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HR Plays Critical Role in Leading Human Side of AI: New Report From McLean & Company

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New research from global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company explores HR’s influence in shaping human-centric practices and enabling emerging technologies to drive organizational impact.

TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2026 /CNW/ — As organizations move quickly to adopt AI and other emerging technologies, HR leaders are uniquely positioned to ensure technology decisions strengthen the human experience at work. That role is becoming more critical as speed, efficiency, and innovation reshape how work gets done. To help organizations close the gap between intention and action, McLean & Company announced the launch of its new report, The Power of Human-Centricity, live from day two of its flagship HR conference, McLean Signature 2026. The latest report from the global HR research and advisory firm provides HR leaders with a practical roadmap for intentionally embedding human-centricity into the design of work, decision-making, technology adoption, and HR service delivery.

Drawing on McLean & Company’s Human-Centric HR in the Age of AI Survey 2026, the report identifies a clear gap between the level of human-centricity organizations believe they demonstrate and the extent to which they apply human-centric practices. The firm’s data reveals that while 82.2% of organizations and 88.1% of HR teams believe they are human-centric, only 20% of HR teams consistently assess AI use cases for their impact on human-centricity before implementation. Left unaddressed, technology decisions made for speed and efficiency today can become tomorrow’s trust, engagement, and retention challenges.

“Human-centricity cannot be treated as an assumed value while technology decisions are made somewhere else. It has to be an intentional practice embedded in how work is designed, how decisions are made, and how emerging technology is applied,” says Kelly Berte, practice lead, HR Research & Advisory Services, at McLean & Company and one of the report’s lead researchers. “This report is designed to help HR leaders move human-centricity from a stated priority to a practiced discipline, especially as AI and other technologies reshape the employee experience.”

McLean & Company’s The Power of Human-Centricity report outlines three connected areas where human-centricity is won or lost:

Technology impacts, such as higher adoption rates, accelerated AI maturity, and reduced costly rework.People impacts, including a stronger sense of belonging, psychological safety, preserved agency, and empowerment.Organizational impacts, evident in sustained performance and growth, market competitiveness, and stronger retention and talent stability.

Structured as a practical roadmap, The Power of Human-Centricity report explores what human-centricity means in a world shaped by emerging technologies, examines how organizations and HR teams are navigating the current reality, clarifies HR’s influence in embedding human-centric practices into decision-making, and provides guidance for reimagining HR service delivery in the age of AI.

“AI adoption is accelerating across organizations, and HR plays a pivotal role in ensuring the human element does not get lost along the way,” says Amani Gharib, HR Research & Advisory Services Director at McLean & Company and one of the lead researchers behind the report. “The findings make clear that human-centricity is not a soft concept. It is a strategic lens that helps organizations build trust, strengthen performance, and make better technology decisions.”

The firm’s insights also highlight the business case for getting human-centricity right as organizations scale AI and automation. McLean & Company’s HR Trends Report 2025 found that organizations whose executive leaders are highly proficient in human-centric competencies are 2.2 times more likely to be high performing at achieving strategic goals and objectives. The finding underscores the need for leaders to treat human-centricity as a measurable organizational capability that strengthens strategy execution, builds resilience, and prepares the workforce for change.

To explore McLean & Company’s The Power of Human-Centricity report, including its research-backed framework, key findings, and guidance for putting human-centricity into practice, please visit the official report page.

Organizations seeking broader support can engage McLean & Company’s advisory services to assess human-centricity, strengthen HR’s influence in AI and technology decisions, and identify practical opportunities to align people, process, technology, governance, and data. For additional research, tools, and guidance, visit McLean & Company’s HR Technology Resource Center.

Media seeking research-backed insights or commentary from McLean & Company experts on human-centricity, responsible AI adoption, HR’s role in technology decision-making, workforce readiness, or the future of work can contact Senior Communications Manager Kelsey King at kking@mcleanco.com.

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is a global HR research and advisory firm and trusted partner to people leaders navigating today’s most pressing workforce challenges. Informed by its work with thousands of HR professionals and executives, the firm provides evidence-based research, diagnostics, practical tools, hands-on support, and services spanning advisory, learning, and coaching. From workforce strategy and leadership to culture, engagement, retention, and AI adoption, McLean & Company helps leaders move from direction to execution and deliver measurable results for their people and organizations.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software, and hundreds of industry analysts through the firm’s Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact kking@mcleanco.com.

