Qualcomm Celebrates 40 Years as an American Innovator

Written by Nate Tibbits

Over the last few decades, we have witnessed an incredible technological revolution. The way we interact with each other and the world around us has been transformed by groundbreaking advances in wireless communications, improving the quality of people’s lives. In less than a generation’s time, the mobile phone has gone from a device designed primarily for making voice calls, to a ubiquitously connected computer that fits in the palm of your hand. And through its relentless pursuit of innovation, Qualcomm has played an indispensable role in driving many of the monumental changes we have seen in wireless technology since the dawn of the mobile era.

On Wednesday, we kicked off the celebration of our 40th anniversary with a special event at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. This celebration, led by Qualcomm Incorporated President and CEO Cristiano Amon, took place in the rotunda below the “Cellphone: Unseen Connections” exhibit, which showcases the profound impact of mobile technology on our world. It was a proud evening where we reflected on our achievements and shared the remarkable journey that has brought us to this milestone.

“What is unique about this company is it’s a company that’s been founded on a deep commitment to R&D and technology, and trying to solve some of the world’s biggest problems,” said Amon, who went on to recount how our foundations in cellular technology have expanded and evolved into us enabling intelligent computing beyond mobile phones to areas such as automotive, computers, Internet of Things (IoT) and AI. “We could not be more excited about the roadmap for technology and the potential for companies in America to continue to innovate and continue to drive this innovation economy, at the same time transforming the world through our history.”

Since our founding in 1985, Qualcomm has played a central role in furthering American technology leadership on the world stage. To date, we have invested over $100 billion in R&D, representing nearly 20% of our annual revenue. That extraordinary investment in innovation is what has allowed Qualcomm to truly move the wireless industry forward: first through successfully enabling the mobile phone to scale into the hands of everyday consumers, then by integrating essential functions into the mobile phone — such as GPS and location services for public safety, plus various consumer electronic features like your music player and camera — and finally by transforming the mobile phone into a bona fide mobile computer.

Leveraging a legacy of breakthroughs

Qualcomm’s journey began in 1985 with a team of visionary engineers that defied convention with their groundbreaking work in CDMA, a radio transmission technology that set the stage for the mobile revolution. That breakthrough laid the groundwork for 4G — which truly brought the internet to the smartphone — and then 5G, which led to everything from lightning-fast streaming to 4K-quality video chats.

But more recently, our work has extended beyond just radio technology. Over the last several years, we have expanded in a number of areas, from our powerful and energy-efficient Snapdragon platforms that drive innovation in smartphones, PCs, cars and XR, to our new Qualcomm Dragonwing platforms, which are enabling the digital transformation of industrial and embedded IoT.

And as we look to the future, we know that AI is changing everything — from smarter, more personalized and responsive AI agents, to devices powerful enough to handle AI tasks themselves. Once again, we’re pushing the boundaries of what technology can do, with an eye toward changing the way we interact with each other, and the way in which we interact with the devices that connect us all.

Our solutions are transforming not just personal devices, but entire industries — from automotive to energy, and retail to manufacturing. To that end, at our 40th anniversary celebration, we were delighted to showcase some of the exciting new technological innovations that we have recently been driving. These demos included a Copilot+ laptop powered by our Snapdragon X Elite processor, which illustrated how an AI-enhanced digital assistant can save you hours of productivity by proactively helping you with daily tasks. Ray-Ban Meta glasses were on hand to show off how XR can serve as a new interface for AI, with built-in cameras and multimodal AI giving your digital assistant the ability to “see” what you see. Guests, meanwhile, were entertained by a DJ leveraging AI to mix music for the event.

These incredible demos of our technology, alongside others that highlighted the location-tracking Qualcomm Aware solution and Snapdragon Digital Chassis for the cars of tomorrow, represent just the beginning of the AI revolution. They also offered an exciting glimpse into the kinds of innovations we have in store for the next 40 years and beyond — innovations that will help uphold American technology leadership for decades to come by continuing to bring intelligent computing everywhere.

Engineering Human Progress: Learn more about Qualcomm

Breakthrough innovation: Discover Qualcomm Research

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IMA Medical Group Reinforces Its Commitment During Healthcare Industry Transformation

ORLANDO, Fla., April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The healthcare industry is experiencing a time of unprecedented change, impacting organizations across the country. In the face of these significant challenges, IMA Medical Group is taking proactive steps to strengthen its operations and remain focused on its mission: delivering high-quality, patient-centered, cost effective, personalized care across the senior community.

In recent months, healthcare organizations nationwide have been impacted by shifting regulatory policies, market pressures, and the growing demands of patient care. Throughout this time, IMA Medical Group has worked closely with health plans, policymakers, and industry leaders to advocate for both, patients and primary care providers. While external pressures continue to affect the healthcare sector, IMA remains committed to building a stronger, more resilient network — one that empowers care teams and enhances the patient experience.

As part of this ongoing effort, IMA has carefully reviewed and refined its strategy to ensure long-term stability, scalability, and excellence in care delivery. “As an organization deeply committed to our patients and providers, we believe the best path forward is one grounded in resilience, adaptability, and purpose,” said Donna Walker, CEO of IMA Medical Group. “Our strategy remains focused on operational excellence and delivering exceptional experiences for our Medicare Advantage members. At IMA, our goal has always been—and will continue to be—to deliver care that is defined by quality, compassion, and meaningful connections. In cooperation with our coalition ‘Physicians for MA Beneficiaries’ (docs4seniors.org) we will continue our pursuit to advocate for patients and providers to policy makers and health plans.”

To further support this strategic plan, IMA has made several thoughtful decisions, including the planned closure of its Brandon and North Dale Mabry clinics, effective May 30, 2025. The group has also implemented adjustments to provider panels across its network to ensure that resources are aligned where they can have the greatest impact on care delivery.

