New platform accelerates collaboration in technology evaluation, research, education, and innovation

CARY, N.C., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Academic Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC), the nation’s largest academic orthopaedic community representing 5,000 members, 200 university-based academic orthopaedic departments, and 100 health systems and private practices, today announced the national launch of POST™, the first national digital platform created specifically to connect MedTech and pharmaceutical companies with academic orthopaedic departments.

Developed over three years of collaboration between nationally recognized academic orthopaedic leaders and industry executives, POST represents a significant new layer of infrastructure for academic-industry collaboration. The platform was created to address two of healthcare innovation’s greatest challenges: efficiently connecting companies developing new technologies with the academic medical centers best positioned to evaluate, validate, educate, and responsibly introduce those innovations into clinical practice, while also advancing best practices that help reduce unnecessary delays in technology evaluation and adoption.

Powered by intelligent matching technology, POST enables organizations to create comprehensive profiles and instantly connect with highly relevant collaborators based on clinical expertise, research interests, educational priorities, innovation initiatives, and technology evaluation capabilities—dramatically reducing the time required to identify the right academic or industry partner. By strengthening collaboration between academic medicine and industry, POST also helps create earlier access to emerging technologies, expands opportunities for research and publication, enhances resident and fellow education, and supports the responsible acceleration of innovation into patient care.

The launch follows one of the largest national assessments examining collaboration between academic orthopaedic departments and the medical technology industry. Through surveys and strategic discussions led by the AOC MedTech Advisory Council, academic leaders identified significant barriers slowing innovation. Technology evaluation processes averaged more than 270 days, only 13% of institutions reported evaluation timelines under 90 days, and only 12%believed their current processes efficiently minimized delays. More than 90% identified purchasing and administrative processes as the primary barriers to technology adoption and called for national best practices to improve collaboration.

“POST represents a fundamental shift in how academic medicine and industry discover one another and work together,” said Michael R. Gagnon, MBA, Founder and CEO of the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium. “For decades, companies have struggled to identify the right academic partners, while academic departments have lacked an efficient, standardized way to engage industry. POST changes that by creating the nation’s first digital platform where organizations can quickly identify one another, build trusted relationships, and accelerate innovation with the shared goal of improving patient care.”

POST also serves as the digital foundation for the newly established AOC Technology Evaluation Network, a national collaborative of academic and industry leaders focused on technology evaluation, innovation, and best practices. Forty-six leading academic orthopaedic departments have already identified Technology Evaluation Leaders who, together with leaders from AOC’s participating industry partners, will help advance best practices, establish more efficient evaluation pathways, and strengthen collaboration across academic medicine and industry. The goal is to help reduce unnecessary delays in technology evaluation while increasing opportunities for research, education, publication, and responsible innovation.

The platform was shaped through the work of the AOC MedTech Advisory Council and the leadership of academic and industry experts committed to improving collaboration throughout orthopaedics. Founding industry collaborators helping shape POST include Arthrex, DePuy Synthes, Medacta, MY01, Smith+Nephew, Stryker, and Think Surgical, with additional organizations continuing to join the platform.

“Academic medicine and industry ultimately have a shared goal to improve patient care through responsible innovation,” said Joshua J. Jacobs, MD, Co-Chair of the AOC MedTech Advisory Council. “POST provides a national framework that enables academic institutions and industry to collaborate more effectively, share best practices, strengthen research partnerships, and accelerate the responsible evaluation and adoption of new technologies.”

“Identifying the right academic collaborators and navigating highly variable institutional processes has long been a challenge for the MedTech industry,” said Stuart Simpson, Co-Chair of the AOC MedTech Advisory Council. “POST creates a trusted national gateway that brings together industry and academic medicine in a way that is more transparent, efficient, and scalable than ever before.”

The Academic Orthopaedic Consortium is now inviting academic orthopaedic departments, MedTech companies, and pharmaceutical organizations to establish organizational profiles on POST and participate in this growing national platform for collaboration, technology evaluation, research, education, and innovation.

To learn more or establish an organizational profile, visit POSTMedTech.com.

