Home Helpers® Home Care Promotes Bobby Kelley to Chief Development Officer

Franchise development industry veteran joins executive leadership team after more than two decades with the company

CINCINNATI, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Home Helpers® Home Care, a trusted brand and industry leader in the in-home care franchise space, has promoted Bobby Kelley to Chief Development Officer.

Kelley, who has been an integral member of the company's franchise development team for more than 20 years, will join the organization's executive leadership team and lead the franchise development sales team.

Kelley began his career with Home Helpers® Home Care in 2005 as a franchise sales consultant and has steadily taken on expanded responsibilities in franchise development, team leadership and organizational growth. Most recently, he served as vice president of franchise development, helping to expand the franchise network to over 400 franchises serving more than 1,500 communities across 40 states.

In his new role, Kelley will oversee continued growth of the Home Helpers® Home Care franchise system, including franchise development strategy, franchise sales and systems supporting responsible expansion of the Home Helpers® Home Care network.

"Bobby's promotion reflects both the tremendous impact he has made over the past two decades and the confidence we have in his leadership as we look toward the future," said Home Helpers® Home Care CEO and President Emma Dickison. "He understands our brand, our franchisees and the responsibility that comes with welcoming new franchise owners into our network. Bobby leads with integrity and a genuine passion for our mission, and I'm thrilled to welcome him to our executive leadership team."

Throughout his tenure, Kelley has helped grow and strengthen the Home Helpers® Home Care franchise network by guiding prospective franchisees through the discovery and ownership process. His extensive knowledge of franchising, passion for the home care industry and commitment to finding franchisees who align with the company's mission have made him a trusted leader within the organization and the broader franchise community.

"Home Helpers has been an incredibly meaningful part of my life for more than 20 years, and I'm honored to step into this expanded leadership role," Kelley said. "Our work is about much more than growing a business. It's about finding the right people to carry our mission into new communities and help more individuals live safely and independently at home. I look forward to building on the strong foundation we have established and helping lead Home Helpers through its next chapter of growth."

To explore available franchise opportunities, visit HomeHelpersFranchise.com.

About Home Helpers® Home Care

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Blue Ash, Ohio, Home Helpers® Home Care is a leading in-home care franchise system dedicated to helping seniors and individuals in need of assistance to live independently in the comfort of their own homes. With a proven franchise model, industry-leading technology, and a culture built on compassion and support, Home Helpers® Home Care continues to expand across markets throughout the United States. Learn more at www.HomeHelpersFranchise.com and www.HomeHelpersHomeCare.com.

Media Contact:

Rachel Tabacnic

817-329-3257

SOURCE Home Helpers Home Care

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ATLANTA, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- USG Water Solutions, the leading water utility services provider specializing in storage tanks, plant rehabilitation, metering, and distribution systems, today announced the appointment of Christina Coen as Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2026. Coen succeeds John Flaugher, who is transitioning to a strategic advisory role.

Coen joins USG Water from UPL Corp, where she most recently served as Chief Transformation Officer, R&D and Sustainability Lead, and previously as Chief Marketing Officer with global P&L responsibility for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership roles at Nalco Water (an Ecolab Company), FMC Corporation, and Dow Chemical, spanning R&D, transformation, marketing, and commercial leadership across the agricultural and specialty chemicals sectors.

"I'm honored to lead USG Water Solutions at such a pivotal moment for the water utility industry," said Coen. "Our clients — rural and suburban communities and small cities across the country — depend on us to be true guardians of their water infrastructure. I'm committed to building on our 60-year track record of safety, quality, and compliance, while continuing to invest in the people and technology that make that possible."

Coen holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration from Northwood University.

About USG Water Solutions

USG Water Solutions is the leading water utility services provider specializing in storage tanks, plant rehabilitation, metering, and distribution systems. We partner with our clients with a single purpose―to be guardians of their local water assets. With a superior track record spanning more than 60 years, we serve water utilities in rural and suburban communities, and small cities across the U.S. Our 600+ water utility maintenance professionals are located across 11 convenient service centers, living and working in the communities where we operate and serve. Committed to continuous improvement, we offer the industry's broadest range of services, each designed for safety, quality, and compliance, and delivered with a commitment to doing things right the first time.

SOURCE USG Water Solutions

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Data Center World POWER News: SENS Changes Critical DC Power Architecture for Gigawatt-Scale Data Centers

Factory-tested platform eliminates dedicated battery rooms, consolidates hundreds of components, and can save an estimated $20M-$80M on a typical 1 GW campus

LONGMONT, Colo., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Stored Energy Systems (SENS), a provider of engineered power solutions for mission-critical infrastructure, will showcase PowerCab®2 at Data Center World POWER, September 21-23 in Dallas, TX, showing how its integrated DC power system changes the architecture of critical DC power for gigawatt-scale data centers.

Eighty percent of hyperscale and colocation data center campuses in the United States use SENS DC power technology, collectively representing multiple gigawatts of capacity.

PowerCab2 replaces the traditional data center battery room and hundreds of discrete DC power components with a compact, factory-tested platform. The integrated system reduces PDC and E-house footprints by approximately 20% or more, requires less onsite integration, and potentially accelerates deployment.

