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Ex-Perkbox CEO Gautam Sahgal Partners with CSMA to Invest in and Scale Parliament Hill

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LONDON, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Gautam Sahgal, former CEO of leading employee engagement platform Perkbox, has partnered with CSMA to invest in and further develop Parliament Hill, the UK’s leading provider of membership association benefits platforms.

As part of this strategic partnership, Gautam Sahgal and CSMA will jointly invest in the continued growth of Parliament Hill, focusing on advancing its technology, expanding its commercial offering, and scaling its impact across the membership sector.

Sahgal, who has been appointed Executive Chairman of Parliament Hill, brings a strong track record of building and transforming businesses. He previously led Perkbox through a period of international expansion and product development. Perkbox was subsequently acquired by Great Hill Partners in June 2024. Prior to his time at Perkbox, Gautam successfully turned around Thomsonlocal, saving it from liquidation and transforming it into a digital listings business.

Joining him as CEO of Parliament Hill is Joel Tobias, a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in the benefits, rewards, gift card, and affiliate marketing sectors. His leadership roles have included senior positions at Perkbox, LifeWorks, NextJump, and NetVoucherCodes, bringing deep commercial and operational expertise to drive the next phase of Parliament Hill’s growth.

Gautam Sahgal, Executive Chairman of Parliament Hill, said:
“I’m delighted to bring my experience to Parliament Hill at such a pivotal moment. Membership associations face increasing pressure to acquire, engage, and retain their members — and the key to doing so is by delivering real, tangible value. These are unique, targeted audiences who need a universal product that works for all, but also tailored, bespoke solutions that speak directly to their needs. The scale we’re starting with — over 6 million users — is truly exciting and gives us a strong foundation to build something market-leading.”

Joel Tobias, CEO of Parliament Hill, added:
“This is an incredible opportunity to reimagine the role of member benefits. Our ambition is to build a platform that’s modern, agile, and focused on the specific needs of the membership organisations we serve — offering them world-class engagement tools and unrivalled value for their members.”

Colin Slinn, CEO of CSMA, commented:
“CSMA acquired Parliament Hill in 2018 and we’re thrilled to partner with Gautam and Joel to invest further in its future. With the right leadership, resources, and strategy, we’re confident Parliament Hill will become an even stronger force in the membership space.”

Through this partnership, Parliament Hill will accelerate innovation in benefits technology, curate an expanded range of offers tailored to diverse member needs and strengthen its position as the go-to platform for membership organisations looking to deliver exceptional value.

About CSMA
CSMA is the parent company of Boundless, a membership organisation dedicated to helping current and former public sector workers make the most of their free time, offering access to exclusive deals, events, experiences, and benefits for over 100 years. For more information, please visit www.boundless.co.uk.

About Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill is the UK’s market leader in building and managing benefits platforms for professional membership associations, serving over 6.2 million members across a wide range of industries. For more information, please visit www.parliament-hill.co.uk

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2683440/Parliament_Hill_Logo.jpg

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10 WORKING DAYS TO READ: PRIVACY FINE PRINT BEHIND A FAMILY’S DIGITAL DAY MORE THAN SHAKESPEARE’S COMPLETE WORKS, NEW STUDY FINDS

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UK family would need about 83 hours, or 10.4 working days, to read 257 consumer privacy and terms documents linked to one ordinary day

ZURICH, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A UK family would need more than 10 full working days to read the privacy small print attached to the digital services and systems involved in one ordinary day, according to a new Web3 Foundation study.

The modelled family scenario involved 257 documents containing 1,184,835 words. That is about 83 hours of reading, or 10.4 eight-hour working days, and 34% more than the 884,647 words in William Shakespeare’s complete works.

The White Paper, Everyday Surveillance: What One Ordinary Day May Reveal About You, mapped six model households in the UK and US. Researchers identified 1,195 relevant consumer privacy and terms documents containing more than 5.38 million words.