These changes reflect the realities of a transforming healthcare environment, yet IMA remains grounded in its core values and dedicated to the communities it serves. “We’re not just responding to change—we’re preparing for what’s next,” said James Dubrey, Chief Growth Officer of IMA Medical Group. “Our focus is on building a stronger, more agile organization that’s ready to meet the evolving needs of our patients and driving lasting impact in the communities we serve. We’re investing in what matters most: people, innovation, and experiences that truly make a difference.”

IMA Medical Group is moving forward with clarity and purpose, committed to navigating today’s challenges while continuing to deliver care that puts patients first. For more information, visit www.imamedicalgroup.com

About IMA Medical Group
IMA Medical Group mission is to provide high-quality, cost effective, patient-centered primary care and wellness services for seniors, focusing on improving patient outcomes. At 17 clinics in Central Florida, over 70 physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners provide comprehensive medical services to nearly 23,000 Medicare members in partnership with all leading Medicare health plans.

Media Contact:
Zoe Fortin, VP of Marketing and Advertising
zoe.fortin@inhealthmd.com 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ima-medical-group-reinforces-its-commitment-during-healthcare-industry-transformation-302441583.html

SOURCE IMA Medical Group

Announcing BIER's 2025 Co-Chair, David Grant

April 29, 2025 /3BL/ – David Grant, Senior Director: Global Climate & Water Solutions at PepsiCo

Connect with David on LinkedIn

Welcome to the BIER Member Spotlight series, highlighting the individual leaders driving sustainability and innovation within BIER member companies and stakeholder organizations.

As BIER enters its 19th year, the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable continues to build on nearly two decades of industry collaboration and impact. In 2025, we are proud to be led by Chair Nicolas Clerget and Co-Chair David Grant, whose leadership will guide BIER’s collective efforts in advancing environmental stewardship across the beverage sector.

Join us for this insightful interview, where David, BIER’s 2025 Co-Chair, shares his experience, perspectives, and vision for the year ahead.

Briefly describe your role and responsibilities, and how long you have worked with your company.

I joined PepsiCo in 2020 as Global Water Stewardship Director, overseeing the company’s water strategy—including internal water use efficiency, replenishment, Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification, and water risk assessments. In December 2023, my role evolved, and I now lead the Climate & Water Solutions Team. We focus on identifying and scaling innovative technologies to reduce the cost of climate tactics and advance PepsiCo’s sustainability strategy. On the water side, our work now centers on watershed health—supporting both operations and agriculture.

What inspired you to take on the role of BIER Chair and Co-Chair? What aspects of the role do you find most compelling?

I’ve long believed in the power of the collective—and in not reinventing the wheel. BIER exemplifies both: it brings together the beverage industry’s collective expertise to create shared value. Having engaged with BIER over the years, I’m motivated to contribute however I can to accelerate sustainable progress across the industry. It’s a privilege to be part of a group that drives impact through collaboration and shared learning.

Reflecting on 2024 and looking ahead to 2025, what BIER initiatives stand out as most impactful or inspiring?

We’re operating in a time of unprecedented urgency. With the planet’s condition worsening and the window for action narrowing, BIER must remain agile and focused—keeping pace with developments in science, regulation, and technology. I believe our current priorities reflect this urgency well, and I continue to be inspired by the commitment and expertise of our members.

One area I find especially compelling is nature and biodiversity. Like climate, it’s broad and deeply interconnected with other sustainability areas, yet highly nuanced at the local level. I’m excited to see how this workstream evolves, especially as it integrates both internal and external expertise.

As BIER enters its 19th year, what personal quality do you bring to your leadership that will help advance its impact?

With more than 20 years in the food and beverage industry, I’ve learned that sustainability is not linear—it’s interconnected. I bring a holistic mindset to this role, helping to identify where BIER’s various workstreams can align and support one another. That integrated perspective will help us prioritize effectively while staying adaptable as new challenges and opportunities arise.

If you had one superpower to radically accelerate sustainable practices, what would it be?

I’m going to cheat and choose two:

The Power of Collective Clarity – a form of telepathy that brings common sense and shared purpose to decision-making. It would unite individuals, companies, and governments around a clear path forward—one rooted in strategic, collaborative action.

The Ability to Break Through Complexity – a kind of super-intelligence that simplifies the intricate systems we work within. It would help surface practical solutions and enable us to scale them faster.

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Leading Proxy Advisory Firm Glass Lewis Soundly Rejects Sherwood Group’s Attempt to Seize Control of Barnwell

Glass Lewis Opposes Removal of Barnwell Board Members Ken Grossman, Josh Horowitz and Alex Kinzler

Barnwell Shareholders Should Ignore and Discard Any Blue Consent Solicitation Card

Shareholders Who Sent a Blue Consent Solicitation Card Can Revoke Their Vote by Sending the Company’s White Card

HONOLULU, Hawaii, April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Barnwell Industries, Inc. (“Barnwell” or the “Company”) (NYSE American: BRN) today announced that Glass Lewis, a leading independent proxy advisory firm, has resoundingly rejected the Sherwood Group’s efforts to take control of the Company and declared the removal of Barnwell directors Ken Grossman, Josh Horowitz and Alex Kinzler to be unwarranted.

Glass Lewis also recommended the removal of Doug Woodrum, one of Ned Sherwood’s former nominees who is currently serving on the Board. Despite being one of Mr. Sherwood’s former nominees, Mr. Woodrum was not included as a candidate in Mr. Sherwood’s consent solicitation, underscoring Mr. Sherwood’s continued pattern of shifting support for his own nominees.

Glass Lewis Confirms the Sherwood Group has NO Credible Plan for Barnwell

Glass Lewis’ report confirms that the Sherwood Group has failed to present a credible or detailed plan for Barnwell’s future, and that their campaign would disrupt the Company’s ongoing turnaround and harm shareholder value.

Glass Lewis concluded:

  • The Sherwood Group’s platform is based on vague, unsubstantiated promises and lacks any meaningful strategic plan.
  • Barnwell’s current Board and management have already implemented significant operational improvements, including cost reductions, divestitures, and a leadership transition.
  • The dissident’s primary idea — leveraging tax loss carryforwards for speculative acquisitions — is ill-defined and reckless, with no clear targets, industries, or financing structures identified.
  • The incumbent Board’s stewardship, while acknowledging past challenges, does not merit a wholesale Board replacement.

