Latest news with #ChrisSullivan
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Hawke's Bay bars and restaurants adapt to winter months and tighter spending habits
He said he would keep the name and, in time, planned to reopen the cafe at the front of the venue. The former owner of Rosie O'Grady's Napier, Stefan Burt, said as far as he was aware, both the Clive Square and Taradale buildings were still up for lease, while his Hastings Irish pub was doing a good trade. Ahuriri West Quay nightlife hotspots Chris Sullivan, the owner of popular Napier nightlife hotspots on West Quay at Ahuriri, Roxof Nightclub, Thirsty Whale Bar and Restaurant, Paddy's Irish Pub and Kork n Barrel, said business was fluctuating. 'One week we are down, and the next week we are up, but it's not consistently down every week.' He said both Kork n Barrel and Thirsty Whale were currently down 15% in dining compared with the same time in 2023 and 2024, with early-week customers less common. Sullivan said it was noticeable that people were paying attention to how and what they spend their money on. 'People just haven't got the expendable dollar that they probably had two or three years ago.' Ahuriri hospitality operator Chris Sullivan said business was fluctuating, with people watching how they spent their money. Photo / Michaela Gower He attributed the cost increase in food, power, rent and rates as part of the reason people were being more cautious. 'The luxuries of going out probably suffer.' Sullivan said his establishments worked hard to keep prices down, despite their food costs 'rocketing'. 'Food is the big one, like our steak, three years ago we were buying eye fillet steak for $27 a kilogram, we now pay $52 – it's doubled.' He said there was no difference in the number of people attending Roxof but there was a small decrease in the spending at the bar, which was typically $20 per person across a clientele of up to 900 people on a Saturday night. Sullivan said Paddy's was 'still going strong', as they had not put drink prices up, but early-week dining was quiet. 'You have got to offer friendly service and try to get the prices right for people to make them come back on a regular basis – but that comes at a cost.' Common Room in Hastings goes for affordability, safety and 'a good time' The Common Room bar and music lounge owners Fiona Le and Chris Whyte were working hard to keep people coming through the door. This winter the business has lowered the price for cocktail drinks to $15, with plans to keep that price. Previously, prices for cocktails were up to $20. 'There are not many people in fortunate positions to have a lot of disposable income at the moment, and that's not just young people, that's everyone,' Whyte said. The Hastings Common Room bar, restaurant and music venue team, Chavez Farquhar (left) with Fiona Le, John Bland and Chris Whyte. Photo / Michaela Gower Their goal is to ensure that people visiting their establishment on Heretaunga St East are getting the best value for money. Whyte said there are three things people look for when they go out to bars and restaurants. This included affordability, a safe environment, and a chance to relax and have a good time. 'Our industry is getting people together, and it's far better to have a full room so people feel far better about the time than it is to have ten people standing around trying to create a vibe.' Whyte said a lot of blame for the struggles in the hospitality industry was attributed to the pandemic, and he said that it needed to stop being used as an excuse. 'Part of being resilient is weathering the storm, standing up and moving forward.' Michaela Gower joined Hawke's Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke's Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
Business Wire
16-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
1Password Signs Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS to Accelerate Adoption of Extended Access Management Across Cloud-Native, AI-Powered Enterprises
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 1Password, the pioneer of Extended Access Management (XAM), announced today that it has signed a strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help modern enterprises close the Access-Trust Gap and accelerate secure cloud adoption. This agreement underscores a long-term commitment to co-innovation and global growth, enabling 1Password and AWS to meet surging enterprise demand for scalable, secure, and simplified access management in increasingly complex hybrid and AI-driven environments. 'Building on strong momentum, our expanded collaboration with AWS accelerates our vision of helping modern enterprises close the Access-Trust Gap in the age of AI,' said David Faugno, Co-CEO of 1Password. 'As AI agents reshape how work gets done and new trust challenges emerge across every layer of the cloud, 1Password delivers the security platform organizations need to stay safe and grow with confidence. By collaborating closely with AWS, we're bringing scalable access management solutions to even more customers, putting trust, speed, and productivity at the center of enterprise transformation and innovation.' 