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Axtria Ignite 2026: 450+ Life Sciences Leaders Convene With a Contrarian Message — Fix the Foundation Before You Scale AI

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More than 450 executives from 100+ leading life sciences organizations gathered in Princeton, NJ to move agentic AI past the proof-of-concept stageFounder and CEO Jaswinder “Jassi” Chadha challenged the industry with a counterintuitive mandate: before you build more agents, fix the foundation firstThe Ignite Leadership Awards honored transformation leaders from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, and Biogen; the Axtria Bedrock Honor recognized a 15-year partnership with Quest Diagnostics

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Axtria Inc., a global leader in AI-first data & analytics solutions and platforms for the life sciences industry, hosted Axtria Ignite 2026 on June 10 and 11 at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal under the theme “Industrializing Intelligence: The Agentic Enterprise.” More than 450 executives from over 100 leading life sciences, MedTech, and biotech organizations gathered to work through the harder question of 2026: what must be true before an enterprise can trust AI to run at machine speed.

Day 1 of the by-invitation-only event drew more than 200 attendees to product workshops on practical applications of AI, analytics, and commercial excellence. It included real-world success stories and value delivered from agents and hands-on experience with live agents. Day 2 featured four mainstage sessions and 16 panels across four tracks: industrialized data and the agentic backbone, agentic AI for business insights, high-performance customer engagement, and the shift from software to agentic ecosystems. Now in its fourth year, Axtria Ignite has become a regular fixture on the calendars of senior commercial and data leaders in life sciences.

The foundation is the strategy
In his keynote address, Axtria founder and CEO Jaswinder “Jassi” Chadha argued that the foundation determines whether AI in pharma scales. Drawing on three decades in the industry, he pointed to the persistent gap between ambition and execution: roughly 73% of biopharma still reports significant data issues, as many as 89% of AI pilots never reach production, and trust in AI systems has slipped from 61% in 2019 to 53% today, even as the industry races toward a projected 100,000-plus AI agents.

Against a pharma accuracy bar of 99.5%, Chadha laid out four things the foundation must carry: an AI-ready data supply chain, a semantic layer for agent accuracy, software guardrails for deterministic precision where stakes are highest, and a governance framework for digital workers at scale. Agents, in his framing, are new hires who must earn trust through validation and audit, not receive it on day one.

“Before you build the agent, fix the foundation first. The companies that will lead the agentic era are not the ones who moved fastest; they are the ones who built them with trust,” Jaswinder “Jassi” Chadha, Founder and CEO, Axtria.

Proving CFO-certifiable business value
Co-founder and CTO Navdeep “Navi” Chadha led a mainstage session with senior leaders from Thermo Fisher Scientific and Quest Diagnostics. The discussion moved past future potential to candid accounts of what has worked and what has not, from CFO-certifiable value reporting and integrated risk management to the discipline of defining exit criteria before a proof of concept begins. A recurring lesson surfaced across panelists: change management is the work, not a footnote.

“Change management and adoption cannot be the 45th slide in a 30-page deck at the business case approval,” Senior Digital Leader, speaking on a mainstage panel.

The conversations attendees took home
Across tracks, the discussions reached a level of candor that does not show up in industry research reports. A senior leader at a major pharma company described her team’s unlock: making clear that AI was here to elevate marketers rather than replace them. By her account, adoption now stands at over 90%.

“This is not an AI revolution. It’s a people revolution,” VP of Commercial AI at a top pharma company, closing mainstage session.

Ignite Leadership Awards
Axtria presented its annual Ignite Leadership Awards, recognizing leaders doing the hard work of transformation inside their organizations. These leaders were recognized for driving enterprise-wide AI transformations and genuinely bringing multiple disciplines together to truly make a difference to the foundation of AI to realize the true value. The 2026 honorees were:

Anvita Karara, Vice President, Commercialization AI Strategy & Analytics, Bristol Myers SquibbJeremy Pincus, Vice President, Medical Affairs IT, GSKBharti Rai, Senior Vice President, Biogen

Axtria Bedrock Honor
The Axtria Bedrock Honor recognized Quest Diagnostics for a 15-year partnership and the recent implementation of an Axtria SalesIQ™ sales force alignment solution across 34 role types and a ~1,300-person field organization, among the most complex sales force alignments in healthcare. The honor was accepted by John Liffert, Vice President, Commercial Operations, alongside Samantha Barnes-Weaver, Director, National Deployment and Alignments, and Marc Cangemi, Senior Director, Commercial Excellence, Compensation, and Deployment.

