Connect with us

Technology

Horizon Media Holdings Appoints Tech Visionary and Industry Powerhouse Bob Lord as Its First President

Published

on

– Newly Created Role Underscores Horizon’s Focus on Enterprise Innovation, Technology Transformation, and Client-Centered Growth –

NEW YORK, Jan. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Horizon Media Holdings, the parent company of Horizon Media, today announced the appointment of Bob Lord as President.  With a career spanning more than three decades at the intersection of marketing, media, and technology, Lord’s leadership and expertise in digital transformation and innovation will help drive the next phase of growth for Horizon Media Holdings – meeting client demand and creating transformative value for clients across its portfolio.  The newly created role will report to Horizon’s CEO and founder, Bill Koenigsberg.

Horizon Media Holdings, the privately-held umbrella organization that includes Horizon Media – the world’s largest independent media agency – also houses affiliate agencies including Horizon Next (full-service marketing); Night Market (commerce); One Horizon (full-service advertising); HS&E (sports and experiential) Blue Hour Studios (social agency); First Tube (moments marketing); 305 (multicultural); and Green Thread (B2B marketing).  As President, Lord will oversee the development and alignment of the company’s diversified businesses across each of its offices, integrating advanced technologies, data accessibility, and innovative solutions to ensure Horizon remains at the forefront of helping clients solve new challenges in an ever-evolving marketing landscape. He will also lead the company’s international strategy.

Lord, who stepped away from the marketing and media industry for nearly a decade to take on leadership roles in advanced technology, has a distinguished career driving enterprise transformation and innovation.  As IBM’s first Chief Digital Officer, he infused AI across IBM’s applications, revolutionized its go-to-market strategy, and launched a groundbreaking initiative, Call for Code, to address societal challenges using advanced technology.  He successfully divested core units to align with IBM’s business strategy and orchestrated the sale of The Weather Company, which he led for two years, to a private equity partner.  Earlier, as President of AOL, he led the development of an industry-leading programmatic media platform, transforming the digital advertising landscape.  As Global CEO of Razorfish, he oversaw the company’s transformation into a global leader in digital marketing and its acquisition by Publicis Groupe.

“Bob’s extraordinary track record is synonymous with transformation,” said Koenigsberg.  “His accomplishments across technology, innovation, and business transformation make him the ideal leader to drive Horizon Holdings forward.  He brings a unique executive leadership at the nexus of media, marketing, and technology, and his experience leading digital ecosystems, building media platforms, and scaling global agencies aligns perfectly with our vision for growth.  With Bob’s ability to harness advanced technology to build ecosystems that not only solve complex challenges but also drive real growth for clients, we are set to go deeper into new frontiers while strengthening our core.  I look forward to working with him to ensure we remain agile, forward-thinking, and deeply attuned to the voice of our clients, redefining what it means to be an independent, tech-centered, and people-first organization.”

Lord serves on the boards of Integral Ad Science (NASDAQ: IAS) and Finance of America (NYSE: FOA), as well as private companies Delve and Certified Collectibles Group (CCG).  He has previously served on the boards of Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), various Blackstone portfolio companies, AquaFinance, and Screenvision Media.  In addition, he is currently an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School teaching in the entrepreneurial program “Scaling Technology Ventures.”

“I am honored to join Horizon Holdings and contribute to shaping its next chapter,” said Lord. “Horizon Media has built an incredible reputation for delivering innovative, client-first media solutions, and Horizon Holdings represents an exciting opportunity to build on this foundation.  Stepping away from media and marketing for almost a decade to immerse myself in AI, data, and quantum computing was a transformative experience – one that provided invaluable insights into how advanced technologies can unlock new possibilities, solve challenges, and revolutionize business and society.”

“Now, he continued, “I’m focused on bringing this experience back to the marketing and media industry to modernize technology tool sets with AI and allow greater transparency into consumer data.  This approach will help to maximize ROAS and deliver an increased value exchange for brands and their customers.  Horizon Media Holdings and its long history of media innovation is uniquely positioned to lead this revolution.  Together with Bill and the broader team, we’ll explore new opportunities, develop bold solutions driven by real-time data insights, and utilize Large Language Models (LLMs) and cutting-edge data tools to create an integrated open marketing platform and ecosystem for our clients and partners.”