1Password and AWS Close the Access-Trust Gap for Modern Enterprises Modern organizations are navigating a growing Access-Trust Gap as employees increasingly rely on unsanctioned apps, AI agents, and untrusted devices to handle sensitive company data. 1Password Extended Access Management closes this gap by securing every sign-in, to every app, from every device. Continued traction in sales via AWS Marketplace has led to contracts averaging four times the size and win rates exceeding 50%, broadening global reach as 1Password now secures one-third of Fortune 100 companies. The new SCA builds on this foundation, fueling global expansion and accelerating innovation in agentic AI via co-developed solutions. It also deepens engagement with AWS leadership, expands participation in co-sell initiatives and partner programs, and drives strategic investments aimed at unlocking new markets, customer segments, and industry verticals. '1Password delivers exceptional value to customers who rely on secure AWS cloud computing environments for their most sensitive workloads," said Chris Sullivan, Vice President, Americas Channels & Alliances at AWS. "This expanded collaboration enhances our joint ability to provide enterprises with robust access management solutions built specifically for AWS, allowing organizations to secure their cloud environments while maintaining the agility needed in today's AI-driven landscape.' Simplifying Secrets Management for Cloud-Native Development A new secrets syncing integration with AWS Secrets Manager simplifies how developer, security, and IT teams manage secrets in cloud-native workflows. This integration is part of the 1Password Extended Access Management platform, giving AWS customers a seamless way to embed secure, policy-driven secrets management into every stage of their development lifecycle: Simplified secrets management at scale: Reduce risk and complexity by consolidating secrets management and enforcing secure, role-based access to application secrets. Developer velocity with built-in security: Eliminate plaintext secrets and enforce policy-driven governance by seamlessly embedding secure access into CLI, CI/CD, and AI workflows, without slowing teams down. Granular access control that reinforces compliance and trust: Enable least-privilege access for human and AI identities with fine-grained policies that protect credentials, ensure compliance, and maintain operational integrity. 'As a fast-moving agency, flexibility is everything—but not at the expense of security,' said Ivan Blagdan, Chief Technology Officer at Convertiv. '1Password Extended Access Management gives us real-time assurance that every device accessing sensitive data—whether personal or company-issued—meets our standards around trust. It strikes the right balance between productivity and protection, so we can move fast and stay focused on delivering results for our clients.' Securing the Next Generation of Autonomous Workflows As organizations embrace agentic AI to drive innovation, securing these autonomous systems demands a modern, identity-first approach. 1Password Extended Access Management provides the identity security layer to manage AI agents with the same rigor as human identities but without sacrificing developer velocity or operational scale. 1Password empowers customers to build and scale AI agents securely by eliminating hardcoded secrets, enforcing least-privilege access, and delivering visibility into agent activity. '1Password has been essential in helping us scale AI development securely,' said Stephan Brostrøm, CTO of 'It strikes the right balance between speed and protection—giving us a trusted way to manage credentials and access without compromising developer efficiency.' To learn more about 1Password Extended Access Management and the new secrets syncing integration with AWS Secrets Manager, visit our website and our blog. About 1Password Trusted by over 165,000 businesses and millions of consumers, 1Password pioneered Extended Access Management, a new cybersecurity category built for the way people and AI agents work today. Our mission is to unleash productivity without compromising security. The 1Password Extended Access Management platform secures every sign-in, to every app, from every device, including the managed and unmanaged ones that legacy IAM, IGA, and MDM tools can't reach. Leading companies such as Asana, Associated Press, Aldo Group, Canva, IBM, MongoDB, MediaComm Communications, Octopus Energy, Slack, Salesforce, Stripe, Under Armour, and Wish rely on 1Password to close the Access-Trust Gap: the security risks posed by unfederated identities, unmanaged apps, devices, and AI agents accessing sensitive company data without proper governance controls. Learn more at
NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Local Alcohol Policy: Napier to retain 3am bar closing times after council reversal
