Technology

Rich Schepler of AlphaGraphics South Charlotte Awarded Franchisee of the Year by International Franchise Association

Published

2 years ago

March 4, 2024

DENVER, March 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — AlphaGraphics, a leading franchisor of printing and marketing solutions, proudly announces that its South Charlotte, North Carolina franchisee, Rich Schepler, was named 2023 Franchisee of the Year by the International Franchise Association (IFA). Schepler was honored at the 64th IFA Annual Convention in Phoenix, Arizona for being an outstanding franchise establishment owner-operator.

“Franchisees of the Year exemplify what franchising is all about – providing opportunity, serving others, and fulfilling the American Dream,” said Matthew Haller, President and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “We are proud to recognize Rich Schepler with the highest honor IFA awards to individual franchisees, and I have no doubt his work is changing lives and making a lasting community impact.”

The Franchisee of the Year Award recognizes leading franchise owners from IFA member brands whose outstanding performance and contributions help protect, enhance, and promote the franchise business model. Nominated by their parent company, individuals are selected for their involvement in their communities, embodying the entrepreneurial spirit, fostering a strong and healthy culture with their workforce, and assisting their fellow franchisees when called upon.

Schepler has been a member of the AlphaGraphics family since 2015. Prior to joining AlphaGraphics, he spent 31 years in the printing industry, including being the vice president at his former company. He took that experience and has quickly grown his business in North Carolina into an exceptional AlphaGraphics center. His wife, son, and daughter all work in the business with him.

“Rich Schepler, alongside his entire family and team, epitomize the pinnacle of what every franchisee should aspire to become,” said Bill McPherson, vice president of retail network development. “Their excellence isn’t just measured by their remarkable sales, growth, and profitability — what truly sets them apart is their unparalleled commitment to their community and customers. Rich and his team embody the essence of AlphaGraphics, demonstrating that their business transcends beyond merely printing and signage—it’s about uplifting the community and bolstering other businesses to get noticed and get business.”

“Their dedication to fostering the success of others has propelled their own impressive growth, making it no surprise that they have earned the prestigious accolade of Franchisee of the Year from the IFA,” said Ryan Farris President and COO of AlphaGraphics. “This recognition is a testament to their outstanding contributions and the significant impact they’ve made, showcasing that their success is indeed well-deserved.”

There are approximately 806,000 franchised businesses across the U.S., providing over 8.7 million direct jobs and generating over $858 billion in economic output. According to Oxford Economics, franchising on average provides higher wages and better benefits than non-franchised businesses, as well as greater entrepreneurial opportunities to minorities, women, veterans, and other underrepresented communities.

About the International Franchise Association
Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association (IFA) is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the approximately 806,270 franchise establishments that support nearly 8.7 million direct jobs, $858.5 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and almost 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development.

About AlphaGraphics
AlphaGraphics, Inc., with more than 285 locations in 6 countries, is one of the largest U.S.-based networks of locally-owned and operated Business Centers offering a complete range of print, visual communications, and marketing products. Solutions include: full-service digital, offset, and large format printing; design services; mailing; one-to-one marketing solutions; promotional products; and web to print solutions. For more information about AlphaGraphics services, visit www.alphagraphics.com. To learn about franchise opportunities, visit www.alphagraphicsfranchise.com.

About MBE Worldwide
MBE Worldwide S.p.A. (“MBE”), a privately-owned company with its headquarters in Italy, is a Global Commerce enabler for SMBs and consumers thanks to its platform providing e-commerce, fulfillment, shipping, marketing and print solutions via multi-brand operations: PrestaShop, Mail Boxes Etc. (except the US and Canada), PostNet, PACK & SEND, Spedingo.com, AlphaGraphics, Multicopy, World Options UK and Print Speak. The combination of our retail platform – that currently counts 2,900+ Service Centers in 53 Countries with more than 12.000 associates – with our PrestaShop ecommerce platform served almost one million business customers in FY 2021 generating €1.01 billion (US $1.2 billion) of System Wide Sales and €24 billion (US $28.5 billion) of e-commerce Gross Merchandise Value.

For additional information please visit MBE Worldwide Group websites at www.mbecorporate.com – www.prestashop.com/en – www.mbeglobal.com – www.postnet.com – www.packsend.com.au – www.spedingo.com/en – www.alphagraphics.com – www.multicopy.nl – www.printspeak.com – www.mbe.it – www.mbe.es – www.mbe.de – www.mbefrance.fr – www.mbe.pl – www.mbeportugal.pt – www.mbe.co.uk – https://uk.worldoptions.com/

MEDIA CONTACT: Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973
hripley@ripleypr.com

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SOURCE AlphaGraphics

Technology

Air and Fathom5 Partner to Modernize Naval Fleet Readiness

Published

27 minutes ago

July 20, 2026

ARLINGTON, Va. and AUSTIN, Texas, July 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Air, the leader in Enterprise Readiness, and Fathom5, a technology company dedicated to secure infrastructure for AI-powered machines, today announced a strategic partnership to transform the U.S. Navy’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities.

