James Cannon is an experienced hedge fund analyst. He has served on the advisory boards for various different Fortune 500 companies as well as serving as an adjunct professor of finance. James Cannon has written for a variety of Financial Magazines both on and off line. Contact James at james[at]businessdistrict.com
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The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics garnered an impressive 28.6 million U.S. viewers across NBC and Peacock, marking the most-watched summer Games start since London 2012. This viewership surge represents a significant increase over the 17 million viewers who tuned in for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
NBCUniversal, which paid $7.65 billion for exclusive broadcasting to the Olympics in the US through 2032, saw this as a crucial turn of events. The ceremony, featuring athletes floating down the Seine and a performance by Celine Dion, drew substantial audience interest.
While time zone differences and COVID-19 may have dampened the excitement surrounding the Tokyo and Beijing games, NBCUniversal incorporated celebrity appearances, including Beyoncé introducing Team USA, to encourage viewing.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, set new records with over 2.5 million viewers for the ceremony, making it the most-streamed opening ceremony to date and the platform’s biggest entertainment event ever.
American Airlines (AAL.O) and its 28,000 flight attendants have reached a tentative labor agreement, according to their union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA). Although the specifics were not disclosed, the deal addresses concerns about compensation, work rules, and retroactive pay.
After more than three years of negotiations, the agreement will be reviewed by the union’s board before members vote on ratification. APFA President Julie Hedrick stated that if approved, the deal will significantly enhance compensation and work conditions for flight attendants.
The White House closely monitored the discussions, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su previously involved. President Joe Biden praised the agreement, noting it prevents a potentially disruptive strike and underscores the benefits of collective bargaining for workers, companies, and the economy.
According to the airline, the contract promises immediate financial and quality-of-life improvements for flight attendants. The company had previously offered a new contract with a 17% immediate wage increase and higher profit sharing in 2024, but these terms were rejected by the union.
Flight attendants, who had authorized a strike if negotiations failed, have not seen a pay raise in over five years. The union had demanded a 33% immediate raise, citing the challenges faced since the pandemic, including dealing with unruly passengers.
Negotiations began in January 2020 but paused during the pandemic, resuming in June 2021.
Mike Gianoni, the CEO of cloud computing provider Blackbaud, is leading the company’s preparations for its annual bbcon, set for September 24- 26, 2024.
The three-day convention in Seattle, Washington is a top-tier event with over 1,000 social impact and non-profit professionals in attendance, in person and remotely. This year, bbcon will welcome Emmy award-winning actress and nonprofit leader, Sheryl Lee Ralph as its keynote speaker.
Gianoni explained that Ralph embodies the same commitment to social impact that bbcon and Blackbaud promote. “As a fierce advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness and action, Sheryl Lee Ralph has so much to share about translating personal passions for impact, motivating for change, and leveraging her own influence and network for positive results,” Gianoni said.
In an ever-changing technological landscape, Blackbaud is the leading provider of software powering social impact. As CEO, Gianoni has been steering the company at the intersection of technology and social impact by building essential software that accelerates impact through integrated expertise and powerful data intelligence. Throughout his career, Gianoni has brought strong operational expertise and leadership to the tech community, driving value for customers while advancing corporate cultures that encourage teams to thrive.
That is why Gianoni is particularly excited about bbcon 2024 and the list of inspiring keynote speakers that Sheryl Lee Ralph joins from recent years, which has included America Ferrera, Chaunte Lowe, and Simu Liu. “We serve the entire social impact community operating across the globe—nonprofits, foundations, corporations, education institutions, healthcare institutions, and the individual change agents who support them,” he says. “Ralph’s leadership and insights are sure to inspire and catalyze their work driving forward a better future for all.”
Mike Gianoni is a veteran IT service executive. What began in a high school engineering class, Gianoni’s interest in technology has evolved to a full-time career spanning industries and many decades. He earned degrees in both engineering and business, and received an MBA and Honorary Doctorate from the University of New Haven.
This article was originally published on January 17, 2014. Based on the Forbes article from May 29, 2000 entitled: “The Gift of Data”
As CEO of a cancer testing startup, Anu Saad has leveraged her company’s vast trove of patient data to launch a lucrative new business in packaging and selling medical information.
In 1998, Saad provided critical usage insights to Genentech on its new breast cancer drug Herceptin by analyzing her startup’s database of 40,000 HER2 gene test results. This allowed Genentech to effectively target pre-launch marketing, contributing to Herceptin’s blockbuster sales of $300 million in 2000.
Under Saad’s leadership, the startup realized rich opportunities in monetizing its cancer databases. With over 565,000 patient profiles and processing 12% of US cancer screens annually, Saad has signed partnerships with two dozen pharmaceutical firms who pay handsomely for analysis of biomarkers, genetics, treatment outcomes and more. For example, Novartis paid the startup to analyze bone metastasis rates across different cancer types to inform clinical expansion opportunities for its breast cancer drug Zometa.
To expand the startup’s data capabilities, Saad recently acquired two firms – one for clinic data and tumor samples and another for 1.7 million cancer patient records. By pooling these resources with the startup’s internal databases, Saad has developed detailed profiles on over 100,000 patients to better inform treatment and drug development.
While the lion’s share of the startup’s $85 million revenue still comes from core cancer testing services, Saad has overseen over 50% growth in its information services business, already generating $8 million annually. However, Saad stresses that commercialization of data is firmly grounded in achieving the fundamental mission she set out for her company – leveraging medical insights to develop more effective diagnosis and treatments for cancer patients. It is this commitment by visionary leaders like Saad that enables life sciences firms to translate vast data resources into improved patient outcomes. Under Saad’s leadership, her startup has emerged as an information powerhouse that promises to catalyze major advances in cancer care.
Sony Pictures Entertainment, the studio behind recent hits like “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “Anyone but You,” has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the dine-in movie theater chain. Alamo will be integrated into a new division called Sony Pictures Experiences, and will continue to operate all 35 of its locations across 25 U.S. metro areas.
While major movie studios were previously prohibited from owning theaters due to the 1948 Supreme Court antitrust case, the Paramount Consent Decrees, which enforced this law, were abolished in 2020, allowing studios to enter the theater business once again.
Sony follows Netflix, which bought the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles and the Paris Theater in New York City, and Disney, which owns the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. However, Sony is the first major studio to acquire a theater chain.
Founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, Alamo Drafthouse is known for its dine-in service, alcoholic beverages, and curated film programs. The theaters offer a mix of new releases and repertory titles, attracting large audiences. Despite its popularity, Alamo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2021 but emerged a few months later.
Tim League, founder of Alamo Drafthouse, expressed excitement about the acquisition, stating that Sony’s respect for cinema aligns with Alamo’s vision. Michael Kustermann will remain CEO of Alamo and lead the new Sony Pictures Experiences unit. The headquarters will stay in Austin.
Sony has recently seen box office success with films like “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “The Garfield Movie”.
