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Optro Announces Business Continuity Management to Align Critical Business Processes with GRC Intelligence, Powering True Operational Resilience

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BCM solution debuts as new data reveals more than half of leaders overestimate their ability to recover from disrupted operations.

LONDON, June 10, 2026 /CNW/ — Optro (formerly AuditBoard), the leading AI-powered GRC platform empowering enterprises to transform risk into opportunity, today announced its Business Continuity Management (BCM) solution designed to help customers ensure the continuation of critical business functions and processes such as payroll processing, security operations, and customer support, during and immediately after a disruption. The announcement took place at Optro’s flagship global customer conference, CRX EMEA, in London.

Optro also today released its data report: “When business continuity fails.” The report, based on a survey of 500+ audit, risk, compliance, and BCM leaders across North America and EMEA, finds that confidence far outpaces performance: 92 percent of leaders say they’re confident they can meet recovery objectives, yet among the 76 percent who faced a third-party disruption in the past two years, fewer than half actually met them. Four in ten of those disruptions cost enterprises $1 million or more. Optro’s BCM solution is built to close that gap and build resilience by helping organizations:

Gain cross-functional context: Map key business processes with respective dependencies, owners, vendors, and relevant risks in a single-view within the Optro platform.Create always-current plans: Connect plans to processes to auto-populate criticality ratings, recovery time objectives, recovery point objectives, updating in real time as assessments change.Simulate real-world disruptions: Link tabletop exercises directly to business continuity plans and automatically pull in all related processes and dependencies for a complete picture.

“We believe Optro’s BCM solution will allow us to bridge the gap between risk management and operational response,” said Kate Marechal, Director, Operational Risk and Risk Services at Shawbrook Bank. “By gaining a single view of our business processes within the same platform we use for audit, risk, and compliance, we should be able to better understand what’s critical to our operations, plan for disruptions that could materially impact our business, and test those plans to remediate issues before a disruption happens.”

“Most organizations are confident in their continuity plans on paper, but when disruption actually hits, fewer than half deliver on their objectives,” said Happy Wang, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Optro. “With our BCM solution, customers will be able to seamlessly integrate their business continuity programs with their audit, risk, and compliance data, providing the GRC intelligence needed to move beyond static reporting to proactive strategy and true operational resilience.”

To see Optro’s new BCM solution in action, stop by the demo station today at CRX EMEA in London. To learn more about how Optro is transforming risk into opportunity through its AI-powered GRC platform or to download the full report, visit Optro.ai.

About Optro

Optro (formerly AuditBoard) helps enterprises transform risk into opportunity, redefining GRC through an agentic system of action. More than 50% of the Fortune 500 trust Optro to elevate audit, risk, and compliance in addressing a new era of risk. Optro is top-rated by customers on G2 and was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Tools, Assurance Leaders. To learn more, visit: optro.ai.

Contact:
Laura Groshans
press@optro.ai

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SOURCE Optro, Inc

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Johns Hopkins University Athletics Partners with Prospect HQ to Expand Career Opportunities for Student-Athletes

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Partnership connects Johns Hopkins student-athletes and alumni to a growing national talent network and employers seeking the attributes and skills developed through sport

BALTIMORE, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Johns Hopkins University Athletics has partnered with Prospect HQ, the hiring platform connecting current and former student-athletes with employers seeking culturally aligned talent possessing the dynamic attributes developed through sport.

The partnership reflects the philosophical alignment and shared mission of supporting student-athletes on their career journey and life after sport.

“We are excited to provide all current and former Blue Jays with a platform that will challenge them to reflect on their own personal values, strengths and purpose, as well as provide them curated access to professional organizations that have done the same work and are seeking to hire former athletes who have developed the leadership and teamwork skills uniquely formed by sport,” said Jennifer S. Baker, Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics. “This is a natural complement to all the support provided by our Life Design Lab and will further help our scholar-athletes navigate their unique career journeys. In particular, we’re enthusiastic about connecting the outcomes from our LEAD program to meaningful employment post-Hopkins, and to supporting our Blue Jays as they find a professional path that allows them to continue to grow and thrive, as they’ve done during their years at Homewood.”

