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Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A) (NYSE:BRK-B) is one of the most closely studied and followed stock portfolios on the planet and has thrived under the leadership of founder and stock market guru Warren Buffett.

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Here at MyWallSt, we have built our investment strategy around the ideology of Buffett himself: buy and hold 'til we're grey and old! This is the basic tenet of Buffett's strategy: He believes in investing in companies with long-term value rather than a "flash in the pan." We take a look at arguably the five best additions to the Buffett portfolio.

Berkshire Hathaway currently owns roughly 5% of the second-richest company on Earth, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). It also happens to be Berkshire's top holding by quite a large margin, coming in at close to a $50 billion market value. Buffett first began buying up shares in Steve Jobs' brainchild in 2016 and has bought more shares every quarter since, with gains coming in at around 25% since its first purchase. Despite Apple's declining hardware sales, Buffett firmly believes in the company's "stickiness," or the ability to remain relevant in everyday consumer life for years to come.

Much of Berkshire's enormous 9.3% stake in Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) came about following the Great Recession of 2008. The investment mogul invested $5 billion into the struggling bank, purchasing the shares at a much-reduced price of $7.14 per share, well below the trading price at the time of $26.99 per share. With the bank growing back to its pre-recession heights, Buffett has seen the market value of his position in BofA grow to $26.7 billion, making it an extremely successful investment.

It's safe to say that Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) hasn't been short of scandals in recent years, which has contributed to it being one of the worst-performing banks in the sector. However, through all of this, Warren Buffett has publicly backed his investment and its managers. Wells Fargo is one of Buffett's oldest banking investments, which he bought in 1989 worth $3 per share. With CEO Tim Sloan resigning earlier this year, and its stock price seemingly beginning to become steady after a fluctuating year, the company looks to be on the path to recovery. Despite all this, it's still one of Buffett's top stocks, and he has actually had to sell shares to meet regulatory demands of remaining below 10% ownership, with the market value of his position coming in at close to $20 billion.

Another golden oldie for Warren Buffet -- he purchased his first Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) stock back in 1988 at a time of struggle-- that appears to still hold his seal of approval despite the changing landscape and growing health-consciousness of the average consumer. Buffett originally paid $1.3 billion for shares of the company, which translates to a current market value of roughly $18 billion, an increase of almost 1,300%. The investment pays Berkshire a massive $650 million per year and has seen increases in annual dividends almost annually for the past 50 years. It pays to own 9.5% of the world's most recognizable beverage maker. Fun fact: Buffett is actually a massive fan of the drink itself, and claims to drink several cans a day.

In a surprising move, Berkshire Hathaway recently bought a stake in e-commerce giant Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN). One of Buffett's two lieutenants, Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, started a position in the first quarter of 2019, and then added shares in the second. Though not a typical Buffett stock, considering its high price and price-to-earnings ratio, the purchase was still a wise move, as Amazon does fit the Buffett model of compounding growth with a formidable moat. The dominant leader in e-commerce over the past 25 years, Amazon has grown into a massive empire including hardware, music, streaming, and more. Not only does its core delivery service control 50% of U.S. market share, but its subsidiaries such as Amazon Web Services are also dominating in their respective fields. It may be too early to call it a great Buffett investment, but it has all the signs of potentially being his greatest yet.

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One of these pot stocks is already+100% this year. What are you waiting for?

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The 5 Greatest Investments of Warren Buffett - The Motley Fool

Tencent is the world's largest games publisher. It's both an internet and entertainment giant in Chinathe equivalent of Facebook or Googlebut gamers worldwide are probably more familiar with Tencent's investments into a growing number of game developers and publishers.

But with over 300 investments in its portfolio, staying on top of every company that Tencent has a stake in can be a little daunting.

That's why I've created this reference listing each of Tencent's public investments in foreign gaming companies (basically, companies outside of China), including, where possible, how much of that company Tencent owns. As part of our ongoing coverage of PC gaming in China, it's also important to understand the growing influence Chinese gaming companies like Tencent have on the global market.

In 2011, Tencent went from being Riot Games' publishing partner in China to its majority stakeholder after paying $400 million for a 93 percent stake in the League of Legends developer. Four years later, Tencent scooped up the remaining 7 percent equity for an undisclosed amount, taking full control over Riot Games just as League of Legends was exploding as an esport around the world.

Tencent's purchase of Riot was nothing short of prescientLeague of Legends is the most popular PC game in the world, pulling in an estimated $1.4 billion in revenue last year. Riot Games remains largely free to steer the game how it pleases, but that relationship has some ugly downsides. Wanting to cash in on the mobile gaming boom, Tencent tried to get Riot to make a mobile version of LoL. When the developer refused, Tencent went ahead and made their own mobile clone of LoL called Arena of Valor that became one of the most profitable mobile games in Asiaand Riot wasn't very happy about it. That is now mostly water under the bridge now that Tencent has abandoned Arena of Valor in the West and Riot is now making a mobile version of LoL. Squabbles aside, Tencent's purchase of Riot has cemented it as the king of esports.

Tencent's $330 million investment in Epic Games back in June 2012 triggered one of the most dramatic shifts in PC gaming of the last decade, ushering in a new era of free-to-play games as a service. Seeing that "the old model" of selling games wasn't working, Epic founder Tim Sweeney decided to join forces with Tencent to better learn about operating live-service games. It paid off.

With Tencent's investment, Epic scrapped Unreal Engine 4's monthly subscription in favor of a free version where Epic earned royalties on sales. Though developers might pay more for a successful game in the long run, it opened Unreal Engine up to an enormous community of indie developers and helped fuel intense competition between rival engine, Unity, which up until then was considered to be the best technology for small developers. At the same time, Epic began experimenting with live-service games like the Paragon and Fortnite: Save the World. While both games were failures, Save the World put Epic in the perfect spot to jump on the battle royale bandwagon andalmost by accidentcreate the biggest gaming pop culture phenomenon since Minecraft and Pokmon. Last year, Fortnite made $2.4 billion, making it the most profitable game that year.