Read more: https://www.sens-usa.com/product/powercab2-dc-ups-system

"Data center campuses are growing to gigawatt scale, yet DC power still consumes valuable space in PDCs and E-houses," said Eric Solanyk, Vice President, Mission Critical Power Systems at SENS. "Our PowerCab platform changes that architecture by bringing critical DC power functions together in one factory-engineered system. At campus scale, this solution delivers significant project savings while providing the scalability and reliability these facilities require."

PowerCab2 typically eliminates more than 300 square feet of dedicated battery-room space from a PDC or E-house. At an estimated installed cost of $850 per square foot, SENS estimates potential capital savings of approximately $255,000 per structure. Because a 1 GW data center campus may contain approximately 80 to 300 PDCs or E-houses, these savings can total $20M-$80M (approximately $20,000 to $80,000 per megawatt of campus capacity).

SENS provides 24 VDC, 48 VDC, 125 VDC, and 240 VDC control and station power; supports multiple battery chemistries; and offers N+1, N+N, and dual-bus redundancy. The system is available in NEMA 1 and NEMA 3R enclosures rated for operation from −40°C to 55°C.

Attendees can see PowerCab2 at Booth #211 at Data Center World POWER and meet with SENS engineers to model footprint and capital savings for specific PDC and E-house designs.

About SENS

Stored Energy Systems (SENS) designs and manufactures integrated DC power and engine-starting systems for mission-critical infrastructure. SENS delivers factory-engineered systems that reduce complexity, improve reliability, and protect uptime across data centers, utilities, energy, and industrial applications.

SOURCE Stored Energy Systems (SENS)

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Electrified Thermal Solutions' Joule Hive™ Thermal Battery to Be Deployed as Part of Holcim's Electrification Roadmap

20 MWh initial deployment will bring near-flame temperature electric heat to a high-temperature industrial process

BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrified Thermal Solutions, a leader in thermal energy storage and electric heating for industry, today announced an agreement with Holcim, a global leader in building materials and solutions, to deploy its Joule Hive™ Thermal Battery (JHTB) as part of Holcim's electrification roadmap.

Cement production is among the hardest industrial processes to electrify. Process temperatures regularly exceed what conventional electric heating can reach, which has left combustion as the default source of heat for the sector. For Holcim, the agreement extends work already underway to decarbonize its highest-temperature operations. For Electrified Thermal, it adds a third global industrial partner to a customer base built specifically around sectors, including cement, steel and chemicals, where electric alternatives to combustion have not previously existed. Industrial heat accounts for roughly one-fifth of global energy consumption, and the segment of that heat requiring the highest temperatures has remained largely closed to electrification until now.

The initial deployment will consist of two JHTB units that store clean electricity as heat in electrically and thermally conductive bricks, discharging that heat on demand at temperatures up to 1,800°C (3,275°F), a range that has been largely inaccessible to electric alternatives. The agreement extends a relationship between Holcim and Electrified Thermal that includes Holcim's participation as an investor in the company.

"Electrifying high-temperature industrial heat is one of the advanced technologies we are incorporating in our decarbonization strategy, and this deployment allows us to evaluate its potential," said Ram Muthu, Head of Operational Excellence at Holcim. "Working with Electrified Thermal gives us a path to accelerate decarbonization as part of our industry-shaping sustainability roadmap."

"Holcim's decision to deploy our technology validates years of work to bring electrified heat to high-temperature industrial-scale applications that no other technology or company can achieve" said Daniel Stack, CEO and co-founder of Electrified Thermal Solutions. "This agreement follows the recent turn-on and successful 1,000+ hours of operation of our commercial demonstration system and shows that global industrial producers are ready to move this technology from demonstration to deployment. We look forward to expanding this relationship with Holcim over time."

The agreement builds on momentum from Electrified Thermal's commercial demonstration system in San Antonio, Texas, which came online earlier this year and represents the company's first operational megawatt-scale system. Both companies continue to evaluate additional opportunities to apply the technology across Holcim's operations.

About Electrified Thermal Solutions: Electrified Thermal Solutions is pioneering the future of zero-carbon industrial heat. Developed from 12+ years of research at MIT and backed by global industrials such as Holcim, Vale and ArcelorMittal, the electrically and thermally conductive bricks at the heart of Electrified Thermal's Joule Hive™ Thermal Battery represent a step-change improvement in electric heating technology in terms of high-temperature performance, ease of grid integration and durability. The company's thermal battery converts and stores clean electricity as heat, delivering unprecedented near-flame temperature heat (up to 1,800°C / 3,275°F) from 480V - 100kV electricity, offering the most cost-effective, clean alternative to fossil fuels, enabling energy security & resiliency of industry.

For more information, please visit www.electrifiedthermal.com

Media Contact:

Emily Torrans

Mahoney Communications Group

[email protected]

212-220-6045

SOURCE Electrified Thermal Solutions

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Brooklyn-born and Queens-manufactured, it's electric will replace NYC's pilot infrastructure with a 700 curbside charger network across all five boroughs

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- it's electric, the U.S. leader in curbside electric vehicle (EV) charging, today announced it has been officially selected by the City of New York and its partner the New York Power Authority to build out the city's permanent curbside electric vehicle charging network across all five boroughs. The company will replace the city's current pilot infrastructure and install hundreds of new curbside chargers over the next three years. The chargers designed by it's electric, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, will be manufactured right in Queens by Boyce Technologies — meaning the infrastructure for the city's clean transportation future will be entirely made in New York, making it the epicenter of transportation innovation.