“Jen Baker and the team at Hopkins are the vanguard in college athletics in terms of their commitment and approach to supporting student-athletes on their path to purpose,” said Cory Carlesimo, CEO of Prospect HQ. “Prospect HQ and Hopkins are committed to helping student-athletes find the right opportunities that allow them to thrive professionally and personally. We are grateful and excited to have such purposeful and dynamic partners.”

Through Prospect HQ, Johns Hopkins student-athletes and athletic alumni will have access to a growing national network that now includes student-athlete membership from more than 700 colleges and universities. Launched in January 2026, Prospect HQ is built on three principles: aligning hires, elevating cultures and transforming lives.

Prospect HQ is an active community of current and former student-athletes networking with one another while connecting with a diverse range of employers seeking this curated talent pool. Companies subscribe to Prospect HQ to access this distinctive roster of talent and identify candidates aligned with their culture and hiring needs.

The platform also delivers open job opportunities aligned with each candidate’s self-described goals, attributes, skills and cultural fit. This process empowers student-athletes to identify opportunities relevant to who they are and where they want to go.

At the center of Prospect HQ is Purposeful Intelligence, which coaches and guides candidates throughout their career journey while helping them reflect on their own unique experiences and attributes. The platform is designed to help student-athletes convey their authentic story in a way that resonates with prospective employers.

Prospect HQ’s recently launched iOS app makes the platform even easier for student-athletes to access, allowing them to engage with the network, manage their profiles, explore opportunities and build connections wherever their journey takes them.

Through the Johns Hopkins partnership, Blue Jay student-athletes and alumni become part of a community that extends beyond a single campus, connecting current and former athletes across institutions, industries and generations.

Prospect HQ is free for student-athletes, athletic alumni and universities.

About Johns Hopkins Athletics
Johns Hopkins boasts one of the most successful athletic programs in the nation. The winner of two Learfield Directors’ Cup titles in the last five years with nine top-five finishes to its credit since 2014, Johns Hopkins has produced more than 300 all-time Academic All-Americans and more than 60 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients. Blue Jay teams have collectively earned 57 national championships, including 10 NCAA titles since 2012, and won more than 300 all-time conference titles. Quite simply, Johns Hopkins offers one of the nation’s premier combinations of academics and athletics.

About Prospect HQ
Prospect HQ is a digital community and hiring platform connecting current and former student-athletes with employers seeking culturally aligned talent possessing the dynamic attributes developed through sport. The platform is built around three principles: aligning hires, elevating cultures and transforming lives. Prospect HQ combines an active athlete network, employer connections, personalized job opportunities and Purposeful Intelligence to help student-athletes navigate their journey from sport to career. The platform is free to student-athletes, athletic alumni and universities and is supported by candidate-seeking employers.

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SOURCE Prospect HQ

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PRA Group Celebrates 30 Years of Business by Ringing Nasdaq Opening Bell

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NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — PRA Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRAA), a global leader in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans, today celebrated its 30th anniversary by ringing the Nasdaq Stock Market Opening Bell in New York City’s Times Square.

PRA Group President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Sjolund rang the bell alongside co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Board Steve Fredrickson, the company’s senior leadership team and employees representing PRA Group’s global workforce.

“Celebrating 30 years of business is especially meaningful because this milestone belongs to the people who have helped make PRA Group what it is today,” said Sjolund. “Our people are the reason we’ve grown from a startup in Virginia into a global company, and they are the reason we’re excited about our next chapter.”

Founded in Norfolk, Va., in 1996, PRA Group has grown into one of the most globally diversified companies in the nonperforming loan industry, with portfolio operations in 18 countries. The company has been publicly traded since 2002 and continues to play an important role in the financial ecosystem by returning capital to banks and other creditors while working directly with customers to help them resolve their debt.

“As proud as we are of our first 30 years, we’re even more excited about what comes next,” Sjolund said. “Together, we’re advancing our new PRA 3.0 strategy introduced earlier this year, which is focused on helping us become a high-performing, technology-enabled global allocator of capital. I am proud of what our team has accomplished, and we look forward to continuing to deliver value to our customers, employees, partners and shareholders.”

