Latest news with #Lesser
Campaign ME
5 days ago
- Business
- Campaign ME
GroupM officially rebrands to WPP Media
GroupM has officially rebranded as WPP Media and is now describing itself as an 'AI-driven media company'. Campaign UK first reported on the move to rename the media investment arm in early May. At the time, a spokesperson said that WPP doesn't 'comment on speculation'. Of the rebrand, Mark Read, chief executive at WPP, said that while 'GroupM was built for a time when media scale mattered most, WPP Media reflects the power of AI, data and technology and simpler, more integrated solutions'. Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom are set to continue to provide clients with dedicated teams as brands within WPP Media. Despite media agencies continuing to operate as distinct brands within WPP Media, GroupM told staff earlier this month that these brands will move to a single P&L and act as 'one voice in the market', with agency-specific titles set to 'sunset'. Last week, the media operating arm told staff which roles would be at risk of redundancy in the UK. The latest move comes after Brian Lesser, chief executive of WPP Media, told investors in March 2025 that WPP '[knows] that we have to be simpler' and laid out a five-point plan which included a shift to focus on an AI-based data strategy. Lesser added: 'By investing in our AI-powered product (WPP Open), integrating our offer with data and technology, and equipping our people with future-facing skills, we're helping our clients to stay ahead of rapidly changing consumer behaviour and unlock the limitless opportunities for growth that AI will create.' Lesser has made a series of changes to streamline the business since joining in September 2024, when he replaced Christian Juhl. For instance, he axed global agency brand chief executive roles for media agencies EssenceMediacom, Mindshare and Wavemaker in a bid to further centralise operations. GroupM EMEA chief executive Josh Krichefski left the business in March, after 14 years. Its leaders in key markets, including the UK, now report directly to Lesser.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Confirms our worst fears,' ‘Nothing too outlandish:' Connecticut lawmakers on federal Medicaid reductions
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Connecticut lawmakers offered their assessments of the plan released Sunday evening by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives that would see hundreds of billions in Medicaid spending reductions over the next decade. 'If confirms our worst fears,' State Sen. Matt Lesser, a Democrat who co-chairs the legislature's Human Services Committee, said. House Republicans unveil Medicaid cuts that Democrats warn will leave millions without care Lesser and other leading Democrats have raised alarm bells over an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) which predicted the bill's provisions would cause 8.6 million people would lose their health coverage over the next decade. The CBO said that the plan would reduce the federal deficit by $715 billion in the next 10 years — fulfilling a significant portion of the House Republicans' goal to find $1.5 trillion in savings. Congressional Republicans are working in tandem with President Donald Trump to craft a 'big, beautiful' cost reduction plan accompanied by $4.5 trillion worth of tax cuts. Republicans in the Connecticut legislature pushed back on the Democrats' sense of alarm. 'I don't think anything that we see in this bill is too outlandish,' State Rep. Tammy Nuccio, the top Republican representative on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, said. Nuccio said the bulk of the lost coverage would come as a result of new work requirements included in the GOP proposal. She said she generally supports such requirements. Nuccio, a senior member of the state House Republican caucus, also signaled support for a provision of the congressional Republicans' plan that would reduce overall Medicaid funding to states that provide health coverage to those in the country illegally. Connecticut is one of those states that would stand to lose if the plan goes into effect. Republicans have long criticized the Democratic-backed policy of extending the state's Medicaid program, called HUSKY, to many minors without legal status. The two parties also clashed over a provision of the GOP plan that would enact additional eligibility checks and income verification. Democrats like Lesser see it as a thinly-veiled attempt to force people off of their health coverage via bureaucratic red tape. 'What it's gonna mean is that the folks who brough you the Department of Government Efficiency are gonna be just saddling people with paperwork,' Lesser said. Nuccio fired back. 'I think if the state of Connecticut workers are doing their job and they're helping people make sure that they have their eligibility in, they're not gonna see a lot of people kicked off,' she said. The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) offered a blunt assessment of the bill. 