The Santa Fe Ministry of Security has awarded Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) to deliver a state-of-the-art, integrated end-to-end emergency management system for multi-agency coordination and to shorten response times to emergency calls from the public.
Comprising advanced software, voice communication and video security technologies, the new integrated system, called Control, Attention and Dispatch System for Police Emergencies (SiCAD), will provide 17,500 police officers of the Province of Santa Fe to be fully coordinated and connected across 10 cities including Rafaela, Reconquista, Rosario, City of Santa Fe and Venado Tuerto.
“Modernizing our 911 emergency system is an important step in further reducing our crime rate and achieving our community’s goal of building a safer environment,” said Omar Perotti, Santa Fe Province Governor. “Our police officers rely on clear real-time communication to keep people safe and we are confident that the new deployment will enable faster and more informed decisions.”
Motorola Solutions will manage the integration of all technologies within the police agency’s command and control room center, creating a single, comprehensive real-time viewpoint of incidents, collating data from multiple sources including 911 calls, emergency dispatch functions, video analytics, evidence and community inputs.
Included within the new emergency management system are Motorola Solutions’ DIMETRA TETRA Consoles, which provide always-on digital radio voice communication and constant connection between police officers in the field and the command and control center. As the ‘eyes and ears’ over any operation, command and control center workers can dispatch additional resources wherever they are needed for quick and effective emergency response.
Police officers can also establish interoperable communication instantly and over any network or device, including communication between radios and smartphones with Motorola Solutions’ WAVE PTX On Premises.
Motorola Solutions’ VB400 body-worn cameras provide objective evidence when an incident occurs and increase the transparency of interactions between officers and citizens. The footage is securely uploaded viaVideoManager evidence management software and integrated into the new emergency system.
“Motorola Solutions’ global experience in deploying a unified ecosystem of technologies enables us to package together the essential solutions that public safety agencies depend on every day. Used together, these technologies help to increase incident awareness, visibility across entire operations and safety for every frontline users as well as citizens,” said Henry Bateson, territory director South of Latin America, Motorola Solutions.
About Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions is a global leader in public safety and enterprise security. Our solutions in land mobile radio communications, video security & access control and command center software, bolstered by managed & support services, create the most integrated technology ecosystem to make communities safer and help businesses stay productive and secure. At Motorola Solutions, we’re ushering in a new era in public safety and security. Learn more atwww.motorolasolutions.com.
By Dan Leberman, SVP, Head of SMB and Partner, PayPal
The pandemic has catalyzed millions around the globe to rethink personal and professional priorities, short- and long-term goals, where we want to live and work, and what we want out of our personal relationships.
BestSelf.co CEO and Founder Cathryn Lavery
Many of us have recently taken the time to reflect on our evolving aspirations, but achieving them can, of course, still be quite difficult. As serial entrepreneur Cathryn Lavery put it, people often turn to self-development books to improve their lives and figure out what they want their personal and professional lives to look like, but reaching new goals is difficult without a structured way to approach them. Seeing a need for products that can help people break down their goals into daily, actionable steps, Cathryn came up with the idea for BestSelf.co.
Cathryn’s company has already driven over $40 million in sales, and has expanded to include products from productivity tools and planning journals to relationship conversation decks. We spoke with Cathryn to learn more about how she got her start, how she’s overcoming challenges she faces in her pursuits, what advice she has for other entrepreneurs, and how PayPal has helped her business.
Dan Leberman: Can you tell us a bit about BestSelf? And what inspired you to start the business?
Cathryn Lavery: I became interested in personal development in 2011, when I emigrated from Ireland to the U.S. As important as personal wellness and development is, we don’t really learn about it in school. So, people often turn to self-help and self-development books, but in my experience, I could never find any products that actually helped me put the things I was learning from these books into an actionable structure.
BestSelf Products
I wanted to create a structure for myself around things like effectively planning my day, time-boxing and breaking down my goals into actionable steps, so I created the “Self Journal,” a 13-week planner. You set a goal, break it down, and you know exactly what you need to do each day to accomplish that goal.
I designed the first Self Journal for myself. When I showed it to my friends, they all wanted a copy. I quickly realized that other people were dealing with the same issues as I was, and if I could create the tools and frameworks to enable other people to plan and organize their days and set and achieve their goals, I could turn it into a business. I launched my business on Kickstarter in 2015. It got funded within a day. And that’s how BestSelf got started.
DL: You’ve been a PayPal customer from the beginning. Can you share a bit about how has PayPal helped your business?
CL: I’ve used PayPal Checkout as our checkout solution from the very beginning. I use PayPal Checkout because both my customers and I feel secure using it. From my customers’ perspective, they have two lines of defense when using PayPal – they know they can leverage our customer service, but they also have PayPal’s Buyer Protection on eligible transactions. From my side as a business owner, PayPal Checkout is fast, secure and I know eligible transactions are protected with PayPal’s Seller Protection. I’ve also used PayPal Working Capital, which in my experience is so much faster, more reasonable and affordable than the alternatives.