About PRA Group
As a global industry leader with more than 30 years of experience, PRA Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRAA) specializes in acquiring and collecting nonperforming loans. PRA Group purchases portfolios from banks and other creditors and, through its subsidiaries, collaborates with customers to help them resolve their debt. Headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, PRA Group has operations in the U.S., Europe and other markets. For more information, please visit www.pragroup.com.

Media Contact:
Allison Herman
Manager, Public Relations and Strategic Communication
(757) 381-5205
MediaInquiries@PRAGroup.com

Investor Contact:
Najim Mostamand, CFA
Vice President, Investor Relations
(757) 431-7913
IR@PRAGroup.com

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SOURCE PRA Group, Inc.

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Abbott Risk Consulting Ltd. Joins ISASecure to Strengthen Adoption of ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Standards

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DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The International Society of Automation (ISA) — the leading professional society for automation — announced that Abbott Risk Consulting (ARC) Ltd. has officially joined ISASecure®, the globally recognized certification program that validates conformance to the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards for industrial automation and control systems (IACS) cybersecurity.

ARC offers consultancy services across the UK and Australia including risk management; safety engineering, assurance and verification; independent safety assessment; training; functional safety; cybersecurity; and more. ARC focuses on supporting clients with the design, operation, and decommissioning of facilities, plants, and assets in high-risk industries including oil and gas, nuclear, defense, rail, mining, and clean energy.

This new partnership with ISASecure reflects ARC’s ongoing mission to strengthen their knowledge and assistance in providing additional operational technology (OT) cybersecurity consulting and assessments — including ISASecure’s Security Development Lifecycle Assurance (SDLA), Component Security Assurance (CSA), System Security Assurance (SSA), and Automation Control System Security Assurance (ACSSA) — for their clients.

“It is an honor to welcome ARC Ltd. into the ISASecure program, and we look forward to engaging with them as students in the next IC49 ACSSA for Evaluators training course,” said Mark DeAngelo, ISASecure program manager. “Today’s critical infrastructure demands comprehensive, rigorously validated cybersecurity. We look forward to collaborating with ARC Ltd. as we advance our mission of partnership, certification, and standards-based product development to help achieve a more secure world.”

Tom Abbott, who leads ARC’s Cyber Security team, said: “Control system security standards are a fundamental part of the architecture of resilient systems. By joining ISASecure, we’re fully committed to upholding these standards now and influencing their development in the future.”

About ISASecure®

Founded in 2007 by the International Society of Automation (ISA), ISASecure® is a globally recognized certification program that provides assurance for the cybersecurity of industrial automation control systems (IACS). Through rigorous conformance to the ISA/IEC 62443 series of standards, ISASecure certifications validate that products and supplier practices meet internationally recognized benchmarks for OT security. ISASecure is a wholly owned subsidiary of ISA.

ISASecure’s global ecosystem includes leaders such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, GSK, Saudi Aramco, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, Trane Technologies, and Yokogawa, among others.

For more information, visit isasecure.org.

About Abbott Risk Consulting Ltd.

Abbott Risk Consulting (ARC) is a dynamic safety engineering consultancy with a world-wide reputation for delivering quality solutions to their clients. It is an independent, employee-owned company. ARC is consistently recognized as one of the best places to work in the UK by the Sunday Times and in Australia, by The Australian.

From offices throughout the UK and Australia, with headquarters in Edinburgh, ARC supports clients and projects globally. ARC’s flexible and innovative approach allows the company to deliver the highest quality services to major international corporations, government bodies, and small- to medium-sized enterprises alike.

Their specialties include safety engineering and risk management, hazard and operability studies (HAZOP), quantitative risk assessments (QRA), safety case, CFD, fire and explosion analysis, facilitation, safety integrity level (SIL) assessments, hazard identification (HAZID), management consultancy, clean energy, sustainability, green hydrogen, renewables, human factors, change management, defense, nuclear, transportation, and hydrogen.

About ISA

The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1945 to create a better world through automation. ISA’s mission is to empower the global automation community through standards and knowledge sharing. ISA develops widely used global standards and conformity assessment programs, certifies professionals, provides education and training, publishes books and technical articles, hosts conferences and exhibits, and provides networking and career development programs for its members and customers around the world. Learn more at www.isa.org.

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SOURCE The International Society of Automation

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