By Jennifer Vazquez

Observer Correspondent

HARRISON

There are many stories and personal accounts that reflect the importance and the changing factor that sports, discipline, hard work and passion have on the lives of numerous. This fact holds true to no other than Josef Manuel owner and instructor of Cutting Edge Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

In an exclusive interview with The Observer, Manuel, an international champion-winning jiu jitsu fighter, vividly recounts the point in time when he became interested in this martial arts form and the important role this sport has had in his life.

Manuel, a first-generation born of Puerto Rican parents, was born and raised in Newark where he was raised. Being smaller than others his age and in his neighborhood he was bullied.

One day I was at the playground, on the swing, he said. Next thing I remember seeing were trees, leaves and boots.

This particular incident was a turning point in his life as he became adamant to become stronger and wiser never allowing another to intimidate or physically hurt him or others in that manner again.

Because of my size I was constantly being bullied, he said. Thats how my quest began. That quest to find out, what I can do, how I can prepare myself to not have to go through that againThere has to be some sort of self defense that I can learn to never have to go through that again.

According to Manuel, since money was tight during his youth, it wasnt until he was old enough to earn a living that he decided to finally learn jiu-jitsu, the fighting art form that had always captivated him.

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Josef Manuel: A story of dedication and success

While Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is leaving the position this year, his time in office has been a personal success in at least one aspect: the fortunes of his extended family have risen to at least $2.7 billion.

Almost all of that money appears to have been made during his tenure, David Barboza of the New York Times reports.

Barboza also notes that Wen "has broad authority over the major industries where his relatives have made their fortunes".

Here's some of the assets he found:

The holdings include a villa development project in Beijing; a tire factory in northern China; a company that helped build some of Beijings Olympic stadiums, including the iconic Birds Nest; and Ping An Insurance, one of the worlds biggest financial services companies.

Following the scandal of Bo Xilai and the subsequent investigation of his own unusually large finances, there's been a lot of scrutiny of official corruption in China. Foreign executives have long complained that hiring the relatives of Chinese "princelings" and officials on inflated salaries was part and parcel of doing business in China.

The New York Times may be expecting some consequences. When Bloomberg looked into the financial dealings of incoming President Xi Jinping (and found that, like Wen's family, they appeared to be billionaires), Bloomberg.com was blocked in China.

More From Business Insider

Originally posted here:
Wen Jiabao's Family Is Much Richer Than Anyone Realized

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5w6zhq/successes_and) has announced the addition of the "Successes and Failures Case Study: Birchbox" report to their offering.

Birchbox is part of Datamonitor Consumer's Successes and Failures series. These case studies examine best-in-class examples of innovation and marketing - supported by Datamonitor's consumer insight research - to drive success.

Effective innovation is difficult to come by, but it is the key to sustained competitive advantage in the consumer packaged goods industry. Lessons can be learned from both successes and failures. This case study looks at how Birchbox - a subscription-based personal care sampling service - has successfully reimagined product sampling to provide a "win-win" scenario for both consumers and brands.

Scope

- Access comprehensive analysis of global successes and failures in the consumer packaged goods industry to drive ideation and inspiration.

- Obtain country-specific consumer insight to understand the consumer attitudes and needs that underpinned innovation success/failure.

- Avoid costly investments by learning important lessons from companies and brands that have failed or under-delivered.

- Obtain a broader appreciation of the CPG industry by gaining insights from both within and outside of your category.

Highlights

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Research and Markets: Successes and Failures Case Study: Birchbox - A Subscription Based Personal Care Sampling ...

CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Nonprofit organizations around the world are looking to expand use of mobile technology, grow online fundraising and improve donor communication and multichannel engagement.

These are just some of the findings from the 2012 State of the Nonprofit Industry report, released today by Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB), featuring survey results from more than 1500 respondents from nine countries covering approaches to overcoming common challenges, fundraising trends, and use of mobile and interactive technology.

Optimism in the nonprofit sector varies based largely on how an organization communicates with its constituents and the technologies it employs, said Marc Chardon, Blackbauds chief executive officer. Generally, nonprofits that adopt multiple engagement channels have a more optimistic outlook on their ability to recruit new donors, retain existing donors and grow individual contributions in the coming year.