Glass Lewis firmly stated:

“We do not find the Dissident’s case sufficiently compelling to justify full adoption of Proposals to remove the entire Board.”1

In a critical rebuke of Ned Sherwood’s tactics, Glass Lewis also expressed concern that Barnwell’s shareholder base would be exposed to significant risk under the dissident’s vague and destabilizing plan.

Alexander C. Kinzler, Executive Chairman of Barnwell, commented, “Glass Lewis recognized what Barnwell’s shareholders already know: Ned Sherwood’s campaign is built on half-truths, empty promises, and an effort to seize control of the Company without paying a premium. We urge shareholders to reject this opportunistic and self-serving attempt to derail Barnwell’s momentum.”

Barnwell strongly urges shareholders to protect the value of their investment by voting the WHITE consent revocation card today and rejecting the Sherwood Group’s agenda.

If you have any questions or to revoke a previous submitted consent, please contact our proxy solicitor:

Okapi Partners at (877) 869-0171 or by email at info@okapipartners.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this press release contains “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our board and management team that involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties, include various estimates, forecasts, projections of Barnwell’s future performance, statements of Barnwell’s plans and objectives, our expectations regarding the effect of the Sherwood Group’s Consent Solicitation and our ability to successfully solicit revocations of consents from our stockholders to reject the Sherwood Group’s proposals. Forward-looking statements include phrases such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “assumes,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “will be,” “should,” or similar expressions. Although Barnwell believes that its current expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it cannot assure that the expectations contained in such forward-looking statements will be achieved. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be incorrect or be affected by inaccurate assumptions Barnwell might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including risks related to the actions of the Sherwood Group, our ability to successfully solicit revocations of consents from our stockholders to reject the Sherwood Group’s proposals, our ability to defend against any potential claims by the Sherwood Group, our ability to execute on our strategy and business plan and the other risks forth in the “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and other sections of Barnwell’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024 and Barnwell’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, as they speak only as of the date of this press release, and Barnwell expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein.

1 Permission to use quotations neither sought nor obtained.

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leading-proxy-advisory-firm-glass-lewis-soundly-rejects-sherwood-groups-attempt-to-seize-control-of-barnwell-302441505.html

SOURCE Barnwell Industries, Inc.

Start. Finish. And Make the Middle Matter. With Hoda Kotb

Thursday, May 8, 2025

1–2 PM ET | 12 CT | 11 MT | 10 PT

As the former co-anchor of NBC News’ Today, Hoda Kotb became a staple in American homes, bringing her warmth, wit, and relatability to viewers daily for 17 years.

Hoda’s impressive career earned numerous prestigious accolades, including Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award, a reflection of her journalistic excellence and impact.

Hoda’s powerful storytelling extends beyond television, with bestselling books that explore overcoming adversity and finding purpose, making her a compelling voice on personal transformation.

Brimming with her signature enthusiasm and sincere charm, Hoda Kotb will lead this special collaboration of PNC The Thread and PNC Women In Business Week.

Speaker

Hoda Kotb

Former co-anchor, NBC News’ TODAY

Hoda Kotb has claimed her role as one of America’s foremost journalists, authors, and entertainers. Best known as the former co-anchor of NBC News’ TODAY and co-host of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, she also hosts the popular podcast, Making Space with Hoda Kotb.

Kotb joined TODAY in 2008 as co-host of its fourth hour alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and recently departed after 17 successful years. Since joining NBC News in 1998, Kotb has served as a correspondent for Dateline NBC, covering a wide range of domestic and international stories across NBC News platforms, including the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq, the conflict in the West Bank and Gaza, and the War on Terror in Afghanistan. She was part of NBC’s extensive Olympic coverage from 2008 in Beijing through the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

A New York Times bestselling author, Kotb has written eight books, including You Are My Happy, I’ve Loved You Since Forever, and Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer and Kathie Lee. Her ninth book, Jump and Find Joy, will be released on September 23, 2025.

Her work has earned numerous accolades, including a 2019 Emmy for Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host, multiple Daytime Emmys as part of TODAY, a 2022 induction into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, and several Gracie Awards, among others.

A graduate of Virginia Tech University with a BA in broadcast journalism, she resides in the suburbs of New York City with her two daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine.

Register Here

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Harley-Davidson Sets the Record Straight on H Partners’ Disingenuous and Harmful Claims

Highlights the Highly Qualified Board’s Strong Governance and Effective Oversight of the Hardwire Strategic Plan, which is Delivering Results

Details the Facts Regarding H Partners’ Profound Disregard for Good Corporate Governance and Their Attempt to Disenfranchise Shareholders

Urges Shareholders to Vote “FOR ALL” Harley-Davidson Nominees using the WHITE Proxy Card

Presentations and Other Information Available at VoteHarleyDavidson.com

MILWAUKEE, April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Harley-Davidson, Inc. (the “Company” or “Harley-Davidson”) (NYSE: HOG) has released two presentations detailing Harley-Davidson’s execution of its strategic plan as well as its fit-for-purpose Board of Directors’ strong governance and effective oversight. The presentations expose the misleading campaign being run by H Partners, which Harley-Davidson believes is destructive to the interests of all shareholders.

As Harley-Davidson shareholders submit their votes for the May 14, 2025 Annual Meeting, these are the critical facts to consider:

Harley-Davidson’s Board is acting in the best interests of all shareholders by:

  • Overseeing management’s execution of an ambitious strategic plan that is building on Harley-Davidson’s legacy and that we believe is transforming the business in the face of an extremely challenging operating environment (especially for discretionary products in the leisure/powersports sectors) and delivering value for all stakeholders well above the Company’s peers.
  • Leading a rigorous and comprehensive CEO search process, as well as ongoing Board refreshment efforts, that demonstrate strong governance practices.

