The TradeWinds Island Resorts - the Island Grand Resort and RumFish Beach Resort - located along acres of sugary white beaches on the island of St. Pete Beach, Florida, has announced Karleen Johnson as Director of Sales. Having spent more than two decades at TradeWinds, Johnson is now a member of the executive team and is responsible for leading the group sales team for both TradeWinds Island Resorts.

Johnson began her 22-year career with TradeWinds as Catering Sales and Convention Services Manager and was soon promoted to Senior Sales Manager, where she spent 15 years cultivating relationships, securing business, and exceeding revenue goals for the Midwest territory. She was most recently Assistant Director of Sales, where she continued to work the Midwest market, in addition to training new sales managers, working with the marketing team on group promotions, and serving as liaison to several professional organizations. Johnson was named TradeWinds Sales Manager of the Year four times, was the highest revenue producing sales team member five times, and received the 100%+ Club award 14 times. She holds a degree in hospitality management from University of Florida.

TradeWinds Island ResortsSt. Pete Beach, FloridaUnited States

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Karleen Johnson has been appointed Director of Sales at ... - Hospitality Net

$765 million. That is the conservative cost to turn Ebbing Air National Guard Base at Fort Smith into a foreign military pilot training center. Thats a lot of money to spend and a lot of work ahead to prep a one-of-a-kind facility scheduled to open in late 2024.

Ebbing, home to the 188th Wing in Fort Smith and co-located with the Fort Smith Regional Airport, was selected by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland, Poland, Germany and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the federal agency managing the FMS, notes that the program provides responsible arms sales to further national security and foreign policy objectives by strengthening bilateral defense relations, supporting coalition building, and enhancing interoperability between U.S. forces and militaries of friends and allies.

According to the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, the new training center will bring about 900 military members and their families to the Fort Smith region. The Air Force anticipates moving approximately 230 personnel to the base, and the Republic of Singapore will have 300 military personnel with 300 dependent families in the region.

The cost estimate was disclosed during a mid-April interview with Tim Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Col. Rob Ator, USAF (Ret.), the Arkansas Economic Development Commission director of Military Affairs.

The latest estimate, and they think this is a conservative estimate, is about $765 million to set up Ebbing to accept the mission, Ator said during the interview with Talk Business & Politics.

That tally to be paid by the federal government does not include the $22 million $17 million from the state of Arkansas and $5 million from the city of Fort Smith to extend the Fort Smith Regional Airport main runway. That project is nearing completion.

Ator said a pricey part of the cost to create the facility is construction of special access program facilities. Such facilities are super classified spaces that include flight simulators and other special training equipment.

According to Allen and Ator, Ebbing initially made the shortlist for the new center primarily because it already had the infrastructure for a manned mission that ended in 2014. That would save money, which met an Air Force requirement to limit exposure for expense, Ator said.

That made us very, very attractive. We had move-in-ready facilities, Ator said.

Ebbing had a manned aircraft mission between 1953 and June 2014. In 1988 the F-16A Fighting Falcon replaced the F-4C, and in 2000 the F-16s were upgraded to the F-16 A variant. A last-minute decision by the Base Realignment and Closure Committee in 2005 replaced the F-16 with the A-10. On April 14, 2007, the 188th received its first A-10. It was announced in 2012 that the A-10 Thunderbolt fighters of the 188th would be lost, and the units mission would change to an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission. The final A-10 departed Ebbing in June 2014.

Much of the infrastructure to support the F-16 and the A-10 remains at Ebbing.

The Department of the Air Force conducted an enterprise-wide search for locations that would meet specified requirements for bedding down a proposed foreign military sales training center. The DAF selected Ebbing ANG Base because the base previously accommodated F-16 aircraft and can accommodate the Proposed Action with minimal renovation, new construction, and displacement of current mission(s) to meet critical F-16 and F-35 timing, according to a statement provided to Talk Business & Politics from the U.S. Air Force Air Education and Training Command in San Antonio.

Lt. Col. Drew Gus Nash has been selected to execute basing action processes required to make the new pilot training center operational. Nash, who flew F-16s and A-10s with the 188th, is now attached to the 33rd Fighter Wing out of Eglin Air Force Base, located northeast of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

In a March 15 interview, Nash said the earliest planes and pilots from foreign nations could arrive at Ebbing would be in late 2024, part of the militarys fiscal year 2025 beginning in September 2024. Nash said the full complement of 12 F-16s and 24 F-35s from various nations could arrive in fiscal year 2026 at the earliest. The Air Force declined to make Nash available for this story.