DL: You do a great job balancing both purpose and profit. Can you talk about that?
Self Journal
CL: Because BestSelf started really organically, I wasn’t focused on the profit side unlike other businesses that I’ve founded. BestSelf was more of a passion project for me, and I wanted to help other people who were dealing with the same issues that I was — achieving my personal development goals, progressing in my career and improving my relationships. At BestSelf, our mission is to connect and inspire humanity to think bigger and achieve more, while enjoying today.
Running a small business is really hard work and you’re constantly faced with new challenges – from supply chain issues to finding new customers to managing cash flow – but when we hear from our customers about the positive impact our products have had on their personal development, on their careers and on their relationships — that’s what keeps us going.
Now, BestSelf has to generate profit for me to be able to continue. But not being able to rely on external funding just means that I know I have to create a lasting and impactful product and business.
DL: Speaking of challenges that small businesses are faced with, how are the supply chain issues impacting your business? And how are you managing that?
CL: Shipping containers have increased by four to six times in price. They used to cost around $3,700 and now cost closer to $20,000. Not only are the prices higher, but there are so many shipping delays. We had a container, which contained many of our out-of-stock items, sitting at the port for six weeks. There was demand for the products, but we had no supply, and therefore lost those sales. It was a serious drain on cashflow. To get around some of the supply chain issues, we recently opened production facilities in Columbia, and we’re getting our supplies much quicker from Columbia than we were from China.
DL: This month we’re celebrating Pride Month. Can you speak to what this month means for you?
CL: I’m married to a woman, and we had a baby together three months ago, so the rights of the LGBTQ+ community is really important to me. We recently watched the documentary “Nuclear Family” about these two women who had children together, but one of the parents wasn’t considered a legal parent, which resulted in lot of issues when the sperm donor came back into their lives suing for paternity and visitation rights. I’m so grateful that gay marriage was legalized in 2015 and that gay parents have protected rights now. But there’s clearly a lot more work to be done.
DL: As a serial entrepreneur, what advice do you have for other entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?
Core Values Journal
CL: First, don’t get overwhelmed trying to understand everything at the beginning. Practice “just in time learning” — figure out the first step and go from there. Too often, people get stuck feeling like they need to figure out everything in the beginning and then they’re too overwhelmed to even start. Second, make sure you make a great product that people actually have a use for and want to buy. You can only know this if you talk to people – to friends, to potential customers. They’re the ones who will be buying your product so if they like the idea, then you’re on to something and if they don’t, be open to their feedback – it can only help you rethink and improve your product.
The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will take place in Santiago, Chile on 12-14 August, 2022 with a standalone combined event
12 women’s and 12 men’s teams representing all six World Rugby regions will compete over three days at Estadio Santa Laura
The draw sees teams in three pools of four teams, replicating the Olympic tournament format
The tournament winners will achieve core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023
The Challenger Series was introduced in 2020 to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe and provide a pathway for promotion to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series
The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will return with a standalone, combined event in Santiago, Chile on 12-14 August, 2022, following a one-year break due to the global pandemic.
The 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams from all six World Rugby regions qualified via regional competitions and will compete over three days at Estadio Santa Laura with the tournament winners achieving the highly coveted core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023.
The competition format replicates the Olympic Games, which sees the 12 teams drawn in to three pools of four teams each. The top two from each pool along with the two best third-placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals, before the semi-finals and final will decide the winners who gain the ultimate prize of promotion to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
The draw for the men’s pools sees hosts Chile paired with South Korea, Papua New Guinea and Georgia in Pool A. In Pool B Hong Kong will take on Tonga, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. While a strong Germany outfit who produced impressive performances as an invitational team on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in 2021 and 2022 are in pool C with Uruguay, Uganda and Lithuania.
In the women’s competition hosts Chile are in pool D where they will face opposition from China, Kenya and South Africa, who played as an invitational team in the final event of the 2022 Series in Toulouse in May.
Poland and Belgium represented themselves with distinction as invitational teams at the 2022 Series events in Malaga and Seville and will face each other in pool E alongside Argentina and Papua New Guinea. Japan have plenty of experience in the Series, including in Langford this year, and they will take on Kazakhstan, Colombia and Mexico in pool F.
The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series was launched in February 2020 to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe. The competition acts as the promotion pathway for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with the men’s and women’s Challenger Series winners becoming a core team on the World Series for the following season.
The men’s Challenger Series 2020 featured two rounds, both played in South America. Japan’s men’s team gained promotion following the inaugural pair of events. This year’s event will see the debut for women’s teams in the Challenger Series after the planned inaugural women’s Challenger Series event scheduled to take place in March 2020 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, was unable to take place due to the pandemic.