About the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium

Founded in 2005, the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC) is the nation’s largest academic orthopaedic community, representing leading university-based academic orthopaedic departments, health systems, private practices, orthopaedic leaders, researchers, faculty, and administrative executives across the country. Through education, leadership development, research, innovation, and strategic collaboration, the AOC works to strengthen academic orthopaedics and improve musculoskeletal patient care.

POST™: POSTMedTech.com

Academic Orthopaedic Consortium: AOC

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SOURCE Academic Orthopaedic Consortium

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Taligence, an executive search firm specializing in senior marketing hires, has once again partnered with Aspen Technology Labs, a global leader in labor market intelligence, to release the Q2 2026 U.S. Marketing Jobs Report. Based on an analysis of more than 86,000 in-house marketing job listings throughout the second quarter of 2026, the report shows that the U.S. marketing job market remained resilient despite a modest slowdown following a peak in hiring activity during April.

Total active marketing job listings continued to edge higher, more employers recruited for marketing talent, and Director-level and above hiring once again outpaced the broader market. At the same time, companies became increasingly selective in where they invested, with entry-level hiring declining further while demand remained concentrated in commercially focused disciplines such as Growth Marketing, Partner & Channel Marketing, and Brand Marketing.

One notable shift during the quarter was the reversal in remote hiring. After reaching a high in early March, the share of fully remote marketing roles declined steadily through the remainder of the quarter, suggesting that many employers have settled into more permanent hybrid or in-office working models. Median advertised salaries continued to rise during the quarter. However, part of this increase reflects the growing concentration of senior-level hiring, alongside genuine wage growth within marketing roles.

Note: This report covers full-time, in-house marketing positions only.

For the full report, visit:

https://www.taligence.com/job-reports/u-s-marketing-jobs-report-q2-2026

Key Findings from the Q2 2026 U.S. Marketing Jobs Report

1. Hiring Remains Resilient

Total active marketing job listings: 86,628 (+0.4% QoQ)New marketing job postings: 53,961 (-5.1% QoQ)Employers posting marketing jobs: 24,042 (+2.3% QoQ)Live job listings at quarter-end: 36,086 (+7.1% YoY)

2. Senior Marketing Hiring Continues to Outperform

Total senior marketing roles (Director-level and above): 11,659 (+4.5% QoQ)New senior job postings: 7,293 (+2.9% QoQ)Senior roles at quarter-end: 5,082 (+17.3% YoY)

3. Hiring Becomes More Selective

Entry-level hiring declined 4.0% YoY and 16.4% QoQDirector-level and above hiring significantly outpaced all other levelsCompanies continued shifting investment toward experienced marketing talent

4. Median Advertised Salaries Continue to Rise

Median advertised salary: $95,004 (+11.8% YoY), reflecting both higher advertised pay and a continued shift toward more senior hiring.Salary transparency remained high at 55.6% of job listingsField Marketing recorded the strongest salary growth among all disciplines

5. Remote Hiring Retreats

Remote marketing roles accounted for 13.6% of all in-house marketing job listingsRemote hiring declined steadily after reaching a peak in early MarchThe trend points to continued normalization of hybrid and in-office working models

6. Marketing Discipline and Geographic Trends Continue to Evolve

Partner & Channel Marketing, Growth Marketing, Brand Marketing, and Content Marketing recorded the strongest hiring growthProduct Marketing remained the highest-paid marketing disciplineNorth Carolina entered the nation’s top ten marketing hiring states for the first time, while San Francisco recorded the strongest hiring growth among major U.S. cities

“The market isn’t pulling back on marketing investment, it’s becoming much more selective about where that investment goes,” said Michael Wright, CEO of Taligence. “The strongest demand continues to be for marketers who can directly influence growth, partnerships, and brand performance. At the same time, the decline in entry-level hiring raises an important long-term question about how companies will develop the next generation of marketing leaders.”

“Marketing continues to outperform the broader U.S. labor market. Active in-house marketing listings ended Q2 up 7.1% year-over-year, roughly double the 3.7% growth we’re seeing across U.S. job postings overall,” said Michael Woodrow, President of Aspen Technology Labs. “But that growth is not evenly distributed. Director-level and above roles are up 17.3% year-over-year, versus under 6% across all other levels combined, while entry-level listings actually declined. Employers are still hiring marketers. They’re just hiring more experienced ones.”