The collaboration follows Fathom5’s selection as a winner in the Defense Innovation Unit’s NextMRO Prize Challenge Phase III, which aims to replace antiquated, siloed logistics frameworks with integrated, data-driven software. Fathom5 won based on its ability to transform real-world Navy data into intuitive, sailor-facing applications at the tactical edge.

To scale this solution for enterprise-wide Navy procurement, Fathom5 and Air are uniting Fathom5’s industry-leading, warship-deployed Condition-Based Maintenance AI with Air’s Enterprise Readiness platform. Air’s platform is purpose-built to close the “Readiness Gap”—the dangerous chasm between what the front line needs and what the enterprise delivers. It fuses predictive analytics, supply chain visibility, and repair cycle forecasting into a unified system that operates across Organizational, Intermediate, and Depot maintenance.

Together, the companies will address the Navy’s most critical sustainment vulnerabilities with the ability to:

Eliminate data silos and provide a single, authoritative source of truth.Use natural language to query technical manuals, analyze parts availability, proactively forecast issues, and identify alternative vendors in seconds, andAllow forward-deployed Sailors to execute work orders offline in Degraded, Denied, Intermittent, and Limited (DDIL) environments.

Proven Defense Impact

Air brings a successful track record of optimization across the Department of War. In recent sustainment operations, Air delivered a 99.6% reduction in part identification time, identifying replacement parts and suitable substitutes in minutes instead of days. By accelerating part allocation and replacing manual processes, the platform has saved commands hundreds of down days annually while sustaining 90% equipment readiness across echelons.

“This partnership will be pivotal as we work to close the Readiness Gap,” said Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO of Air. “Together, Fathom5 and Air are uniquely positioned to accelerate Naval logistics by drastically shortening turnaround times, maximizing asset availability, and executing modern digital workflows at the speed of operational demand.”

“The future of naval readiness depends on giving Sailors the right information at the right time, wherever the mission takes them,” said Zac Staples, Founder and CEO of Fathom5. “By combining Fathom5’s AI-powered Condition-Based Maintenance capabilities with Air’s Enterprise Readiness platform, we’re helping transform maintenance from a reactive process into a predictive, data-driven advantage. Together, we’re enabling a more resilient fleet that can sustain operations in contested environments while keeping more ships mission-ready.”

About Fathom5

Fathom5, headquartered in Austin, Texas, develops secure digital infrastructure and advanced actuator technologies that strengthen the resilience and readiness of complex industrial systems. The company has achieved significant milestones, including delivering the first program-of-record artificial intelligence system deployed aboard a U.S. Navy warship and securing 17 patents across actuator technology and cybersecurity. Through its flagship Nsyte platform, Fathom5 provides secure edge infrastructure for maintenance and readiness applications, enabling advanced analytics and actionable insights at the point of need. For more information, please visit www.fathom5.com.

About Air

Air, formerly Govini, created Enterprise Readiness, a new category of AI-native systems that close the Readiness Gap, the dangerous chasm between what the front line needs and what the national security enterprise can deliver. Air Enterprise Readiness platform aligns development, production, delivery, and sustainment into one coordinated execution system, revealing true capacity, exposing real constraints, coordinating critical resources, and executing at the speed of operational demands.The result: the national security enterprise has what it needs to succeed. For more information on Air and the Enterprise Readiness platform, visit www.air.ai.

Media Contacts

Fathom5: coleman@zilkermedia.com

Air: media@air.ai and air@weareinvariant.com

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SOURCE Air

Technology

DoubleLine Paper: Honebuto Shock: Japan Courts a Truss-Like Redux

Published

28 minutes ago

July 20, 2026

TAMPA, Fla., July 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sell-offs in Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs) and the yen have put Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on notice, a DoubleLine paper argues, that Japan’s creditors have little tolerance for her government’s unorthodox proposal for a mixture of unfunded fiscal expansion with docile central-banking.

Surveying the “Honebuto shock,” so-named after debt-and-yen sell-off following Tokyo’s annual fiscal policy statement, Bill Campbell, head of the DoubleLine’s Global Sovereign & Emerging Markets team, sees parallels to the gilts and British pound revolt over a 2022 proposal for unfunded fiscal expansion by U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss that swiftly brought down her government.

“Having committed to more than 370 trillion yen of public-private investment through fiscal 2040, the government is calling for monetary policy “in coordination with” that growth agenda,” Mr. Campbell writes. “In the eyes of the financial markets, this demand for the subordination of monetary policy to a political platform only adds fuel to the fire beneath a central bank already under criticism for what critics deem an overly cautious rate-hiking path.”