(Image credit: PUBG Corp)

Yes, Tencent a piece of both Fortnite and PUBG, the two dominant battle royales. What's even more amusing is that Tencent also has rights to publish both games in China, meaning it's actually in competition with itselfnot a bad place to be in. Tencent's investment into Bluehole first began in 2017 with Tencent first acquiring 1.5 percent of Bluehole before increasing that investment to an undisclosed amount rumored to be around 10 percent. That's probably just the beginning, though, as Tencent is rumored to be seeking a complete acquisition of Bluehole.

Tencent was one of several investors that helped Ubisoft survive a hostile takeover last year from Vivendi, who at the time was Ubisoft's largest stakeholder. For years, Vivendi had been steadily acquiring more stake in Ubisoft in hopes of ousting founder Yves Guillemot and seizing control for itselfputting thousands of jobs in jeopardy in the process. The situation looked grim until Ubisoft struck a deal with Vivendi that saw the French conglomerate divest its stake to a variety of investors that included Tencent.

As part of the agreement, though, Tencent is just a silent partner who cannot increase voting rights or ownership stake in Ubisoftmaking a hostile takeover by Tencent impossible. The acquisition of Ubisoft shares also heralded in a strategic partnership where Tencent would publish Ubisoft games in China, which caused its own flurry of backlash over censorship.

(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Years before Ubisoft, Tencent helped another company escape Vivendi: Activision Blizzard. Activision fell under Vivendi's control way back in 2007 when it merged with subsidiary Vivendi Games in order to join forces with Blizzard and benefit from the enormous success of World of Warcraft. Five years later, the merged companies of Activision Blizzard announced a deal to buy back Vivendi's stake in the company and become independent, and Tencent jumped at the opportunity to buy 5 percent of the company for an undisclosed amount.

In 2018 Tencent snatched up a majority stake in the New Zealand developer of Path of Exile, Grinding Gear Games. The purchase alarmed Path of Exile players who feared the Chinese publisher would start implementing more aggressive microtransactions or changes to Path of Exile's delicate in-game economy. But, like many of Tencent's acquisitions, Grinding Gear Games has supposedly kept its independence over Path of Exile's operation. In the year since, little has changed about Path of Exile's economy or microtransactions despite the game's continued growth.

(Image credit: Grinding Gear Games)

Supercell - 84.3 percent: Tencent's $8.6 billion dollar investment in this Finnish mobile developer is one of the biggest purchases in videogame history. But considering 60 percent of Tencent's $19.13 billion in gaming revenue last year came from mobile games, and Supercell's enduring hits like Clash of Clans, the acquisition makes a lot of sense. Like Riot Games, Supercell reportedly retains most of its independence and is still located in Finland.

Frontier Developments - 9 percent: Tencent invested 17.7 million into the developer of Elite Dangerous and Planet Zoo in 2017 as part of a strategic partnership to capitalize on increased interest in space and "themepark" games in China.

Kakao - 13.5 percent: Kakao is a South Korean internet and entertainment company whose games subsidiary is responsible for the mega-hit Black Desert Online, which surpassed $1 billion in gross sales last year, and also publishes PUBG in South Korea.

Paradox Interactive - 5 percent: When Swedish grand strategy publisher Paradox first went public in 2016, Tencent swooped in to buy 5 percent for $21 million. Part of the sale was motivated because Steven Ma, the head of publishing at Tencent Games, is a big fan of Hearts of Iron 2.

Fatshark - 36 percent: Warhammer: Vermintide 2's success led Tencent to acquire a large minority stake in Swedish developer Fatshark in early 2019 for an estimated $56 million.

Funcom - 29 percent: Tencent's most recent purchase was 29 percent of Funcom, the makers of Conan Exiles and The Secret World.

Sharkmob - 100 percent: This new studio comprised of ex The Division and Hitman devs was fully bought by Tencent in early 2019, though it hasn't announced its first game yet.

Discord: Discord has received $158 million in funding last year, including an undisclosed amount from Tencent (among many other investors).

That covers most of the companies that PC gamers will care about. It also owns a 39.7 percent stake in Sea, a South-East Asia esports and publishing company, an undisclosed majority stake in web game publisher Miniclip, and about a half a dozen minority stakes in a variety of mobile game companies to boot.

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Every game company that Tencent has invested in - PC Gamer

Responsible investment (RI) surged in importance for all types and sizes of institutional investor around the world in the last year, a new survey has found, with the biggest gains in positive sentiment towards the approach recorded among respondents in the UK.

Of the UK respondents toAons 2019 Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing survey, 42% indicated RI was very important or critical to their organisation, up from 19% in 2018, and 87% answered that they believed the approach was at least somewhat important, up from the 66% who gave that response in 2018.

In continental Europe, those percentages were 85% in 2019, up from 80% in 2018.

In the US, meanwhile, the percentages were 78% compared to 57%, and in Canada the proportions were 78% up from 66%.

Tim Manuel, head of responsible investment for Aon in the UK, said: In the UK, where regulations in favour of responsible investing continue to strengthen, we see investors taking more concrete steps to implement responsible investments within their funds.

The fact that Aon had a high response to the survey in the UK, with 43% of overall respondents being based there, was indicative of this frame of mind, Manuel said.

Meredith Jones, author of the report and global head of responsible investing at Aon, said the consultancy was also observing significant investor-led RI efforts where regulation was not driving activity, however.

Year-on-year change in responsible investing attitudes by geographic region

Source: Aon, Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing 2019

The survey polled nearly 230 investment professionals internationally.

Corporate pension funds were revealed to have undergone a sea change in their attitudes to responsible investing, with the share of investors expressing a positive sentiment toward the approach growing from 56% in 2018 to 86% in 2019. Public pensions saw similar growth, according to the poll, but from a different departure point, with positive sentiment spreading from 70% of respondents last year to 92% in 2019.