H Partners is taking the opposite approach. Despite having had every opportunity to address issues that were important to them during their three years on the Harley-Davidson Board – during which time they fully supported the Company’s leadership and strategy and always voted with the Board on decisions1 – H Partners has decided to:

  • Abruptly launch a disruptive campaign that we believe profoundly disregards good corporate governance, offers no constructive solutions that will benefit Harley-Davidson or its shareholders, and is in our view designed to enable H Partners to appoint unelected and unnamed Directors – including an H Partners representative after their representative just resigned from the Board – depriving shareholders of their right to choose their own representatives.
  • Spread misleading claims regarding everything from appropriate peer groups, to Harley-Davidson’s CEO’s performance, to their own track record of support for the Company’s strategy and for Directors while on the Board.

The Company urges shareholders to protect their investment by voting “FOR ALL” of Harley-Davidson’s highly qualified Directors, and visit www.VoteHarleyDavidson.com to view the presentations, which detail the following key points:

Harley-Davidson’s rigorous and comprehensive CEO search process, as well as its ongoing Board refreshment efforts, reflect good governance

  • In September 2024, after Mr. Zeitz expressed interest in retiring in 2025, the Board asked Mr. Zeitz to provide an update on his interest in pursuing retirement at the December Board meeting. Shortly after the September 2024 Board meeting, the Board commenced a CEO search process by hiring a CEO succession expert. In December 2024, after Mr. Zeitz reaffirmed his interest in retiring, the Board began engaging with an executive search firm and formed a CEO search committee comprised of four Board members, including H Partners executive Jared Dourdeville.
  • Despite the CEO Search Committee’s process not being complete, the Board accommodated H Partners’ demand to make a decision on H Partners’ preferred CEO candidate before a deadline imposed by the candidate as the candidate supposedly had other job offers. The Board took extraordinary measures to accommodate H Partners, accelerating the Board’s interviews of select top candidates. After careful evaluation by the independent Directors, H Partners’ candidate failed to earn majority Board support as the Board determined the candidate lacked the skills and qualities needed to uphold Harley-Davidson’s rich heritage and drive value for all stakeholders.
    • Despite the threat of other job offers for H Partners’ preferred CEO candidate as a reason to accelerate the Board’s decision deadline, H Partners now asserts that their candidate remains available. And yet, H Partners refuses to reveal their candidate’s identity while they simultaneously revealed the confidential identity of one of the Company’s other CEO candidates. 
  • The gold standard and typical outcome of a CEO search process is unanimous support from the Board. Harley-Davidson shareholders should not have to settle for a CEO candidate who fails to receive even bare majority support.
  • Harley-Davidson’s Board also engages in a robust and thoughtful self-evaluation and refreshment process, which we believe ensures the Board and each Committee operate effectively and hold management accountable.
    • The Board regularly conducts anonymous evaluations of Directors’ contributions, performance and collective skills – a process in which Mr. Dourdeville was a consistent participant. In the Fall 2024 process, all Directors participated and no Director expressed concern with the current composition or performance of the Board.
    • The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has a robust framework and process for identifying, vetting and interviewing Director candidates, which has resulted in one-third of the Board joining in the last four years, including the addition of two highly qualified Directors with excellent experience as sitting CEOs at publicly traded companies (assuming the election of Lori Flees at the upcoming annual meeting).
  • H Partners’ campaign seeks shareholder support for unnamed Directors (including an H Partners representative after their representative just resigned from the Board) and an unnamed CEO candidate, none of whom will be voted on by the shareholders – demonstrating what we believe is a blatant disregard for good governance principles and the right of shareholders to choose their own representatives.

The Board is overseeing the execution of Harley-Davidson’s Hardwire strategic plan, which is delivering strong performance relative to industry peers, amid very challenging and volatile macroeconomic conditions

  • Despite operating in one of the most challenging operating environments in the Company’s 120+ year history, Harley-Davidson has outperformed its peers2, evidenced by:
    • Operating margins of 13% (2022-2024), ~4 percentage points above the peer median3.
    • Free cash flow (“FCF”) as a percent of EBITDA of 70% (2022-2024), which is over twice the peer median4.
    • Relative total shareholder return (“TSR”) of ~10 percentage points higher than its peer median during CEO Jochen Zeitz’s tenure[5].
  • The Company’s operating discipline, robust cash flow generation, and long-term earnings power have allowed it to:
    • Reduce share count by 25% over the last three years, the most among Harley-Davidson’s peers6.
    • Increase annualized dividend per share by 14%, from $0.63 (first quarter 2022) to $0.72 (current).
    • Return over $1.4 billion of capital to shareholders7 via share repurchases and dividends since 2022, representing 78% of Harley-Davidson’s FCF8.

H Partners has demonstrated their profound disinterest in good governance, good-faith collaboration and an orderly CEO transition, and we believe their misguided and disruptive campaign offers no constructive solutions and is destructive to the interests of all shareholders

  • H Partners had a voice inside the Harley-Davidson Boardroom for the past three years, with Mr. Dourdeville serving as their Director representative. They had sufficient opportunities to share their thoughts with fellow Directors and management through many interactions.
  • For the entirety of those three years, until recently, Mr. Dourdeville and H Partners representatives, including Rehan Jaffer, supported Mr. Zeitz as CEO and even asked for him to commit to at least two more years in the role, endorsed the Hardwire strategic plan and management’s execution of it, voted in favor of all current Directors standing for reelection and actively participated in the CEO search process – all without objection.
  • Within a matter of days – just after H Partners’ didn’t get their way when their preferred CEO candidate failed to earn majority Board support – Mr. Dourdeville demanded that one-third of the Board resign, and he himself abruptly resigned from the Board right before a Board meeting to discuss his perspectives.
  • H Partners suddenly discovered “deep misgivings” requiring “radical action” at Harley-Davidson, disclosed Board confidential information and resorted to a misleading campaign that jeopardizes the strategic and executional progress made to date. Further, we believe H Partners’ campaign is undermining the Board’s ability to attract the best CEO and future Director candidates, disenfranchising shareholders, and impeding management’s ability to execute on key initiatives.
  • Harley-Davidson has already addressed H Partners’ requests – it accelerated the review of H Partners’ preferred CEO candidate, and it has conducted and remains committed to ongoing Board refreshment. Beyond that, H Partners’ campaign offers no constructive solutions that will benefit Harley-Davidson or its shareholders and seems to us solely focused on disingenuously attacking Company performance and the Board. H Partners’ campaign is not about “accountability” – we believe it puts at risk the progress Harley-Davidson has made and the value of shareholders’ investments.
  • At its core, this campaign by H Partners is a further attempt, far outside the guardrails of good corporate governance, to engineer the CEO outcome they desire, targeting two independent Directors with the institutional knowledge that is critical in choosing the strongest CEO candidate to lead Harley-Davidson, as well as the retiring CEO, who is fully committed to doing what is necessary to support a successful transition.

