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AESC Welcomes 14 to its Regional Councils

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The global association representing the firms that place and advise the world’s leaders selects new council members and officers

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) represents the $20+ billion global executive search and leadership consulting industry, with member firms spanning 1,200+ offices in 70+ countries. Today, the association announces 2025 officers and representatives to the AESC Regional Councils: Council of the Americas; Council of Asia Pacific; and Council of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Each council consists of elected officers and representatives from AESC member executive search and leadership advisory firms who were nominated and voted in for their leadership and professionalism.

2025 Council Officers
Americas
Matrice Ellis-Kirk, Dallas, TX-based Chief Executive Officer, Ellis Kirk Group, will continue her position as Council Chair. Pilar Brogeras, Mexico City, Mexico-based Managing Director, Global Functional Leader Startups and Scale-ups, Stanton Chase, will maintain her role as Vice Chair.

APAC
K Sudarshan, Mumbai-based Managing Director, EMA Partners India, and APAC Chair, EMA Partners International, has been appointed Council Chair. Simon Wan, Shanghai-based Chief Executive of Cornerstone International Group worldwide and President of Cornerstone in China, will now serve as Council Vice Chair.

EMEA
Jacques Bouwens, Amsterdam-based Managing Director, Russell Reynolds Associates, was named Council Chair. Kristen Smit, Paris-based Managing Partner, Boyden, retains her position as Vice Chair.

New 2025 Council Members
Americas

Tony Bolliger, San Clemente, CA-based President at CareerSMITH, has more than two decades of experience developing strategic recruitment plans and recruiting across a spectrum of leadership positions in the Engineering, Construction, Government, and Energy industries.Ricardo du Pain is a São Paulo-based Managing Partner at People Assets |TRANSEARCH with 20 years of industry experience serving sectors such as Digital, Consumer & Retail, Industrial, and Life Sciences.James Zaniello, Washington, D.C.-based President at Vetted Solutions / Panorama, has spent more than 15 years specializing in executive search and Board of Directors recruitment for associations and nonprofits.

APAC

David Baber is a Melbourne-based Partner at Future Leadership, who leads the firm’s Public Sector practice and places candidates nationally at the highest levels of federal, state, and local government. He also supports boards on non-executive director appointments.Kiran Koppula is a Mumbai-based Managing Partner at Signium with nearly a decade of experience in the executive search industry placing leaders across sectors and geographies.Sripad K N Rao is a Bengaluru-based Managing Partner at Stanton Chase with more than 20 years of experience serving family-owned, promoter-driven, private, and public companies.Toral Patel co-founded and co-leads Accord India | AltoPartners network as Managing Partner. Mumbai based, she has over three decades of experience partnering on CEO/ CXO searches in the Consumer, Retail, Real Estate, and Private Equity sectors.Jonas Korbstein is a Singapore-based Managing Director, APAC, at Eric Salmon and Partners with expertise in the Industrial & Consumer sectors, supporting SMEs, Mittelstand companies, and MNCs.

EMEA

Ruth Curran, Dublin-based Consultant at Spencer Stuart, leads the firm’s global functional practices and the Financial Officer Practice across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She also runs the firm’s Dublin office and is a member of the CEO, CFO, Boards, Consumer, Financial Services, and Private Equity practices.Chris Hardy is a London and Johannesburg-based partner at EMA Partners. He serves on the global executive committee and supports clients in the energy, manufacturing, and financial services sectors.Jenni Hibbert is a London-based Partner at Heidrick & Struggles with twenty years’ experience in executive search. She serves the firm as both the Global Managing Partner, Go-To-Market and Regional Leader of Europe & Africa.Dimitris Kleftakis, Athens-based President of AIMS International, holds roles including Managing Director, Greece, and Practice Member, Financial and Professional Services and Industrial.Richard Moore, London-based CEO and Partner at MU (Mercuri Urval), has more than 23 years of experience specializing in board and CEO effectiveness, leader selection, leadership coaching, and executive search.Helen Tudor is a London-based Managing Director at Sheffield Haworth who also serves as the Global Lead for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, having achieved AESC’s IDEA Award in 2023 for her efforts.