Year-on-year change in responsible investing attitudes by investor type

Source: Aon, Global Perspectives on Responsible Investing 2019

The most popular primary motivation for pursuing RI across all investors was the belief that incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) data leads to better investment returns, Aon said.

However, the firm said many UK and European respondents indicated in the survey that they were motivated to engage in RI in order to have an effect on global issues such as climate change, diversity or social justice.

By contrast, only 10% of US investors and 8% of Canadian investors indicated global impact as a motivator, Aon said.

According to the survey, lack of agreement on key issues, such as terminology and materiality, was a hindrance for fewer investors this year than last: 14% of those polled in the 2019 survey, down from 26% in 2018. However, Aon said the industry continued to struggle with what constitutes ESG, socially responsible investing (SRI), and impact investing.

In its view, imprecise terms have been applied on a wide variety of investment products, with a number launched over the last 12 months under an ESG label when they included features that fell more under the headng of SRI and/or had impact goals as well.

Aon said it continued to advocate for the apt imposition of names when it comes to all things RI.

It also said it planned to launch an impact fund and a low carbon factor fund for its discretionary asset management clients.

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Chart of the week: Responsible investment surges in importance - IPE.com

After a loss it can be difficult to suss out the bright spots on a football team, especially one as jarring as the Dallas Cowboys Week 4 match-up with the New Orleans Saints. While the offense was stuck in mud all night long the defense held up its end of the bargain for the most part to keep them in the game. The player perhaps as responsible for that as any? Offseason trade acquisition and defensive end Robert Quinn.

Quinn notched two sacks on the night amid numerous pressures of Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater. He leads the team with three takedowns despite only appearing in two of four games on the year due to suspension. He also has four run stops on the season.

Not bad for a sixth-round pick and a contract that was negotiated down for $4 million in savings.

But Quinn is not satisfied.

Asked after the game about his play he replied, If I had a good individual effort and we lost as a team, then my performance wasnt good enough. At the end of the day, we lost as a team, thats all that really matters. I would give up all my stats for a W.

Three times in his career has Quinn hit double-digit sacks (something hes on pace to do again in his age-29 season), and every one of those years were squandered on bad St. Louis Rams teams. In fact, in his previous eight campaigns in the NFL, hes only made one playoff appearance, a wild-card exit in 2017 with the Rams in Los Angeles.

Hes treading unusual water, being on a team with the talent to wade into the postseason current, and his individual performance will be a big part of what this Dallas team is capable of. Being satisfied after a loss is the worst kind of look for a player, one that Quinn is unwilling to wear.

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Player of the Game: Quinn consummate teammate after strong personal performance - Cowboys Wire

It has long stood among the most daunting records in the book. When Marita Koch stopped the clock in the womens 400metres at 47.60sec, at a World Cup event in Canberra 34 years ago, all but one of her opponents had vanished from the TV picture. Jarmila Kratochvilova, the previous world record-holder from Czechoslovakia, was almost 3 seconds back down the track. That Koch produced such a time from an inside lane, and with less-than-textbook form, merely magnified the incredulity.

Kochs feat coincided with an era of rampant doping in her native East Germany, and her name later appeared in a letter in the Stasi files, protesting about a team-mate receiving a higher dose of Oral-Turinabol, the regimes go-to drug. But she never failed a drug test during her career and has insisted that she has a clear conscience.

Ever since that day, Kochs time has been a taunting throwback for her successors, a target that they can marvel at but not even dream of emulating. That is, until 21-year-old Salwa Eid Naser, born in Nigeria but now a naturalised Bahraini, streaked to a stunning 48.14sec here in Doha and blew the possibilities over one lap apart. The result, representing an improvement of almost a second on her personal best, was the most astonishing moment of these championships.

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Salwa Eid Naser's astonishing world 400m performance has blown apart the possibilities over one lap - The Telegraph

Walmart is testing new medical benefits starting in January that it says are designed to make it easier for more than 1 million of its employees with health insurance to find quality care.

A pilot program in Dallas-Fort Worth, Orlando and Tampa, Fla., and Bentonville, Ark., where Walmart is based, will select physicians in each market who score high on quality of care.

The featured physicians will be identified by Nashville-based Embold Health, a firm that researches doctors' performance. The doctors will be selected from those accepting new patients who meet the standards for eight specialties: primary care, cardiology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, obstetrics, oncology, orthopedics and pulmonology.

The prescreening is based on objective data vs. asking a friend for a referral or doing a search for a physician with an office nearby, said Adam Stavisky, senior vice president of U.S. benefits at Walmart.

"This matters," he said, "because physician care varies dramatically."

While the insurance industry has had networks of doctors in plans for some time, this is the first network based on quality of care, he said.

Physicians are evaluated on whether they follow the latest research, adhere to clinical guidelines and consistently deliver the best outcomes. Stavisky quoted research from National Academy of Medicine that said 30% of all health care spending is wasted in part due to unnecessary care.

Other pilot programs Walmart announced Tuesday include a personal health care assistant service in North and South Carolina that will be a source for all patient needs including billing questions, making appointments and understanding diagnoses. The program, through San Francisco-based Grand Rounds, is free to employees on Walmart's medical plans. It can also coordinate transportation and find day care options during appointments.

Walmart already has a telehealth program that allows employees to have a virtual visit with a physician, psychologist or psychiatrist for $4 per visit. A pilot program starting in January in Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin will allow employees to sign up with a personal online doctor and book appointments.

The largest U.S. private employer is also expanding a surgery program that sends employees to top hospitals it calls "centers for excellence." The hospitals specialize in treating certain illnesses, including cancer, transplants, heart disease, weight loss, hip and knee replacements, and spinal surgery.

Lisa Woods, Walmart's senior director of U.S. benefits strategy and design, has been adding hospitals to the program. "We started looking at our data in 2012 and saw a huge disparity in cost, treatment outcomes and protocols," she said.