Key findings from the survey include:

For more comprehensive data and a breakdown by country, visit http://www.blackbaud.com/soni to download the full report.

About the survey

The State of the Nonprofit Industry survey is disseminated via a unique collaborative worldwide network of nonprofit country institutes, associations and NGOs including: L'Association Franaise des Fundraisers, Centro Studi Philanthropy, Daryl Upsall Consulting International, Deutscher Fundraising Verband, Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA), Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ), and The Resource Alliance. This years survey was fielded in June 2012 and reports on data from more than 1,500 respondents in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States. Conducted annually since 2004, the survey questions uncover:approaches to overcoming common nonprofit challenges, fundraising trends, and the use of mobile technologies.To download the complete report, visitwww.blackbaud.com/soni.

About Blackbaud

Serving the nonprofit and education sectors for 30 years, Blackbaud (BLKB) combines technology and expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Blackbaud works with more than 27,000 customers in over 60 countries that support higher education, healthcare, human services, arts and culture, faith, the environment, independent K-12 education, animal welfare and other charitable causes. The company offers a full spectrum of cloud-based and on-premise software solutions and related services for organizations of all sizes including: fundraising, eMarketing, social media, advocacy, constituent relationship management (CRM), analytics, financial management and vertical-specific solutions. Using Blackbaud technology, these organizations raise more than $100 billion each year. Recognized as a top company by Forbes, InformationWeek, and Software Magazine and honored by Best Places to Work, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. For more information, visitwww.blackbaud.com.

Originally posted here:
Multichannel Engagement Key for Nonprofits’ Fundraising Success

Matt Kenseth (left) has spent much of his Sprint Cup career in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s shadow, especially during their rookie year in 2000.

Peter Cosgrove/AP

Matt Kenseth has spent his entire NASCAR career racing in the margins of celebrity status. He's one of the sport's most accomplished drivers of the past 13 seasons, winning 24 times since his Sprint Cup rookie year in 2000 and capturing the 2003 series title. He consistently runs in the top 10 and has made the Chase for the Championship every year except 2009.

Still, despite all his sustained success, Kenseth never lingers for long on center stage. That's partly because he doesn't seek the attention, but it's also because fate continually moves the spotlight away from Kenseth. He won Cup Rookie of the Year honors the same season that a fellow named Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke into the series. (In fact, quite a few people probably think Earnhardt was the rookie of the year that season.) During Kenseth's championship season, he made it to Victory Lane only once. So even as he was proving that he was that year's best driver, the primary focus week after week often went elsewhere.

This year has been a prime example of how Kenseth's racing ability continually gets overshadowed. He won the Daytona 500, a race that forever will be remembered for Juan Pablo Montoya slamming into a jet dryer and igniting a fireball that caused a two-hour delay. Earlier in October Kenseth took the checkered flag at Talladega as all the attention was focused on a 25-car melee behind him. Then just this past weekend Kenseth's victory at Kansas was mostly a footnote in a race dominated by talk of a slick track, spinning cars and a deadlocked Chase race.

It's always been this way for Kenseth. He won seven times during his two seasons in the Nationwide Series in 1998 and 1999, the same two years that Earnhardt won 13 races and back-to-back Nationwide championships. As the duo prepared to make the move to Cup racing in 2000, they were asked to pose together for a photo shoot. The photographer wanted Kenseth to stand behind Earnhardt and slightly to one side of him, so Kenseth was partially obscured.

"They were trying to get this cool look, and they kept having me move farther over and over behind him where you couldn't see all of my face," Kenseth recalled with a smile earlier this year. "Finally I said, 'Look, why don't I just leave.'"

Actually, leaving is the one thing that has brought attention to Kenseth this season. It was announced in late June that Kenseth will depart Roush Fenway Racing at the end of this season after 14 years with the organization to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. The move caught most people by surprise, primarily because the low-key Kenseth had always seemed content to stay in the comfort zone he had created at Roush.