Allen and Ator said there would be a period in which temporary training such as simulator and academic time will take place in Eglin, with flight training in Fort Smith. Temporary facilities may be part of the first phase of work at Ebbing, with those phased out as permanent structures are built.

The 188th Wing is an active unit at Ebbing. The units three primary missions are Remotely Piloted Aircraft (MQ-9 Reaper); Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR); and Targeting (Space-Focused). According to the Air Guard, the unit has about 1,000 employees and an annual impact of $40 million on the local economy.

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Conservative price is $765 million to create pilot training center at ... - talkbusiness.net

new assembly line for electric vehiclescredit: Jennifer Gross, Battle Motos

We all know the story: The U.S. industrial belt, sometimes referred to unkindly as the Rust Belt, is a tale of decline stemming from (you pick) a changing economy, international competition, costs that outpaced productivity gains, aging infrastructure, or a failure to adapt. This industrial belt usually refers to the area around the Great Lakes, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, and also the more central states of Illinois and Wisconsin. In some discussions, this economic decline is laced with broader social issues such as urban decay, youth unemployment, and drug abuse. The memoirs Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, now a Senator from my home state of Ohio, paints a poignant picture of the challenges and dysfunctionality of family life during a period of economic uncertainty.

Statistics seem to support this unhappy story, relating that national employment in manufacturing peaked at 19.6 million in 1979 and dropped to 12.8 million by 2019. Unemployment in Ohio went from 4.1% in 2000 to 10.3% in 2010. Some were able to adjust, but in general those kinds of numbers mean a lot of misery for individuals caught up in this transition.

But there is, happily, an update to this story. I caught up with journalist and author (and fellow Buckeye) Rebecca Fannin for lunch, and we discussed her latest book, "Silicon Heartland, which tells us the rest of the tale. One of the quiet success stories of recent years in the industrial belt has been the emergence of local venture capital firms, spurring innovation in the traditional economy. From tech-enabled manufacturing to standalone startups in logistics or health, the industrial belt has gone through a renewal in startups and relaunches that has reshaped the local economies.

A story of economic renewal in the industrial belt

Credit: Imagine Books

For example, Drive Capital, based in Columbus and launched by two former Sequoia Capital partners, has funded some 60 startups in the region. In Indianapolis, Scott Dorsey took his profits from selling his firm to Salesforce, and invested in Lessonly, for sales training at small and medium businesses. Pittsburgh, drawing on the strength of Carnegie Mellon, has become a national leader in robotics and automation.

I wanted to see this trend for myself, so I drove down to New Philadelphia to spend some time with Battle Motors, a specialty truck manufacturer. Founded in 1946 as the Crane Carrier Company to modify and re-manufacture surplus military vehicles for the construction and petroleum industries, by 2021 it was producing 336 trucks annually. That is when venture capital stepped in, with a $120 million investment.

Production leapt from 336 trucks in 2021 to 700 in 2022, and Battle received a follow-on investment of $150 million. Production is targeted for 2,500 vehicles for this year.

Employment at Battle Motors followed the same pattern, up from 95 employees at the start of 2022 to 450 at present.

And this growth allowed for vertical integration and new models. In 2021, Battle produced no electric vehicles. In 2022, EVs were about 5% of production, and this year they will make up about 10%.

This scale has allowed Battle to get into new lines of business and undertake some vertical integration. New models, from digger derricks to bucket trucks, now account for 15-20% of the order book.

The original company was very specialized, with low volume and high complexity products, explained Chief Technology Officer Kelleigh Ash. We are becoming a one-stop shop for all customers' needs, from food and beverage delivery, to utility, to any customized production.

The lessons from this economic renewal:

Silicon Heartland is an important story of industrial renewal led by VCs. And Ohio unemployment? It deteriorated from 4.1% to 10.3%, but has rebounded to 3.8% in March 2023. When I mentioned to Rebecca the plans by Intel to open a $20 billion chip plant outside of Columbus, Rebecca responded that the area is booming but is going to need lots more trained engineers. Training is already beginning. The Battle is just starting.

Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution. Whether in banking, trade negotiations, or e-commerce, my professional life is helping companies win in new markets, with a particular focus on China. As CEO of Export Now, I run the largest international firm in China e-commerce. Previously, I served as Undersecretary for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Before that, I was the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore. Earlier, I served in Hong Kong and Singapore with Citibank and Bank of America and on the White House and National Security Council staff. China e-commerce book: https://amzn.to/2VtfzqQ WWII history book: http://amzn.to/2qtk0wK

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The Industrial Belt Fights Back - Forbes

My time has come to an end. These are the awkward words that came out of my mouth when telling my boss I was leaving the paper. Those words were so awkward because they were something I never imagined saying.

Newspapers have consumed pretty much my entire professional life. I started 14 years ago as a receptionist with Steamboat Today (hired by the man who is now my current boss). I worked in Steamboat for five and a half years, Summit for one and a half years, and have spent the last seven years dedicated to the Sky-Hi News and Grand County.

Ive met some incredible people and grown significantly as a professional over those years. I would not be where I am today without this community and the many lessons I have learned along the way. I cant tell you how many times I have had to tell friends, You have to do your job and I have to do mine and sometimes we wont see eye-to-eye.

I also owe my career to my best friend and mentor, Meg Boyer, who passed away from cancer in December 2021 at the incredibly young age of 40. If you met her, you knew she was something special and a force to be reckoned with. She saw something in me and pushed me to be the best version of myself. She believed in me when others did not and helped me grow significantly. She saw my value even when I did not.

Honestly, since her passing, Ive felt a huge hole in my life personally and professionally. Ive felt like the newspaper business is not the same without her. Weekly I pick up my phone to vent or ask her advice on how I should handle something. Im thankful for other mentors that have stepped in, but no one will ever fill the void she has left.

I am so passionate about this community and paper. I believe that the work we do is important and know for a fact that all the staff that has been here over the last seven years took their job seriously. I know we havent always gotten everything perfect, but I know we tried and made it right when we werent.

What many people dont know about my role is that 75% of my time was dedicated to serving as the Director of Sales Training and Development for Swift Communications. In that role, I was responsible for helping develop sales training and onboarding programs for all salespeople in the company. I tell you this to say that I was a well-known face of the paper, but many of my daily duties fell outside of the Sky-Hi News.

That said, the Sky-Hi News will continue without me. Providing coverage of the topics that are important and providing small business marketing solutions to help them grow.

As for me, I love learning, so I have decided to leave the newspaper industry and start a new adventure. I will continue to serve this community just in a different capacity. I will be focusing the next couple of months of my life studying and getting licensed (hopefully) to be a financial advisor. My last day was May 5.

My parting request is that you continue to send news tips (this county is HUGE) and continue to turn to and support the Sky-Hi News. I am leaving this paper in good hands, and they will continue to publish online and twice a week in print.

I used to always say in my columns that my door is always open, but my door is now shut at the Sky-Hi News.

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Letter from the publisher: closing this chapter - Sky-Hi News

Staff Report| Gonzales Weekly Citizen

The Gonzales City Council adopted the 2023-24 budget during the May 8 meeting.

Sales taxes account for nearly 70 percent of the revenues in the general fund and a substantial portion of revenues in the capital outlay fund, according to minutes from the meeting.

Administrators project the city will collect $18,075,000 in sales taxes in the fiscal year compared to $17,380,000 in the previous year.

The increase was based on consistent sales tax activity showing month over month increases during the current year and promising permitting of new sales tax generating facilities in recent months.

Gonzales has seen increases from every prior year since 2020.

The city has continued to have a healthy retail sector and has found success in the last year in new business creation.

In addition, Gonzales has benefitted from the state's Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers in recapturing some previously lost online sales revenue.

Other significant sources of revenue for the general fund include: property taxes (1.7 million), license and permit fees (1.74 million), and franchise fees (1.25 million).

The Municipal Employees Retirement System employer portion of the retirement premium will remain the same at 29.5 percent.

The administration has included a three percent cost of living increase to assist employees in maintaining their standard of living. It will be effective in the payroll period beginning June 7.

The administration also asked for one position: Project and Contract Management Clerk. The position manages document and reporting requirements for utilities, among other duties.