Rugby sevens players and fans can look forward to a very busy and exciting rest of 2022 with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on 29-31 July, followed by the Challenger Series, the grand finale of the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 on 26-27 August before Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town on 9-11 September.
World Rugby Chief Competitions and Performance Officer Nigel Cass said: “The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series is a vital component of our ambitious plans to develop the sport further across the globe, and with the prize of promotion to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 at stake for the winners, the competition across the three day event will be intense from start to finish.
“Rugby sevens is a key driver of global growth for our sport, particularly in emerging nations, and it firmly remains a top priority for World Rugby. Following the highly impactful Olympic competition in Tokyo last year, which caught the imagination of many new fans worldwide, the short format game continues to expand and captivate audiences with its dynamic, skillful and exciting nature.
“We thank the Federación de Rugby de Chile for their partnership in delivering this important event for the first time since the inaugural event in 2020, and we are working very closely together to ensure a high performance environment for players and teams to showcase their talents.”
Federación de Rugby de Chile President Cristian Rudloff said: “As Chile Rugby we are very proud of the confidence that World Rugby places in us again for the realisation of a world mega event. This is undoubtedly a result of the serious and professional work that we have developed in the last three years. As a country, we are preparing to receive our guests with our usual warmth, and we are preparing to have a world sports festival.
“The dispute for promotion to the World Series will be the maximum motivation for athletes who also dream of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“We will continue to work so that all rugby players in Chile have the opportunity to experience first-hand the best World Rugby events, such as the men’s 7’s Condors playing the Challenger Series again, and it makes us tremendously proud that our female Condors also have the opportunity to compete at the highest international level.”
Report key findings: • $1.5 billion Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) secured • 21.4m kWh renewable energy generated across Majid Al Futtaim • 45 assets with a LEED, BREEAM or equivalent certification in 2021 • Majid Al Futtaim – Retail has entirely phased out single-use plastic bags in seven countries • Majid Al Futtaim – Properties’ greenhouse gas emissions targets are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 5 July 2022: Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made significant strides toward environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues in 2021, according to its latest ESG report ‘Dare Together’.
In alignment with the UAE Government’s national strategic Net Zero targets, the Company advanced towards its target to be Net Positive in carbon by 2040 – becoming one of the first three signatories to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.
Key achievements across the year include securing a $1.5 billion Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL), a first in the region, dependent on measurable improvements on specific yearly targets that seek to positively impact people and the planet. As part of the SLL, Majid Al Futtaim will work to ensure its entire shopping mall portfolio is certified by 2026, with non-certified malls achieving a minimum of LEED Gold or equivalent.
Sustainable buildings remain a focal point in the Company’s ambitions; the report notes it holds the world’s first LEED Platinum certification for its hotel portfolio, and Mall of Oman is its first superregional mall to be LEED Platinum certified. Total assets with a LEED, BREEAM or equivalent certification in 2021 are 45 (up from 35 in 2020), while total assets in the process of being certified in 2021 are 20 (up from 12 in 2020).
As climate change continues to rank highly on the global agenda, Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ near and long-term greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to support its transition to Net Positive. The Company also signed up to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Commitment, requiring emissions reductions of 50% by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050 at the very latest. This target covers all GHG emissions across the Majid Al Futtaim business.
Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, said: “The rise of ESG on the corporate agenda has transitioned quickly from a niche interest to a mainstream requirement for companies seeking to lead across all industries today. With ethical buying and sustainability gaining importance for consumers, we want to create a positive impact in everything we do, from our local communities and the organisations we partner with, to the products we procure, and sell.
“In that regard, our 2021 report reveals our most recent accomplishments and represents a milestone in our journey to become Net Positive in carbon by 2040. Our team is unified in its vision with a tenfold growth ambition over the next decade, focussed on discovering new opportunities, expanding consciously towards a more connected, sustainable, and equitable future for all.”
With the ever-increasing need for clean energy solutions worldwide, Majid Al Futtaim also notably advanced its renewable energy progress during 2021, with its shopping malls, communities and retail assets growing their renewable energy generation to 21.4 million kWh compared to 17 million kWh in 2020, an increase of 26%. Furthermore, a new solar park in Jordan became operational last year, comprising more than 49,000 solar panels and providing 100% of the energy use of 35 Carrefour stores across the country with renewable supply. A second agreement was also signed, which will provide the largest private solar plant in the Kingdom of Bahrain once developed, spanning over 40,000 m² and generating 50% of the shopping mall’s energy consumption needs.
Creating a future free of single-use plastic waste remains a priority for companies around the world – including Majid Al Futtaim, as the report highlights progress in the roll-out of the Single-Use Plastics Phase-out Policy. The latest figures show that Carrefour Armenia phased out all single-use plastic bags in 2021, offering customers a variety of reusable alternatives. Majid Al Futtaim – Retail has also completely phased out single-use plastic bags in seven countries of operation. Additionally, a Dubai-based air-to-water pilot began in 2021 to explore hydro-panel technology and solar power to generate clean drinking water from air. Ten hydro-panels are now installed, each producing an average of four litres of water per day using solar energy and having the capacity to store 40 litres of water.