Mr. Campbell warns, “The Takaichi government should not assume the JGB market, having found its voice, will prove more patient than the gilts market that laid low the Truss government in 2022. In today’s inflationary climate, fiscal credibility is earned, not presumed – even in the G-7 countries. And a G-7 sovereign who embarks on unfunded fiscal expansion risks courting a buyers’ strike.”

The paper, titled “Honebuto Shock: Japan Courts a Truss-Like Redux,” is available here: https://doubleline.com/wp-content/uploads/DoubleLine_Honebuto-Truss-Redux_Campbell_071526.pdf

Mr. Campbell heads the Global Sovereign & Emerging Markets team at DoubleLine and serves as the lead Portfolio Manager for emerging markets and international fixed-income strategies. He is a permanent member of the firm’s Fixed Income Asset Allocation Committee. Mr. Campbell has written extensively in research papers and client briefings on evolving trends and episodic developments in global fixed income and currency markets. He holds a B.S. in Business Economics and International Business, as well as a B.A. in English, from Pennsylvania State University and an M.A. in Mathematics, with a focus on Mathematical Finance, from Boston University.

About the Global Sovereign & Emerging Markets Team

The Global Sovereign & Emerging Markets team at DoubleLine manages $XX billion in assets in sovereign debt, including U.S. Treasuries and non-U.S. sovereign issues, and corporate fixed income securities by issuers domiciled in ex-U.S. developed and emerging markets. The team comprises 14 investment professionals, including portfolio managers, analysts and traders.

About DoubleLine

DoubleLine Capital LP is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. DoubleLine’s offices can be reached by telephone at (813) 791-7333 or by email at info@doubleline.com. In addition to its headquarters in Tampa, Fla., and an office in Los Angeles, DoubleLine has offices in Dubai, London and Tokyo. Media can reach DoubleLine by email at media@doubleline.com.

DoubleLine® is a registered trademark of DoubleLine Capital LP.

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SOURCE DoubleLine

Technology

Signeasy expands beyond eSignatures with Intelligent Contract Management for growing businesses

Published

28 minutes ago

July 20, 2026

The platform combines eSignatures, AI-powered contract insights, renewal tracking, and a centralized contract repository to help businesses manage contracts from signature to renewal.

DALLAS, July 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Signeasy today announced its Intelligent Contract Management platform, extending its product capabilities into every stage of the contract lifecycle. The platform gives Finance, Legal, Sales, HR, Procurement, and Operations teams one place to sign, manage, and get insights from every contract.

For most growing businesses, the real work starts after a contract is signed. Renewal dates, payment terms, obligations, and key clauses end up scattered across inboxes, shared drives, and spreadsheets. Without a large legal operations team, keeping track of them is manual, reactive work.

Signeasy’s Intelligent Contract Management platform closes this gap. It brings eSignatures, a contract repository, and contract intelligence into one platform.

“Contracts touch every part of a business — Finance, Legal, Sales, HR, Procurement, Operations — but the tools to effectively manage them have always been built for enterprise legal teams. We built Intelligent Contract Management so lean teams get the same contract visibility and intelligence as companies five times their size.”

— Sunil Patro, Founder & CEO, Signeasy

Signeasy’s Intelligent Contract Management platform includes:

Centralized Contract Repository: Store every executed contract in one searchable place — no digging through inboxes or shared drives.Conversational AI search: Ask questions about any contract in plain language, follow-up, and get answers with context instead of reviewing documents manually. Customer data is never used to train AI models.Key Term Extraction: Surface payment terms, renewal dates, obligations, and termination clauses instantly.Renewal Tracking and Alerts: Get automated reminders before contracts expire or auto-renew, so commitments never catch teams by surprise.Team Workspaces: Share visibility into contract status, with confidentiality controls for every team that touches contracts.eSignatures: Collect legally binding signatures from anywhere, on any device, and automate approval workflows to get contracts signed faster.

There’s no six-month implementation cycle. Businesses can bulk import existing contracts and onboard teams within hours with hands-on support from Signeasy.

Signeasy’s Intelligent Contract Management platform is available now. Visit www.signeasy.com to request a demo.

About Signeasy

Signeasy is an Intelligent Contract Management (ICM) platform built for growing businesses managing contracts across Finance, Legal, Sales, HR, Procurement, and Operations. Teams can prepare, sign, track, and manage contracts from one platform, with AI-powered workflows, integrations for Microsoft, Google, and HubSpot, and enterprise-grade security and compliance. Over 48,000 businesses globally use Signeasy to cut contract cycle times, reduce risk, accelerate revenue, and drive better business outcomes.

Media contact
Dhivya Venkatesan
Signeasy
Email: dhivyav@signeasy.com

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SOURCE Signeasy