This follows an announcement from the New York City Department of Transportation in early August detailing the city's PlugNYC curbside EV charging expansion from the current 88 Level 2 charging points that are heavily used across the city to 700. The expansion will help support the city's ambitious climate goals by facilitating the transition from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles. The transportation sector is one of the top contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in New York City and part of the Mamdani Administration's vision for curb management is use of the curb to meet a wider range of public needs.

For this major expansion of their highly utilized curbside charging program, NYC DOT is building on their successful partnership with the New York Power Authority, made possible through a contract with their sister agency, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, to procure the contractors best able to meet their needs for curbside charging infrastructure build out, equipment, and operation.

"New York City is our home, it's where it's electric was born. From Crown Heights to Jackson Heights, our solution was designed for every neighborhood and every block that we love across this city. Just as fire hydrants are on every street, our vision is for EV chargers to become that normal - infrastructure New York's kids simply grow up with," said Nathan King, co-founder and CEO of it's electric. "This is also about much more than EV infrastructure. We firmly believe climate solutions are also economic engines for jobs, domestic manufacturing, and for local businesses. This initiative lets New Yorkers across the city participate in the energy transition, improves air quality in our most densely populated neighborhoods, and positions the city to lead the next generation of climate innovation. Every charger powering electric transportation in cities we work in across North America will be built right here in Queens. That investment won't just improve the health of New Yorkers - it'll improve the health of city-people everywhere."

The buildout is targeted at neighborhoods with high concentrations of TLC and rideshare drivers and limited off-street parking, areas historically overlooked by private charging companies. New York City is home to more than 80,000 rideshare drivers, the majority of whom park on the street rather than in a garage or driveway. That reality has been the biggest obstacle keeping drivers from switching to electric vehicles. it's electric's curbside network removes that barrier by making the switch to EV more accessible and affordable for the drivers who need it most.

The contract also positions curbside charging as core infrastructure behind New York's climate commitments. The city's Green Rides initiative requires that all Uber and Lyft trips licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) be electric or accessible by 2030, part of a broader push toward an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under OneNYC, the city's blueprint for climate resilience. it's electric's buildout lays the foundation for a physical infrastructure needed to reach this target.

"The Mamdani administration is taking aggressive action to address the climate crisis and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For the transportation sector, our main goal is making it easier and more affordable for New Yorkers to walk, bike, and take transit," said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. "But for those who still drive, we need to dramatically accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. This initiative will make charging more affordable and convenient, helping support the transition from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles and expand charging access to TLC-licensed drivers and residents of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods underserved by private charging options."

"The New York Power Authority welcomes this infrastructure and charger collaboration that will bring curbside charging to more New York City communities and make it easier for drivers to choose EVs," said NYPA President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll. "This shared commitment accelerates the buildout of reliable, accessible charging while reducing transportation-related emissions, advancing our goal of cleaner air for all New Yorkers.

"More accessible charging is critical to helping Uber drivers make the switch to electric," said Josh Gold, Senior Director of Public Policy at Uber. "Rideshare drivers cover significantly more miles than the average motorist, so expanding charging where they actually need it can deliver outsized benefits for air quality while strengthening the city's charging network for everyone. We'll continue working with our partners and the City to help build an all-electric future for New York."

Designing and manufacturing chargers in Queens positions the company as a driver of local economic development, creating not only construction, but manufacturing jobs by keeping the supply chain for the city's clean energy transition firmly inside the five boroughs. The relevance of the green economy resonates deeply going back 2023 when it's electric approached the NYC Economic Development Corporation to build its very first pilot in Sunset Park Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. That pilot, the first of its kind, became known as 'Pilot Zero' for the city's brand new Climate Innovation Pilot Program (now known as Pilots at BAT). it's electric, which chose to build its headquarters at Newlab, continues to expand its workforce, right at home in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

"When it came to choosing a partner for a project of this scale, it's electric was first on a list of one for us — one of the easiest decisions we've made," said Diarmuid Clancy, President of Maverick EV Services. "They are incredibly smart, creative, and genuine experts at what they do. New York State has long been a leader in advancing greener, more sustainable transportation infrastructure, and for both of us, this contract is the culmination of years of work in service of that goal — and we're proud Partners of this initiative."

Engineering and construction services will be provided by Maverick Corporation with the network's backend platform provided by it's electric's long-term partner, SWTCH Energy. The charger's design is an original collaboration between it's electric and Billings Jackson Design, an international industrial design firm that resulted in it's electric's unique hardware; one that eliminates bulky infrastructure to fit EV charging seamlessly into dense urban neighborhoods.

"This announcement shows what's possible when New York City backs local entrepreneurs with big ideas and gives them the opportunity to prove those ideas in the real world," said NYCEDC President and CEO Anthony Shorris. "When it's electric partnered with NYCEDC on its first deployment at Brooklyn Army Terminal, it wasn't just testing a new charging technology, it was helping establish a model for how the City can support climate innovation. Now, that pilot is growing into a citywide network, demonstrating how strategic public support can help early-stage companies scale solutions that create jobs, strengthen key industries, and deliver lasting benefits for New Yorkers."