Majid Al Futtaim continued to progress in various existing areas of ESG importance, including a series of initiatives focused on the professional advancement of its local talent, namely the Company’s commitment to recruit 3,000 Emiratis seeking to build their careers in the private sector throughout the coming years, and the launch of region’s first private sector women coders programme seeking to reach over 5,000 women in tech in the next five years. A pledge has also been made to increase the representation of women in leadership positions to 30% by 2025 and to employ over 35% of women in advanced technologies and digital roles by 2023.
As the first company in the Middle East and the first of 62 organisations worldwide to sign up to the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, Majid Al Futtaim adheres to its transparent reporting on performance against a globally aligned set of environmental, social and governance indicators.
Cedar Rose has entered into a strategic alliance with CIEMS, a research, advisory and consulting firm providing reliable market intelligence to maximize business capabilities. The partnership is aimed at reinforcing Cedar Rose’s presence in Morocco.
Antoun Massaad, Co-Founder and CEO of Cedar Rose, commented, “We are excited to collaborate with CIEMS that has a proven track record in providing a wide range of business and market intelligence solutions and services dedicated to boosting performance while thwarting risks. We are keen to expand our footprint in Morocco, supporting government, financial and corporate organisations that have a focus on regional and international markets. Our strategic partnership will help shorten the path to relevant data insights which in turn will improve business outcomes. The immediate focus of our collaboration is to offer credit and compliance risk management solutions for government and financial service sectors. The unique expertise of our companies will enable us to deliver the very best solutions to our shared customers with access to the latest tools and technologies.”
Mourad Oubrich, Co-Founder and Partner of CIEMS stated, “We are a research-driven consulting firm working to improve the effectiveness and impact of research on businesses. With best-in-class services, we cover the broadest spectrum of markets in Africa. This new agreement will help our customers gain significant business advantages with a unique mix of industry strengths and expertise. Cedar Rose is a trusted partner to have a local presence in Morocco.”
Since its foundation, Cedar Rose has been at the forefront of providing world-class business intelligence and credit risk solutions to leading firms in over 230 countries and jurisdictions globally. Its comprehensive array of credit risk, compliance and identity verification solutions help companies, government agencies and individuals deal with escalating regulatory and compliance requirements while reducing their exposure to risk.
Eric was homeless for more than 10 years in Seattle. A lifelong alcoholic, he’d spend his days outside a Starbucks store in north Seattle, along a busy stretch of highway notorious for crime. He’d use the free WIFI and chat with the store manager, Ryan Butler, when he stepped out during breaks.
“He was cool with me, he’d talk to me, gave me some coffee a couple times,” Eric recalls. “Starbucks is one of the few places you can go when you’re on the street, and they don’t chase you away.”
Through an innovative partnership called the Starbucks Outreach Worker program – that connects Starbucks stores across the country with local organizations focused on homelessness – Butler was able to refer Eric to a social worker named Denver Hanson, the Starbucks outreach worker with Catholic Community Services in Seattle.
Julissa McWashington, Starbucks social impact manager, addresses participants at an outreach worker community roundtable event held recently at the Starbucks Support Center in Seattle.Connor Surdi
During weekly meetings over an eight-month period, Hanson helped Eric get identification and apply for housing, tracking down hard-to-find documents he needed from out of state. In January, Eric moved off the streets, into his own apartment.
The Starbucks Outreach Worker Program, which launched in 2020 and recently expanded into its eighth U.S. city, is a unique partnership between Starbucks and nonprofits that have street outreach expertise. The goal is to support retail partners (employees) while also addressing societal issues like homelessness, mental health and substance use disorder. The program was designed in response to partners sharing the challenges they face in high complexity markets. It’s currently in in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver.
Left to right: Julissa McWashington, Starbucks social impact manager; Denver Hanson, Outreach Worker, Catholic Community Services; Amber Molen, Starbucks district manager; Eddy Matlock, Division Director, Catholic Community Services.Connor Surdi
In each city, outreach workers dedicated to the program regularly visit Starbucks stores in high-incident areas (for example, near a homeless encampment). They walk around the nearby neighborhood and engage people who are marginalized or at-risk – identifying and responding to immediate needs, making referrals and trying to build long-term relationships. They check in with store partners to help address issues on the spot (if there was a shoplifting incident, for example, or if someone is not getting out of the bathroom) and follow up with the homeless customers they already know, who might be nearby.
In some cities, they also design curriculum and training experiences with Starbucks leaders and store partners around issues like mental and behavioral health and crisis de-escalation.
Nationwide, outreach workers through the program have engaged approximately 16,000 people experiencing homelessness. Of those, about 3,000 have been referred into a “stabilizing program” such as transitional housing, mental health resources or case management.