H Partners’ campaign has issued materials that lay bare their ignorance around Harley-Davidson’s business and strategy and in our view contain numerous inaccuracies, hypocrisies and misleading assertions

The facts around just a few of these falsities and misrepresentations include:

  • H Partners uses a reference benchmark comprised of companies that have little relevance to Harley-Davidson. Companies in this benchmark selected by H Partners are egregiously different from Harley-Davidson in size, core product offering, and scale – a disingenuous framework for comparison by a shareholder who claims deep understanding of Harley-Davidson, much less a shareholder who sat on the Board Committee that determined executive compensation and selected a peer group used in compensation awards.
    • The legitimacy of Harley-Davidson’s true core peer group – leisure and powersports peers between $800MM and $3B market cap – is reinforced and validated via overlapping independent analyst coverage. This is the same core peer group that Harley-Davidson used for 2024-2026 performance share awards as part of the Company’s executive compensation plan – and a peer group that H Partners approved through Mr. Dourdeville, who sat on the relevant Board Committee when this peer group was voted on.
  • Mr. Dourdeville and H Partners consistently supported Harley-Davidson’s executive compensation program. Moreover, they were the driving force behind the implementation of the Aspirational Incentive Plan (“AIP”), a component of the compensation program.
  • There has been minimal turnover of the executive leadership team with most being in-post since the Hardwire strategic plan was initiated. Three of the individuals cited by H Partners were not part of the executive leadership team. Further, employee turnover declined under Mr. Zeitz’s leadership, with salaried voluntary turnover in 2024 being the lowest in Harley-Davidson’s recorded history, and 2023 being the second lowest. Turnover in both years also fell below the national average.
  • There was no personal promise ever made by the Board’s Presiding Director, Tom Linebarger, to delay the CEO search process, nor was there any delay whatsoever – the search process commenced shortly after Mr. Zeitz expressed his interest in retiring with the hiring of a CEO succession expert.

We do not believe H Partners is a credible or trustworthy steward of shareholder value, and their disingenuous actions fly in the face of good corporate governance. For these reasons, the Board of Directors strongly urges shareholders to vote “FOR ALL” Harley-Davidson Director nominees on the WHITE proxy card and please DISCARD any BLUE proxy card received from H Partners.

The presentations are available on the Resources section of www.VoteHarleyDavidson.com.

Contacts

Media

FGS Global
Stephen Pettibone/Kelsey Markovich/Bryan Locke/Danielle Berg
HOG@fgsglobal.com 

Investors

Shawn Collins
shawn.collins@Harley-Davidson.com
(414) 343-8002

About Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company of Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Our vision: Building our legend and leading our industry through innovation, evolution and emotion. Our mission: More than building machines, we stand for the timeless pursuit of adventure. Freedom for the soul. Our ambition is to maintain our place as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world. Since 1903, Harley-Davidson has defined motorcycle culture by delivering a motorcycle lifestyle with distinctive and customizable motorcycles, experiences, motorcycle accessories, riding gear and apparel. Harley-Davidson Financial Services provides financing, insurance and other programs to help get riders on the road. Harley-Davidson also has a controlling interest in LiveWire Group, Inc., the first publicly traded all-electric motorcycle company in the United States. LiveWire is the future in the making for the pursuit of urban adventure and beyond. Drawing on its DNA as an agile disruptor from the lineage of Harley-Davidson and capitalizing on a decade of learnings in the EV sector, LiveWire’s ambition is to be the most desirable electric motorcycle brand in the world. Learn more at harley-davidson.com and livewire.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical or current fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding expectations regarding future results of operations and financial position of the Company including, without limitation, with respect to earnings capacity and shareholder value; potential impacts of macroeconomic conditions on the Company’s business and results of operations; the Hardwire strategic plan priorities and execution, including the results thereof; industry and business trends, and business strategy, initiatives and opportunities; impacts of the H Partners Management, LLC (“H Partners”) campaign related to the Company’s 2025 annual meeting of shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”); and executive succession and board refreshment, including expected results thereof. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company as of the time the statements are made as well as the Company’s current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that are likely to cause actual results to differ materially, unfavorably or favorably, from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “estimates,” “targets,” “intends,” “forecasts,” “seeks,” “sees,” “should,” “feels,” “commits,” “assumes,” “envisions,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, or words of similar meaning. Certain of such risks and uncertainties are described below, and others are listed in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors and in Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 26, 2025, and in the Company’s other subsequent reports filed with the SEC, including, among others, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Shareholders, potential investors, and other readers should consider these factors in evaluating, and should not place undue reliance on, the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are first made in this press release and the Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after such time, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the Company’s ability to execute its business plans and strategies, including without limitation the Hardwire strategic plan; manage supply chain and logistics issues; manage the impact, and predict potential further impacts, of new, reinstated or adjusted tariffs on the Company; accurately analyze, predict and react to changing market conditions, interest rates, and geopolitical environments, and successfully adjust to shifting global consumer needs and interests; maintain and enhance the value of the Harley-Davidson brand; manage through changes in general economic and business conditions; develop and successfully introduce products, services and experiences; realize the expected business benefits from LiveWire operating as a separate business of the Company; and retain and attract talented employees and leadership; and uncertainties regarding actions that have been taken and may in the future be taken by H Partners in furtherance of its campaign relating to the Company’s 2025 annual meeting of shareholders and potential costs and management distraction attendant thereto.