"Real progress happens when bold ideas are matched by the talent, expertise, and determination to bring them to life," said Lindsay Greene, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. "We're proud to support innovative Navy Yard tenants like ItsElectric, whose work is expanding access to clean transportation and advancing a more sustainable future for New York City. The growth of mission-oriented businesses like theirs is a foundational element to building the jobs and careers that will power the future economy, and we look forward to working with their great leadership team to translate those career opportunities into reality for New Yorkers."

Alongside this contract announcement, it's electric revealed it has closed an oversubscribed bridge round to support the company through this fast period of growth. The round led by Halogen Ventures, with participation from Wisdom Ventures, Future Communities, E8 Angels, DiPalo Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Gaingels, alongside returning investors including Uber, Failup, Gratitude Railroad, and The Partnership Fund for New York City, brings the company's total funding raised to-date to $15 million.

"We are proud to back it's electric and excited to see investment in this critical infrastructure by the Department of Transportation," said Maria Gotsch, President & CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City. "It's electric is exactly the kind of company we target for investment: it's solving both an infrastructure problem and a civic problem, applying new technology to help future-proof New York City while benefitting every day New Yorkers.

New Augie Command Center and Procedure Studio let manufacturers create, deploy, and scale everything from AI agents to complete frontline solutions by describing what they want

HORSHAM, Pa., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Augmentir, the world's only AI-native connected worker platform, today announced at IMTS 2026 the launch of Augie™ Command Center and Augie™ Procedure Studio, two intent-driven Industrial AI interfaces that replace software navigation with natural language.

With Command Center, frontline leaders deploy Industrial AI Agents, configure workflows, build dashboards, analyze operations, schedule and assign work, and create skills and training programs simply by describing what they want to accomplish. Procedure Studio extends the same conversational experience to digital procedures — turning an existing SOP, or a one-sentence description, into an interactive procedure that can then be refined through conversation.

What separates Augie from general-purpose AI is the context behind it. This patent-pending technology is built on Augmentir's AI-native connected worker platform and its system of context, which brings together live work execution data — procedures, assets, historical performance — with workforce intelligence covering skills, certifications, proficiency, and experience, plus connected ERP, MES, CMMS, QMS, and LMS data. That context is what allows Augie to understand what happened, why it happened, and what should happen next.

"The people running factories are experts in their operations — they shouldn't have to become experts in software," said Russ Fadel, CEO and co-founder of Augmentir. "Industrial software has made people learn its language for decades. With Augie, we're reversing that. Operational experts describe what they want, and Augie orchestrates the platform to build, deploy, and continuously improve the solution."

Augie Command Center: From Software Navigation to Intent

Command Center provides a single conversational experience across frontline operations. Users can:

- Ask your operation anything. Analyze live operational data, surface trends and losses, and compare performance across lines, sites, and shifts, with charts, insights, and recommended next steps generated conversationally, without report builders or SQL.

- Turn insight into deployed action. Move from identifying a problem to building and deploying the response (workflows, procedures, skills and training, forms, reporting, integrations) chained across the platform in a single conversation rather than a series of tools.

- Create Industrial AI Agents. Build conversational agents that answer worker questions on the floor and autonomous agents that monitor conditions and act on them, described in plain language rather than configured or coded.

- Expand to the next use case. Apply what works on one line to the next line, the next plant, or an adjacent area such as quality, maintenance, safety, or training, without rebuilding it each time.

Manufacturers using Command Center and Procedure Studio have compressed work that previously took days or weeks into minutes. Authoring a procedure, building a workflow, standing up an Industrial AI Agent: each now happens in a single conversation, without specialized platform expertise or developer support.

Augie Procedure Studio: Create Frontline Procedures Through Conversation

Describe a procedure in a sentence or provide an existing SOP, and Augie generates an interactive digital procedure complete with instructions, safety warnings, checklists, data-entry fields, and confirmation signatures. Users see exactly what frontline workers will experience as Augie builds the procedure, and can refine it conversationally in an iterative loop — add a warning, reorder a step, rename a field — without opening a configuration panel.

Bulk import converts entire libraries of existing PDFs, Word documents, and spreadsheets into digital work instructions. SharePoint sync connects directly to existing SOP repositories and keeps procedures current as source documents change. Static documents become executable work: instructions, checklists, data capture, and sign-offs, ready to refine in Procedure Studio.

Agentic Execution with Human Control

Augie acts on live operations, so every action runs inside configurable approval gates, and each customer decides what Augie does on its own and what requires human sign-off. Role-based permissions bound what it can touch, users preview changes before publishing, and every action is captured in an audit trail with full version history and rollback.

Availability

Augie Command Center and Augie Procedure Studio are generally available today. To learn more and request a demo, visit augmentir.ai.

You know what needs to be done. Augie handles the how.

About Augmentir

Augmentir is the only AI-native connected worker platform, helping industrial companies improve frontline workforce performance, productivity, and operational excellence. Purpose-built with AI at its core, Augmentir combines digital work instructions, skills management, collaboration, and workforce analytics into a system of context that delivers personalized support to frontline workers and actionable insight to operations leaders. The platform helps manufacturers reduce downtime, accelerate onboarding, close skills gaps, improve safety, and drive continuous improvement across production, maintenance, and quality. Leading global manufacturers including Colgate-Palmolive, Hershey, Graphic Packaging, Mondelēz International, Armstrong World Industries, and Müller Group rely on Augmentir to run and improve their frontline operations.