Meeting customers’ needs with empathy and compassion
Starbucks often is used by many customers as their third place – the place they go that’s not their home or work – but “we know many of our customers who are homeless use Starbucks as their first place,” says Julissa McWashington, Starbucks social impact manager overseeing the program. “And we know that partners who wear the green apron want to meet the needs of their customers with empathy and compassion.
“So how might we support Starbucks partners, and also connect our customers to critical need resources, and positively impact our communities?… It’s the responsibility of us all to hold hands and figure out how to do this collectively. We’re all one community. The public and private sector can do more together and do it in a way where we’re thinking about the person and the human behind all of this.”
Expanding partnerships is key. Starbucks is working with Arizona State University to help scale and evolve the Outreach Worker program – by testing out new organizational structures, engaging in policy advocacy and developing broader, industry-wide training and curriculum opportunities.
Bringing public and private advocates together
In June, Starbucks also held two “convenings,” in Seattle and New York City, bringing together dozens of key stakeholders to meet in the same space and talk frankly about homelessness – police departments, public libraries, boots-on-the-ground outreach organizations, elected officials, philanthropic funders and other companies. Two more convenings are planned for later this year in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
One of the featured panelists at the New York convening was Carley Medley with Breaking Ground, a homeless outreach organization which also runs the largest supportive housing program in the country. As an outreach supervisor, she and her team are responsible for checking in and around 15 Starbucks stores throughout Manhattan, focusing especially on several n Midtown. Daily, she crisscrosses a different kind of overlay map than the usual tourist-oriented spots nearby.
Carley Medley, an outreach supervisor, is a featured panelist at a recent convening event in New York between Starbucks and Breaking Ground, a homeless outreach organization which runs the largest supportive housing program in the country.Carley Medley, outreach supervisor with Breaking GroundConnor Surdi
On a recent summer day, next to a methadone clinic near Times Square, across the street from a Starbucks, she gives socks to a man she recognizes – recently discharged from a hospital, stitches still fresh in his head – and asks about the status of a transitional housing application he was working on.
At a subway stop near Madison Square Garden, a man recognizes her green Breaking Ground jacket and says he needs detox, rehab and shelter. She takes his information – where he hangs out, what kinds of services he’s used before, what hospitals he’s gone to – and then makes plans to take him to a temporary shelter.
Earlier in the day, next to a church shelter nearby, she did her weekly check in with a woman in her 60s, who’s in a wheelchair. She brought some ointment for the woman’s leg injury and lent her a cell phone to call a family member.
“Getting to know our clients is a good portion of my day, getting to know their stories, building those relationships,” Medley says. “I just want to be helpful, getting somebody a shirt or shoes, getting people connected with substance abuse programs, treatment programs, counseling, transitional housing. This is impactful, even though the problem is still huge.
“Some of these clients have been in the system their entire lives,” she says. “Everyone is a person. Everyone has a story. Whether or not it’s similar to yours, we need to be a little more empathetic and understanding.”
Carley Medley of Breaking Ground in NYC makes her rounds, helping members of the community.
‘We are a people business’
Eric, the formerly homeless man in Seattle, is thankful for that kind of perspective and effort, and for the program.
“I almost gave up,” Eric says. “Somebody stole my backpack, and it had my birth certificate that I’d just got (that he needed for his state-issued identification application). I was crushed. I wanted to give up. It was gone, and Denver was like, ‘We’ll get it again. Let’s keep doing this.’ Because of this program, I was able to get my ID, and an apartment. I’m super grateful.”
Butler, the Starbucks store manager who first referred Eric, still meets with him occasionally at a public library near his store.
“We are a people business, and the coffee is secondhand,” Butler says. “If we don’t take the time to acknowledge the community’s needs and give back to the community, then why are we here?”
Eric is a community member and recipient of Starbucks Outreach Worker Program in Seattle.
Open source designs simplify AI development for solutions across healthcare, manufacturing, retail and other industries.
What’s New: Intel has released the first set of open source AI reference kits specifically designed to make AI more accessible to organizations in on-prem, cloud and edge environments. First introduced at Intel Vision, the reference kits include AI model code, end-to-end machine learning pipeline instructions, libraries and Intel oneAPI components for cross-architecture performance. These kits enable data scientists and developers to learn how to deploy AI faster and more easily across healthcare, manufacturing, retail and other industries with higher accuracy, better performance and lower total cost of implementation.
“Innovation thrives in an open, democratized environment. The Intel accelerated open AI software ecosystem including optimized popular frameworks and Intel’s AI tools are built on the foundation of an open, standards-based, unified oneAPI programming model. These reference kits, built with components of Intel’s end-to-end AI software portfolio, will enable millions of developers and data scientists to introduce AI quickly and easily into their applications or boost their existing intelligent solutions.”–Wei Li, Ph.D., Intel vice president and general manager of AI and Analytics
About AI Reference Kits: AI workloads continue to grow and diversify with use cases in vision, speech, recommender systems and more. Intel’s AI reference kits, built in collaboration with Accenture, are designed to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries. They are open source, pre-built AI with meaningful enterprise contexts for both greenfield AI introduction and strategic changes to existing AI solutions.
