing is clear: leaders are pursuing value and exploring different areas across the business where AI can have a transformative impact.”

To learn more about the survey’s findings, read the blog.

Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide with 573 CIOs/Heads of IT (aged 25+) in medium and large companies who have purchased an off-the-shelf AI application in the last 2 years across the UK and US (250 and 323 respondents respectively) between October 9 -October 16, 2024. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles. Censuswide are also members of the British Polling Council.

About Gong
Gong transforms revenue organizations by driving business efficiency, revenue growth, and improved decision-making. The Revenue Intelligence Platform uses proprietary artificial intelligence technology to enable teams to capture, understand, and act on all customer interactions in a single, integrated platform. Thousands of companies around the world rely on Gong to support their go-to-market strategies and grow revenue efficiently. For more information, visit www.gong.io.

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