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Pavilion Launches as the First Founder-Owned National Vacation Rental Company

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20 locally led companies managing more than 5,000 homes come together to share infrastructure, technology and data, all under one roof.

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pavilion, a national vacation rental company, launched today with 20 local companies managing more than 5,000 homes and welcoming approximately 50,000 guests each month across the United States.

Pavilion launches as the first founder-owned national vacation rental company, with 5,000+ homes under one roof.

Pavilion brings together successful local vacation rental companies that have built deep relationships with property owners and have real expertise in their markets. Each one stays locally led by the teams who built it, while gaining the resources and scale of a much larger organization. What sets Pavilion apart is who owns it. The leaders of its local companies become long-term shareholders, and together with the team running Pavilion itself, they own the majority of the business.

“The people who built these businesses are the core of Pavilion, and they should get the biggest share of the outcome,” said co-founder and chairman Joe Fraiman. “The typical industry playbook left founders with a small piece of someone else’s company. We’ve been founders in this industry ourselves, so we built the company we would have wanted to join.”

“We look for local companies that have built incredible relationships with their property owners, because those relationships are the heart of this business,” said Lino Maldonado, co-founder and CEO of Pavilion. “We see property owners as business owners. Our job is to put the best service, technology and people in the industry behind them so their business is worth more next year than it is today.”

Behind the local companies, Pavilion provides shared technology, data, owner reporting, accounting, revenue management, business development, purchasing and insurance. Its management team brings experience from Compass, Bridgewater Associates, Inhabit, Grand Welcome, Wyndham and Wheelhouse.

“Pavilion gave me a way to keep building my business while owning a piece of something much bigger,” said Steven Chrobak, founder of Myrtle Beach Destinations. “We have the tools and support we need to grow, and the only thing my homeowners have noticed is that we’ve gotten better.”

Pavilion is actively seeking more local vacation rental companies across the country. “We’re looking for builders,” said Brady Stump, co-founder of Pavilion. “People who have built something exceptional in their market and want the resources to make it substantially bigger. They are joining a collection of pioneers who own the company together, share what works, and solve problems as a team.”

Pavilion’s investors include TZP Group, investment funds managed by HPS Investment Partners (a part of BlackRock), and Capital Dynamics. PGIM, the global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI), served as the primary lender for the Pavilion platform. “Great hospitality companies shouldn’t have to choose between what makes them special and the advantages of scale,” said Paul Davis, partner at TZP Group. “Pavilion is designed to preserve the local knowledge, hospitality and entrepreneurial leadership that made these companies successful while giving them access to resources that are typically only available to much bigger companies.”

Pavilion’s 20 founding local companies are 30A Vacay, Akers Ellis, Beach Getaways, Blue Creek Cabins, Compass Resorts, Destin Pointe Realty, Enjoy Unique Stays, Executive Villas, Host & Keep, Kabino, Maui Paradise Properties, Myrtle Beach Destinations, Panhandle Getaways, Premium Beach Condos, Rent in Myrtle, Salt Water Vacations, Scenic Stays, Sea Mountain Vacations, Vacay Rental Network and Wild Oak Telluride. Blue Creek Cabins, Destin Pointe Realty, Premium Beach Condos and Rent in Myrtle have merged with one of the other local companies, so the group operates as 16 today.

Jefferies LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and Cooley LLP acted as legal counsel.

About Pavilion
Pavilion is a national vacation rental company majority-owned by the people who run it. Its 20 local companies manage more than 5,000 homes and welcome approximately 50,000 guests each month in vacation destinations across the United States. Pavilion gives those companies shared technology, data, infrastructure and expertise while keeping the local teams and leaders behind each one. Pavilion was founded by Stakeholders, the firm Brandon Ezra, Joe Fraiman and Brady Stump started in 2025 to build national companies owned by the people who run them. For more information, visit pavilioncollection.com.
To learn more about Stakeholders, visit stakeholders.us.