The program started with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota more than 20 years ago and has expanded to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, Northeast Baptist in San Antonio, Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and others. Employees don't have to travel for their care, but if they do, Walmart pays for 100% of the hospital bills and travel and lodging for the employee and a family member.

About 900 employees in Texas have used the center for excellence program since Walmart expanded it to the state in 2017. About half of them were treated for spine issues, Woods said in an interview earlier this year. Since then, about 250 employees have traveled to Texas hospitals for care from other states for hip and knee replacement and weight loss treatment.

The program also addresses the fact that Walmart has stores in rural markets that don't have hospitals that can accommodate many procedures.

Even if Walmart pays more for the initial surgery, Woods said, cost may not be the most important consideration. "If we get the right care initially, we see savings in the long term," she said.

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Walmart expands medical benefits with pilot program that picks doctors based on performance - The Dallas Morning News

The prime objective of Military Personal Protective Equipment Market report is to help the user understand the market in terms of its definition, segmentation, market potential, influential trends, and the challenges that the market is facing. Deep researches and analysis were done during the preparation of the Military Personal Protective Equipment Market report. The readers will find this report very helpful in understanding the market in depth. The facts and data are represented in the report using diagrams, graphs, pie charts, and other pictorial representations.

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Main Key Players: Eagle Industries Unlimited Inc., 3M Ceradyne, KDH Defense Systems Inc, BAE Systems, Du Pont, GENTEX Corporation, Revision Military Inc, ArmorSource LLC, DSM Dyneema, Honeywell International Inc.

By Product TypeBody Armor (IBA), Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV), Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH), Pelvic Protection Systems (PPS), Life Safety Jackets, Military Combat Eye Protection (MCEP), Others

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Military Personal Protective Equipment Market Sales Volume, Sales Price, Sales Revenue Analysis, Major Manufacturers Performance, Market Share And...

FABIAN ALMAZAN TRIO at Jazz Gallery (Oct. 5, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). Among the most talented young pianists in jazz, Almazan has doubled for the past two years as an impresario and tripled as an activist. His label, Biophilia Records, releases albums with an eye toward sustainability, and donates a portion of its proceeds to ecological causes. His most recent album, This Land Abounds With Life, featuring his trio, is a writhing, emotionally charged lament, full of some of the finest writing and playing of his blossoming career. Here Almazan appears with the bassist Linda May Han Oh (who was on the album) and the drummer Rudy Royston.646-494-3625, jazzgallery.nyc

ART BLAKEY CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION at Dizzys Club (Oct. 7-12, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). Blakey is remembered equally for the thunderous power of his drumming and for his influence on future generations; for over three decades, his Jazz Messengers remained a proving ground for premier young musicians. In recognition of what would have been Blakeys 100th birthday on Oct. 11, Jazz at Lincoln Center has assembled a six-night celebration of his legacy, starting on Monday with a performance by the drummer and Jazz Messengers alum Ralph Peterson, who now pays Blakeys legacy forward as the leader of his own Gen-Next Big Band. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the all-star sextet One for All will play a selection of tunes from the Messengers songbook, and for the remaining nights the trumpeter Valery Ponomarev, a veteran of the Messengers, will lead tributes to Blakey (with his Our Father Who Art Blakey Big Band on Oct. 10, and then in a smaller group on Oct. 11 and 12).212-258-9595, jazz.org/dizzys

FLY at the Village Vanguard (Oct. 8-13, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.). The early 2000s were lean years on the New York jazz scene, but this trio marked a bright spot. Most groups with their instrumentation tenor saxophone, bass and drums would clearly spotlight the horn player, but Fly followed something like the model set in the late 1950s and early 60s by Bill Evanss piano trio and the Jimmy Giuffre 3, in which each band member played an equally liberated role, and the entire group thrived between a low and medium boil. The tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, the bassist Larry Grenadier and the drummer Jeff Ballard, all in their 50s, lead busy careers outside of Fly these days, but the band returns occasionally to the Vanguard, an old stomping ground.212-255-4037, villagevanguard.com

SULLIVAN FORTNER TRIO at Jazz Standard (Oct. 3-6, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). At just 32, this dazzling New Orleanian pianist has already been handsomely decorated: Hes won the Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the American Pianists Associations 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship and the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. And hes caught the ears of many elder musicians. Here he performs with the bassist John Patitucci and the drummer Nasheet Waits, both a generation above him and among jazzs most respected rhythm-section players.212-576-2232, jazzstandard.com

ROBERT GLASPER at the Blue Note (Oct. 3-Nov. 3, 8 and 10:30 p.m.). Probably the most influential pianist and keyboardist of the past 20 years, Glasper has set himself a goal: to make blues tradition-based, improvised music thats easy for the average listener to love. If it werent already clear that hes succeeding, take as evidence the fact that hes been invited back to the Blue Note for a rare monthlong residency, for the second year in a row. He will perform with the rapper and singer Yasiin Bey from Thursday to Sunday, his acoustic trio from Tuesday to Oct. 13, and the bassist and vocalist Esperanza Spalding on Oct. 15 and 16, among other guests. Throughout the residency Glasper will perform six days a week, taking Monday evenings off.212-475-8592, bluenote.net

THANDISWA MAZWAI at the Schomburg Center (Oct. 8, 7 p.m.). One of the most famous musicians in South Africa, Mazwai jump-started her career as a vocalist for the band Bongo Maffin, which helped pioneer kwaito, a genre of South African house music. Since then she has established herself as a belter of clatteringly rhythmic, galvanizing songs about love, resistance and African identity (typically sung in Xhosa) as well as a thrilling bandleader. This concert is presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall Citywide.212-491-2040, schomburgcenter.orgGIOVANNI RUSSONELLO

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12 Pop, Rock and Jazz Concerts to Check Out in N.Y.C. This Weekend - The New York Times

The worlds best track and field athletes are in Doha, Qatar, for the 2019 IAAF World Championships. The biennial event is the most prestigious meet the sport has outside of the Olympic Games. This years edition takes place over 10 days, from September 27 to October 6.