'There is only one place in Napier open until 3am and it offers a point of difference – you can actually go and dance, not my thing but for plenty of people it is and perhaps if we go back far enough around the table, for some, dancing was a big thing. 'I'm not prepared to take that away from our community who are growing up and doing their thing and learning about the world. 'How are they going to learn about the world sitting at home playing on a PlayStation?' The earlier closing time was a major part of the draft Local Alcohol Policy (LAP), which also included that no more off-licences be issued for bottle stores in Maraenui, Marewa and Onekawa – the Reserve, Suburban Commercial and Residential Zone. However, during the meeting, Mayor Kirsten Wise called for an amendment to the proposed LAP based on what she was hearing around the table. 'What I'm going to propose is an amendment to the officers' recommendation yet to be debated, and voted on but as our starting position, is we retain the provisions in the existing LAP regarding maximum trading hours, regarding the 3am closing for nightclubs and 7am selling at grocery stores.' In all, 44% of submitters supported the proposed changes, with their reasons including helping reduce the harm caused by antisocial behaviour and alcohol, while 56% were against the changes, with reasons including unnecessary pressure being placed on the hospitality industry. Chris Sullivan, a publican who has been in the industry for 47 years, had earlier said the proposed changes in the closing hours were crazy. He said if bars had issues they were 'not being run right, with little or no security'. Sullivan, who owns Napier nightclub Roxof, spoke at the meeting about the importance of creating a safe environment using security and cameras. Another issue identified by officers on the proposed LAP was consistency and alignment with Hastings District Council. Hastings bars are open until 2am. However, McGrath said he kept hearing about Hastings. 'I was voted in for Napier. It's about time perhaps Hastings looked at itself and said 'hey actually Napier's going to three, if we think there's a big enough issue with the different closing times, we will match Napier'. 'It doesn't always have to be us going the other way, they can match us. We are a tourist town, perhaps they aren't so much.'
Business Wire
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Thoughtworks Signs Global Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation, today announced a three-year global Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help accelerate modernization and migration to AWS. This SCA leverages Thoughtworks' proven software and data engineering frameworks, strategies and methodologies combined with AWS' advanced generative AI services, including Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Q, to speed up clients' digital journeys. As part of the agreement, Thoughtworks and AWS will work together to develop generative AI-powered solutions that run on AWS for clients across several verticals including banking, financial services, insurance, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing and automotive industries. Through use of Amazon Bedrock, which offers a vast selection of proven foundation models (FMs) from leading AI companies like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Mistral AI and Stability AI, and includes Amazon Nova, a new generation of FMs, customers can test and deploy solutions to solve industry use-cases. Additionally, the companies will also co-create a cloud strategy to drive operational excellence for clients. That includes using Amazon Q Developer, one of the most capable generative AI assistants for software development, to take the heavy-lifting out of complex and time-consuming application migration and modernization projects, saving customers time and money. 'Together with AWS, Thoughtworks is committed to helping organizations driven by efficiency and cost optimization demands to build a migration and modernization strategy that will improve cost and efficiency while reducing risk with better compliance and security,' said Gene Reznik, Chief Strategy Officer and Global Head of Service Lines, Thoughtworks. 'As we continue to create customized cloud strategies that align with our clients' unique needs, our strategic collaboration agreement with AWS is crucial to helping ensure clients' cloud investments deliver meaningful business outcomes.' 'Our expanded collaboration with Thoughtworks provides customers with ready-made, industry-specific solutions that combine AWS's advanced generative AI services with Thoughtworks' engineering expertise to accelerate business outcomes,' said Chris Sullivan, Vice President, Americas Channels & Alliances at AWS. 'Whether looking to modernize a legacy application or build a new product experience, this collaboration will give customers across industries the tools they need to innovate faster while benefiting from the security, reliability and resiliency of AWS's global infrastructure." Thoughtworks has been partnering with First Student, the largest provider of student transportation services and leading operator of electric school buses in North America, since 2023. In support of First Student's new alternative transportation division, FirstAlt, Thoughtworks built a digital platform on AWS to match specialized vehicles to student transportation needs and a mobile first app that provides end-to-end ride visibility, allowing for the safest ride experience for students, their families and school districts. 'We selected Thoughtworks as a trusted collaborator to transform our business at speed and scale in the cloud with AWS. We saw strong results from the creation and launch of First Alt which provides school districts with a safe and reliable transportation option for students with special needs, students experiencing homelessness, out-of-district students and hard-to-serve trips,' said Sean McCormack, CIO, First Student. 