The Gonzales Fire Department requested a new training officer due to increasing demands to meet state and federal requirements.

Additionally, call volume has increased as the city has grown and added support is needed.

Also reported in the minutes, the city's health insurance budget is expected to moderately decrease from $1,996,000 to $1,760,000.

The city projects to spend around $1,080,000 purchasing natural gas in the fiscal year.

Sewer rates will increase five percent and water rates will go up three percent to keep up with inflation and increased costs of operation.

The city has a loan from 2020 with the DEQ State Revolving Loan Fund for Wastewater Improvements. The current balance is $9,090,472.

Gonzales also has an outstanding loan with LDH from this year which was used to replace and relocated the main water line on Roddy Road. The balance is $1,693,702.

Additionally, the city has a loan with Hancock Whitney Bank for construction related to the Price LeBlanc PACE Center, which has been in progress. The balance is $88,392.

The city is proposing a capital outlay budget of $27,812,651.

A highlight of the budget is the $7.3 million for the PACE performing arts, conference, and events center. A loan will finance $4.5 million of the work. The Price LeBlanc family will donate $1.5 million. The Tanger Mall Economic Development Fund will provide $3,323,000. Hotel tax collections will fund $1,810,000.

The city has budgeted $8.2 million for various road improvements, including $2.8 million for the St. Francis Pkwy. Extension project, $2,940,000 for various road rehabilitation projects, $1 million for the Airline Highway Superstreet Improvement project, and $500,000 for Purpera Road drainage improvements.

The city plans to construct a $6.2 million community center on Darla Avenue. Around $3 million is expected to be spent in this budget year with completion of the project coming in the next budget year.

The fire department is in need of a new engine ($800,000) and new ambulance (300,000). Administrators are requesting permission to place orders now, though it is expected to take around 30 to 36 months to take delivery.

Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow atfacebook.com/WeeklyCitizenandfacebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief.

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City of Gonzales adopts 2023-24 fiscal year budget. See the figures ... - Weekly Citizen

Its really scary how easy it is [to be licensed to sell seg funds], said Meagan Balaneski, associate portfolio manager with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. in Vermilion, Alta. And then you just manage peoples life savings and they trust you.

Said David Benamron, executive vice-president of insurance with Botica Financial Group in Montreal: Its a little bit weird that we are actually allowed to sell these funds with the amount of training we receive. And that argument can be made for universal life products as well. Our insurance licence does not give us enough training on the investment side.

Still, insurance advisors continue to make hefty seg fund sales. Life insurers recorded gross seg fund sales of $14.1 billion in Canada in 2022, down from $19.6 billion in 2021, although 2021 sales were higher than the normal annual range of $12 billion$14 billion, according to ISS Market Intelligence, said Carlos Cardone, senior managing director with Investor Economics, a unit of ISS.

New seg fund content could be coming to the Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) curriculum. The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations(CISRO) are drafting new seg fund guidance and, on the basis of that guidance, may consider updating the LLQP material, CCIR policy manager Tony Toy stated in an email to Investment Executive.

Toy added that the organizations are considering know-your-product requirements similar to those governing securities reps as part of broader work on the design, distribution, issuance, sale and administration of seg funds. But in public consultations on seg fund guidance, CCIR and CISRO have not received any comments on the seg funds portion of LLQP training, Toy said.

As it stands, topics in the LLQP curriculum include the advantages of seg funds, seg fund types (e.g., money market, equities, dividend, fixed income), and, on the client side, investment objectives, financial goals, time horizons and risk tolerances. The material also covers topics such as financial statements, taxation, fund facts, guarantees, reset rules and taxes. Limitations (such as age restrictions and penalties) and advantages (such as reset options, creditor protection and Assuris coverage) also are included.

The amount of training is wildly insufficient, Balaneski said, adding there is no mandatory mentoring for seg fund reps similar to the concept of articling at a law firm. Balaneski relies heavily on her training as a securities rep and chartered investment manager when advising on seg funds. She voluntarily advises clients on seg funds as if advising them on mutual funds, but a life insurance agent does not have to do so, she said.

The insurance industry has a multi-faceted approach to ensuring advisors are knowledgeable about the sale of seg funds, with the LLQP being a strong component, stated Kevin Dorse, assistant vice-president of strategic communications and public affairs with the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc., in an email to Investment Executive.