Additional Information Regarding the 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Where to Find It

Harley-Davidson has filed its definitive proxy statement, containing a form of WHITE proxy card, and a proxy statement supplement, with the SEC with respect to its solicitation of proxies for the Annual Meeting.

INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE PROXY STATEMENT (AS SUPPLEMENTED AND INCLUDING ANY OTHER AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ACCOMPANYING PROXY CARD FILED BY HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ANY SOLICITATION.

Investors and shareholders may obtain copies of these documents and other documents filed with the SEC by Harley-Davidson free of charge through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed by Harley-Davidson are also available free of charge by accessing Harley-Davidson’s website at https://investor.harley-davidson.com.

1 H Partners’ Representative, Dourdeville, never voted against any matter voted on by the Board and only abstained from four Board decisions since appointment in Feb 2022. Three of those four abstentions were at Dourdeville’s first Board meeting in February 2022 as he was coming up to speed, and the final abstention was during the Human Resources Committee meeting in May 2024, when Dourdeville abstained from a director compensation vote given that he elected to forgo director compensation as a representative of H Partners.
2 Peer group: BRP Inc., Brunswick Corp, Polaris Inc., Thor Industries, Inc. and Winnebago Industries, Inc. This is the same reference benchmarking group – Leisure reference benchmarking companies between $800MM and $3B market cap – that Harley-Davidson used for 2024-2026 performance share awards as part of the Company’s executive compensation plan.
3 Operating Margin is a GAAP measure calculated using GAAP-compliant operating income divided by revenues accumulated from the fiscal year period of 2022 – 2024.
4 FCF is a non-GAAP measure defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures; calculated as sum of 2022-2024 fiscal year FCFs divided by sum of 2022-2024 fiscal year EBITDA. EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure defined as operating income plus depreciation and amortization.
5 TSR represents total return of a company assuming reinvested dividends; Market data as of April 15, 2025, the day prior to H Partners’ initiation of their Withhold campaign; Jochen Zeitz tenure is calculated from May 7, 2020 to present (Market data as of April 15, 2025).
6 Total Shares repurchased between 2022-2024 over the current basic shares outstanding as of January 31, 2025. Does not include non-discretionary repurchases related to shares tendered to the Company by employees to cover tax withholding obligations upon the vesting of restricted stock units and performance share units.
7 This represents discretionary share repurchases and does not include non-discretionary repurchases related to shares tendered to the Company by employees to cover tax withholding obligations upon the vesting of restricted stock units and performance share units.
8 FCF is a non-GAAP measure defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures; calculated as the sum of 2022-2024 capital returned via discretionary share repurchases and dividends divided by 2022-2024 FCF.

 

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SOURCE Harley-Davidson

Tom and Tricia’s Tips for Prioritizing Your Health

Originally published on Aflac Newsroom

This time of year often comes with to-do lists that seem like they are a mile long, with items like spring cleaning, gardening, planning for graduations, and prepping for the summer often at the top. But what about your wellness screenings — have you completed those yet?

If not, you’re not alone. In fact, 9 in 10 Americans admitted to putting off health checkups that could help save their lives, according to the 2025 Aflac Wellness Matters Survey.

Aflac’s Tom Morey, senior vice president and chief actuary in the U.S., and Tricia Griggs, RN-BSN and manager, employee wellness, recently sat down to talk about Tom’s personal health story and what he and Tricia recommend for keeping your wellness at top of mind.

What does “wellness” mean to you?

Tom: For me, the topic of wellness is deeply personal. In my early 20s, I went from being at the prime of my life — enjoying time on the basketball court and looking forward to grad school — to being in and out of hospitals, dealing with persistent flu-like symptoms and unexplained bruising. Out of the blue, it progressed to the point where I had my spleen removed. It seemed like it all happened so fast. But because I listened to that nagging feeling, I was able to get the care I needed. Wellness, to me, means listening to your body’s cues and taking action when you need to. And it means scheduling for your health even when you are feeling great. Until that one day, I was symptom-free.

Tricia: Tom’s story is a powerful reminder that even among the demands of daily life, maintaining our wellness is critical. And wellness is rarely just one component — we like to look at it as having five dimensions: In addition to physical, we also consider the emotional, financial, social and spiritual aspects of wellness.

What do you do to stay on top of your wellness?

Tom: Fortunately, my story took a positive turn: I recovered and have been able to pursue a career as an actuary, a numbers guy who relies heavily on statistics in my daily work. Looking at the findings from the 2025 Aflac Wellness Matters Survey, I see that I’m like the 65% of Americans who said that experiencing a health scare is what made them realize they need to be more proactive about their health — it’s certainly something that reinforced the importance of preventive care for me, and it’s something that I commit to each year.

Tricia: I couldn’t agree more! What I consider to be one of the best ways of preserving wellness is getting your preventive screenings, because of the way the human body is, you don’t always see or feel a potential problem. Going to your annual wellness exam, knowing your biometrics and staying on top of screenings like mammograms, colonoscopies, etc., are key elements of your health. Just as you may commit to a nutrition plan or exercise routine, you should also commit to getting regular checkups.

But I feel fine. Why do I need to see a doctor every year?

Tom: I get it. You feel healthy, or maybe you can’t find time to step away from your daily responsibilities, or perhaps you feel a bit embarrassed or afraid of bad news — again, it isn’t just you. According to our survey, 94% of Americans face similar barriers. But much like investing, the sooner you start, the more positive results you’ll see in the long run.

Tricia: I always tell family, friends and colleagues: Just go to the doctor. If you’re perfectly healthy, great — then you won’t have to go back until your next recommended screening. Plus, you’ll have a baseline for what your wellness looks like in this point in time.

Ok, but where do I start?