Kenseth never has been specific about why he is leaving Roush, though money undoubtedly has something to do with it. When asked about the situation last month, Kenseth replied, "Timing really is everything. There have been a lot of changes over there [at RFR], going into this year being in the last year of my contract -- trying to get sponsorship secured and trying to figure out what was going on for sure. [...] I got into May and still didn't really have anything done and weren't even really talking about a whole bunch of stuff. I had this opportunity come up with Joe and JD [Gibbs] talking to me about coming over there and racing. And it was something that really interested me a lot."

Some might claim the decision cost Kenseth a shot at this year's Sprint Cup championship. The announcement that he was leaving came out just before the race at Kentucky Speedway. He finished seventh in that race and third a week later at Daytona, leaving him atop the series point standings. Then Kenseth hit a major slump, managing only three top-10 finishes and one top-5 over the next 13 races. When he left Dover with a 35th-place finish on Sept. 30, Kenseth was last in the standings among the 12 Chase drivers, his title hopes gone just three races into the Chase.

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Cary Estes: Despite constant success , Matt Kenseth has remained in shadows throughout career

"For Personal Argentina, Amobee alliance represents a great opportunity to further strengthen our leadership in the mobile entertainment development and continue adding value to our services", said Ignacio Nores, Marketing Director of Personal Argentina. "We are proud to partner with Personal Argentina to enable them to be a leader in mobile advertising," said Trevor Healy, CEO of Amobee. "Leading operators like Personal Argentina are in a unique position to fuel the mobile advertising market and gain substantial ROI by serving relevant and engaging mobile ads for large advertisers and brands."

Amobee PULSE for Publishers will be used to push mobile ads to consumers, helping mobile operators, publishers and advertisers better monetize content in the mobile space. The PULSE platform pushes relevant, contextually targeted ads through the mobile space; from an advertiser standpoint the platform offers robust analytics and support for various mobile ad formats.

As more mobile devices hit the market in South America it will become even more important for brands in the mobile space to serve ads relevant to the content with which consumers are engaging.

Data from comScore in the summer months found smartphones and tablets are pushing more content consumption in Argentina; mobile devices now account for just over 2% of Internet content consumption. Google's Android platform accounts for more than 56% of mobile page views.

Tags: Amobee, Argentina, comScore, mobile ads, mobile marketing, mobile trends

Continued here:
Personal Argentina taps Amobee for mobile ads

ATLANTA, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The advent of new personal computing devices with more memory and greater capabilities means that the workplace computer and the home personal computer will morph into a single device, transforming the workplace yet again and underscoring the continued blurring of lines between work and personal lifestyles.

The trend toward Bring Your Own Technology or "BYOT" are among the findings by CoreNet Global, an association of corporate real estate executives which earlier this year released Corporate Real Estate 2020, a forward-looking study of corporate workplace and real estate trends.

The implications of sharing personal and business computing in a single device include physical and electronic security measures, saving corporate expenses, and varying real estate space allocations.

CoreNet Global's research findings also predict that the power and speed of personal digital devices will eventually make cloud computing obsolete.

By the next decade, information technology (IT) support budgets could decrease by as much as 40 percent, according to the study, as IT provisioning of individuals becomes the responsibility of the employee.

Additionally, another major contributor to BYOT into the corporate workplace will be the accelerated growth of the "contingent" and contract work force expected to comprise up to 60 percent of many organizations in terms of total overall employee headcount by the year 2020.

"Companies will just assume an employee has that device and that it can run any applications, so I don't see why a company wouldn't just have an app that you load onto your personal PC, or iPad, or tablet, or whatever it is. Then, you just access their world through your application," said one corporate executive who participated in the study conducted over the course of 10 months between August 2011 and May 2012.

However, barriers to the adoption of BYOT will remain in the form of security, particularly relevant to the world financial institutions, for whom keeping too much information in the cloud becomes an unnecessary risk.

Still that challenge will give rise in the short term to the development of new and high-tech forms of electronic security, including biometric security.

"BYOT is not quite wearable yet and it's not quite biometric, however, I think that's coming in the next several years in the near very near term future," the same executive commented in the study.