Check back here for all the latest results from the key events each day.

Two years after earning silver in London, Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas finally earned gold at the world championship, and he did it with a national record.

In 43.48 seconds, Gardiner sprinted to victory as the sixth fastest 400-meter runner in history. Behind Gardiner, Anthony Jos Zambrano of Columbia found another gear out of lane eight to finish second in 44.15. American and Diamond League champion Fred Kerley, who ran the second-fastest time in the world prior to Doha, faded to third in 44.17.

The performance marks Kerleys first individual world championship medal. He has a silver medal as a member of the 4x400-meter relay at the 2018 world indoor championships and a silver medal from the 4x400 at the 2017 world championships in London.

In a finish that was almost too close to call, the defending world and Olympic champion continued his reign over the steeplechase. Coming back from a series of injuries, Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya out-leaned Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia for the victory in a winning time of 8:01.35, just 0.01 seconds faster than his east African rival. The mark was the second-fastest winning time ever run at a world championship.

Behind the sprint between Kipruto and Girma, Soufiane El Bakkali finished third in 8:03.76.

From the gun, Ethiopian teammates Girma, Getnet Wale, and Chala Beyo established the quick early pace in an attempt to out-run Kipruto, who remained on their heels. The Ethiopians exchanged leads throughout the race, even jumping to the front immediately once Kipruto attempted to lead with two laps remaining. By the bell lap, the top group of Kipruto, Girma, El Bakkali, Wale, and Djilali Bedrani of France were all in contention. With a swift move to the front at 200 meters, Girma attempted to run away from the field, but Kipruto chased him down and ultimately caught and passed him with a lean at the line.

Kiprutos performance marks his second world championship gold medal and fifth global medal of his career.

Of the American competitors, Hillary Bor finished the highest with an eighth-place showing. Stanley Kebenei finished 10th, and Andrew Bayer closed for 12th overall.

Dalilah Muhammad accomplished the ultimate championship performance in the womens 400-meter hurdles final. The American standout broke her own world record and earned her first world championship gold medal in a winning time of 52.16.

Closing hard, fellow American competitor Sydney McLaughlin finished behind her in a personal best of 52.23. Jamaicas Rushell Clayton also ran a personal best on her way to a third-place finish in 53.74.

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Muhammads record-breaking victory ends a historic season on the track. She broke the previous 16-year-old world record while winning the USATF Outdoor Championships in July. Prior to Doha, Muhammad earned gold at the 2016 Olympic Games and silver at the 2013 and 2017 IAAF world championships. Todays performance marks Muhammads first ever world championship gold.

In the first heat of the mens 1500-meter semifinal, Timothy Cheruiyot took control of the race. The Kenyan standout led from the gun all the way into the finish line with a winning time of 3:36.53. Less than a second behind the 2017 silver medalist, 2012 Olympic champion Taoufik Makhloufi, Neil Gourley of Great Britain, American Craig Engels, and Kalle Berglund of Sweden sprinted for a blanket finish across the line to take the remaining five automatic spots into the final.

The second heat was slightly faster and kept the crowd on its toes with a sprint to the finish on the homestretch. The late charge was led by Marcin Lewandowski of Poland, who won the heat in 3:36.50. After leading the majority of the race, Kenyan Ronald Kwemoi finished second in 3:36.53. Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway closed for third, Josh Kerr of Great Britain finished fourth, Youssouf Hiss Bachir finished fifth, and 2016 Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz finished sixth and advanced to the final based on time.

Of the U.S. competitors, Engels and Centrowitz earned a place in the final. Ben Blankenship was the first runner out of contention based on his time in the first heat.

The final will be run at 12:40 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 6.

The Americans dominated the first of two heats for the womens 4x100-meter relay. The squad of Dezerea Bryant, Teahna Daniels, Morolake Akinosun, and Kiara Parker combined to run 42.46, well ahead of runner-up Trinidad and Tobago and third-place finishers Switzerland. All three teams automatically advanced to the final.

The Jamaicans followed up Team USAs win with a heat two victory in 42.11, the fastest time of the day. Led off by Natalliah Whyte, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Jonielle Smith, and finished by Natasha Morrison, the Jamaicans ran a seasons best mark ahead of runner-up Great Britain and China, who finished third. The teams who qualified for the final based on time were Germany and Italy

The final will be run at 3:05 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 5.

GIUSEPPE CACACEGetty Images

All of the top contenders advanced to what should be a fascinating final on Saturday.

The first of the two heats was absolutely loaded, with mile record-holder Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, reigning world and Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, and U.S. champion Shelby Houlihan among those vying for only five automatic qualifying spots.

The race started at a crawl, with the first two laps covered at 5:00 mile pace. When the racing began, Hassan covered the last lap in 58 seconds, moving from last to first to win in 4:14.69. Houlihan and Kipyegon also sprinted well, placing second and fourth, respectively. Hassan, who won the 10,000 on Saturday, is now one race removed from taking an unprecedented 1500/10K double.

The second heat was fast from the start, with the first lap covered at sub-4:20 mile pace. The women knew that the two time qualifiers for the final would come from it, so finishing in the top seven was the goal.

American stalwart Jenny Simpson won in 4:00.99. Her teammate Nikki Hiltz continued her breakthrough season, nabbing the final qualifying spot with a personal best of 4:01.52 in seventh place. Great Britains Laura Muir showed no signs of the calf injury that kept her away from racing since July. She placed third in 4:01.05, and should be considered a medal contender on Saturday.

Salwa Eid Naser Flies to First World Title in 400 Meters

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Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain led one of the deepest womens 400s in history to win in 48.14. Reigning Olympic champ Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas took silver in 48.37, while Sherika Jackson of Jamaica was third in 49.47.