Lord has been named one of CRN’s 50 “Most Influential” Channel Chiefs and one of Adweek’s Top 50 Media, Marketing and Tech Executives.  He also co-authored a book, “CONVERGE: Transforming Business at the Intersection of Marketing and Technology.”  Lord holds a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Syracuse University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

About Horizon Media Holdings 
Horizon Media Holdings is the privately-held parent company of Horizon Media, the largest U.S. media agency and the largest independent globally, with additional portfolio companies including – Horizon Next (full-service marketing); Night Market (commerce); One Horizon (full-service advertising); HS&E (sports and experiential); Blue Hour Studios (social agency); First Tube (moments marketing); 305 (multicultural); and Green Thread (B2B marketing).  Horizon Holdings drives enterprise-level innovation, fosters collaboration across its portfolio, and explores new growth opportunities and technology solutions to help its clients navigate the shifting marketing challenges of today and tomorrow.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/horizon-media-holdings-appoints-tech-visionary-and-industry-powerhouse-bob-lord-as-its-first-president-302341614.html

SOURCE Horizon Media

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

Media Advisory – Minister Hodgson to deliver keynote speech on One Year of Nation Building

Published

on

By

TORONTO, April 22, 2026 /CNW/ – The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, will speak at the Empire Club of Canada regarding this past year’s accomplishments and future strategic directions.

Date: April 24, 2026

Time: 11:30 a.m. ET

All accredited media are asked to register using the Empire Club’s press accreditation and registration form. Details on how to participate will be provided upon registration.

Follow Natural Resources Canada on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

Continue Reading

Technology

Harness Delivers Unified AI Intelligence Across Software Delivery with Google Cloud

Published

on

By

Harness integrates Google Cloud’s Developer Connect into its Software Delivery Knowledge Graph to give engineering teams smarter, faster AI-driven insights

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Harness, the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, today announced that it will bring together Harness’s Software Delivery Knowledge Graph and Google Cloud’s Developer Connect. The initiative gives joint customers a unified, AI-ready view of their entire software delivery lifecycle, and the intelligence to act on it with confidence.

The announcement was made at Google Cloud Next, where Harness also won the 2026 Google Cloud Technology Partner of the Year Award in the Application Development – DevOps category.

The Missing Piece in AI Software Delivery

Modern software delivery environments are inherently complex. Pipelines, services, build and deploy infrastructure, artifacts, and dependencies are deeply interconnected — and the data that describes how they relate to one another is scattered across dozens of tools. As organizations accelerate their adoption of AI-powered engineering, that fragmentation becomes a critical liability. AI is only as effective as the context it can access, and today, most AI agents are operating with an incomplete picture.

Harness is addressing this challenge head-on. By integrating Google Cloud Developer Connect insights into the Harness Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, joint customers gain a continuously updated, relationship-aware model of their software delivery environment that spans both platforms, bridging the visibility gap between development and production so that AI agents can operate with complete and reliable context. For engineering teams, this translates directly to making decisions grounded in situational awareness rather than generic training data, allowing them to execute complex workflows with greater accuracy.

Where the Partnership Comes to Life

For joint customers of Harness and Google Cloud, this integration means Harness AI can now make smarter, faster decisions on their behalf. By bringing together deployment event logs, runtime data, and application dependency information from Google Cloud into the Harness Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, teams gain a continuously updated, comprehensive view of their software delivery environment. When an issue arises, engineers can diagnose and remediate faster, trace problems back to specific source files or infrastructure, and link artifacts to the teams responsible for them, without having to manually piece together context from multiple systems.

The result is AI that works harder for customers. With richer context available upfront, AI agents can operate more efficiently, delivering answers and recommendations that reflect the true state of the environment. Everything teams need is in one place, and their AI has everything it needs to act on it confidently.

Security is central to how this integration was built. Data shared between Harness and Google Cloud is governed by enterprise-grade access controls, ensuring the right information reaches the right people within the guardrails organizations require.

“AI is only as powerful as the context behind it. Without it, teams fall into the AI Velocity Paradox: moving code faster than ever, but risking shipping software that is unverified, insecure, and unreliable,” said Jyoti Bansal, co-founder and CEO of Harness. “This is exactly what our expanded work with Google Cloud directly addresses, giving joint customers a unified view of their software delivery environment and AI that can actually reason across it. When context is complete, speed and confidence go hand in hand.”

A Collaboration That Keeps Deepening

This integration is the latest evolution of a long-standing collaboration between Harness and Google Cloud. Harness AI runs on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, and joint customers already benefit from expanded access through Google Cloud Marketplace. With this announcement, that work expands from the infrastructure layer into the application layer — and directly into how AI understands and acts on the software delivery environment. And it doesn’t stop there. The Harness MCP Server is now accessible within Google’s Gemini Enterprise app environment, enabling Gemini Enterprise customers to leverage Harness capabilities directly from their existing AI interface.