For more information, visit augmentir.ai.

SOURCE Augmentir, Inc.

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DanAds and Nodals AI Partner to Drive Publisher Revenue with AI-Powered Outcome Advertising

STOCKHOLM and LONDON, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DanAds, the leading provider of self-service advertising technology, and Nodals AI, an autonomous AI platform for publishers, have entered into a strategic partnership. The collaboration brings together DanAds' advertising technology solutions with Nodals AI's predictive outcome capabilities to deliver higher efficiency and improved ad yield for publishers.

"Combining Nodals AI's predictive modeling with DanAds' ecosystem lets publishers offer outcome-driven buying without yield risk or technical friction," said Aly Nurmohamed, Founder and CEO of Nodals AI.

"Partnering with Nodals AI enables our publisher clients to easily meet advertiser demand for performance-based campaigns while protecting their pricing floors," said Peo Persson, Co-Founder and CCO of DanAds.

Through this partnership, publishers utilizing DanAds can leverage Nodals AI's proprietary technology, which trains on publisher first-party data to predict advertiser outcomes - such as clicks, conversions, or video completes. This enables publishers to sell performance-based outcome campaigns within their existing ad stacks while maintaining eCPM price floors to protect total yield.

Key Benefits of the Partnership

- Enhanced Advertiser Capabilities: Advertisers can buy outcome-driven campaigns - such as CPC or CPA models - directly through a self-service workflow while setting agreed performance goals.

- Yield Protection for Publishers: Real-time evaluation ensures inventory never sells below publisher-defined eCPM floors.

- Seamless Stack Integration: Nodals AI operates directly within the publisher's current ad server by writing targeted key-values per advertiser.

For media inquiries, please contact: Marie-Lou Penin, CMO, [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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SOURCE DanAds International

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GrubMarket, an AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food eCommerce companies globally, today announced the release of its latest specialized AI Analyst to join the GrubAssist AI platform: the USDA Pricing AI Analyst. This new AI Analyst gives produce distributors and wholesalers immediate, conversational access to USDA market pricing data for fruits and vegetables, enabling them to quickly understand current market conditions, compare prices across regions, and evaluate their own selling and purchasing prices against the market. GrubMarket's USDA Pricing AI Analyst represents the latest addition to its growing lineup of specialized GrubAssist AI Analysts, which includes the Business Analyst, Inventory Analyst, and Cash Flow Analyst. Together, these AI Analysts are designed to bring intelligent, data-driven decision-making capabilities to critical functions within food distribution businesses.

By analyzing USDA market reports alongside a distributor's own sales and purchasing transaction records, the USDA Pricing AI Analyst transforms fragmented pricing data into actionable market intelligence. Distributors can use natural-language prompts to identify pricing opportunities, uncover margin leakage, evaluate supplier bids, and make faster, more informed pricing and purchasing decisions.

For produce distributors and wholesalers, understanding the market is critical to making profitable pricing and purchasing decisions. However, obtaining market pricing can be time-consuming, and many distributors do not have the necessary resources and capabilities to identify the right data sources and metrics, aggregate and normalize the data, and build comparative analyses.

The USDA Pricing AI Analyst transforms this process by allowing users to ask questions about the produce market and receive answers in real-time. It is powered by USDA market pricing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service, covering a broad range of fruits and vegetables sold across the United States. Rather than manually searching databases, downloading files, and analyzing spreadsheets, users can simply ask the AI Analyst questions about market prices, trends, and their own pricing performance.

For example, a distributor could ask, "What is the trend on avocado pricing for this week?" or "What are strawberries selling for in California compared to New York right now?" The USDA Pricing AI Analyst can also analyze the distributor's own sales and purchasing data, enabling questions such as, "Are we selling above or below the USDA market on romaine this week?" or "Show me every order from this month where we sold below USDA shipping point prices by more than 5%."

The USDA Pricing AI Analyst delivers value through five core capabilities:

- Instant Market Pricing Intelligence: Users can ask questions about current USDA produce pricing in plain, natural language, including both shipping point and terminal market prices, without having to navigate government databases or reports.

- Market Trend Analysis: The AI Analyst can identify price movements over time, helping distributors understand which commodities are increasing or decreasing in price and how quickly market conditions are changing.

- Geographic Market Comparison: Users can quickly compare produce prices across markets to understand which geographies are commanding higher or lower prices and use that information to drive smarter sales strategies.

- Selling Price Performance Analysis: By combining USDA market data with internal sales data, the AI Analyst can identify where a distributor is selling above or below market, evaluate pricing performance by customer and sales rep, and uncover potential margin leakage.

- Purchasing and Supplier Analysis: The AI Analyst can compare a distributor's purchasing prices against USDA market benchmarks and identify suppliers whose prices may be above or below market. The distributor can also compare purchasing prices against market benchmarks by buyer.

The USDA Pricing AI Analyst can answer a wide range of questions about the produce market and a distributor's own pricing performance, such as:

- "How are tomato prices trending this week?"