Tom: I would start with your primary care physician. A lot of Americans — nearly 1 in 5 — don’t have a regular physician who knows them and their medical history, and 41% of Americans use urgent care or the emergency room for their medical needs.1 If that’s you, it makes sense to me to find a physician in your area who you feel comfortable with and see them regularly. And, whether something concerning comes up or you simply want to find additional health resources, they’ll be able to give you relevant advice based on your health history.

Tricia: Emergency rooms and urgent care are important parts of the health care ecosystem, but nothing replaces a longstanding relationship with your physician. And if you’re having a difficult time finding one, check with your employer — some offer on-site clinics that can help employees get started on their wellness journey. The important thing is to just get conversations started and appointments on the calendar.

Want to learn more about findings from the 2025 Aflac Wellness Matters Survey? Visit Aflac.com/Wellness-Matters for tips to improve your health, access social media content and to read the full 2025 Wellness Matters Survey.

12025 Wellness Matters Survey

About the study: The 2025 Wellness Matters Survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 employed U.S. adults ages 18-65 in April 2024 by Kantar Profiles on behalf of Aflac.

The results from the 2025 Wellness Matters Survey are intended for informational purposes only. Aflac’s family of insurers American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and/or American Family Life Assurance Company of New York, and/or Continental American Insurance Company (CAIC) and/or Continental American Life Insurance Company. WWHQ | 1932 Wynnton Road | Columbus, GA 31999

Z2500262 EXP 4/26

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AEG’s Erik Distler Leads Sustainability Conversations During Earth Month

As a leader in sports and live entertainment, AEG has been on a mission since 2008 to minimize its environmental impact across its music, sports, ticketing, and real estate portfolios, embedding sustainability into the core of its business operations. Since then, the company has been recognized as an industry trailblazer in the introduction and implementation of sustainable practices focused on reducing its carbon footprint, waste consumption and water usage.

With a mission of inspiring others to affect change, this Earth Month, Erik Distler, AEG’s Vice President of Sustainability, convened and participated in numerous panel sessions aimed at facilitating insightful and productive conversations about the state of sustainability in sports and live entertainment.

On April 23, 2025, he hosted and moderated the fourth annual AEG Sustainability Insights Panel. The session brought together influential leaders who are shaping the future through action-driven sustainability efforts — experts in sustainability, climate change, and policy — and drove attention to the pressing issues facing the sports and live entertainment industry as it works to build scalable sustainability practices. Panelists shared their insights on how sports and live entertainment can continue to lead in sustainability while inspiring others to act.

Members of the panel included:

  • Maggie Baird, Founder, Support+Feed — Mother of Grammy Award-winning artists Billie Eilish and Finneas, Support+Feed is committed to mitigating climate change and increasing food security by driving global demand, acceptance, and accessibility of plant-based food.
  • Becky Dale, VP, Sustainability, LA28 Olympic & Paralympic Games – As LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, approaches the challenge of navigating the complexities of bringing the Games of Los Angels and Southern California, Dale is helping to ensure they bring a broad coalition of stakeholders together to ensure they deliver lasting equitable benefits.
  • Mary Micevych Jerome, VP, Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives, United Nations Foundation — Micevych Jerome leads the Foundation-wide strategy for revenue growth and philanthropic engagement. Mary’s prior experience includes managing the first hip hop shows at Carnegie Hall in partnership with Jay Z and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation within her role at the United Way of New York City.
  • Claire O’Neill, Co-Founder & CEO, A Greener Future – O’Neill is a renowned figure and leading voice for sustainability and live events and entertainment industry. She established A Greener Future in 2005 and has worked with numerous world-leading events, venues and artists including Massive Attack, The 1975, American Express Presents BST Hyde Park, The O2, HM the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant, and HM the Queen’s Funeral, among others.

To promote best practices and the enormous potential of creative industries to act as a catalyst for change, on April 8, Distler spoke at Climate Week Los Angeles, where organizations, policy makers, companies and innovators from across Los Angles convened to discuss climate change solutions. Distler participated in a panel, Creative Forces for Change: Workforce Development in the Green Transition, which explored the critical role of workforce development in driving sustainability within the $7 trillion global green economy—particularly across the arts and culture sector — and how the city’s creative industries are helping to shape a more sustainable future for all.

Additionally, on April 15, Distler participated in the Music Sustainability Alliance’s 2025 Summit, which looked to empower the music business and artists to leverage their platform to tackle the climate crisis. Distler joined the panel session, Waste Not, Play On: Tackling the Trash Problem, to discuss the live music industry’s reliance on single-use materials and the urgent need to reduce waste. The panel session explored the scale of the problem, debunked common myths, and offered practical solutions to help create a more sustainable future for live events.

To learn more about AEG’s sustainability activities, click here.

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Haiti: More Than Half of the Population Facing Alarming Levels of Food Insecurity

Published by Action Against Hunger.

NEW YORK, April 29, 2025 /3BL/ – More than half of Haiti’s population—approximately 5.7 million people—are facing high levels of acute food insecurity according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. The deterioration of the situation over the last months is driven by relentless gang violence and ongoing economic collapse. For Action Against Hunger, humanitarian assistance remains essential, and recovery efforts are urgently needed to stem the decline in food and nutritional security in the country.

Out of the 5.7 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity—the highest number in recent years—over 8,400 people living in displacement camps are experiencing catastrophic hunger in IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe). An additional 2.1 million people, representing 19 percent of the analyzed population, are in IPC Phase 4 (Emergency), facing critical food insecurity, while 3.6 million people (32 percent) are classified in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis).

“An upsurge in violence in the metropolitan area, the West, and the department of Artibonite continues to intensify population displacement and vulnerability, particularly in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area” explains Martine Villeneuve. According to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 1.04 million people were internally displaced in December 2024—an increase of 48 percent compared to June 2024.

In addition to forcing households into mass displacement, the violence continues to cause the loss of income opportunities in both informal and formal sectors, while also disrupting supply chains. Households’ access to food has been further constrained by rising commodity prices and an inflation rate of 30 percent in February 2025.