In all, the first five women set personal bests, including Americans Wadeline Jonathas, who was fourth in 49.60, and Phyllis Francis, fifth in 49.61. Francis ran faster in todays race than she did when she won the world title two years ago.

Eid Naser, the silver medalist in 2017, took off with her usual aggression and was never challenged. She is now the third fastest woman in history over 400 meters.

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The depth of mens 1500-meter running was on display in this first of three rounds. The slowest of the 24 men to advance to Fridays semifinals had to run the equivalent of a 3:55 mile.

The first of the three heats featured a blanket finish, with only half a second separating the first nine runners. Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz of the U.S. and 19-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway showed their usual tactical savvy, with Ingebrigtsen winning in 3:37.67 and Centrowitz third in 3:37.69. Ethiopian Samuel Tefera, the indoor world record-holder, led until the final meters, but placed seventh in the mass finish. He advanced only as a time qualifier.

Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, fastest in the world this year, easily won the second heat in 3:36.82. American Ben Blankenship placed third in 3:37.13. Filip Ingebrigtsen pushed Tedesse Lemi of Ethiopia at the start of the final lapcausing Lemi to fall and finish well behind the fieldyet the Norwegian was not disqualified. He will join his brother Jakob in the semis.

The third heat was the fastest, and up front was a bit of a flashback. It was won by Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti, the 2014 world indoor champ, in 3:36.16, just ahead of Taoufik Makhloufi, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. U.S. champion Craig Engels placed fifth in 3:36.35. The semifinals will begin at 1:10 p.m. EST on Friday, October 4.

Grant Holloway had the race of his career when he sprinted to his first world championship title in the mens 110-meter hurdles. With a look of shock on his face, the eight-time NCAA champion reached the finish line first in a winning time of 13.10 seconds.

Holloways title follows a long season of racing that started on January 19, first at the NCAA level for the University of Florida, and then as a professional at the USATF Outdoor Championships where he finished second. Holloways victory in Doha marks the 21-year-olds first medal at a global championship.

Behind Holloway, 2015 world champion and neutral athlete Sergey Shubenkov earned silver in 13.15 and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde of France took bronze in 13.18.

For the majority of the race, the win looked like it would come down to a lean between Holloway and defending world champion Omar McLeod, but the Jamaican sprinter hit the last hurdle and collapsed on the track. He was later disqualified from the competition for impeding Spanish competitor Orlando Ortega.

From the gun, Dina Asher-Smith, 23, led the chase for the 200-meter crown. The sprinter from Great Britain powered down the homestretch with a big lead and kept the momentum going all the way into the finish line with a winning time of 21.88, a national record.

The championship performance in the 200 meters followed a breakthrough run in the 100-meter final where she ran a personal best and national record time of 10.83.

Behind Asher-Smith, Brittany Brown of the U.S. earned silver with a personal best of 22.22. Munjina Kambundji of Switzerland grabbed the final podium spot with a third-place finish in 22.51. American Anglerne Annelus finished fourth in 22.59 seconds.

World record-holder Dalilah Muhammad and fellow American competitor Sydney McLaughlin both made sub-54 seconds look easy.

Muhammad, the U.S. champion and 2016 Olympic champion, kicked off the semfinal round with a victory in 53.91 to win the first heat and automatically advance to the final. Behind her, Sage Watson who competed for the University of Arizona, set a Canadian national record of 54.32 to advance.

In the third heat, McLaughlin glided over the hurdles to run the fastest time of the day in 53.81. At just 20 years old, the 2018 NCAA champion and collegiate record-holder has become one of the favorites to win gold.

Jamaicas Rushell Clayton threw down a quick surge in the last 50 meters to take heat two in 54.17. Zuzana Hejnovaof the Czech Republic finished a close second in 54.41. Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Spencer led on the homestretch but faded over the final hurdle to third in 54.42. She advanced to the final based on time.

The final will be run at 1:30 p.m. EST on Friday, October 4.

The biggest surprise of the mens 400-meter semifinal was Michael Norman finishing last in the final heat. The American standout, who was a gold medal contender, looked strong heading into the 200-meter mark, but appeared to struggle around the final turn. He crossed the finish line in 45.94 while heat winner Machel Cedeno of Trinidad and Tobago won the race in 44.41. Behind Cedeno, Anthony Jose Zambrano finished second in a Columbian national record of 44.55 and automatically advanced.

Easing into the finish line, U.S. champion Fred Kerley safely secured his position into the final with a winning time of 44.25 out of heat one. Behind him, former NCAA star Emmanuel Korir of Kenya finished second in a seasons best time of 44.37. Both runners automatically advanced to the final.

Heat two was led by two world championship medalists, with 2017 silver medalist Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas winning in a seasons best of 44.13 and 2011 world champion Kirani James of Grenada closing for second in a seasons best of 44.23. American Vernon Norwood finished fourth and did not advance.

The two runners who advanced on time were Jamaicans Demish Gaye and Akeem Bloomfield.

The final will be run at 2:40 p.m. EST on Friday, October 4.

Jamaican Omar McLeod led the way in the second round of the mens 110 hurdles. The 2017 world champion and 2016 Olympic champion sprinted to the line first in 13.08 to win heat two in the fastest time of the day. In heat one, American and eight-time NCAA champion Grant Holloway comfortably earned the victory in 13.10. Finally, Orlando Ortega of Spain led heat three in 13.16 seconds.

Devon Allen of the U.S. earned a qualifying spot based on time with his fourth-place finish in heat two.

The final will be run at 3 p.m. EST tonight.

On her way to qualifying for the womens 5,000-meter final, American Karissa Schweizer scored a big personal best with a runner-up finish in the first heat. Hellen Obiri, 2017 world champion, won the race in 14:52.13, just four days after finishing fifth in the 10,000-meter final. Behind her, Schweizer closed in 14:52.41, which improved on her previous PR by nine seconds and earned her a place in her first ever world championship final.

