MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) announced that it has hired Maya Kiyokawa as a director in the Institutional Client Group of MetLife Investment Management (MIM). Kiyokawa will lead new business development in Japan and will be based in Tokyo.

Prior to joining MetLife, Kiyokawa served as director of the alternative product sales department in Japan for Teneo Partners. Prior to that, she served as a senior consultant at Osborne Incorporated. She has also held senior roles at Deutsche Asset Management (Japan) Limited and Fidelity Investments Japan Limited in senior client services roles.

“Maya is an excellent addition to the team at MetLife Investment Management in Asia,” said Joseph Pollaro, chief operating officer of MIM. “Her international relationship management background, which includes more than16 years of direct experience and more than 25 years of valuable professional experience, will be an asset to MetLife as we grow MIM’s institutional asset management business in Asia, a vital and growing market for us.”

The addition of Kiyokawa to the MIM team in Japan reflects both the business’ commitment to the region and the importance of the market to MetLife’s investment management business. As part of her role, Kiyokawa will build partnerships with retirement funds, insurance companies, government funds and trust banks to raise MetLife’s profile and visibility in Japan. Her experience will be leveraged to build relationships in private debt and equity markets for real estate, infrastructure and corporate private placement bonds.

Kiyokawa holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration and accounting from the University of Alabama.

MetLife Investment Management (“MIM”) is MetLife’s institutional investment management business. MIM is responsible for investments in a range of asset sectors, including corporate and infrastructure private placement debt, real estate equity, commercial mortgage loans, customized index strategies, structured finance, emerging market debt and high yield debt.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

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Ascential plc, the global business-to-business media company listed on the London Stock Exchange, today announced that it has agreed to acquire 100% of MediaLink, a U.S.-based advisory and business services firm.

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A private company, MediaLink is a business that drives competitive advantage through advisory business services for a wide range of companies spanning early stage to established global entities across the media, marketing, advertising, entertainment and technology industries.

Duncan Painter, Chief Executive Officer of Ascential said:

“MediaLink is a leader in its industry, with a strong and very visible brand presence in the U.S.MediaLink is an excellent fit with our existing Ascential offering and I am confident we can help accelerate MediaLink’s business into new markets by using our assets and infrastructure over the coming months and years. I see synergies between MediaLink and our portfolio of products to significantly help accelerate our existing businesses and create additional value for shareholders.”

Founded in 2003 by Chairman and CEO Michael Kassan, MediaLink employs 120+ employee in the U.S. The company will further strengthen and accelerate Ascential’s business strategy, which is to own scaled, global, market-leading businesses and brands in marketplaces where it offers trusted information and valuable connections to business professionals.

Michael Kassan, Chairman and CEO of MediaLink commented:

“This is a transformational moment for MediaLink. Propelled by the global footprint of Ascential and the combined resources and talent of our organisations, we are going to write the greatest chapter in MediaLink history. We look forward to collaborating to pursue growth and new opportunities for both companies.”

Kassan will continue as Chairman and CEO of MediaLink, working closely with Painter to integrate and accelerate the business, leveraging Ascential’s assets and infrastructure over the coming months and years.

MediaLink has worked with Cannes Lions’ customers since 2011. Neutrality is a key focus of both businesses, and they will be run independently. MediaLink will continue to build on its relationship with Cannes Lions and start new ones with other Ascential products where appropriate.

The transaction is expected to complete, subject to customary U.S. regulatory clearance, within the next month and, upon completion MediaLink will form part of Ascential’s Information Services division. Aryeh Bourkoff’s LionTree Advisors acted as financial advisors to MediaLink with LionTree Partner Ben Braun serving as principal advisor.