Moreover, a large number of emergency food aid and population support projects were suspended in the first quarter of 2025 due to a lack of funding. Between August 2024 and February 2025, nearly 977,000 Haitians received humanitarian food assistance on a monthly basis. “Despite the challenges of safety and access issues, humanitarian assistance has been crucial in preventing further deterioration of the situation. This is particularly the case among urban and displaced populations with no access to livelihood opportunities due to insecurity,” says Martine Villeneuve. “However, since March 2025, funding has no longer been guaranteed at a time when half of the population is suffering from hunger.”

Haiti’s economy is characterized by extreme poverty, high levels of informal employment, and vulnerability to natural disasters. Political instability and violence further hamper development. A significant portion of the population lives below the poverty line and relies on subsistence farming.

In 2024, Action Against Hunger delivered multi-sectoral programming in the North-West, North-East, South, and Artibonite departments that reached over 170,000 individuals. Action Against Hunger is focusing its 2025 interventions on Internally Displaced Persons sites and violence-affected areas in Port-au-Prince and northern Artibonite especially with integrated health and nutrition services, including mobile clinics that treat acute malnutrition where nutrition services are scarce. Action Against Hunger requests all parties to preserve humanitarian space and ensure access in Haiti in accordance with international humanitarian law for life savings activities to be carried out.

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Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 21 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across over 55 countries, our 8,900 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

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SkyCharger Wins $10 Million Award from California Energy Commission to Develop Electric Truck Stops Along I-5 in Southern California

The CEC Grant Builds on SkyCharger’s Recent CEC Award to Build an Electric Truck Charging Hub at the Port of San Diego

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ —  SkyCharger, one of the nation’s leading developers of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, has been awarded a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to design, construct, and operate two publicly accessible electric truck stops along I-5 in Southern California.

The grant, awarded under CEC’s CRITICAL PATHS 2.0 solicitation, will help fund deployment of 32 high-capacity fast charging stations in Kettleman City, CA and Lebec, CA, capable of charging 64 heavy-duty trucks at a time, at rates of at least 200 kilowatts (kW). The stations together will be supported by 5.1 megawatts (MW) of solar and 8 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery energy storage to maximize sustainability and resiliency. SkyCharger’s CRITICAL PATHS 2.0 proposal was the highest ranked among applicants proposing electric charging infrastructure, winning 1/3 of the $30 million awarded under the program.

“We are grateful to the California Energy Commission and the State of California for their unwavering support for transportation electrification, including heavy-duty trucks,” said Andy Karetsky, President of SkyCharger. “Electric trucks mean cleaner air, less noise, lower operating costs, and abundant benefits for workers and communities wherever trucks travel and charge. The future is still electric.”

Supporting new truck fleets with reliable and high-speed charging infrastructure will enable acceleration of electric vehicle adoption. The Kettleman City and Lebec sites experience significant daily truck traffic, with over 14,000 trucks (including over 11,000 heavy-duty trucks) per day passing the Kettleman City site and over 23,000 trucks (including over 17,700 heavy-duty trucks) passing the Lebec site. These are some of the highest truck traffic volumes along the I-5 corridor, making them ideal for delivering maximum benefit to the trucking industry.

SkyCharger’s CRITICAL PATHS 2.0 award builds on its selection by the Port of San Diego (POSD) to construct a 70-port electric truck charging hub (eHub) on Port property, which will be paired with a 1.75 MW solar array, 5 MWh battery energy storage system, convenience store, and a robust community benefits program. The CEC awarded SkyCharger a $10 million “Innovative Charging Solutions” grant in August, 2024 to support the POSD eHub. SkyCharger’s POSD project includes a pioneering “Trucking as a Service” offering to help independent owner-operators and small fleets make an affordable transition to cleaner vehicles with a clear path to ownership. SkyCharger’s electric truck charging hubs in Kettleman City and Lebec will enable electric Port-serving trucks to top off batteries while making deliveries north of the LA Area.

SkyCharger will construct the new electric truck stops in partnership with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, and Burns & McDonnell, an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firm. The Kettleman City and Lebec locations are in disadvantaged and low-income communities 104 miles apart, which will each benefit from the project, including job opportunities and cleaner air. SkyCharger’s project is expected to reduce emissions by more than a million metric tons of carbon dioxide over project lifetime and eliminate all tailpipe emissions of diesel vehicles replaced by electric trucks, including ozone and particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution.

SkyCharger’s electric truck stops are expected to create over 90 well-paying, “high road”, jobs under Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). The PLAs establish terms for wages, working conditions, and dispute resolution mechanisms, ensuring fair labor practices and allowing workers the freedom to join unions and benefit from collective bargaining. IBEW will recruit graduates of pre-apprenticeship programs, Helmets to Hardhats, the Veteran Electrical Entry Program, and high school and community college students, into its apprenticeship programs, which will in turn supply workers to construct SkyCharger’s electric truck charging hubs. SkyCharger will prioritize local hiring in Kern County (Lebec), Kings County (Kettleman City) and neighboring counties. By partnering with IBEW Local Unions serving the project area, local electricians and apprentices will be employed, supporting workforce continuity for this project and related electrification efforts.

SkyCharger is also creating a community fund, which will disperse $100,000 per year to fund scholarship programs and other community benefit programs. The annual contribution includes a 1.5% escalation, meaning the community fund will provide $2.24 million over the Project’s 20-year lifetime.

About Skycharger:
Skycharger, a wholly owned subsidiary of Skyview Ventures, owns and operates a growing network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Established in 2013, the company owns and operates charging stations for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and has stations operating in seven states. The network includes the West Coast Highway Corridor (WCHC) DC Fast Charging Network located at highway exits throughout California. The WCHC is the fourth largest DC fast charging network in California. The company recently began operations at its first fleet charging hub for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and is running over 100 trucks out of that hub.

For more information, visit skycharger.com.

Media Contact:
Alexandra Pony
394276@email4pr.com
250.858.0656

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SOURCE SkyCharger