“Google Cloud provides cutting-edge technology that helps partners innovate and deliver more impactful solutions for business transformation,” said Ritika Suri, Managing Director, AI and Data Partnerships at Google Cloud. “Through our partnership with Harness, we will provide customers with innovative capabilities that can improve operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation.”

Join Us

As our Knowledge Graph ecosystem continues to grow, Harness remains committed to expanding the breadth of integrations available to customers with the goal of being the most comprehensive AI-ready software delivery platform on the market.

To connect with the Harness team in person, visit the Harness booth at Google Cloud Next.

About Harness
Harness is the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, enabling engineering teams to build, test, and deliver software faster and more securely. Powered by Harness AI and the Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, the platform brings intelligent automation to every stage of the software delivery lifecycle after code — removing toil and freeing developers from manual, repetitive work. Companies like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Choice Hotels use Harness to deploy up to 70% faster, reduce change failure rates by 50%, cut deployment effort by 80%, and lower security noise by 65%. Based in San Francisco, Harness is backed by Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, and Citi Ventures.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/harness-delivers-unified-ai-intelligence-across-software-delivery-with-google-cloud-302749850.html

SOURCE Harness

Continue Reading

Technology

H.I.G. Capital Announces the Sale of Celerion

Published

on

By

MIAMI, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), a leading global alternative investment firm with $74 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that one of its affiliates has signed a definitive agreement to sell its portfolio company, Celerion Holdings, Inc. (“Celerion” or the “Company”), a global CRO and leader in clinical pharmacology and bioanalytical sciences, to funds affiliated with THL Partners (“THL”).

Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, Celerion is a leading provider of highly specialized clinical pharmacology and bioanalytical sciences with deep expertise in first-in-human dose escalation, cardiac safety (TQT), drug-drug interaction, and other complex clinical pharmacology studies that support regulatory approval and drug labeling. Celerion offers an integrated suite of services spanning data management, biostatistics, and clinical monitoring that supports a global base of pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers through its purpose-built clinical and laboratory infrastructure with facilities in Lincoln, Phoenix, Zurich, and Belfast.

H.I.G. acquired Celerion in November 2022 and worked closely with management to accelerate growth and strengthen the Company’s market position. During its ownership, H.I.G. supported strategic investments across commercial, operational, and technology initiatives, including the expansion of Celerion’s clinical and bioanalytical laboratory footprint. These efforts drove exceptional growth and solidified Celerion’s standing as a leading, clinical pharmacology-focused, contract research organization.

Susan Thornton, Celerion’s President & CEO, commented, “H.I.G. has been an exceptional partner to Celerion, helping us accelerate key strategic initiatives and invest meaningfully in our people, capabilities, and infrastructure. These efforts have strengthened our platform and enhanced the quality and consistency of outcomes we deliver to customers. We are excited to carry this momentum forward with THL as we enter our next phase of growth.”

Mike Gallagher, Managing Director at H.I.G., commented, “We are proud of what Celerion’s best-in-class team has accomplished during our partnership. The team has delivered industry- leading growth during our ownership, and we are confident it is uniquely positioned for its next chapter.”

Michael Kuritzky, Managing Director at H.I.G., added, “We are very proud of the work Celerion does to help drug sponsors worldwide navigate the complexities of clinical trial management. It has been a privilege to partner with Susan and her team, and we look forward to Celerion’s continued success.”

BofA Securities, Inc. and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC were financial advisors to H.I.G. and Celerion. McDermott Will & Schulte LLP was legal counsel for H.I.G. and Celerion in connection with the transaction.

About Celerion

Celerion is a clinical research organization that provides comprehensive clinical trial solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients conducting early clinical research throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company serves its clients through a global network of facilities and provides first-in-human to proof-of-concept studies as well as bioanalytical laboratory services, data management and biometrics, and drug development services. For more information, visit celerion.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $74 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Stamford in the United States, as well as international affiliate offices in Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogotá, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Dubai, and Hong Kong, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to middle market companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/value-added approach:

H.I.G.’s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses.H.I.G.’s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche, and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance.H.I.G.’s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices.H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector.

Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The Firm’s current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $53 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at hig.com.

*Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

Contact:

Mike Gallagher
Managing Director
mgallagher@hig.com

Michael Kuritzky
Managing Director
mkuritzky@hig.com

Alex Zisson
Managing Director
azisson@hig.com

H.I.G. Capital
1450 Brickell Avenue
31st Floor
Miami, FL 33131
P: 305.379.2322
hig.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hig-capital-announces-the-sale-of-celerion-302749396.html

SOURCE H.I.G. Capital

Continue Reading

Trending