Four kits are available for download today:
Utility asset health: As energy consumption continues to grow worldwide, power distribution assets in the field are expected to grow. This predictive analytics model was trained to help utilities deliver higher service reliability. It uses Intel-optimized XGBoost through the Intel® oneAPI Data Analytics Library to model the health of utility poles with 34 attributes and more than 10 million data points1. Data includes asset age, mechanical properties, geospatial data, inspections, manufacturer, prior repair and maintenance history, and outage records. The predictive asset maintenance model continuously learns as new data, like new pole manufacturer, outages and other changes in condition, are provided.
Visual quality control: Quality control (QC) is essential in any manufacturing operation. The challenge with computer vision techniques is that they often require heavy graphics compute power during training and frequent retraining as new products are introduced. The AI Visual QC model was trained using Intel® AI Analytics Toolkit, including Intel® Optimization for PyTorch and Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO™ toolkit, both powered by oneAPI to optimize training and inferencing to be 20% and 55% faster, respectively, compared to stock implementation of Accenture visual quality control kit without Intel optimizations2 for computer vision workloads across CPU, GPU and other accelerator-based architectures. Using computer vision and SqueezeNet classification, the AI Visual QC model used hyperparameter tuning and optimization to detect pharmaceutical pill defects with 95% accuracy.
Customer chatbot: Conversational chatbots have become a critical service to support initiatives across the enterprise. AI models that support conversational chatbot interactions are massive and highly complex. This reference kit includes deep learning natural language processing models for intent classification and named-entity recognition using BERT and PyTorch. Intel® Extension for PyTorch and Intel Distribution of OpenVINO toolkit optimize the model for better performance — 45% faster inferencing compared to stock implementation of Accenture customer chatbot kit without Intel optimizations3— across heterogeneous architectures, and allow developers to reuse model development code with minimal code changes for training and inferencing.
Intelligent document indexing: Enterprises process and analyze millions of documents every year, and many of the semi-structured and unstructured documents are routed manually. AI can automate the processing and categorizing of these documents for faster routing and lower manual labor costs. Using a support vector classification (SVC) model, this kit was optimized with Intel® Distribution of Modin and Intel® Extension for Scikit-learn powered by oneAPI. These tools improve data pre-processing, training and inferencing times to be 46%, 96% and 60% faster, respectively, compared to stock implementation of Accenture Intelligent document indexing kit without Intel optimizations4 for reviewing and sorting the documents at 65% accuracy.
Why It Matters: Developers are looking to infuse AI into their solutions and the reference kits contribute to that goal. These kits build on and complement Intel’s AI software portfolio of end-to-end tools and framework optimizations. Built on the foundation of the oneAPI open, standards-based, heterogeneous programming model, which delivers performance across multiple types of architectures, these tools help data scientists train models faster and at lower cost by overcoming the limitations of proprietary environments.
What’s Next: Over the next year, Intel will release a series of additional open source AI reference kits with trained machine learning and deep learning models to help organizations of all sizes in their digital transformation journey.
1Predictive Utility Analytics Reference Kit, measured on June 29, 2022. HW Configuration: Microsoft Azure Standard D4_v5, OS: Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS (Focal Fossa), 8 X Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8370C CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2 threads/core, 4 cores/socket, 1 socket. SW Configuration: Config 1 (Python v3.9, Scikit-learn v 1.0.2, Xgboost v0.81), Config 2 (Intel® Distribution for Python 3.9.12 2022.0.0, Scikit-learn 0.24.2, Intel® Extension for Scikit-learn 2021.5.1, Xgboost 1.4.3, daap4py 2021.6.0). Additional details at https://github.com/oneapi-src/predictive-health-analytics. Results may vary.
2Visual Quality Inspection Reference Kit, measured on June 29, 2022. HW Configuration: Microsoft Azure Standard D4_v5, OS: Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS (Focal Fossa), 4 X Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8370C CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2 threads/core, 2 cores/socket, 1 socket. SW Configuration: Config 1 (PyTorch v1.8.0), Config 2 (Intel® Extension for PyTorch v1.8.0, Intel® Neural Compressor v1.12, Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO Toolkit 2021.4.2). Additional details at https://github.com/oneapi-src/visual-quality-inspection. Results may vary.
3Customer Chatbot Reference Kit, measured on June 22, 2022. HW Configuration: Microsoft Azure Standard D4_v5, OS: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 7.9, 4 X Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8370C CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2 threads/core, 2 cores/socket, 1 socket. SW Configuration: Config 1 (PyTorch v1.11), Config 2 (PyTorch v1.11.0, Intel® Extension for PyTorch v1.11.200, Intel® Neural Compressor v1.12). Additional details at https://github.com/oneapi-src/customer-chatbot. Results may vary.
