The foundation renews its commitment to advancing Web3 technologies through key leadership changes.

Today, Web3 Foundation, whose flagship project is the Polkadot blockchain protocol, announces the appointment of Fabian Gompf as CEO. Fabian brings with him a wealth of web3 experience, a deep understanding of the industry, and a vision to bolster the Polkadot ecosystem. He succeeds Bertrand Perez, who effectively led the Foundation for two years and will be transitioning into an advisor role.

“We are thrilled to welcome Fabian into this new role. Fabian’s deep experience and understanding of Polkadot and the web3 space will be an incredible asset as the Foundation renews its focus on cutting-edge technology and building and supporting a vibrant Polkadot ecosystem,” said Dr. Gavin Wood, Founder of the Web3 Foundation and creator of Polkadot and Kusama.

Fabian joins the executive team of the Web3 Foundation from his current role as a member of the Supervisory Board. Until 2022, he served as VP of Ecosystem Development at Parity Technologies, where he played a crucial role in building and launching the Polkadot network.

Speaking on his appointment, Fabian Gompf said, “It is an honor to take on this new role at the Web3 Foundation at a pivotal time as we work to expand the reach of the Foundation. I look forward to collaborating with the Polkadot community to embark on this exciting journey towards a more transparent and user-controlled internet.”

“On behalf of the Foundation, I would like to thank outgoing CEO Bertrand Perez, who leaves a legacy of strong leadership which forms the basis for our future path,” said Mr Gompf.

SanerNow Risk Prioritization, based on CISA's SSVC framework, builds upon SecPod's well-known vulnerability intelligence to effectively prioritize vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and other security risks and improve cybersecurity posture.

SecPod Technologies, a global vulnerability management pioneer, has launched SanerNow Risk Prioritization, AKA SanerNow RP, to assess and prioritize the exponentially rising number of vulnerabilities in organizations. As the world's first SSVC-based risk prioritization solution, it will allow CISOs and IT Security teams to combine business impact, exploitability, vulnerability intelligence, and data analysis to rapidly and effectively prioritize security risks. 

With millions of security risks lurking in modern networks, IT Security teams are often overwhelmed in managing them and effectively mitigating them gets increasingly difficult. Further, remediating every risk is time-consuming and inefficient in effectively combating cyberattacks. With the focus being diverted to low-risk vulnerabilities and ever-increasing backlog, high-risk vulnerabilities that need immediate attention might be missed. Classification and prioritization are the only way to wade through the mountain of vulnerabilities.

Chandrashekhar Basavanna, the CEO of SecPod, said, "We are excited to launch this innovation from SecPod's lab. With every new product we introduce, we are setting a new standard for ourselves. SanerNow RP is a crucial bridge between vulnerability detection and mitigation that helps our Customers streamline their remediation efforts efficiently. SanerNow RP applies machine learning, prediction, kill-chain validation, and in-house vulnerability intelligence to prioritize the vulnerabilities into different priority buckets accurately."

Unlike other solutions that prioritize, SanerNow Risk Prioritization, natively integrated into the SanerNow Advanced Vulnerability Management solution, prioritizes AND mitigates risks that matter the most, providing an unparalleled improvement in vulnerability reduction and security posture. Furthermore, it also eliminates the need for multiple tools to effectively reduce the attack surface.

SanerNow Risk Prioritization is now available to the public as an add-on to SanerNow Advanced Vulnerability Management (AVM) platform to seamlessly simplify and integrate vulnerability management into a simple workflow. SanerNow AVM is a comprehensive vulnerability management platform providing visibility and control over IT infrastructure, detection and prioritization of vulnerabilities, and remediation of the vulnerability within the same platform.

Binance, the global blockchain ecosystem behind the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, today announced the promotion of its VP of Global Marketing Rachel Conlan to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

This announcement follows the recent executive appointments and management changes — including Eleanor Hughes as its new General Counsel, Kristen Hecht as Deputy Chief Compliance and Global Money Laundering Reporting Officer, Min Lin as Head of Latin America, and Richard Teng as Head of Regional Markets — as the organization distinguishes its leadership team leading key business efforts.

"Our leadership team is critical to carrying out positive impacts that have an effect on the larger ecosystem and our mission, which is focused on users," said Binance CEO CZ (Changpeng Zhao). "And, Rachel is an example of that. Our team is stronger than ever as we focus on delivering great products and services for our users while ensuring we are a responsible industry leader."