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

About MediaLink

MediaLink operates at the intersection of media, marketing, advertising, entertainment and technology, delivering companies the advice, partners and opportunities it needs to enable change and drive actionable solutions. Unlike any other company in the strategic advisory space, MediaLink helps companiesexecute in the core areas of revenue acceleration, industry marketing, investor strategy, data and technology solutions, and talent (including retained Executive Search). Founded in 2003 by Michael E. Kassan, MediaLink employs 120+ professionals in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. www.medialink.com

About Ascential plc

Ascential plc is a leading global business-to-business media company that informs and connects the business world in 150 countries through market-leading Exhibitions & Festivals and Information Services. Ascential powers the prestigious Cannes Lions festival for the branded communications industry, the world's premier payments and financial services congress Money20/20, Spring Fair/Autumn Fair, the global fashion trend forecasting service WGSN and environmental risk data business Groundsure. 15 of Ascential's 19 continuing product lines occupy number one positions. Ascential’s premium products enable focus, growth and value. The company provides customers with world class content and connections empowering their businesses to be the best informed and best connected. www.ascential.com

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Project Management Institute’s (PMI) latest research shows that for the first time in five years, more projects are meeting original goals and business intent while being completed within budget — and that fewer projects are deemed failures.

Findings unveiled in PMI’s 2017 Pulse of the Profession®: Success Rates Rise: Transforming the High Cost of Low Performancedemonstrate that last year organizations around the globe reduced the average amount of money they wasted on projects and programs by 20 percent compared to the previous year. Specifically, the study found that, globally, organizations wasted an average of $97 million for every $1 billion invested in projects and programs in 2016, compared to an average of $122 million per $1 billion in the year prior.¹

The report determines that organizations are becoming more mature with project management and are distinguishing themselves by:

• Developing project management talent. Developing technical, leadership and business skills for the management of projects continues to draw significant attention. Thirty-two percent of survey respondents consider both technical and leadership skills a high priority — a 3 percent increase over last year.
• Managing project benefits. There’s growing attention to benefits realization management, which is the collective process of identifying benefits at the outset of a project and ensuring, through purposeful actions during implementation, that the benefits are realized and sustained once the project ends. One in three organizations (31 percent) reports high benefits realization maturity.
• Establishing Project Management Offices (PMOs) and strategic Enterprise Project Management Offices (EPMOs). Organizations can bridge the gap between high-level strategic vision and implementation with a project management office (PMO). Among organizations in the survey that have a PMO, half report having an enterprise project management office (EPMO). And those that align their EPMO to strategy (i.e., have a strategic EPMO) report 38 percent more projects meet original goals and business intent and 33 percent fewer projects are deemed failures.
• Driving executive sponsorship. Actively engaged executive sponsors continue to be the top driver of whether projects meet their original goals and business intent. That fact was not lost on survey respondents, who revealed an increase in the percentage of their organizations’ projects with actively engaged sponsors compared to last year — an average of 62 percent compared to 59 percent, respectively.
• Addressing agile approaches. Organizations increasingly embrace agile as a technique for managing projects. A full 71 percent of organizations report using agile approaches for their projects sometimes or more frequently.

“We are encouraged to see that organizations are making significant progress and experiencing more success with implementing strategic initiatives and delivering intended project benefits,” said PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley. “We have long advocated that project management is essential for any organization’s success and are excited that others are increasingly realizing this fact as well. Organizations that invest in proven project management practices waste 28 times less money because more of their strategic initiatives are completed successfully.”

Of the industries included in the study, healthcare reported the highest average waste on project spending. A more detailed breakout of several key industries included in the study, ranked from highest to lowest, demonstrates the range of efficiency achieved:

Healthcare – $112 million per $1 billion
Telecom – $106 million per $1 billion
Energy – $101 million per $1 billion
Manufacturing – $98 million per $1 billion
Government – $97 million per $1 billion
Financial Services - $97 million per $1 billion
Construction – $94 million per $1 billion
IT – $78 million per $1 billion