4Intelligent Indexing Reference Kit, measured on June 22, 2022. HW Configuration: Amazon AWS m6i.xlarge, OS: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 7.9, 4 X Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8370C CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2 threads/core, 2 cores/socket, 1 socket. SW Configuration: Config 1 (Pandas, Scikit-learn), Config 2 (Intel® AI Analytics Toolkit v 2021.4.1, Intel® Extension for Scikit-learn, Intel® Distribution of Modin). Additional details at https://github.com/oneapi-src/intelligent-indexing. Results may vary.
American Express’ Business Class LIVE has been connecting business owners and providing them with opportunities to learn from industry experts, leaders and entrepreneurs, building a nationwide network of support.
This year, small business owners from all over the U.S. will come together on July 20, 2022, at New York City’s Javits Center for the 10th annual free Business Class LIVE event to network, engage in interactive panels and workshops, and discuss important topics ranging from cashflow management, marketing strategies and contracting opportunities to wellness in the workplace, and more.Attendees will also be joined by a strong line up of entrepreneurs and small business advocates, including Issa Rae. Those who can’t be there in-person can register to attend the conference virtually here, where they will be able to livestream all panel discussions, mainstage events and breakout sessions.
“What we continue to hear from small business owners is the importance of community and being able to connect with others who are navigating similar experiences across industries. Through Business Class LIVE, we’re giving these business owners a space to have meaningful conversations around relevant topics and to create long-term relationships that can help their businesses grow,” said Clayton Ruebensaal, Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Services Group.
Ruebensaal added, “This particular year is exciting because it marks a decade of bringing everyone together for this event – and being able to do so in-person again is something to look forward to.”
For small business owner Roni Briggs, Co-Founder of Texas-based OSIYO Group – an American Indian, women-owned professional services firm – the meaningful connections she made with other attendees at previous Business Class LIVE events helped lead to successfully executing contracts and growing her professional services firm.
“When I co-founded the OSIYO Group with my business partner in 2003, we had limited access to business resources and support that were financially feasible. So when I started engaging with American Express in 2005 and I learned about the free business events, I was immediately interested in attending” said Briggs.
She added: “Today, we have contracts with tribal governments, federal agencies, native-owned enterprises, and national American Indian organizations. Being able to connect with other like-minded small business owners and government groups that are key to our business was incredibly empowering and such a rewarding experience.”
Photo: Courtesy of Roni Briggs
Necole Parker, Principal/CEO of Washington, DC-based The ELOCEN Group, a program and project management firm providing construction management and facilities support for commercial and federal markets, has been attending Business Class LIVE since 2013. There, she has gained invaluable insight, helping her to expand the company, while simultaneously streamlining operations and efficiency. Recently celebrating 15 years of successful business operation, ELOCEN continues to provide expertise to its respective clients. The company has renewed its sights on marketing and sales, pivoting its expansion to the healthcare, higher education, and hoteling markets.
“Throughout the years, ELOCEN has been able to capitalize on the numerous tools offered through Business Class that have enabled us to improve our pipeline, focus our pursuit efforts more effectively, make federal government and commercial connections, and secure multiple contracts,” according to Parker.
“I’ve really established a trusted network from engaging in Amex programs, which I can readily reach out to at any time to glean business insight. I’ve met so many different businesses, and for me, it’s also important to have a place where I can share my learnings in business to help others, as well.”
Photo: Courtesy of ELOCEN Group
Open to all businesses, visit here to register and learn more about this year’s Business Class LIVE event.
The Gatorade Sports Science Institute will be bringing its latest innovations, including the Gx Sweat Patches, to its new programme as part of Gatorade’s continued commitment to women in football.
LONDON, the world’s number one sports drink*, has collaborated with UEFA on a first-of-its-kind initiative to optimise female match officials’ health and performance ahead of, and during, the UEFA Women’s EURO. The program seeks to assist elite female match officials with a range of personalised consultations on hydration, sports nutrition, and menstruation, in addition to the use of the innovative Gx Sweat Patches during the games for continued assessment and data.
Match officials represent a unique group of athletes that have historically not had the same level of support as professional players, yet are expected to achieve the same levels of performance on the pitch. To tackle this, and champion elite female match officials, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is providing them with access to a range of educational tools in sports nutrition – the same level of training received by professional athletes.
Gatorade’s collaboration with the UEFA Women’s EURO began in January with a winter training camp. Match officials including Stéphanie Frappart, Rebecca Welch, Cheryl Foster, Kateryna Monzul, Esther Staubli, Jana Adámková, Riem Hussein and Lina Lehtovaara were provided with practical sports nutrition advice through bespoke 1:1 sessions hosted by GSSI scientists and focused on diet, hydration, preparation, and recovery at all stages of training.