About TZP Group
TZP Group, a multi-strategy investment firm managing approximately $2 billion across its family of funds, is focused on control, growth equity, debt and structured capital investments in technology, business services, and consumer companies. Founded in 2007, TZP targets companies with solid historical performance and sustainable value propositions and aims to be a “Partner of Choice” for business owners and management teams. TZP seeks to invest primarily in closely held, private companies in which the owners desire to retain a significant stake and partner with an investor with complementary operating and financial skills to accelerate company growth, increase profitability, and maximize the value of their retained stake. TZP leverages its investment professionals’ operating and investment experience to provide strategic and operational guidance and is dedicated to long-term value creation. TZP’s investment in Pavilion was led by Paul Davis, Geoff Allard, Alex Pfeffer, and Sam Dwinell. For more information, please visit www.tzpgroup.com.

About Capital Dynamics
Capital Dynamics is an independent global asset management firm focusing on private assets, including private equity (primaries, secondaries and direct investments) and clean energy.

Established in 1988, the Firm has extensive knowledge and experience developing solutions tailored to meet the exacting needs of a diverse and global client base of institutional and private wealth investors. Capital Dynamics oversees more than USD 15 billion in assets under management and advisement1, and employs approximately 150 professionals2 globally across 14 offices in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Capital Dynamics is a recognized industry leader in responsible investment, receiving top marks (Five Stars) from PRI across all categories and investment strategies, as well as in GRESB benchmarking for its clean energy strategy. For more information, please visit: www.capdyn.com.

About PGIM 
PGIM is the global asset management business of PFI. (NYSE: PRU), with $1.5 trillion in assets under management. 3 PGIM offers clients deep expertise across public and private asset classes, delivering a diverse range of investment strategies and tailored solutions—including fixed income, equities, real estate and alternatives. With 1,500+ investment professionals across 40 offices in 20 countries, we serve retail and institutional clients worldwide. For more information, visit pgim.com.

PFI of the United States is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom or with Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom. For more information please visit news.prudential.com. 

1 As of June 30, 2026. Assets under Management are calculated based on the total commitments as of the final closing date for all funds currently managed by Capital Dynamics, including amounts that have been distributed. Assets under Advisement includes assets for which Capital Dynamics provides services such as reporting, monitoring and risk management.
2 Includes all full-time and part-time employees, as well as essential functions performed by temporary staff and long-term consultants
3 As of Jun. 30, 2026. Assets are rounded to the nearest full number.

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Playseat® Marks over 30 Years since Founding the Racing Cockpit Category

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From pioneering the category in the mid-1990s to driving its future, Playseat® continues to push racing simulation forward.

DOETINCHEM, Netherlands, Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In the mid-nineties, Playseat® created the racing cockpit category, and ever since, has been an innovator and trailblazer, constantly pushing the boundaries of what simulation can be and how it should look and feel.

From developing new racing sub-categories, including the world’s first foldable racing seat and the first formula-position racing seat, to building strategic partnerships with top-tier names like Red Bull, Mercedes-AMG, PUMA, PlayStation, NASCAR and Formula 1®, they consistently turned new ideas into real experiences.

Playseat® is not stopping at racing. They’re opening new simulation categories like flight and heavy-duty machinery later this year. And true to its DNA, it now sets the new standard, again, with the next-generation racing cockpit.

“Since the first prototypes in 1996, we have continuously introduced new and unique products to unlock experiences and designs for everyone worldwide,” said Fernando Smit, President and founder of Playseat®. “We thrive on exploring, creating, and innovating, and you can see the market following every step we make. To make sure the latest and greatest will always be available, we are upping the game even more for the future.”

The next-generation racing cockpit has arrived

Playseat® is about to launch the Playseat® Evolution 2, the next-generation racing cockpit engineered to set a new standard in racing chairs and redefine what sim racers can expect from their setup. Born from the Playseat® Evolution, the simulator that created the home racing cockpit category, this next-generation Evolution carries that proven expertise forward. In a long tradition of innovative product introductions since the mid-90s, the Evolution 2 delivers unmatched versatility, expandability, and value, making it the most adaptable All-Round Racing cockpit on the market today.