Rachel will continue to oversee and manage Binance's global and regional teams. In the coming months, she will bring in a new series of global campaigns and increase the number of partnerships and efforts with key online influencers (KOLs) to bring new entrants to the space and find innovative ways for users to engage with Web3 and crypto, including efforts around impact. Through her efforts to educate and empower more people with crypto knowledge, Rachel will be contributing to broader efforts within Binance to collectively build the industry and facilitate mainstream adoption. 

"Rachel has demonstrated that she is a strong leader who leads with integrity and users top of mind. She is quick on her feet and able to look at challenges and opportunities with diverse perspectives that account for different aspects of the business. She understands how crypto is an effective tool to improve lives and she leads marketing efforts with an inclusive mindset. This is the mindset that will help us bring the next billion users and drive adoption. We are excited to welcome her into this new role alongside our renewed leadership team who are championing our shared mission," shared Binance Co-Founder Yi He.

Rachel is at the helm of Binance's current innovative campaigns, including The Weeknd, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alpine Formula 1. She leverages her previous experience from senior leadership roles at Havas and CAA to explore other brand initiatives. Rachel is focusing on attracting world-class marketing talent to strengthen the organization as it advances into its next phase of growth, "building upon its strong foundation."

"We are just scratching the surface to unleash the larger potential of crypto in the new era of Web3," said Rachel. "As an industry leader, we play a crucial role in bringing this potential for users and demonstrating to them how they benefit. I am eager to continue this journey in helping the industry reach wider and untapped demographics. It is humbling to be entrusted with the opportunity to work alongside a user-obsessed executive team who have built a leading ecosystem trusted by millions around the world as we, and the industry, continue growing in this early-stage environment."

Darwin CX, a SaaS solution provider powering the subscription and membership economies, is proud to announce industry veteran, David Nussbaum, as a founding member of its newly formed Advisory Board.

Since inception, Darwin's product innovation team has worked closely with our clients to evolve our product roadmap; "we are excited to announce that we are extending this approach and adding new voices to the planning table," shares Darwin's CTO and co-founder, Michael Smith. "Darwin is taking our collaboration to the next level by engaging with industry leaders to identify evolving business challenges and digital opportunities. These opportunities will inform future features and vertical markets that will expand the Darwin leadership position. David Nussbaum, former CEO and Chairman of America's Test Kitchen, brings experience, insights, and a vision for future expansion."

Nussbaum, who founded his own magazine at the age of 27, understands the complexities of subscription circulation. "Even 30 years ago, it was crucial for publishers to have a set of circulation-specific tools that served the needs of their recurring revenue businesses. As the media landscape and consumer demands evolve, so too must the tools that serve them." David should know, having led three private-equity-backed media operations in the capacity of both CEO and Chairman of the Board, and taking trade publisher Penton Media from near bankruptcy to a $530 million sale, in part, by launching new digital businesses.

"Publishers need to be nimble," states Nussbaum. "Waiting for third-party providers to help launch a critical win-back campaign, spin up a branded check-out page, create targeted audience messages and offers, or even just provide industry-standard business reporting, is no longer an option. Business moves too fast."  As technology continues to automate routine media functions, publishers can reallocate resources towards higher value initiatives. "There's no doubt that the Darwin CX platform would have further transformed my media and membership businesses, and I'm excited to help accelerate this evolution for others within these industries."

Nussbaum's expertise in business transformation will be a valuable addition to Darwin's newly formed Advisory Board, which will play a crucial role in guiding Darwin CX's business strategy throughout the remainder of 2023 and beyond.

Merchants using Wix can process payments by converting their Android devices into Point-of-Sale terminals to accept secure, contactless payments anywhere in the U.S.

Wix.com Ltd., a leading global SaaS platform to create, manage and grow an online presence, today announced Tap to Pay on Android to simplify in-person commerce for U.S.-based merchants through an extended partnership with Stripe. Following Wix's recent release of Tap to Pay on iPhone, Wix merchants can now accept secure, contactless payments directly from their Android devices without additional hardware.

The Wix Owner App turns any compatible Android device into a Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal. By leveraging Wix's advanced and secure POS software, merchants are able to conduct in-person commerce anywhere, anytime, giving their customers a  simple, contactless checkout experience. Users can use credit cards, debit cards, Google Pay, and other digital wallets to complete the purchases of their desired products with confidence and ease.