View the full council slate for each region.

About AESC

Since 1959, AESC has set the quality standards for the executive search and leadership consulting profession. AESC Members represent 16,000+ trusted professionals in 1,200+ offices, spanning 70+ countries. AESC Members are recognized experts providing consulting services in the areas of leaders, teams and culture to the world’s leading organizations. They leverage their access and expertise to place more than 100,000 executives each year in board of directors and C-level positions across industry sectors. Dedicated to strengthening leadership together, AESC and its members share a deep commitment to the highest quality standards in executive search and leadership consulting—for the benefit of clients and the profession. We Shape. Connect. Educate. Innovate. Learn more about us at aesc.org. For AESC’s career services, visit bluesteps.com.

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SOURCE Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants

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Yon Raz-Fridman Joins Intrinsic Labs as Co-Founder and Partner

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Most AI companies are selling software. Intrinsic is deploying AI workers into the core operations of mid-market companies – and just brought in a serial tech entrepreneur to help the firm scale across the Heartland.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Intrinsic Labs today announced that Yon Raz-Fridman has joined the firm as a Co-Founder and Partner.

Raz-Fridman has spent nearly two decades building across software, hardware, and platform businesses. Early in his career, he served as Chief of Staff to the President of Keter Group, a $1 billion-plus global consumer products manufacturer. He went on to co-found Kano, the award-winning educational computing company, and later founded Supersocial, the immersive gaming studio acquired by Super League Enterprises in 2025. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Convergence Council.

He joins Intrinsic at a moment when mid-market companies are moving from AI experimentation to deployment. Intrinsic works with operators in logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets to deploy AI workers into the workflows that run the business – increasing throughput, reducing manual work, and expanding capacity without adding headcount.

The firm has built its reputation on practical deployments tied to real operating metrics. In one engagement with a national real estate brokerage, Intrinsic’s AI Accounting Agents reached 97% invoice coding accuracy, automated 90% of the AP workflow, and fully removed FTEs from the review flow.

“Yon understands what it takes to build and scale in the real world,” said Jon Slemp, Managing Partner at Intrinsic Labs. “Our clients aren’t buying flashy agents, they’re buying outcomes and reliable labor. They need agentic systems that take work off their teams, perform reliably, and produce measurable gains in throughput and capacity. That’s what we build.”

As Co-Founder, Raz-Fridman will oversee Intrinsic’s expansion – designing the channel relationships, institutional partnerships, and market positioning that take the firm from a proven Ohio model to the defining AI workforce platform for America’s industrial middle market.

“The companies that win over the next decade will be the ones that figure out how to staff AI into their operations and manage it like a workforce. Intrinsic is doing that work now, inside real businesses, tied to real outputs. The Heartland is exactly the right place to prove this model, and Intrinsic is exactly the right team to do it.” — Yon Raz-Fridman

About Intrinsic Labs LLC
Intrinsic Labs helps mid-market companies deploy AI workers into the workflows that run their business. The firm focuses on logistics, construction, insurance, manufacturing, and industrial markets, where manual work, fragmented systems, and labor constraints create clear opportunities for leverage. Intrinsic works with clients to put AI workers into production, tie them to operating KPIs, and help teams scale output without scaling headcount. https://www.intrinsic-labs.ai/  

About Team Yon LLC
Team Yon LLC is a management company founded by Yon Raz-Fridman that incubates new ventures, provides executive leadership, and makes strategic investments at the intersection of emerging technology and human advancement. Through Team Yon LLC, Raz-Fridman partners with founders and operators across healthcare, AI, and frontier technology – including his role as co-founder and Partner at Intrinsic Labs. https://teamyon.org

Media Contact:hello@intrinsic-labs.ai

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SOURCE Team Yon LLC

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Wipfli to complete CompliancePoint transaction and add associates, expanding capabilities

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MILWAUKEE, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Wipfli, a top 25 national advisory and accounting firm, announced today it has entered into an agreement with CompliancePoint Inc., a provider of risk management services focused on information security, data privacy and regulatory compliance. 2 partners and 52 associates will join the firm as a result of the transaction.