“Those of you who know the Quest business know it’s probably the most complex sales force alignment in healthcare. Because we were able to solve that, you made us better. You made our product better. Thank you for being our partners in this journey,” Jassi Chadha, Founder and CEO, Axtria.

About the event
Ignite 2026 featured 45+ speakers across panels and presentations, plus hands-on workshops with Axtria’s agentic products, including Axtria HIQ, Axtria SalesIQ™, Axtria MarketingIQ™, and Axtria DataMAx™. The agenda also included an Executive Incentive Compensation Roundtable and networking receptions on both evenings.

About Axtria
Axtria helps life sciences companies harness the potential of data science and software to improve patient outcomes by connecting the right therapies to the right patients at the right time. A leading global provider of award-winning cloud software and data analytics, Axtria delivers proven solutions that help pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostics companies complete their journey from data to insights to action. As a participant in the United Nations Global Compact, Axtria is committed to aligning its strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. For more information, visit www.axtria.com.

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Bobby Cain Joins Raiven Board of Directors

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June 25, 2026

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Schneider Electric North America CIO and Forbes Top 50 tech leader joins as Raiven scales its agentic procurement platform for the trades.

IRVINE, Calif., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Raiven today announced that Robert (Bobby) W. Cain has joined its Board of Directors. Cain is Senior Vice President and CIO for North America at Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, where he leads IT strategy and business transformation across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, including the modernization of quote-to-cash and ERP systems that touch the same distribution and procurement workflows Raiven is enabling for contractors.

“Raiven’s agentic AI for the CPO is exactly the category-defining bet I want to be part of.”  – Bob Cain

For Cain, the appeal was specific. “The team isn’t just applying AI to procurement. They’re re-imagining how work actually gets done in the trades, from intent to execution,” he said. “Raiven’s work on agentic AI and digital twin capabilities for the chief procurement office is precisely the kind of category-defining bet I want to be part of.”

His appointment lands as Raiven scales toward a larger ambition: building the agentic Chief Procurement Office for the trades. Trade-specific AI agents handle sourcing, pricing, quoting, and Raiven Best Value™ decisions, so the same team operates with greater capacity.

“Successful contractors put the right systems in place to move fast and protect margins. Those systems must be purpose-built for the work. Trades desperately need an AI native application layer for multi-stakeholder procurement. We have built it and have been issued a patent for the technology,” said Manoj Puthenveetil, CEO of Raiven. “Bobby has lived this from the OEM and distribution side. His perspective is exactly what we need right now.”

About Robert (Bobby) W. Cain

Bobby Cain is SVP and CIO, North America at Schneider Electric, leading digital technology across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He was recently named to Forbes’ Top 50 tech leaders transforming the role of the CIO. Before Schneider, he held senior commercial and leadership roles at GE and Rittal Corporation. He is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and Army Ranger, with an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rose-Hulman.

About Raiven

Raiven is the agentic Chief Procurement Office for the trades, built for electrical, HVAC, and multi-trade contractors. The platform combines trade-specific AI agents, a broad supplier network, and hands-on procurement support, handling sourcing, purchasing, and material availability on behalf of contractors from intent to execution.

At the core is Raiven Best Value, the trades’ only patented system for value-based procurement decisions. It evaluates every decision against a dynamic mix of variables: price, availability, supplier reliability, lead time, total cost, and more. The output is the best value for the job, not the lowest line price.

The result: the same team operating with greater capacity, tighter margin control, and full visibility into what they’re buying and what it costs. Learn more at raiven.com.

Media Contact
Jo Jenkins
Raiven
raiven.marketing@raiven.com

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SOURCE Raiven

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Whisp Leverages Strategic Marketing Partnership with iHeartMedia to Expand “Perks Pass” Rewards Community Nationwide–Sponsored by NBA Analyst Kendrick Perkins

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June 25, 2026

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Powered by Whisp’s mobile opt-in technology, Perks Pass and iHeartMedia join forces to help customers vote for their favorite restaurant and enter for a chance to win a Hilton Hawaiian getaway, building a Perks Pass community with many national brands participating

MIAMI, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Whisp—the world’s top mobile opt-in expert—announced a new, strategic multi-year marketing partnership with iHeartMedia, the leading audio media company in the United States and podcast publisher globally. The partnership allows Whisp to tap into iHeartMedia’s expansive audio network to promote Perks Pass, which is sponsored by NBA champion and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins. Reaching more than 270 million monthly listeners with its broadcast stations alone, iHeartMedia will support Perks Pass’ efforts across its multi-platform network—including live radio, streaming, podcasts and live events—to help build nationwide awareness. Consumers will be able to discover rewards, enter sweepstakes, vote for brand partners and experiences, and help shape future rewards, experiences, and brand partnerships. 