"Stripe's Tap to Pay on Android product has facilitated contactless payments for millions of businesses around the world," said John Affaki, Terminal Business Lead at Stripe. "We're excited to partner with Wix to provide this easy, cost-effective, no-code way to accept payments in more entrepreneurs' pockets."

"Our expanded partnership with Stripe enables merchants to turn their Android devices into a POS terminal so they can readily embrace the future of contactless payments," said Amit Sagiv and Volodymyr Tsukur, Co-Heads of Wix Payments. "This launch is another step in our commitment to providing our merchants with the best tools to succeed online and offline, streamline their operations, and efficiently serve their customers."

Report urges marketing and IT to work together as technology tools permeate customer experience marketing and loyalty practices

Merkle, dentsu's leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, has released the 2023 Customer Engagement Report (CER) focused on insights and sentiment from marketers on key topics in the industry. The report explores the impact of technology on marketing – how new tools are helping workflows, where misalignment between people and tech is happening, and how teams can work together to increase efficiency.

As the customer experience (CX) landscape continues to evolve, consumers expect marketers to do more to earn their loyalty – and marketers continue to implement new solutions to keep up. However, Merkle's CER found that 93 percent of marketing teams feel misaligned in using at least one of their technology or software tools – proving teams are amping up investments in tech without aligning on their intended use and goals. The report outlines how brands can improve alignment through greater collaboration between IT and marketing teams when evaluating and purchasing new solutions, onboarding the technology, and training new users. 

"Mass-produced messaging no longer resonates with consumers; they expect personalization and one-to-one relationship building. As a result, it is crucial to deliver curated, personally relevant experiences across touchpoints, and this is not possible without technology and streamlined workflows," said Courtney Trudeau, SVP, technology strategy lead at Merkle. "As marketing teams increase their investment in experience platforms, they need to be aligned on these new tools from the start. Efficiency and utilization from the get-go will create better results over time as the solution is implemented."

Additionally, the CER underscores the need for earlier collaboration between IT and marketing, as IT professionals have more insight into security, safety, and usability. Delays in decision-making account for 48 percent of all misalignment on marketing teams, according to the report, and increased collaboration with IT can help bridge this gap for brands and marketers alike.

"Delays are usually caused by a lack of buy-in from both the CMO and CIO. Kicking off these conversations with everyone at the table from the start can help ensure teams are as efficient as possible," said Trudeau. "Evolving the decision-making model from a siloed process to a more collaborative, integrated approach is critical to unlocking maximum value from technology investments."

The 2023 CER highlights how marketing teams can do their best work by not only investing in new solutions, but also building relationships with internal IT teams to ensure all technology is used effectively and responsibly.

Branded calling authenticates calls, improves engagement and brand loyalty

TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) research featured in a newly released eBook shows the majority of consumers don’t answer the phone because they assume it’s a robocall or scam. The consequence of such actions? Seven in 10 consumers (72%) didn’t answer a call due to safety or fraud concerns, only to later learn they had missed ones they really wanted or needed at least some of the time.

While close to half of consumers don’t pick up because they don’t recognize the caller, the majority said they’d likely answer calls from businesses that display their name and logo on calls. What’s more, most consumers would view those brands more favorably and be more likely to remain a customer of those organizations.

The findings demonstrate that solutions like branded calling and spoofed call protection can benefit enterprises and consumers and help restore trust to the phone channel. The compete findings are available in the eBook, “Reaching Customers by Phone Feel Like a Fairy Tale? Why Consumers Don’t Answer and What You Can Do About It.”

“When customers don’t answer legitimate phone calls, everyone suffers,” said James Garvert, senior vice president of TruContact Communications Solutions at TransUnion. “Enterprises experience poor right-party contact rates, decreased efficiencies and reduced revenues. In addition, the negative impact of call spoofing on brands can be devastating. Consumers suffer because they miss important calls they may really need. The good news is solutions are available to address these issues.”

The research was conducted through a survey of 1,517 U.S. consumers aged 18+ to better understand how they use the phone channel, their behaviors when receiving phone calls and text messages, and the impact spam, call spoofing and fraud have had on that behavior.