Dorse added that the LLQP requires prospective agents to pass four exams administered by regulators including one dedicated to seg funds. Agents also are subject to ongoing oversight by insurers, managing general agents and regulators. Further, agents receive product-specific training and must complete subsequent continuing education (CE).

In Ontario, life insurance agents must earn 30 CE credits every two years. These credits must be related to the technical aspects of life insurance, such as legal, legislative and regulatory matters, risk management principles, client needs analysis, and accounting and actuarial considerations, among other topics. Sales techniques and company-specific training, for example, would not apply.

A life insurance agent seeking to improve their qualifications could get additional training by pursuing designations such as chartered life underwriter, professional financial advisor or certified financial planner, said Laurent Munier, partner with Safe Pacific Financial Inc. in Vancouver: You should definitely try to upgrade your education past the minimum entry.

While agents selling seg funds should not necessarily have to be registered to sell mutual funds, they should have to receive training beyond the LLQP to understand how investments work, said Sunny Kochar, founder and CEO of Hexavision Enterprise in Guelph, Ont. This training could take the form of an additional module in the LLQP or a mini-investment course.

Balaneski suggested the insurance industry could run a portfolio planning course for seg funds. Another solution could be offering a basic LLQP licence that would not allow the sale of seg funds, and an optional supplement that would be required to sell them.

A self-regulatory organization (SRO) that merges insurance regulators with mutual funds and securities regulators would be super cool, but not necessarily practical, Balaneski said. She added that she is not necessarily in favour of a rule requiring advisors who only sell seg funds to be licensed to sell mutual funds.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario stated that it continues to work with other members of the CCIR and the CISRO to create seg fund guidance that will support a consistent standard of care for insurers and those who advise customers about these products that reflects current industry best practices, in support of fair outcomes for customers.

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Are rules governing seg fund sales adequate? - Investment Executive

TWIN FALLS Janeale Dean is here to help.

Janeale Dean was recently honored as the 2023 Boise District Woman-Owned Small Business Person of the Year.

Upon launching her marketing agency Desert Creative Group in 2017, she has that goal in mind, as one of the assisting business owners. And she has expanded her offerings beyond marketing and creative services.

Its become business development consulting, helping people scale their business, Dean said. Its sales training and marketing training.

Its gotten to the point where were just here to be helpful, she said, and if we can either offer insight and experience, that is great, and if we cant, we are more than happy to find someone who can and bring them in and facilitate that.

Her entrepreneur spirit hasnt gone unnoticed, as she was recently named by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2023 Boise District Woman-Owned Small Business Person of the Year, and was honored Wednesday at her downtown Twin Falls location.

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Dean told the Times-News that she has a job that never gets old and never gets boring.

If I look at my week, one day it could be helping a client meet with an attorney to explore expansion opportunities they have and the next day I could be helping someone figure out their email campaigns, and the next day it could be secret shopping at somebodys location to grade their customer service, she said.

Susie Rios, statewide outreach director of the Idaho Womens Business Center, nominated Dean for the award.

I have to tell you that she is unstoppable, Rios said at Wednesdays award ceremony.

When you want to grow a business, you have to be responsible, and committed, Rios said, and everything we asked her to do, she would follow through.

The award, for which Dean gives much of the credit to her seven employees and the support of family and friends, came during National Small Business Week, which recognizes the contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners. The week wrapped up Saturday.

Dean is involved in the community and has partnered with the South Central Small Business Development Center at the College of Southern Idaho to form the Downtown Wheelhouse down the hall from her office.

It will offer training workshops and be the home of a group of entrepreneurs incubating their startups to become launch-ready, receiving mentorship to fine-tune their strategy, product, business model, branding, and investor pitch, with the SBDC office providing support.

Its a great community partnership, Dean said.

Since starting her job, she has assisted a wide variety of businesses and groups, from bicycle shops to economic development organizations.

Its been really rewarding, Dean said, because when we help build something very strong that performs really well, not only are they excited about it but we are equally excited.