For years, brands have unsuccessfully marketed to customers without giving them a true say in what businesses offer, which rewards matter, and which experiences may come next. Unlike traditional loyalty programs that are controlled entirely by brands, Perks Pass gives consumers that missing voice with an actual vote on their favorites—from restaurants to specific rewards, experiences, and future brand partners. By combining consumer input with brand participation, Perks Pass creates a two-way relationship between businesses and the customers they serve, building a community based on meaningful engagement—a community supported by iHeartMedia.

Perks Pass users now have an opportunity to vote for their favorite restaurant through the platform, including individual locations, franchises, and quick service restaurants (QSRs). This new community helps businesses focus on the offerings that customers truly want, tailoring rewards, sweepstakes, and experiences to the people who matter most. Customers can also use the Perks Pass platform to enter for a chance to win a Hawaiian getaway and a year’s worth of vacation giveaways from Hilton Grand Vacations, one of many national brands participating.

Powered by Whisp’s proprietary mobile opt-in technology, Perks Pass is a new way for businesses and customers to connect through a real-world rewards relationship. Introducing Kendrick Perkins as a brand ambassador, Perks Pass harnesses Whisp’s patented technology to turn everyday business visits into direct, repeatable customer relationships, without apps, forms, or third-party fees. Rather than reacquiring their existing customers, businesses can use Perks Pass to own the customer relationship, turning every interaction into a verified opt-in as an opportunity for ongoing engagement. More information can be found at PerksPass.com.

“iHeartMedia is always looking for innovative ways to connect brands with audiences at scale, and Perks Pass is a compelling example of how mobile-first engagement can empower consumers,” said Joe Robinson, President of Corporate Development and Ventures at iHeartMedia. “Through our unmatched reach across radio, streaming, podcasts, and live events, we’re excited to help grow the Perks Pass community nationwide—giving listeners new ways to interact with the brands they love while having a real voice in shaping future experiences.”

“Whisp and Perks Pass are proud to partner with iHeartMedia, the leading audio company in the U.S.,” said Steve Doumar, founder and CEO of Whisp. “There is no better platform than iHeartMedia for us to grow the Perks Pass community across America, giving customers the power to help decide what their favorite brands offer next. Perks Pass is a national consumer community where loyal members determine which brands, rewards, sweepstakes, and experiences are featured, while brands gain access to an engaged, loyal audience of users who actively signal what they want. Whisp powers the engagement and activation behind the scenes, creating a win-win for consumers and businesses over the long haul.”

For more information, please visit Whisp.io and PerksPass.com.

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SOURCE Whisp.IO

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Deloitte ranked No. 1 Consulting Service Provider worldwide by revenue in 2026 Gartner® Market Share report for ninth consecutive year

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June 25, 2026

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NEW YORK, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For the ninth consecutive year and 14th time in total, Deloitte has been recognized as the No. 1 consulting services provider by revenue in 2026 Gartner Market Share: Consulting Services, Worldwide, 2025 report, which notes 5.3% growth totaling US $41.6 billion.

“We believe this continued recognition by Gartner reflects our unwavering focus on delivering measurable business outcomes for clients. In an environment that is complex and rapidly changing, Deloitte helps organizations build resilience while positioning for competitive advantage—connecting them with Deloitte’s capabilities, talent, and platforms. Accelerated by AI, we enable technology-driven transformation that help addresses critical priorities across operations, efficiency, human capital, cybersecurity, and beyond,” says Kwasi Mitchell, Deloitte Global Consulting Services, Technology & Transformation leader.

In our view, this strong performance was driven by sustained demand for digital transformation, cloud modernization, and data/AI advisory services, further and was bolstered by strategic investments in GenAI-enabled consulting tools and deepened alliances.

“We believe this recognition reflects the strength of Deloitte’s multidisciplinary model and success of providing lasting impact for clients. As disruption and complexity increase, clients seek trusted advisors who can bring sector insights, proven capabilities, and a confidence to execute growth strategies which create value,” says Nicolai Andersen, Deloitte Global Strategy, Risk & Transactions leader.

For more about Deloitte Analyst Relations, please visit our Analyst Recognitions page.

Gartner Disclaimer

Source: Gartner Market Share Analysis: Consulting Services, Worldwide, 2025, 27 April 2026- ID G00851801, By Anupama. 

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

GARTNER is a trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.

About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the “Deloitte organization”). DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.

Deloitte provides leading professional services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500® and thousands of private companies. Our people deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets and enable clients to transform and thrive. Building on its 180+-year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s over 470,000 people worldwide work together every day to make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

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SOURCE Deloitte Global

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