The TransUnion research included insights related to experiences with fraud and preferences for call authentication:

Fraud Findings

• 61% received at least one call in the past three months where the caller seemed to be impersonating someone else (call spoofing) or wasn’t who they claimed to be
• 38% said they’ve been the victim of a scam or fraud on their mobile phone

Call Authentication Findings

• 62% said they’d be very likely to answer a call on their mobile phone when they are certain who’s calling
• 76% said they’d be likely to answer calls from known businesses if they show the company name and logo on calls
• 57% indicated “verification the call hasn’t been spoofed” is a top feature
• 56% would view a brand more favorably if they added their name and logo to the mobile display

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 
This online survey of 1,517 adults was conducted in June 2023 by TransUnion in partnership with third-party research provider, Toluna. Adults 18 years of age and older residing in the U.S. were surveyed using an online research panel method across a combination of desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Survey questions were administered in English. To ensure general population sample representativeness across U.S. resident demographics, the survey included quotas to balance responses to the census statistics on the dimensions of age, gender, household income and region. Generations are defined as follows: Gen Z, born 1997-2004; Millennials, born 1981-1996; Gen X, born 1965-1980; Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964; and Silent Generation, born 1928-1945. These research results are unweighted and statistically significant at a 95% confidence level within ±2.5 percentage points based on calculated error margin. Please note some chart percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding or multiple answers being accepted.

The company now integrates the IAB's Seller Defined Audience (SDA) taxonomy categories, representing a seismic shift towards a cookieless contextual future.

DrivenIQ, a global leader in audience data and advertising technologies, today announced a new technological advancement in cookieless and intent-based audience data. The company now integrates the IAB's Seller Defined Audience (SDA) taxonomy categories, representing a seismic shift towards a cookieless contextual future. It also represents the company's overarching mission to redefine audience data by curating relevant and meaningful first party solutions.

DrivenIQ's patent pending Cookieless-Contextual™ audience segmentation empowers marketers to access tailored cohorts based on in-market consumer behavior and recent online relevance. This approach is closely linked to a consumer's online (and soon offline) shopping journey.

DrivenIQ is addressing the imminent end of third party cookies by offering this democratized solution outside the constraints of digital walled gardens. The company also leverages its Audience Data Platform to connect the dots between extensive consumer identity touch points – covering over 45 million unique active visitors weekly – and IAB's defined taxonomies. These data interactions continue to scale week over week, putting DrivenIQ's current monthly observability at over 54% of the U.S. population to date.

"With the sheer volume of visitors in our data pipeline, we can detect, analyze, and observe non-PII digital breadcrumbs across millions of persistent identity profiles, thousands of business verticals, and tens of millions of online interactions and events, including purchase and transaction engagements," said Albert Thompson, CEO of DrivenIQ.

The launch of DrivenIQ's Cookieless-Contextual™ audience segmentation helps make connections between these important data signals, the DrivenIQ Identity Graph, and consumer online intent, thereby linking data that creates a true and first 360-degree view of a customer's journey.

"With these latest capabilities, we provide marketers with privacy-complaint, cookieless ways to build custom audience cohorts that are integrated with IAB taxonomies for scale and interoperability," Thompson continued. "The future of advertising lies in platforms integrated with both audience and contextual data to exceed the demands of a cookieless future. We're providing the most efficient ad spends and highest ROI, fueled by in-market audience data that enables reach beyond walled gardens."

Additionally, DrivenIQ proudly announces its recent membership in both the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in the United States and the United Kingdom. This strategic move epitomizes DrivenIQ's unwavering commitment to enhancing its global footprint. It also reaffirms the company's position as a trailblazer in the first party data marketplace.

In tandem with these advancements, DrivenIQ is privileged to sponsor the upcoming IAB Connected Commerce Summit: Retail Reimagined, on September 13, 2023 in New York, which brings together thought leaders, innovators, and experts to explore the future of connected commerce.

Michael Pruitt, President of Capstone Technologies Group Inc, (OTC: CATG), a majority investor in DrivenIQ, expressed his enthusiasm for the company's recent milestones.

"DrivenIQ's innovative leap into cookieless contextual audience segmentation, paired with its alignment to IAB, exemplifies the forward-thinking approach we value at Capstone Technologies Group," said Pruitt. "We're very proud to be associated with such groundbreaking work and are eager to see how these innovations reshape the advertising landscape."