Each official took part in sweat testing, using Gatorade’s first-to-market Gx Sweat Patches – a technology developed by GSSI to track individuals’ fluid loss, sweat rate, and sodium loss during exercise to monitor hydration and help advance performance. All participants received a personal sweat profile and were taught how to decipher the results to better understand their nutritional needs while training.
Mark Kirkham, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, commented: “We support everyone who wants to play and this goes beyond just players on the pitch, but everyone in the sport, including the elite match officials who put themselves through the same rigorous training. Utilising our heritage and the expertise of GSSI we can help nurture and enhance performance to help take the game to new heights. Through working with the UEFA Women’s EURO, we have an amazing opportunity to make a meaningful difference in women’s football.”
The officials were also provided with education around menstrual cycles in relation to health and physical performance, with the ambition to break down barriers and normalise conversations about the impact of menstruation on sport. Each match official had access to individual nutrition counselling and personalised advice from GSSI scientists on how nutrition can be used to their advantage during physical training.
UEFA Sports Scientist & Training Expert, Prof. Werner Helsen commented: “The female match officials are the unsung heroes of elite football and we are grateful that through our ongoing partnership with Gatorade, they are getting access to expert knowledge and advice to help advance their skills and performance on the field. Looking to the future, our ambition is to further build on the success of this program, which we have delivered with the help of Gatorade Sports Science Institute over the last 8 months to continue to provide the dedicated support the match officials need.”
PepsiCo has been a proud partner of the UEFA Women’s EURO since announcing its multi-year partnership with UEFA Women’s football in 2020, connecting people from all over the world through their shared passion for football. The five-year Women’s partnership will see PepsiCo support women’s football at all levels through to summer 2025, with PepsiCo as a main partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the UEFA Women’s EURO, the UEFA Women’s Under-19 and Under-17 Championships, and the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO, as well as UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong program, which is aimed at encouraging more girls and women to play football.
The multi-year premier partnership further strengths the brand’s presence across the elite football landscape, sitting alongside its current multi-year sponsorship of the men’s UEFA Champions League.
* Source Euromonitor International Limited; Soft Drinks 2022 edition: % brand share, off-trade volume & value rsp terms, 2021 data.
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
About Gatorade
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo, provides sports performance innovations designed to meet the needs of athletes at all competitive levels and across a broad range of sports. Backed by more than a 50-year history of studying the best athletes in the world and grounded in years of hydration and sports nutrition research at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Gatorade provides scientifically formulated products to meet the sports fuelling needs of athletes in all phases of athletic activity. For more information and a full list of products, please visit www.gatorade.com.
About GSSI
Founded in 1985, the mission of The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) has always been to help athletes optimise their health and performance through research and education in hydration and sports nutrition. Gatorade is focused on meaningful, science-based innovations that help improve athletic performance. As the creator of the sports drink, science is at the foundation of the brand and a key driver of long-term strategy, which is focused on the belief that athletic performance is driven from the inside out.
Hotel Manager at Swiss-Belresidences Juffair Bahrain
Swiss-Belhotel International has appointed Junaid Tehseen as the Hotel Manager for Swiss-Belresidences Juffair in Bahrain. Junaid brings to the role outstanding hospitality experience spanning more than two decades.
Making the announcement, Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President – Operations & Development, EMEA & India; Senior Vice President – Group Human Resources & Talent Development, Swiss-Belhotel International, stated, said, “We are pleased to appoint Junaid to lead the team at Swiss-Belresidences Juffair in Bahrain. Junaid has excellent experience and expertise in the hospitality sector having worked his way up from the ranks. We are confident under his leadership this superb property will achieve greater success while delivering memorable guest experiences.”
A Pakistani national, Junaid holds a Bachelors’ Degree from Karachi University as well as Hospitality Management certification from Cornell University. During the course of his career, he was also awarded numerous recognitions.
Junaid took his first steps in the hospitality industry in 2000 as a Guest Service Agent at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel & Towers. He moved to Dubai in 2002 joining the Sheraton Deira Hotel & Towers. After two years he once again returned to Karachi Sheraton Hotel & Towers and progressively worked his way up. In 2011 he took up the role of Front Office Manager at Siji Hotel Apartments in Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining the Swiss-Belresidences Juffair, Bahrain, Junaid served as the Executive Assistant Manager Rooms at the Majlis Grand Mercure Residence Abu Dhabi.
Swiss-Belresidences Juffair in Bahrain is 4-star hotel features 129 well-appointed one, two- and three-bedroom apartments equipped with outstanding facilities and one of the most spacious and comfortable addresses in the city.
All units come with a living room, a fully equipped kitchen with an oven, fridge, and microwave, as well as separate dining areas. Other features include a king size or twin beds, complimentary Wi-Fi, home entertainment system and 55” LCD TV with a wide variety of cable channels. The hotel also has a gym, business center, and terrace, as well as 24-hour reception and concierge service. There is a games room equipped with pool, ping pong tables and playstation.