Of the geographic regions covered in the study, specific markets stood out. India reported the lowest average monetary waste on projects ($73 million per $1 billion), followed by both China and the Middle East ($82 million per $1 billion). Conversely, Europe reported the highest average waste on project spending at $131 million per $1 billion. ²

The 2017 Pulse of the Profession features feedback and insights from 3,234 professionals globally who represent diverse levels of experience and industries, including government, information technology (IT), telecom, energy, manufacturing, healthcare and construction. The global totals in the report represent feedback from North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

About Project Management Institute (PMI)

Project Management Institute is the world's leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program and portfolio management profession. Founded in 1969, PMI delivers value for more than 2.9 million professionals working in nearly every country in the world through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research. PMI advances careers, improves organizational success and further matures the profession of project management through its globally recognized standards, certifications, resources, tools academic research, publications, professional development courses, and networking opportunities. As part of the PMI family, ProjectManagement.com and ProjectsAtWork.com create online global communities that deliver more resources, better tools, larger networks and broader perspectives. Visit us at www.PMI.org, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute and on Twitter @PMInstitute.

¹ Figures are U.S. dollar amounts, but represent a percentage that applies to any currency.

² Figures are U.S. dollar amounts, but represent a percentage that applies to any currency.

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• Max Healthcare Network of Hospitals Gross Revenues: Rs. 639 Cr., grew 16%
• Max Healthcare Network of Hospitals EBITDA: Rs. 63 Cr., grew 17%
• Max Bupa Gross Written Premium: Rs. 140 Cr., grew 24%

Moody’s Analytics announced that it has been selected by Chong Hing Bank (CHB) as a strategic partner for implementing a comprehensive suite of solutions for the customer credit lifecycle. These include loan origination and credit risk measurement technology, as well as risk advisory, training and certification services.

“We are very pleased to provide Chong Hing Bank with the tools to succeed in today’s competitive lending environment. Moody’s Analytics technology, advisory services, and training programs will help strengthen CHB’s loan origination and underwriting capabilities,” said Noah Berliner, Managing Director at Moody’s Analytics.

By integrating the RiskCalc™ credit scoring tool into its RiskOrigins™ platform, Moody’s Analytics will deliver a combined solution to streamline CHB’s corporate lending processes and facilitate better and more transparent loan origination decisions.

In addition, CHB will implement a tailored learning solution developed by Moody’s Analytics, which blends an industry-leading online curriculum with targeted workshops to sharpen staff analytical skills and promote a more robust credit risk culture. Staff who complete the program will be issued Moody’s Certificate in Commercial Credit (CICC), a designation that is recognized by prominent professional standards associations, including by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore.

“This partnership with Moody’s Analytics will help to significantly enhance risk assessment processes in our corporate segment and elevate the risk awareness and expertise of our staff,” said Rockson Hsu, Chief Risk Officer at CHB. “The modern risk management tools delivered by Moody’s Analytics provide CHB with an enterprise-wide corporate lending platform aligned with industry best practice.”

Learn more about the Moody’s Analytics credit assessment and loan origination solution: RiskOrigins

Learn more about the Moody’s Analytics credit risk measurement solution: RiskCalc

Learn more about Moody’s Analytics Credit Training and Certification programs: Blended Learning Solutions

Learn more about Moody’s Analytics Risk Management Advisory Services: Advisory & Implementation

About Moody’s Analytics

Moody’s Analytics helps capital markets and risk management professionals worldwide respond to an evolving marketplace with confidence. The company offers unique tools and best practices for measuring and managing risk through expertise and experience in credit analysis, economic research, and financial risk management. By providing leading-edge software, advisory services, and research, including the proprietary analysis of Moody’s Investors Service, Moody’s Analytics integrates and customizes its offerings to address specific business challenges. Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO), which reported revenue of $3.5 billion in 2015, employs approximately 10,900 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 36 countries. Further information is available at moodysanalytics.com.