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Corporate Real Estate 2020: Companies Will Adopt "Bring Your Own Technology" Practices for Employees as Workplace ...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina and REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Amobee, the company defining mobile advertising, and Personal Argentina, a leading mobile operator in Argentina, today announce their partnership to bring relevant mobile advertising inventory to large advertisers and brands using Amobee's leading-edge mobile advertising platform, Amobee PULSE for Publishers.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120125/SF41724LOGO-a)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121024/SF98971LOGO)

Amobee PULSE for Publishers is the most comprehensive, configurable and secure mobile advertising platform and was designed from the ground up to help large operators and publishers monetize their direct and remnant mobile advertising inventory. With PULSE for Publishers, Personal Argentina is able to serve the most relevant and contextual ads and efficiently manage large mobile ad campaigns. The platform's sophisticated, robust analytics and support for innovative ad formats, like rich media, enables Personal Argentina to offer brands the ability to reach consumers with the most engaging, effective mobile ads.

"For Personal Argentina, the Amobee alliance represents a great opportunity to further strengthen our leadership in the mobile entertainment development and continues adding value to our services," said Ignacio Nores, Marketing Director of Personal Argentina.

"We are proud to partner with Personal Argentina to enable them to be a leader in mobile advertising," said Trevor Healy, CEO of Amobee. "Leading operators like Personal Argentina are in a unique position to fuel the mobile advertising market and gain substantial ROI by serving relevant and engaging mobile ads for large advertisers and brands."

About Personal Argentina

Personal Argentina is thelargest company of mobile communications of Argentina with more than 18,7 million customers. "Each person is a world" is the concept that leverages their business strategy and promotesdiversity as a universal value. Personal Argentina offers services and flexible supplies thatcome together to harness the experience of mobile connectivity for each customer, adaptingitself totheir lifestyles. Personal began operations in 1996 and its shareholder is Telecom Argentina S.A.For additional information http://www.personal.com.ar/

About Amobee[amobee], the company defining mobile advertising, offers comprehensive, end-to-end mobile advertising solutions and services for advertisers, publishers and operators worldwide. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, with offices in Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin America and throughout the United States, [amobee] enables its large customers to run targeted, leading edge mobile ad campaigns on a global scale with unparalleled ROI. [amobee] is a division of SingTel's Digital L!fe Group, which is focused on creating new digital growth engines to delight customers and disrupt adjacent industries. [amobee] was declared the winner of the "Mobile Marketing & Advertising Agency of the Year" award at the 17th Annual Global Mobile Awards, held at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Amobee was selected for its sustained leadership, creativity, innovation and success in mobile advertising, successfully spearheading growth, adoption and evolution of this fast-growing industry.

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Personal Argentina and Amobee Join Forces in Mobile Advertising

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

borro, the leading online personal asset lender, today announced it has raised $32 million in funding through Octopus Investments (Octopus). borro, which has seen significant growth over the last three years by offering its clients unrivaled speed, ease and pricing, will use the new funding line to meet customer demand for Personal Asset Lending in the US and the UK.

borro has disrupted the mainstream pawn broking and auction industries by creating a liquidity marketplace for luxury personal assets. Launched in the UK in 2008 and in the US in January 2012, borro has defined a new category of lending - Personal Asset Lending - in the process. With an average loan value of $10,000, borro focuses on providing liquidity from luxury personal assets such as watches, jewelry, prestige and classic cars, fine art and antiques.

Octopus, one of the UK's leading specialist investment management companies, first financed borros UK loan book in 2011. The new facility builds on Octopus existing relationship with borro and the growing demand for personal asset backed lending in the US and the UK.

Paul Aitken, CEO and Founder of borro, said: This new funding line represents the confidence the market has in our business, and marks the next development in our relationship with Octopus Investments. It is another exciting step for borro, and will allow us to meet the demand from clients for our unique lending proposition, therefore maximizing our opportunity to become the leading global online liquidity marketplace for luxury personal assets. We have invested heavily in our US and UK businesses with a recent equity injection ($26 million) from a US led venture capital consortium, and in Octopus Investments we have a very important partnership that provides a significant new lending capacity to meet demand for our lending.