Across 143 companies and institutions, 83% describe the ability to use personal data for marketing or advertising, 80% to combine it with other information, 71% to sharing with commercial partners and at least 24% have documents stating that user data may be used to train or improve AI or machine-learning systems.

The study does not claim to be a national survey or to describe the practices of every user. It examines documented capabilities and permissions across evidence-led model scenarios involving ordinary digital services and systems in the UK and US.

Gavin Wood, founder of Web3 Foundation, said: “We did what consumers are told to do: we read the privacy policies. For the modelled UK family, one ordinary day means more than ten working days of reading. None of this is hidden. Rather, it is disclosed, in public, in full, and at a volume that functions as concealment.”

Bill Laboon, Vice President of Technical Operations at Web3 Foundation, said: “What is striking is how much data may be generated around completely ordinary digital activity. The report raises the question of whether we can build services differently, for example, by allowing people to prove what is needed without routinely disclosing the underlying information.”

The White Paper and Technical Methodology: https://web3.foundation/insights/

Media enquiries: Tom Collins, tom@zebek.co.uk, +44 7904 496117

About Web3 Foundation: Web3 Foundation supports a fairer internet.

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Envision Energy Accelerates the Evolution of Global Wind Technology with DNV Certification for TG Pro

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HAMBURG, Germany, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Envision Energy, a global leader in green technology, has received Type Certification from DNV for its TG Pro (EN-206/8.35 60 Hz) wind turbine, marking an important milestone in the collaboration between the two companies and further validating the technical maturity and market readiness of Envision’s next-generation wind turbine platform.

The certificate was presented during WindEnergy Hamburg 2026 by Mette Redanz, Vice President of Renewables Certification at DNV, and Yimin Lou, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Envision Energy. The ceremony underscored the role of independent certification and industry collaboration in supporting the development of advanced wind technologies.

Since its launch in 2024, the TG Pro (EN-206/8.35 60 Hz) has secured multiple orders in China and international markets and undergone extensive prototype and commercial validation. Built on Envision’s Model TG Pro platform, the turbine combines a high-performance turbine architecture, optimized aerodynamic design and intelligent control technologies to improve energy capture and generation efficiency across a broad range of wind conditions.

The TG Pro platform is also designed for long-term reliability, with strengthened key components and engineering solutions tailored to demanding operating environments. Its validation process has included component testing, digital-twin simulation, multi-site prototype operation and commercial deployment, providing a comprehensive basis for evaluating the turbine’s performance and reliability. The DNV Type Certification provides independent third-party confirmation that the turbine design meets applicable certification requirements.

“The continued advancement of our next-generation turbine portfolio is built on rigorous validation and real-world application.” said Yimin Lou, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Envision Energy, “The DNV certification of TG Pro further demonstrates the maturity of the platform and its readiness to serve customers across diverse international markets. As renewable power systems evolve, Envision will continue to advance intelligent, high-performance and reliable turbine technologies for Future Energy Systems, enabling renewable energy to deliver greater value at scale.”

“Independent certification provides an important foundation for confidence in wind turbine technology, helping manufacturers, developers and other stakeholders assess the performance, reliability and compliance of new turbine platforms. We are pleased to support Envision through the certification of TG Pro.” added Mette Redanz, Vice President of Renewables Certification at DNV.

Beyond TG Pro, Envision is also showcasing its broader wind turbine portfolio at WindEnergy Hamburg 2026. Its EN-156/5.0 MW platform has received a Provisional Type Certificate from Bureau Veritas. The certification process was completed in less than five months, providing independent third-party assessment of the platform’s design and technical capabilities as it moves toward broader commercial deployment.

Developed for the Asia-Pacific region, the EN-156/5.0 MW is being deployed at the Manar Wind Power Project in Sri Lanka, representing Envision’s first utility-scale wind turbine order in the country. Featuring a 110-meter hub height and enhanced anti-corrosion specifications, the turbine is designed for demanding coastal environments characterized by high salinity and humidity. The combination of international certification and real-world project deployment demonstrates the platform’s focus on reliability and environmental adaptability, supporting its application in Sri Lanka and other markets across the region.