About Playseat®

Playseat® created the racing cockpit category in the mid-nineties and has since been trailblazing the Racing, Flight and Farming simulation cockpit and Gaming chair categories. All products are fully patented, designed and engineered in the Netherlands, combining all-round versatility for everyday use with the highest level of quality, making it the go-to brand for simulation and gaming from beginner to pro.

Find Playseat® at playseat.com or @playseat.

Media Contact:
pr@playseat.com

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ASI Southeast Work-Based Learning Student Named Georgia Student of the Year

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Governor’s Workforce Summit award caps a nine-year manufacturer-school partnership that now supplies one in ten of ASI’s Georgia employees

TOCCOA, Ga., Oct. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Connor Wallace, a senior at Stephens County High School and a Work-Based Learning student at ASI Southeast, has been named the 2026 Georgia Work-Based Learning Student of the Year. He received the award on September 24 at the Governor’s Workforce Summit in Atlanta, where he was recognized by Governor Brian Kemp. Wallace won the county-level award before advancing to the statewide honor.

Georgia’s work-based learning programs enrolled 32,518 students across 24,582 employers in the most recent school year, according to the Georgia Department of Education.

ASI Southeast manufactures commercial toilet partitions and lockers for ASI Global Partitions and ASI Storage at its plant in Toccoa, roughly 90 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Two years, zero absences

Wallace joined ASI Southeast in December 2024, shortly after turning 16. He has recorded zero absences, zero tardies and zero early departures since, earning the company’s 2025 Perfect Attendance Award. As of August 19, he had completed 2,534 Work-Based Learning hours and is on pace to pass ASI’s program record of 3,100 before graduation.

His contribution has gone well beyond attendance. During the Locker Business Unit’s continuous improvement competition, Wallace redesigned the UPS staging process, eliminating roughly 158,720 employee steps per year, close to 80 miles of walking, and producing an estimated $5,000 in annual savings. The project won the unit’s “Most Steps Saved” award.

He was then selected as one of five employees to represent the Locker Business Unit in ASI’s 2026 company-wide continuous improvement championship. That team’s project delivered approximately $35,000 in annual savings and won the competition outright. Wallace was named Best Presenter.

He now serves as ASI’s Work-Based Learning Team Captain, acting as liaison between the company, participating students and Stephens County High School. He has led plant tours, represented ASI at job fairs, helped train employees, and taken on responsibilities in production and quality inspection.

“Connor’s defining qualities are his respect, dependability, and ability to make the people around him better,” said Clint Frady, Business Unit Manager at ASI Southeast. “He earns opportunities through consistency, masters new responsibilities, and then helps others succeed. Connor is a tremendous example of what can happen when a motivated student is given an opportunity to contribute in a real workplace and chooses to make the most of it.”

A program built for the labor market it sits in

ASI’s Work-Based Learning program was developed by Stephen Wallace, General Manager of ASI Southeast and Connor’s father, in partnership with Stephens County Schools. Students join the plant during the school year and return across successive summers, with a defined path to full-time employment after graduation.

That structure is a deliberate response to conditions in northeast Georgia, where manufacturers compete for a limited pool of qualified skilled labor. Rather than recruiting against the shortage, ASI develops workers within it, building familiarity with the plant, the equipment and the culture years before a hiring decision is made.

The program runs in collaboration with the county school system rather than as an internal-only initiative, with coordinators, credit hours and a structure the school recognizes and students can build on.

Nine years in, it has hired 67 students from three area high schools, beginning with four. Graduated participants have worked more than 57,736 hours and earned over $1 million in wages, nearly all of it spent in the local economy. Approximately 80 percent remain with ASI after graduation and about half stay three years or longer. In nine years, one participant has been involuntarily terminated.

Today, 32 percent of the operations workforce at ASI Southeast’s 900 Plant came through Work-Based Learning, as did roughly 10 percent of ASI’s employees across Georgia.

About ASI Group

ASI is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial toilet partitions, washroom accessories, lockers, and visual display products. ASI Global Partitions and ASI Accurate Partitions are the company’s partition divisions. With operating units and offices in the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, and China, ASI serves architects, building owners, and contractors in more than 50 countries.

Media Contact
Anthony Dutcher
Vix Media Group
301-485-9853
424140@email4pr.com 

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