Based in Duluth, Georgia, CompliancePoint brings specialization across cybersecurity, privacy and compliance, serving clients across a wide variety of industries. The addition strengthens Wipfli’s risk management offerings and expands its ability to help organizations navigate regulatory scrutiny, evolving cybersecurity threats and complex data protection requirements.

“Organizations today are under more pressure than ever to protect sensitive information and operate responsibly in an evolving regulatory environment,” said Kurt Gresens, CEO at Wipfli Advisory, LLC. “The team at CompliancePoint brings specialized experience and a strong, people-first approach that enhances how we support clients navigating today’s risk landscape.”

CompliancePoint has built its reputation on helping organizations manage risk across the full data lifecycle, with a holistic approach that recognizes how privacy, security and compliance intersect. The combined professional teams from CompliancePoint and Wipfli will deliver expanded, integrated advisory solutions designed to help clients proactively manage risk while supporting long-term growth and operational resilience.

“Wipfli shares our commitment to practical, client-focused solutions and long-term relationships,” said Greg Sparrow, CompliancePoint president. “Together, we’re expanding the resources available to our clients while continuing to deliver the specialized experience and trusted relationships they rely on.”

The addition of the CompliancePoint team also supports Wipfli’s continued investment in talent and innovation. CompliancePoint associates will join a national firm that emphasizes collaboration, professional development and meaningful client impact, while maintaining the specialized focus that has defined their work.

The transaction is expected to become effective on May 1st, 2026

About Wipfli

Wipfli is a leading national advisory and accounting firm with nearly 100 years of experience serving ambitious middle-market organizations. We understand our clients’ unique challenges and help them succeed on their terms through assurance, tax, advisory, outsourcing and technology services. With 3,000+ associates and global alliances, we combine national capabilities with local relationships. Wipfli operates under an alternative practice structure: Wipfli LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides attest services, while Wipfli Advisory LLC, a non-CPA firm, delivers business advisory and non-attest services. Learn more at wipfli.com or contact Alicia O’Connell at alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com.

Media Contact

Alicia O’Connell
Wipfli
alicia.oconnell@wipfli.com

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SOURCE Wipfli

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Ginkgo Bioworks Announces Date of First Quarter 2026 Results Presentation

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Presentation and Q&A session scheduled for post-market on Thursday, May 7, 2026

BOSTON, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DNA, “Ginkgo”) today announced that it plans to host a presentation and Q&A session reviewing business performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, on Thursday, May 7, 2026, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The presentation details and webcast link will be available on Ginkgo’s investor relations website at https://investors.ginkgobioworks.com, and a replay will be made available.

To ask a question ahead of the presentation, please submit them to @Ginkgo on X (hashtag #GinkgoResults) or by sending an e-mail to investors@ginkgobioworks.com.

About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks builds the tools that make biology easier to engineer for everyone. The company offers autonomous laboratories that replace manual laboratory work with robotics in the lab, greatly improving the productivity of scientists. Ginkgo’s in-house autonomous lab is also available as a “cloud lab” through our Datapoints and Solutions contract research services. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and ginkgobiosecurity.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as X (@Ginkgo and @Ginkgo_Biosec), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks), Threads (@GinkgoBioworks), or LinkedIn.

Ginkgo Bioworks Contacts:

INVESTOR CONTACT:

investors@ginkgobioworks.com 

MEDIA CONTACT:

press@ginkgobioworks.com

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SOURCE Ginkgo Bioworks

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