Together, the two certification milestones demonstrate Envision’s continued focus on rigorous engineering, independent validation and market-specific product development. Through collaboration with leading international certification bodies and customers across diverse markets, Envision is advancing wind turbine technologies that combine performance, reliability and adaptability for the evolving global energy system.

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SOURCE Envision Energy

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Alive App Raises $1 Million From Powerhouse Ventures and Flipkart Ventures to Accelerate India’s Experience Economy

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Experience-tech platform expands to six markets with 500+ experiences and 400+ creators

Targets 3X revenue growth in the next few months, as it seeks to make experiences a default part of urban India’s weekends

BENGALURU, India, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Alive App, India’s AI powered experience-tech platform for building and distributing new and unique experiences, has raised $1 million in a new funding round led by Powerhouse Ventures and Flipkart Ventures. The capital will support the company’s next phase of product and supply expansion as it works to make experiences a more frequent and habitual part of how urban Indians spend their leisure time.

The investment from Flipkart Ventures also creates opportunities for Alive App to explore synergies across the broader Flipkart ecosystem as it builds new pathways for consumer discovery, engagement and access to experiences at scale.

The new capital will be used to strengthen Alive App’s product and technology capabilities and accelerate the creation and availability of experiences across its existing markets. The company is targeting 3X revenue growth in the next few months and plans to focus on increasing the frequency with which consumers use Alive App, with the goal of making the platform a default companion for weekend discovery. The company has also achieved its first profitable quarter in Bengaluru, its first and largest market, as it continues to build density across cities.

Alive App is seeing this shift play out on its platform. The company is now present across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Goa, offering more than 500 experiences across categories including adventure, food, wellness, art, culture and learning. Its creator ecosystem has grown to over 400 creators and partners. Over the last six months, it has expanded into Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, in addition to its presence in Goa. The company’s experience supply in the newly launched markets of Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Goa has grown five times faster than during its initial expansion phase, with Alive App now adding approximately 100 new experiences every month. The rapid expansion follows a broader shift in how consumers are spending their leisure time. According to Alive App’s platform data, more than 90% of bookings are for local experiences, with consumers increasingly choosing activities closer to home rather than treating experiences purely as part of travel.

The company’s growth reflects the evolution of India’s experience economy from an occasional, travel-led activity into a more regular part of urban consumption. Alive App’s platform combines technology with a curated and largely exclusive supply of experiences, working with creators to conceptualise, build and launch experiences rather than simply aggregating existing listings. With the latest round, Alive App’s focus shifts from establishing the category across individual cities to building the habit around it and making discovery of experiences as routine a part of the weekend as choosing a restaurant, watching a movie or planning a day out.

Supporting Quotes

Vivek Kumar, Founder & CEO, Alive App, said, “Over the last year, the biggest validation for us has been seeing how quickly experiences are being adopted as an upgrade to weekend plans in every city we enter. Mumbai and Chennai are growing much faster than Bengaluru did in its early months, while our supply in the newly launched cities has grown five times faster than in our initial expansion phase. We are now adding around 100 new experiences every month. The opportunity ahead is to make Alive App the default weekend companion for urban India, something people return to every week to discover what they want to do next.”

Kshitij Golwalkar, General Partner, Powerhouse Ventures, said, “Alive App stands out as one of the most differentiated and capital-efficient companies we have seen in this category. What is particularly compelling is how the team is using AI not only as a product feature, but across the business to rethink how consumer technology companies can be built, scaled and operated in India. We believe this combination of a strong consumer proposition, differentiated supply and an AI-led operating model gives Alive App the potential to be a leader in India’s rapidly growing experience economy.”

About Alive App

Alive App is an experience-tech platform focused on helping urban consumers discover and experience curated activities across adventure, food, wellness, art, culture, learning and more. The platform currently operates across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Goa, with 500+ experiences and 400+ creators and partners. Founded by Vivek Kumar, Alive App is building technology and supply infrastructure for India’s emerging experience economy.

Website: www.iamalive.app

 

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