- "What products should we raise prices on?"

- "Are our delivered prices competitive in Chicago?"

- "Which sales reps are consistently beating the market?"

- "How much of a premium are customers paying us for organic strawberries?"

- "Are we paying above or below USDA shipping point prices for iceberg lettuce this week? Show me each supplier ranked by variance."

Getting started is simple. In the GrubAssist AI chat interface on mobile or desktop, users can type or speak their questions. The USDA Pricing AI Analyst retrieves and analyzes the relevant market data and, when connected to the distributor's ERP, compares market pricing against the distributor's actual sales and purchasing data.

GrubAssist AI is built on GrubMarket's proprietary enterprise AI architecture, combining large language models, natural-language processing, semantic data mapping, generative AI, predictive analytics, and agentic workflows. The technology is purpose-built for the complex data, terminology, and operational workflows unique to the food supply chain industry.

"The U.S. produce industry operates in highly dynamic markets, where prices can change quickly and vary significantly by variety, size, packaging, and geography," said Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket. "With the USDA Pricing AI Analyst, we are making powerful market intelligence immediately accessible to produce distributors through a simple, conversational interface. Instead of manually gathering data—or worse, having to make pricing and purchasing decisions without reliable market information—distributors can simply ask questions in natural language and get the insights they need to make faster, more informed decisions. This is another major step forward in our vision to apply AI across every critical workflow in the food supply chain and create meaningful value for our customers."

"Produce distributors have always needed to understand what is0 happening in the market so that they can benchmark themselves against it," said Genevieve Wang, Chief Software Product Officer at GrubMarket. "The challenge is that answering even a seemingly simple pricing question often requires pulling data from multiple sources and conducting time-consuming manual analysis. The USDA Pricing AI Analyst significantly simplifies this process. It gives distributors a clear view of market conditions, makes intelligent comparisons, and—when connected to the distributor's ERP data—identifies specific opportunities for pricing optimization. We're turning market data into actionable intelligence that can help distributors improve their profitability every day."

As GrubMarket continues to expand its portfolio of specialized AI Agents and Analysts, the company remains at the forefront of bringing practical, high-impact artificial intelligence solutions to the food supply chain industry, helping businesses operate more efficiently, make smarter decisions, and compete more effectively.

Leveraging its deep operational insights and expertise in industry dynamics, GrubMarket continues to pioneer valuable AI solutions tailored to the unique demands of this critical industry, solidifying its role as a leading innovator building the future of AI-powered food supply chain management. To learn more about GrubMarket's suite of AI products, visit: https://www.grubmarket.ai/

About GrubMarket

GrubMarket is an AI-powered technology enabler and digital transformer of the American food supply chain industry, as well as one of the largest private food eCommerce companies globally. As an enterprise AI solutions provider for the American food supply chain, a first mover in the tech-enabled B2B food eCommerce space, and a pioneer offering cutting-edge, AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions, GrubMarket uses technology to fundamentally transform the American and global food supply chain. GrubMarket was named to the prestigious CNBC Disruptor 50 list for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025. In 2026, GrubMarket was named to TIME's list of the TIME100 Companies Industry Leaders. GrubMarket operates across the United States and has a global presence in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, and the UK, with plans to expand further across the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe, Africa, and other parts of the world.

For Media Inquiries:

GrubMarket Media Team

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE GrubMarket

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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Clark Capital Management Group, an asset manager founded in 1986, announced that CEO Brendan Clark has been named CEO of the Year in the Asset Managers category at the 2026 Wealth Management Industry Awards, also known as "the Wealthies." The award was presented during the 12th annual awards ceremony, held September 10, 2026, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, where more than 600 executives from across the wealth management industry gathered to celebrate the year's top achievers.

"This award reflects where Clark Capital is headed as much as where we've been," said Brendan Clark, CEO. "It's an honor to be recognized, and it's one I share with our entire team. Their hard work and dedication to advisors and their clients is what makes me most excited for what lies ahead."

The CEO of the Year, Asset Managers award recognizes an individual CEO who has demonstrated vision, creativity, integrity, leadership, communication skills and high performance in leading all aspects of an asset management firm. Judging criteria include demonstrable impact on the firm and the broader industry; external benchmarks such as business excellence, revenue, profitability and growth; thought leadership; and a track record of industry respect and promoting diversity.

Since Brendan became CEO, Clark Capital's assets under management have grown from approximately $6 billion to more than $49 billion, an all-time high. That growth accelerated even as the firm completed its most significant strategic milestone in 40 years: a partnership with Raymond James Investment Management, alongside a record $10 billion in gross sales in 2025.

This honor adds to a strong 2026 for Clark Capital, winning two InvestmentNews Awards — the Prudential Advisors Award for Asset Manager of the Year and the Thrivent Award for Excellence in Philanthropy and Community Service — and most recently, being named to the Philadelphia Business Journal's Best Places to Work list for the eighth consecutive year.

For more information about the Wealth Management Industry Awards and the full list of 2026 winners, visit https://informaconnect.com/wealth-management-industry-awards/winners/#asset-managers

About Clark Capital Management Group, Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group, Inc. is an independent boutique investment manager within Raymond James Investment Management providing institutional investment strategies for individual investors, corporations, foundations, and retirement plans. The firm was founded in 1986 by Harry Clark, Executive Chairman, and has been entrusted with over $49.16 billion in discretionary assets under management and non-discretionary assets as of June 30, 2026.