Hugh Costello, Investment Manager at Octopus, commented: We have been working with borros management team for the last 18 months and we continue to be impressed by borro's product, its business model and the team. There is significant growth potential within this area of specialist lending and borro is rapidly asserting itself as the market leader in the personal asset backed lending sector.

borro is in a strong position to grow in the US and UK and it is a well-capitalized business. Its recent round of equity fundraising ($26 million) is a testament to the confidence its investors have in its operational focus and loan book management. We look forward to continuing to support the business as it enters its next stage of development.

This latest funding line brings borros financing activities to $58 million in the last two weeks. borro recently announced a $26 million fundraising round from a venture capital consortium led by tech investment giant, Canaan Partners, a global venture capital firm with over $3 billion under management. Ribbit Capital also invested in the round, and previous investors Augmentum Capital, Eden Ventures, and Rockridge participated as well. The investment accelerates rapid growth in both the US and UK markets for borro.

Originally posted here:
borro Secures $32M in Funding through Octopus Investments

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- OppenheimerFunds, Inc., a leading investment manager, today announced the launch of the CEO Advisor Institute, a cutting-edge business management and personal development structure. This name reflects the dual responsibilities of financial advisors to manage their practices like a world class CEO and deliver meaningful and insightful guidance as a trusted advisor.

The Institute, led by 25-year industry veteran Paul Blease, was developed in collaboration with Duke Corporate Education. Mr. Blease joined OppenheimerFunds in December 2011 as Director of the CEO Advisor Institute.

"The single greatest challenge facing financial advisors today can be captured in a single word, complexity. In the last two decades we've seen an explosion of new investment products and services, a proliferation of new technologies, and an unprecedented confluence of political, economic and financial challenges," said Mr. Blease. "The CEO Advisor Institute helps advisers manage their sophisticated practices, and deliver meaningful advice and extraordinary service in order to separate themselves from the competition."

The CEO Advisor Institute offers a unique combination of business management, personal and professional development content and investment thought leadership. The curriculum is designed to enhance the ability of financial advisors and their teams to address the complex challenges facing their wealthiest clients. According to a 2011 study conducted by Cerulli Associates1, practice management was the second most requested resource from financial advisors. The program combines right brain creativity with left brain analytics skills world class CEOs regularly deploy.

"OppenheimerFunds is committed to delivering a consultative platform to help advisors achieve their business goals," said John McDonough, Director of National Sales. "To demonstrate that commitment, we have changed the formal titles of our sales force to Senior Advisor Consultants and Regional Advisor Consultants."

The program consists of three components: keynote presentational content, a multimedia web-based support structure and more than 100 OppenheimerFunds consultants trained by Mr. Blease and Duke Corporate Education2. Our current library consists of the following three modules:

OppenheimerFunds' field force has been immersed in CEO Solution, the internal component of the CEO Advisor Institute, for more than two years, in preparation for delivering a consultative platform for advisors while continuing to provide excellent product and investment insight. CEO Solution received a "2011 Learning in Practice" award from Chief Learning Officer3 magazine.

"Internally, the CEO Solution has taught OppenheimerFunds to leverage whole-brain skills and competencies to deepen relationships with advisors, provide significantly greater value to clients and deliver OppenheimerFunds' promise of high-conviction, active investment management and sophisticated distribution and service," said Mr. McDonough.

For additional information about the CEO Advisor Institute, visit the Financial Advisor Center on OppenheimerFunds website.

About OppenheimerFunds, Inc.OppenheimerFunds, Inc. is one of the nation's largest and most respected investment management companies. As of September 30, 2012, OppenheimerFunds, Inc., including subsidiaries, managed more than $186.4 billion in assets. The Company and its divisions and subsidiaries offer a broad range of products and services to individuals, corporations and institutions, including mutual funds, separately managed accounts, qualified retirement plans and sub-advisory investment management services.

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OppenheimerFunds Launches CEO Advisor Institute to Help Financial Advisors Manage Growing Complexity and Commoditization