In order to automatically qualify for the final out of the first heat, the top five competitors had to run 15:02 or faster, and four of the top seven finishers walked away with personal bests. American standout Elle Purrier crossed the line ninth overall and was able to advance as the last qualifier with her time of 15:08.82.

The second heat started conservatively but ended with a surge when Konstanze Klosterhalfen took control of the pace with three laps remaining. The German, who trains with the Nike Oregon Project, finished with Tsehay Gemechu of Ethiopia and Margaret Kipkemboi of Kenya across the finish line in 15:01. Lilian Rengeruk of Kenya and Laura Weightman of Great Britain earned the last automatic qualifying spots out of heat two, while Fantu Worku of Ethiopia earned a place in the final based on time. American Rachel Schneider finished eighth and will not advance.

The final will be run at 2:25 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 5.

Just four days after winning the womens 10,000-meter final, Sifan Hassan returned to the track to comfortably win the first heat of the 1500-meter rounds. The mile world record-holder, who trains with the Nike Oregon Project, started in the back of the pack but worked her way up to the front with 700 meters to go.

From the 200-meter mark, Hassan led the field all the way into the finish line, which she crossed in 4:03.88. Faith Kipyegon, the 2017 world champion, finished second in 4:03.93 and American Nikki Hiltz earned an automatic spot in the semifinal when she finished third in 4:04.

U.S. champion Shelby Houlihan conserved her energy until the homestretch of heat No. 2, where she surged ahead to finish in the top six for an automatic qualifying spot. The race was won by Rababe Arafi of Morocco in 4:08.32, and Houlihan finished fourth in 4:08.51.

Jenny Simpson, the 2017 silver medalist in this event, took control of the third heat with a victory in 4:07.27, which launched all three American competitors into the semifinal round.

The semifinal will be run at 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 3.

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In his first ever senior world championship, Noah Lyles kept his winning streak alive with gold in the mens 200 meters. The American sprinter ran 19.83 to earn his first world championship gold medal of his career. Read more about Lyles win here.

Unlike most of the previous races this season that he dominated, Lyles was challenged on the homestretch by silver medalist Andre de Grasse of Canada and Alex Quinez of Ecuador who secured the bronze medal. De Grasse finished in 19.95 and Quinez closed for a final time of 19.98.

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Donavan Brazier secured the first 800-meter world championship gold medal for the United States. In the process, Brazier broke the 34-year-old American record and the championship record with a winning time of 1:42.34. (Read more about Braziers record-breaking performance here.)

Behind Brazier, Amel Tuka of Bosnia sprinted to silver in a seasons best of 1:43.47 and Ferguson Rotich of Kenya earned bronze in a time of 1:43.82. American Bryce Hoppel of the United States attempted to secure the final podium spot with a last-minute kick but finished fourth in a personal best of 1:44.25.

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In what appeared to be an effortless victory, 2016 Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas won the second heat in 49.66 and solidified her status as the favorite to win gold in the final. The world leader finished well ahead of American Wadeline Jonathas, who ran a personal best of 50.07 while surging past Shericka Jackson of Jamaica in the final meters of the second heat. Miller-Uibos time was the fastest of the three heats.

In the first heat of the semifinals, 2017 world silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain won easily in 49.79. Behind her, 2017 world champion Phyllis Francis of the U.S. finished second in a seasons best of 50.22 to earn the last automatic qualifying spot into the final.

The third heat saw two competitors fall out of contention. Galefele Moroko of Botswana pulled up early while American champion Shakima Wimbley pulled up just before the homestretch. Meanwhile, Stephenie Ann McPherson of Jamaica comfortably won the last heat in 50.70.

Of the four American competitors, Jonathas and Francis will represent the U.S. in the final, which will be run at 3:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, October 3.

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The last heat of the mens steeplechase semifinals saw multiple competitors fall early on in the competition, but the podium contenders remained unscathed. While waving to the crowd on the final lap, defending Olympic and world champion Conseslus Kipruto eased into the finish line in a winning time of 8:19.20, ahead of Kenyan teammate and runner-up Benjamin Kigen and American standout Hilary Bor, who finished third in 8:20.67 for the last automatic qualifying spot into the final.

Ethiopia made a statement in the previous heats with two victories. Getnent Wale kicked off the semifinal round with a winning time of 8:12, which left the race up to a last-minute surge in the last 150 meters of the first heat. American Stanley Kebenei lost touch with the top five finishers on the final stretch and finished sixth in 8:19.02.

In heat two, Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia won in 8:16; he beat Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and Abraham Kibiwot, who kicked past American Andy Bayer in the last 30 meters. Bayer finished fourth in 8:18.66.

Both Kebenei and Bayer will join Bor in advancing to the final as two of the six fastest performers outside of the top three in each semifinal heat. The final will be run at 1:45 p.m. EST on Friday, October 4.

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Defending world champion Kori Carter had a difficult run in the first round of the womens 400-meter hurdles. In the second heat, the American standout pulled up around the 200-meter mark and dropped out of the race. At the 2017 world championships in London, Carter upset 2016 Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad to win gold.

Since the 2017 world championships, Muhammad has made history as the world record-holder in the event. She broke the 16-year-old record at the 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships, where she won the race in 52.20 seconds. In the first rounds of heats on Tuesday, Muhammad won her heat easily in 54.87 and advanced to the semifinals.

Her competitor, fellow American hurdler Sydney McLaughlin also solidified her position in the semifinals with a winning time of 54.45 in heat one, the fastest time of the day. Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Spencer qualified after placing fourth in heat four. The semifinals will be run at 2:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday, October 6.

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2012 Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada made his return to the championship stage with the fastest mark in the first round heats of the mens 400 meters. His qualifying time of 44.94 led the first heat on Tuesday. The Granadians performance was his second race of the 2019 season after reportedly contracting graves disease in 2017, which sidelined him for the majority of the past two seasons.