About Taligence LLC

Taligence is an executive search and talent intelligence firm specializing in senior marketing leadership hires. Through proprietary research and data-driven insights, Taligence helps companies and candidates navigate an increasingly complex talent market. Learn more at www.taligence.com.

About Aspen Technology Labs, Inc.

Aspen Technology Labs is a global leader in web data management services and labor market intelligence. Its JobMarketPulse platform powers real-time hiring insights for organizations worldwide. Learn more at www.AspenTechLabs.com.

Media Contacts:

Taligence LLC
Melody Liu
melody@taligence.com

Aspen Technology Labs, Inc.
Lana Shumyn
lana.s@aspentechlabs.com

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SOURCE Taligence LLC

Insurance Business recognized InsurTech leader for the fifth consecutive year for helping insurance distribution move from friction to flow

DENVER, Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Insurance Business recognized Vertafore® in its Global 5-Star Technology and Software Providers 2026 report, honoring the company for the fifth consecutive year for its solutions that empower agencies, MGAs and carriers to better serve clients, make informed decisions and grow their businesses.

Insurance Business highlighted Vertafore’s innovations that bring together core digital systems, AI and an unmatched data foundation to help insurance organizations achieve Distribution Velocity—speed with intentional outcomes. According to the report, brokers also rated Vertafore’s products a perfect 5.0 across every criterion in this year’s survey.

“At Vertafore, every innovation starts with understanding what our customers need to do their best work,” said Amy Zupon, CEO at Vertafore. “That perspective shapes everything we build, from practical AI to core digital systems that help insurance organizations adapt faster and grow smarter.”

Embedding AI into the systems insurance professionals trust

Vertafore serves 98 of the top 100 independent agencies, 96 of the top 100 carriers and 85% of the fastest-growing MGAs. That reach gives the company a unique view of the industry’s evolution and what organizations need from technology, especially in the age of AI.

As insurance organizations accelerate AI adoption, they need technology that solves real business challenges and fits seamlessly into the way they already work. Vertafore embeds AI directly into the core workflows agencies, MGAs and carriers rely on every day, freeing insurance professionals to focus on tasks that require their expertise and knowledge.

That strategy comes to life through recent innovations, including:

The Vertafore Velocity™ AI Platform, the foundation for the company’s expanding portfolio of agentic AI capabilities across AgencyOne®, MGA solutions and Sircon®. Recently available Velocity AI agents include: the Email Agent, the Reconciliation Agent, the Submission Processing Agent and the Benefit Plan Agent.ReferenceConnect AI™, an AI-powered insurance knowledge base that transforms how professionals access and apply trusted industry knowledge in their everyday work. Insurance professionals get clear, verified answers up to 80% faster, supporting more consistent decision-making across underwriting, service and client interactions. 

“We’re applying AI in a connected way: reducing duplicate work, moving information between systems, surfacing insights at the right point in the workflow and helping employees act faster with better context,” said James Thom, chief product officer at Vertafore. “It is not about adding AI for its own sake. It is about using AI to make tasks, decisions and information move more efficiently across sales, servicing and operations.” 

About Vertafore

Vertafore powers Distribution Velocity, accelerating every part of the insurance value chain within and across agencies, MGAs, and carriers so they can adapt faster and grow smarter. As the trusted backbone of the industry, Vertafore provides the core digital systems, specialized AI, and data-driven foundation to eliminate distribution drag across sales, servicing, accounting, underwriting, and back-office operations, taking insurance workflows from friction to flow.

Supporting over 95% of the top agencies and insurers and 50% of industry compliance transactions, Vertafore leads at the intersection of innovation and trust, giving customers the speed, performance power, and confidence to transform and grow at scale in the new era. Vertafore is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Learn more at www.vertafore.com.

©2026 Vertafore and the Vertafore logo are registered trademarks of Vertafore. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

MEDIA CONTACT:
INK Communications
vertafore@ink-co.com

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SOURCE Vertafore, Inc.