About Chong Hing Bank

Chong Hing Bank (formerly known as “Liu Chong Hing Bank”) was founded in 1948. The Bank is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Bank with its Head Office in Hong Kong and 43 local branches, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, offers a wide range of banking solutions to individual and corporate customers, which include HKD and foreign currency deposits, credit, wealth management, investment, securities, insurance, mandatory provident fund and other commercial banking products. The Bank has branches in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shantou and Macau, sub-branches in Guangzhou Tianhe, Foshan, Nansha and Hengqin, and representative offices in Shanghai and San Francisco.

Chong Hing Bank has been a member of Yue Xiu Group since 14 February 2014. Yue Xiu Group was established in Hong Kong in 1985. As at the end of 2015, Yue Xiu Group had total assets exceeding RMB400 billion, which is the largest state-owned enterprise group in Guangzhou in terms of asset size with leading performance in overall economic efficiency. For other information about Chong Hing Bank, please go to the Bank’s website www.chbank.com.

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• School should be a Government run school
• School should have classes from 1^st to 10^th standard
• School should have minimum 500 students

• An eminent  nine-member Jury, led by Mr. Dilip Shanghvi, selected the 17 Finalists
• The 17 Finalists have a combined revenue of over INR 154,335 crore (USD 23.38 billion) and employ over 5.2 lakh people worldwide
• Jury commends Finalists for innovation, disrupting business models and building sustainable enterprises
• Mr. Nandan Nilekani honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award

The Hon’ble Bombay High Court has dismissed the winding up petition against Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. filed by IDFC Bank Ltd. The order of dismissal was pronounced on February 14, 2017 after hearing arguments from both sides. IDBI Bank Ltd., as leader of the consortium of lending banks, had pleaded itself as an intervener in the proceedings and opposed the winding up petition.
 
The petition before the Hon’ble Court by IDFC Bank was filed in July 2016 in relation to an outstanding loan of Rs. 200 crore under the provision of the Companies Act 1956. The judgement by the Hon’ble Court in point 115 recorded that:
“Powers of the Company Court under Section 539 of the Companies Act, 1956 are discretionary and have to be exercised cautiously and judiciously. In the facts of this case, I am satisfied that the respondent-company which has a temporary setback and is making a sincere attempt of its revival with the assistance of large number of the creditors, it would not be desirable and in the interest of all the creditors including the petitioner to pass any order of winding up against the respondent-company at this stage.” 
 
As part of its judgement, the Hon’ble Court has stated that “If the petitioner proposes to file any proceedings for recovery of its legitimate dues, in accordance with the decision, if any, of the Joint Lender Forum, the said proceedings to be decided on its own merits without being influenced by the observations made by this Court in this order.”
 
Commenting on the judgement, the spokesperson of Ruchi Soya said, “We are relieved by the judgement of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court and will continue our efforts to work with our lenders including IDFC Bank to overcome the challenges being faced by the company. Our discussions with the Joint Lender Forum has been progressive and we are confident of a resolution of the various issues.”
 
Mr. Ravi Kadam was the Senior Counsel for IDFC Bank while. Ruchi Soya was represented by Senior Counsel Mustafa Doctor.

About Ruchi Soya Industries Limited
 
Ruchi Soya is India’s leading Agri and Food FMCG company with a turnover of USD 4 billion. It enjoys Number 1 position in cooking oil and soy foods categories of the country. Its leading brands include Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold. An integrated player from farm to fork; Ruchi Soya is also among the pioneers of oil palm plantations in India. It is one of the highest exporters of value added soybean products like soy meal, textured soy protein and soy lecithin. Ruchi Soya has also diversified into renewable energy and is committed to environmental protection.

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Ascend Performance Materials announced a global price increase on all fibers.

The price increase takes effect March 1, 2017, or as contracts allow, and includes the following materials and price changes:

Customers should contact their local sales representative for additional information.