The American sprinters eased into the next round with U.S. silver medallist Michael Norman leading the way in heat four with a time of 45.00, the second-fastest time overall. Fred Kerley, Vernon Norwood, and Nathan Strother also earned qualifying marks to advance to the semifinals, which will be run at 12:35 p.m. EST on Wednesday, October 6.

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Karsten Warholm of Norway took the race out hard and wasnt really challenged to repeat as world champion in 47.42, while American Rai Benjamin was second in 47.66. Abderrahman Samba of Qatar gave the home crowd something to cheer about by taking the bronze in 48.03.

Warholm was the surprise winner in London two years ago. His post-race shock at the time launched a thousand memes.

After his strong start, Warholm started to strain before the final hurdle. Benjamin was able to close the gap briefly, but the American also started to tie up in the final stretch, and Warholm held it together to the line.

American Ajee Wilson gave winning the world title her best shot, but came up 40 meters short. After leading from the start, Wilson was overtaken by Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda, who won in a national record of 1:58.04. Wilsons training partner Raevyn Rogers squeezed past Wilson to take the silver in 1:58.18, while Wilson repeated her bronze medal performance of two years ago in 1:58.84.

The third American in the field, CeAira Brown, was eighth in 2:02.97.

With defending champion Caster Semenya not racing because of the IAAFs new rules on testosterone in female athletes, Wilson was the consensus favorite heading into worlds. She looked great through the qualifying rounds, as did Rogers.

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Wilson took it out fast, passing the 200-meter mark in under 27 seconds. Winnie Nanyondo of Uganda and Natoya Goule of Jamaica pressed from behind. The time at the bell was 57.96. Rogers was, uncharacteristically, next to last entering the final lap.

Wilson tried to make another move with about 250 meters to go, and opened the slightest of gaps, but couldnt make it stick. When Nakaayi pulled alongside for the real sprinting on the homestretch, Wilson couldnt match her. Rogers closed the best of the field, overtaking Wilson in the final seconds and almost catching Nakaayi.

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Highlights From the 2019 IAAF World Championships - runnersworld.com

There is fantastic talent out there to drive growing companies, but the best people are scattered everywhere and with full personal lives that prevent them from relocating to headquarters easily. Yet for enterprises that hire people in different geographies, and perhaps allow significant working from home as well, the old methods of management and teambuilding are not effective, and communications and productivity can suffer. So, whats the solution?

This is a common problem nowadays, and many companies deploy the usual tools: on the one hand, digital communications through frequent conference calls, file sharing and collaborative working platforms, email, text messaging, plus electronic monitoring, control and performance oversight systems; on the other hand, real face time through regular travel and routine meetings to bring people together in person for planning, problem-solving and relationship building. These techniques help a lot and are basic components for teams working across different geographies.

A more effective solution, however, is to adopt a comprehensive strategy for productivity across multi-location working. This means combining a commitment to excellence in personnel wherever they are with a performance-based culture and a full array of tools designed explicitly to support dispersed teams and help them achieve their best regardless of where they are based.

There is fantastic talent out there to drive growing companies, but the best people are scattered across the globe. The trend towards remote workers requires us to step up to the next level.

Working at a distance can bring strains. But by underlining the reason for the geographical spread (a commitment to the best people, regardless of location), highlighting the benefits this gives to staff (in terms of enabling their personal lives), and underscoring a commitment at all levels to make it work, this challenge can be converted into a strength and managing it becomes a positive.

A pioneer in this approach is AppNeta, led by Matt Stevens. The company is a leader in monitoring and enhancing the performance of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps typically suites of software packages hosted by a third party on the cloud or between different data centers for use by customers. So, the companys entire ethos is delivering efficiency and effectiveness across extended networks and remote locations.

With more than 120 personnel, corporate HQs in Boston and Vancouver, and seven other satellite offices, it was a short step to decide to practice what they preach by establishing the same commitment within their own dispersed staff teams to performance, results and effective communications across their human network.

We want the best talent, regardless of where that talent lives, says Stevens. Were happy to make the compromise of having a team of all-stars who may not see each other in person that often opposed to losing out on the best talent because of geography.

AppNeta has taken a comprehensive approach. Our idea has been to weave the team together by establishing a culture of intentional, open communication, says Stevens. We focus our people on clear, specific individual and team goals and deliverables and hold them accountable to that, not on how they do the job or when or where they do it. We then use all available tech tools to support connectivity and intimacy so people feel as close to being in the same office as they can.

The change requires a shift in the entire corporate culture, away from a 9-to-5, office-based concept towards a results and delivery orientation. As Stevens recalls, We did away with the whole idea of fixed start time, fixed break time for lunch, fixed end time. The idea was, Here's your job, here are your targets, here's what you must learn, here's what you must invest in yourself, now go make it happen. It was a big epiphany for the organization, and a big breakthrough, letting us bring in a whole different quality of talent. The creativity and the ability for the team to take chances went up several hundred percent.

Specifically, this approach means:

Decentralized teams do face a risk. Control is important and becomes harder to maintain. Without the chance to see their teams in person, managers have to ensure that they make the extra effort to stay on top of everyone and provide them adequate support. Communications is always a major challenge across numerous locations, and the absence of the easy ability to sit together, solve problems and even socialize, can lead to inefficiencies, misunderstandings and occasional tensions.

While its always been important to be goal focused and to communicate well, the trend towards remote workers requires us to step up to the next level. However, the benefits are also clear, as AppNeta illustrates. We want amazing talent and we don't care where people are, says Stevens. We've hired people all over the US, across Canada, in Eastern Europe. The key is to focus not on where people live but on the talent and their capabilities, their passion and their alignment to your corporate mission.

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Making Virtual Teams Feel Like They're In The Same Room: The AppNeta Approach - Forbes