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Here to help: Twin Falls entrepreneur honored - Times-News

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, May 10, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The last time Luxury Institute published its luxury myths was 2019; a lifetime ago. In 2023, luxury is going through another transformational phase. The global economy remains volatile, and technology threatens to disrupt as much as it enhances. In times of change, there is so much noise in the system that it is very difficult to focus on the true signal. Myths abound with respect to the definition of luxury and luxurys best customers. A great deal of mythology is making the rounds in luxury media and events from experts who have no empirical basis for their statements. To disprove these myths, the Luxury Institute continuously conducts insight-generating interviews with its global network of executives and expert members and HNW and UHNW consumers across the world. Myths are the greatest obstacle to high-performance. By keeping a finger on the pulse, the Luxury Institute delivers unique HNW and UHNW insights through research, consulting, and education that deliver leading-edge business solutions. Here are the 7 currently prevalent luxury myths directly from the voice of HNW and UHNW clients:

Myth #1: Time is the ultimate luxury

Return on invested time (ROIT) is the ultimate luxury. This was true in 2019, and remains true today, yet many luxury brands are still not acting on this reality. When HNW clients invest their precious time, they not only expect, but require, an extraordinary experience with optimized functional and emotional elements. Soulless grandeur and opulence are not enough. Sometimes simplicity rules. Whether online, in a resort, a store, on a yacht, or restaurant, luxury brands need to make clients feel superbly special and loved. Extraordinary client experiences require great venues, and the highest level of expertise in the brands product or service category, but those are table stakes. If luxury experiences do not deliver pure, unmistakable human joy from precious time invested in the brand, HNWs call it a failure.

Myth #2: Our compelling brand purpose and story are differentiators

Simon Sinek has inspired luxury brands to discover their why. In turn, luxury brands hired agencies to create and communicate their why, whether authentic or not. Today, brand why and purpose have achieved commodity status. While a nice touch, they no longer differentiate a luxury brand with highly discerning HNWs. Even the goods or services brands that deliver cheap commodities, suboptimal products, and poor service, can tell a story that may bring a customer to tears. HNWs tell Luxury Institute that luxury brands can no longer use the brand story to tug at their heartstrings unless they also deliver extraordinary, high-value, 360-degree experiences. HNWs are willing to entertain a brands why, but they care far more about what and how a luxury brand delivers.

Myth #3: We maintain deep relationships with our HNW clients

When luxury goods or services brands are, at best, a premium commodity in disguise, HNWs dont care to build long-term bonds. Many luxury brands today are simply not differentiated enough to earn relationship status. HNWs may purchase, but they are not committed. Only luxury brands with an elevated, unique value-proposition combined with highly skilled, emotionally intelligent human beings who make clients feel special will cultivate a desire for a lasting relationship. Brands need to continuously innovate to stay vibrant and compelling. And they need to attract, select, educate, reward, and retain people who love to inspire genuine, deep positive emotions in others. Brands need to run a reality check on their HNW client relationships.

Myth #4: The HNW are not willing to share detailed behavioral data

At any age, HNWs are the most educated, discerning, and technology-aware individuals on the planet. They are fully aware luxury brands have their demographic data, and they also know not much personalization can be done with demographic data. With behavioral data such as location data and trip trajectory data, among other critical real-time data points, personalization and customization can scale. HNWs are very willing to share behavioral data to receive personalization, and even customization. But only if they fully trust the brand. They dont just trust; they verify. They want iron-clad guarantees. Cybersecurity is table stakes. First, they insist luxury brands only access the insights needed to personalize, and only when needed. Second, they want luxury brands to guarantee their data will never be disclosed, sold, or provided to any third parties. Finally, they expect luxury brands to reward them for access to the data with truly personalized, unique, extraordinary, real-time experiences and other perks. Otherwise, they say, what is the point?

Myth #5: Our Customer Lifetime Value metrics are accurate

Sadly, even in 2023, most luxury brands, if they even measure such a critical metric, still use frequency, recency, and monetary value (RFM) to define clients, and extrapolate from there. Luxury brands tend to leave out a huge part of the equation. First, luxury brands assume HNWs will stop buying as they age. HNWs, who are living, working, and staying healthier longer say, only when you ignore me and become irrelevant. Thats a controllable factor. Second, Lifetime Value (LTV) calculations never add high-value customer referrals to the equation. They fail to measure and connect the most critical driver of luxury goods or services results with the right customer. Third, behavioral proxies have high predictive power and accurately measure LTV based on behaviors such as granular engagement on a website and other brand engagement behaviors. Measuring LTV in todays dynamic world involves rapidly evolving science and data access. Sadly, most luxury brands live in the LTV Stone Age.