NOTE TO EDITORS: ASCEND PERFORMANCE MATERIALS and FLEXATRAC are trademarks of Ascend Performance Materials Operations LLC. This trademark has been registered in jurisdictions throughout the world, including the United States of America.

About Ascend Performance Materials

Ascend Performance Materials is a global premium provider of high-quality chemicals, fibers and plastics. Ascend is one of the world’s largest integrated PA66 producers, with its own in-house manufacturing facilities, ensuring total security of supply. Ascend’s product range has earned it an unequalled reputation for quality, innovative techniques and an enlightened approach to business that expands the horizons of possibility. With eight global locations and more than 3,200 people working at our sites around the world, Ascend has the inspiration, the expertise, the people and the attitude toward innovation to consistently deliver the right solution for customers.

Together, we’re making a difference.
Together, we’re inspiring everyday.

More information about Ascend can be found at www.ascendmaterials.com

About SK Capital

SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, chemicals and healthcare sectors. The firm’s purpose is to build strong and growing businesses that create substantial long-term economic value. SK utilizes its industry, operating and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth and profitability as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital’s portfolio companies generate revenues of approximately $8 billion annually and employ approximately 9,000 people. The firm currently manages more than $1.5 billion of committed capital. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.

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More than 2,000 team members of Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services (EGS) India participated in the milestone fifth edition of the company’s annual 10K walk/run/ride event on February 4 in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, to promote the cause of education. This “Educathon – Powering Literacy” event was a testament to Wells Fargo’s community focus to support the cause of providing education to underprivileged children, while reaffirming the health and wellness benefits that go with walking, running, and cycling. For the first time, the event saw participation of friends and family of Wells Fargo team members.

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More than 2,000 team members of Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services (EGS) India participated in the milestone fifth edition of the company's annual 10K walk/run/ride event on February 4 in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, to promote the cause of education. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Corporate social responsibility is rooted in our culture of caring at Wells Fargo, and it has been an important part our company’s growth and success for more than 160 years. We continuously work to make a difference in our workplaces as well as the communities in which we live. At Wells Fargo EGS India, we focus on supporting education for underprivileged children,” said Aveek Mukherjee, head of Wells Fargo EGS Delivery. “We also recognize the importance of having a workplace culture that promotes and supports healthy lifestyle choices by encouraging events such as the annual run/ride/walk event.”

Wells Fargo EGS India has an active community of runners and riders with more than 1,500 team members who regularly take part in running and riding events across the country. To facilitate and encourage cycling to work, Wells Fargo facilities in Hyderabad and Bengaluru have exclusive parking zones for bicycles.

Speaking at the Educathon event, Prakriti Panwar, head of corporate sustainability for Wells Fargo EGS India said, “We are committed to finding new ways to spread awareness to support the cause of education – one of our priority areas of community service. In addition, our volunteers consistently work to help educate underprivileged children by driving various efforts at schools supported by Wells Fargo EGS India.”

The 10K walk/run/ride is one among many examples of Wells Fargo’s commitment to environmental stewardship. While the company has successfully put into practice several ‘everyday’ green initiatives like switching off lights for an hour every week and double-side printing configuration on all printers, Wells Fargo volunteers also create awareness about greener living and participate in external initiatives that help the environment. Wells Fargo Centers in Hyderabad and Bengaluru are also LEED-certified sustainable sites with strict energy and resource management.

About Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services (EGS) - India

Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services (EGS) is a critical component of the Wells Fargo’s (Wells Fargo Bank N.A.) strategy to leverage distinct advantages in doing business in a global environment. Wells Fargo EGS - India (Wells Fargo India Solutions Private Limited and Wells Fargo International Services Private Limited) is primarily an extension of the technology, operations, knowledge services, and corporate support teams of Wells Fargo. It engages in application development and support, testing, other technology functions, international operations, knowledge support, middle and back-end banking process solutions for a wide spectrum of Wells Fargo’s needs. The entities currently have a 8500+ strong team across their offices in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.

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