'The collaboration we're seeing between Thoughtworks and AWS continues to ensure our cloud investments deliver meaningful business outcomes as we drive the future of school transportation through investment in digital technology and further expanding our AI capabilities.' The collaboration between Thoughtworks and AWS will benefit clients by: Accelerating Generative AI (GenAI) efforts: This SCA will help clients achieve a cohesive and forward-thinking GenAI strategy that leverages the full potential of data and AI. Thoughtworks will also leverage Haiven™ team assistant, an AI-enabled knowledge amplifier, to augment teams' expertise across all industry verticals and to accelerate tasks across the software delivery lifecycle. Thoughtworks' comprehensive approach to GenAI implementation provides an end-to-end capability to help customers move quickly from strategy development and proofs of concept to production-ready solutions. Creating industry-focused solutions: The companies will build technology integrations across industry verticals such as core banking and legacy payment modernization for the banking, financial services and insurance industries. Following the launch of the co-created SDV Pulse report, the companies will be introducing solutions that address capabilities such as Continuous Compliance for Vehicle DevOps and engineering efficiency. In healthcare and life sciences, the companies will help clients to break down silos for more efficient data sharing and insights for enhanced innovation. Accelerating enterprise platform modernizations: Thoughtworks' deep engineering expertise and proven practices in legacy modernizations, combined with AWS funding through programs such as the Migration Acceleration Program (MAP), creates a powerful synergy. Thoughtworks will also leverage CodeConcise Legacy Assistant, an AI-enabled tool, to help clients assess legacy systems, tackle capability gaps and reduce the time and effort required to reap the rewards of enterprise modernization. Fueling our strategic collaboration: The strategic three-year collaboration will be underpinned by joint investment between AWS and Thoughtworks towards joint market development, opportunity acceleration, AWS training and certification, expansion of AWS-specialized sales and technical teams and technical development of new cloud and AI solutions. Thoughtworks has been helping clients migrate to AWS since 2006. Most recently, Thoughtworks has earned the AWS GenAI Competency. With over 500 AWS-certified Thoughtworkers globally across a variety of specializations, Thoughtworks has invested in training to gain a deeper and wider scope of expertise with which to help clients achieve their goals. Supporting resources: About Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation. We are over 10,000 Thoughtworkers strong across 48 offices in 19 countries. For 30+ years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Limited appointments, hour-long lines: Real ID deadline looms in WA
This story was originally published on With approximately 20-40% of U.S. travelers still lacking proper identification, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Washington residents are heading to local Department of Licensing (DOL) offices in droves. May 7 is the deadline for citizens to get their Real ID—a federally compliant form of identification, such as a driver's license or state ID, that meets specific federal security standards. 'Without it, you won't be able to get on a plane or visit many federal buildings, like courthouses or military bases,' Chris Sullivan, traffic reporter for KIRO Newsradio, said. 'A Washington driver's license is not acceptable because our state doesn't require proof of citizenship or other information.' Washington's enhanced driver's license qualifies as a Real ID. The original deadline for Real ID compliance was set for October 2020, but it was postponed multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As flocks of people attempt to get their Real ID by the deadline, a shortage of appointments is occurring nationwide. Illinois set up a Real ID-only walk-in 'supercenter' in Chicago in order to handle the large demand for appointments. New York restricted its DMVs to county-only residents to deal with its demand. According to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, approximately 3,500 appointments are added daily for Real ID upgrades. Hours-long waits that wrap around blocks have been reported at DMVs in multiple states, including Illinois, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, the Wall Street Journal reported. Washingtonians can still walk into any location and wait, but walk-ins will likely take a while. 'If you're not seeing an appointment and you waited to the last minute, you can also still walk into one of our offices,' DOL's Thomas Charlson told MyNorthwest. 'I'd suggest there, to also plan ahead. We do have estimated wait times on our website that give you an idea of how long it's going to be to get into the office.' The best option could be standing outside the office as soon as it opens. Getting your name on that walk-in list early will likely save you several hours. Follow Frank Sumrall on X. Send news tips here.