Myth #6: Generative AI delivers a competitive advantage

There is so much hype surrounding Generative AI and ChatGPT that misled executives can be forgiven for being delusional. But it is still a luxury brand teams job to ultimately separate myth from reality. GAI in its latest and greatest form will be available to everyone, everywhere, all at once. Just like the movie. It will be a commodity. Now that it is becoming available as open source, it promises to be even more ubiquitous. The real drivers of competitive advantage are access to the most relevant customer data, the ability to use it creatively, and the innovation of extraordinary experiences. For luxury brands, building direct, ethical and legal, key-insights-sharing relationships with their HNW and UHNW clients is critical. She who has best data access and uses it creatively wins, big, says Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute CEO. The myth of AI competitive advantage is a heavy sell right now from every tech company that wants its stock market value to rise on hype. A luxury brands job is to protect, enhance, and promote the best interests of its clients and shareholders; not those of the mythologists.

Myth #7: Our training programs educate our teams to build HNW relationship mastery

Most luxury goods and services brands are excellent at product knowledge and sales training. But luxury brands are failing dismally to educate their people for the longest yard consistent and creative long-term relationship building skills that deliver joy, make clients feel cared for, and engender genuine, lasting emotional connections. The luxury industry, given its high value goods and services, should be leading the way for all other industries in emotional intelligence skills that build HNW customer lifetime value. Instead, it lags even B2B firms in investing in the critically required human skills of emotional intelligence. Great luxury products and services can generate short-term transactions. In sharp contrast, relationships can generate human connections, treasured memories and lasting joy that build lifetime loyalty, word of mouth, and referrals.

Luxury myths are rampant today, and most of the pundits who deliver these myths have zero empathy because they have never experienced luxury from the HNW and UHNW client perspective, says Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute CEO. Luxury is, and always will be, one of the greatest opportunities for innovative brands to deliver the best of something, with humanity and joy, to human beings. If you are not serving the rapidly evolving stated and unstated needs and desires of your HNW and UHNW clients who account for 70-80% of your sales, you are destined for commodity status and irrelevance, especially in the Age of Generative AI.

For assistance conquering these myths, please contact Luxury Institute.

About Luxury Institute

Luxury Institute is the world's most trusted research, training, consulting, and elite business solutions partner for luxury and premium goods and services brands. With the largest global network of luxury executives, experts, HNW and UHNW consumers, Luxury Institute provides its clients with high-performance, leading-edge solutions developed by the best, most successful minds in the industry. In the last 20 years, Luxury Institute has served over 1,100 luxury and premium goods and services brands.

The Institute has conducted more quantitative and qualitative research with affluent, HNW, and UHNW consumers than any other entity. This expertise has led to Luxury Institutes high-performance relationship building education system, Luxcelerate, and its online education programs, The Mastery of HNW Relationship Building and the Private Client Professional (PCP). Each dramatically improves the emotional intelligence skills and self-mastery skills that drive high-performance HNW relationship building and results.

Luxury Institute has also innovated the Advanced Personalization Xchange (APX), powered by DataLucent, to empower affluent consumers to license their digital platform data to premium and luxury brands they trust legally, securely and privately in exchange for fair value rewards and benefits. To download a copy of this paper or learn more about Luxury Institute and our offerings, please visit Luxury Institute.

Milton PedrazaLuxury Institute, LLCmpedraza@luxuryinstitute.comVisit us on social media:LinkedIn

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Luxury Institute: The 7 Luxury Myths Killing Brand Performance - EIN News

Optimizely is proud to have this relationship with a world-class partner like Thinkmax. Together we are delivering exceptional projects to customers on a first-class platform that optimizes the end-to-end digital experience."

MONTREAL (PRWEB) May 07, 2023

Thinkmax, a partner for transformative growth through strategic consulting and digital innovation leveraging cloud technology, today announced that it has been certified as a Platinum Partner of Optimizely, the leading digital experience platform (DXP) provider.

To achieve Platinum Partner status, Thinkmax completed a thorough certification processes including participating in Optimizely Education training and having at least 10 Optimizely Certified Professionals. Through this accomplishment, Thinkmax joins Optimizelys Solution Partner Success Program as a qualified, value-add seller of the Optimizely Digital Experience Platform. As a Platinum Partner, Thinkmax has comprehensive competency, implementation experience, an extensive product expertise.