Our investment philosophy is driven by a single-minded focus: to add value for our collective clients. This focus enables us to seek risk-adjusted returns over full market cycles through a disciplined process focused on three principles: meaningful diversification, opportunistic asset allocation, and personalized risk management. It compels us to maintain a long-term perspective and provide innovative investment management strategies that enable advisors to help clients achieve their goals and objectives.

The Prudential Advisors Award for Asset Manager of the Year

This award recognizes the outstanding asset management firm which consistently delivers superior advisor service while pushing the boundaries with innovation and industry best practices over the past 12 months. When judging this category, the following criteria were considered: Effective client relationship management strategies and stakeholder engagement. Demonstration of innovative strategies & ability to educate advisors on the value to their clients of these products. Administration or technology solutions where strategic thinking, collaboration and excellence have made a key impact with advisors. Sustained effort and commitment to the advisor channel. Corporate social responsibility, diversity and inclusion, and responsible investment (SRI) initiatives are all considered.

InvestmentNews opened nominations to all wealth management professionals and organizations. All submissions from the excellence awardees were forwarded to the independent judging panel comprising industry leaders and senior representatives. The panel votes for winners in each category according to the relevant category criteria. Voting commenced in May 2026 and the award covers the previous 12 -18 months. Using a simple points system to aggregate judges' votes, the excellence awardee with the top score in a category were named the winner. The winners were announced at the awards show on June 24, 2026. More information regarding the selection process and criteria can be found at https://investmentnewsawards.com/process. No compensation was provided by Clark Capital Management Group to obtain these awards.

The Thrivent Award for Excellence in Philanthropy and Community Service

This award recognizes the advisor or advisory team whose outstanding contribution of time, leadership and financial support over a sustained period of time, beyond normal expectations, has made significant impacts in the receiving causes or communities. When judging this category, the following criteria were considered: Demonstration of major philanthropic and community service programs or initiatives over the last 12 months that align with broader corporate goals or strategies (i.e. company culture, employee engagement etc.). Impact on local, national, or international causes or communities. Overall commitment to philanthropy and community service. Testimonials from beneficiaries or partners.

InvestmentNews opened nominations to all wealth management professionals and organizations. All submissions from the excellence awardees were forwarded to the independent judging panel comprising industry leaders and senior representatives. The panel votes for winners in each category according to the relevant category criteria. Voting commenced in May 2026 and the award covers the previous 12 -18 months. Using a simple points system to aggregate judges' votes, the excellence awardee with the top score in a category were named the winner. The winners were announced at the awards show on June 24, 2026. More information regarding the selection process and criteria can be found at https://investmentnewsawards.com/process. No compensation was provided by Clark Capital Management Group to obtain these awards.

Philadelphia Business Journal's Best Places to Work

The Best Places to Work survey measures key areas that make up an organization's culture. These range from compensation and benefits to trust in senior leadership. The survey also measures the level of engagement exhibited by employees, known as employee engagement. Each question on the Best Places to Work survey is associated with a response option; each response option is associated with a numerical value. The survey uses these numerical values to profile employees and calculate an overall score, which is used to determine each organization's rank

Wealth Management Industry Award – Chief Executive of the Year

This award recognizes an individual CEO of an Asset Manager who has demonstrated vision, creativity, integrity, leadership, communication skills, technology insight and high performance in leading all aspects of a wealth management technology provider that helps advisors succeed.

Criteria for the award include demonstrable impact on their firm, the industry, and wealth management in general; external benchmarks such as business excellence, revenues, profitability, business growth, thought leadership content, industry activism; as well as a strong track record of industry respect, notoriety and promoting diversity.

The program begins with an open nomination process for all categories which extends from February 2025 to May 2026. Firms submit business initiatives, either introduced or enhanced, during the previous 18 months. Submissions were reviewed in June 2026 by a panel of independent judges with required industry expertise, looking at the submission's innovation, scope and impact. From the pool of submissions, judges select finalists for each category. Each judge on the committee then ranks those finalists, with the weighted aggregate ranking determining the winner. Winners are announced in September 2026.

No financial compensation is paid for consideration in the award process. Judges' decisions are made independent of any firm's business relationships with Informa Plc. Judges recuse themselves from the process from selecting finalists or winners for any category where the conflict exists.

SOURCE Clark Capital Management Group

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New Neuroscience Research Challenges Decades-Old Theory Behind Technology Sales Messaging

Groundbreaking study from Allego and cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Carmen Simon finds sales messages that remind buyers they can control an outcome boost attention and recall by 31%

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For nearly 50 years, marketers and sellers have been taught that fear of loss is the most powerful way to motivate a buyer. New neuroscience research from Allego, Inc., the leader in AI-powered revenue enablement, suggests that advice is incomplete when applied to B2B technology buyers. The study reveals messages that show those buyers a better outcome and remind them they have the power to get there are more engaging, memorable, and persuasive than messages built on loss alone.

The finding challenges how Prospect Theory, the influential 1979 model developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, has been applied to B2B technology sales. The theory holds that people are more motivated by fear of losing something than by gaining it. Kahneman was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in part for his work on this theory.