Optimizelys Digital Experience Platform provides content management (CMS), content marketing (CMP), orchestration, commerce, experimentation, analytics and personalization on one screen. A recently commissioned Total Economic Impact study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Optimizely found that over three years, a composite organization realized 370% return on investment (ROI), $9.84 million net present value (NPV). Optimizely also generated $1.1 million in savings due to increased developer productivity as a result of deploying the companys DXP. To help arrive at the ROI and subsequent financial analysis, Forrester Consulting interviewed five decision-makers who are Optimizely DXP customers and designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees organizations.

Along with low total cost of ownership, Optimizely gives teams greater agility to respond to trends and market conditions as well as provides smarter customer intelligence to reach the right potential customers and provide more relevant content that engages and converts.

Our clients come to us seeking guidance and technology expertise. Whether it be retailers or manufacturers, B2X digital commerce is everywhere, so its become a huge priority to deliver frictionless experiences. Optimizely DXP proves time and time again to be a powerful tool that perfectly suits our clients needs, and we are proud to be recognized as a Platinum Partner. We look forward to many new success stories in 2023!, explained Marc Belliveau, President of Thinkmax.

With a network of over 700 partner companies in 30 countries, Optimizely seeks to connect with qualified partners whose firms possess a wealth of experience, team members with a creative outlook, global reach, and a collective eye toward future opportunities to ensure mutual customers are successful in the short and long term.

Optimizely is proud to have this relationship with a world-class partner like Thinkmax. Together we are delivering exceptional projects to customers on a first-class platform that optimizes the end-to-end digital experience, said Jessica Dannemann, Chief Worldwide Partner Ecosystem for Optimizely. Thinkmax has risen to the occasion to earn Platinum status and identify as a partner that is experienced in leveraging the Optimizely product portfolio to help growing companies unleash their digital potential."

About Thinkmax Leveraging advanced industry and technical expertise with leading-edge technologies, Thinkmax implements efficient and innovative solutions, streamlining business processes, unifying digital experiences, and accelerating transformative change. With offices in Canada and the US and partnerships with world-leading organizations, Thinkmaxs human-centric, hands-on approach, and proven methodology build sustainable solutions and enduring relationships for ongoing success.

About Optimizely At Optimizely, we're on a mission to help people unlock their digital potential. We do that by reinventing how marketing and product teams work to create and optimize digital experiences across all channels. With our leading digital experience platform (DXP), we help companies around the world orchestrate their entire content lifecycle, monetize every digital experience and experiment across all customer touchpoints. Optimizely has 700+ partners and nearly 1500 employees across our 21 global offices. We are proud to help more than 10,000 businesses, including H&M, PayPal, Zoom, Toyota and Vodafone, enrich their customer lifetime value, increase revenue and grow their brands. At Optimizely, we live each day with a simple philosophy: large enough to serve, small enough to care. Learn more at optimizely.com.

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Thinkmax Earns Platinum-Level Partnership with Optimizely - PR Web

Bell has delivered seven of its 407GXi turbine single-engine helicopters to Australian customers in the last 12 months.Five were purchased byNautilus Aviation for tourism and utility flights, with the remaining two going to a utility company and a corporate customer. There are now more than 20 Bell 407 helicopters operating inAustralia.

Worldwide, Bell has delivered more than1,600 model 407s, logging six million flight hours across the fleet on flight training, military, tourism, para-public, and other operations. The 407GXi is equipped with the Garmin G1000H NXi flight deck and its three-axis autopilot recently received certification from the UK CAA. The system is equipped with a stability augmentation system to automatically recover the aircraft to near-level flight attitude at all speeds in the event of adverse roll or pitch; stability engagement throughout all phases of flight; and envelope protection to prevent over- and underspeed.

Bell recently announced its intention to offer an armed version of the 407. The 407Mcan be fitted with a range of armaments and equipment to carry out reconnaissance, special operations, light-attack, anti-piracy, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue, and humanitarian aid disaster relief missions. Various levels of capability are available through the U.S. governments foreign military sales program or direct commercial sales, depending on country requirements.

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Bell 407 Increases Australian Presence | Business Aviation News - Aviation International News