Allego's study, conducted in partnership with cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Carmen Simon, founder of Enhancive, included 102 participants working in sales, marketing, and customer success. Each person read a marketing email and watched a product demonstration promoting a coaching solution, with researchers using biometric technology to track attention, eye movement, and emotional response, then testing recall 48 hours later.

Participants were randomly assigned one of four message types, with everything else held constant so that framing was the only variable. The four message types were Loss/Passive (e.g., "Opportunities are being missed"), Loss/Active (e.g., "You miss opportunities"), Gain/Passive (e.g., "Opportunities are moved forward"), or Gain/Active (e.g., "You move opportunities forward").

Allego's new report, The Psychology of Persuasive Messaging, found:

- Gain/Active messaging performed best overall, holding attention 31% longer than Loss/Passive messaging and producing 31% better recall two days later than Loss/Active messaging.

- A single word made an outsized difference. Adding "you" to a message (shifting the subject from the product to the buyer) lifted engagement 12% in gain-framed messaging but increased only 4% in a loss-framed one.

- Loss/Active messaging was the least effective approach. Two-thirds of participants who saw Loss/Active messaging (67%) flagged it as a marketing tactic (the highest of any group), suggesting they felt they were being blamed and causing them to stop engaging.

- Loss/Passive messaging still captured attention the fastest and had the second-highest memory score, but it didn't translate into deeper engagement or lasting behavior change.

- Priming shaped how buyers interpret what comes next. The messaging people encountered before a product demo influenced how they processed it.

- Framing has a ceiling. Messages that looked and sounded like typical B2B marketing were forgotten regardless of their frame. Distinctiveness mattered as much as framing.

"For years, the advice to marketers and sellers has been simple: Focus on what buyers stand to lose," said Yuchun Lee, CEO and co-founder of Allego. "This research shows that's not the whole story. Buyers, especially technology buyers who tend to lean more innovative and visionary, respond when they can see a better outcome and believe they have a hand in getting there. That's the kind of insight that should change how every go-to-market team writes an email, builds a slide deck, or begins a sales call."

Agency, Not Just Framing, Drive Persuasion

The reason Gain/Active messaging outperformed the rest comes down to agency, which is the sense that buyers have control over the outcome, not just a stake in it. Unlike the other message types, Gain/Active framing told readers they had the power to influence the outcome. That phrasing choice put them into a more exploratory mindset, rather than a defensive or passive one.

According to the research, that mindset showed up in their behavior. Participants in this group returned more often to the sections that matter: the problem, the solution, and the benefits, suggesting they were actively working to understand the offer rather than just registering.

Dr. Simon says agency matters more than ever as AI takes on a growing share of the buying and selling process, and buyers look for reassurance that they still have a say in the outcome.

"Just because AI tools are gaining in agency, it doesn't mean humans have to lose theirs," Dr. Simon says. "A memorable message gives people two things: a positive outcome to pursue and a meaningful role in achieving it."

Loss-Based Messaging Still Has a Role, But It Isn't Enough on Its Own

That doesn't mean loss-based messaging is obsolete. Loss/Passive messages, which are framed around what buyers stand to lose without assigning blame, grabbed attention faster than the other approaches and produced the second-highest memory score. But attention isn't the same as persuasion. Loss/Passive messages created urgency without encouraging buyers to engage deeply with the broader message, meaning it can capture a buyer's attention without moving them to act.

"As sales enablement professionals, we spend a lot of time thinking about the best ways to prepare reps for customer conversations, but not always enough time considering why certain messages stick and others don't," said Kyle Paruszkiewicz, Senior Manager, Sales Enablement at Clarivate, who participated in the study. "This research makes it clear that buyers respond when they can picture a better outcome and feel like they have a hand in reaching it. That's a gamechanger for how we coach our teams to communicate. It's not just about getting noticed but about being remembered and prompting buyers to act."

These findings suggest that the most effective sales and marketing messages do two things: They highlight a problem or promise a better outcome, and they remind buyers the outcome is within their control. For go-to-market teams, that means moving beyond messaging written solely around urgency and fear and instead helping buyers see what is possible and believe they have the power to get there.

The full report, The Psychology of Persuasive Messaging, is available now at allego.com.

About Allego

Allego is a market-leading revenue enablement platform that sales, marketing, and enablement teams love, trust, and recommend. Across the customer lifecycle, Allego helps teams close deals, hit revenue goals, and stay aligned through change by making the next best action clear.

Allego brings learning, content, coaching, digital selling, and secure, practical AI directly into everyday workflows, helping teams act consistently and deliver results in complex selling environments. Customers report measurable impact, including up to 50% shorter sales cycles, 45% higher win rates, and significant reductions in software spend.

Allego is a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Revenue Enablement Platforms and ranks number one on G2 for Ease of Use and Customer Satisfaction. Ninety percent of customers recommend Allego on Gartner Peer Insights, backed by a world-class NPS score and exceptional customer loyalty. An award-winning customer success team reinforces that loyalty through long-term partnership and accountability. Learn more at www.allego.com.

Media Contacts:

Allego

Michelle Davidson

[email protected]

"Allego" is a registered trademark of Allego, Inc.

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