'This is a bad bill for Connecticut hospitals and for our patients,' Paul Kidwell, CHA's senior vice president for policy, said. USDA funding cuts have harsh impact on Connecticut food pantries Kidwell zeroed in on a provision of the bill that would effectively cap the amount of federal Medicaid dollars that can flow into a state under a mechanism known as a provider tax. Most states utilize a provider tax to help boost their own Medicaid spending, which in turn leads to more federal dollars under the cost-sharing arrangement between states and the federal government that underlies the entire Medicaid system. Critics have characterized the provider tax as a loophole which allows hospitals and state governments to get more money from the federal government. Still, Kidwell said a freeze on the provider tax would mean less money for hospitals at a time when healthcare costs are rising and the rate at which providers are reimbursed for care under Medicaid has remained stagnant for years. 'When the state can't bring in those federal dollars to support Medicaid, hospitals and other providers have to go try to find those resources from other places,' Kidwell said. In other words: someone, perhaps those utilizing employer-based health plans, will end up footing the bill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7-Eleven undergoes SVP shuffle
This story was originally published on C-Store Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily C-Store Dive newsletter. 7-Eleven shuffled the roles of several of its top merchandising and franchising executives in recent weeks, continuing a busy first quarter highlighted by the convenience retailer's approaching North American IPO and potential merger with Alimentation Couche-Tard. Tom Lesser, former senior vice president of operations services, was appointed SVP of operations for 7-Eleven's franchised stores, according to the company's website and as Lesser noted this week on LinkedIn. That position was most recently held by Randy Quinn, who is now SVP of merchandising for vault and proprietary beverages, according to the company website. Lesser has held numerous operational roles since joining 7-Eleven in 1999, including managing director and COO for 7-Eleven Mexico. Quinn has also worked across various company divisions since joining in 2006, including store development, acquisition integration, merchandising and financial planning. Quinn is replacing Dennis Phelps, who is now SVP of center store and field merchandising, according to 7-Eleven's website. That position was formerly held by Jasmeet Singh Chawla, who was recently appointed SVP of merchandising for tobacco and services. Phelps has been with 7-Eleven for over 40 years, having led the retailer's frozen foods, snacks, confections, and fresh food businesses, and was responsible for introducing 7-Eleven's line of wines. Chawla, meanwhile, has held roles across 7-Eleven's merchandising, logistics, franchising, and acquisitions teams since 2004. None of these executive changes were made as of early March, according to an internal list of 7-Eleven's employees from that month obtained by C-Store Dive. That list, as well as 7-Eleven's website, reflects that Chawla's tobacco-focused leadership role is a newly created position. Representatives from 7-Eleven did not respond to multiple requests to comment on why the company made these executive changes. As 7-Eleven undergoes these shifts, parent company Seven & i Holdings has also overseen significant leadership changes in recent weeks. The Japanese conglomerate named its next CEO, Stephen Dacus, in early March, while 7-Eleven CEO Joseph DePinto resigned from Seven & i's board of directors. Recommended Reading Outlining 7-Eleven's busy first quarter Sign in to access your portfolio
Ya Libnan
26-03-2025
- Business
- Ya Libnan
Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired US federal workers, research shows
Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies poses for a portrait at an office in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 24, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Washington- A network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers, according to job ads and a researcher who uncovered the campaign. Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats with the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said some companies placing recruitment ads were 'part of a broader network of fake consulting and headhunting firms targeting former government employees and AI researchers.' Little information is publicly available on the four consultancies and recruitment companies allegedly involved in the network, which in some cases shared overlapping websites, were hosted on the same server, or had other digital links, according to Reuters' reporting and Lesser's research. The four companies' websites are hosted at the same IP address alongside Smiao Intelligence, an internet services company whose website became unavailable during Reuters' reporting. Reuters could not determine the nature of the relationship between Smiao Intelligence and the four companies. The news agency's attempts to track down the four companies and Smiao Intelligence ran into numerous dead-ends including unanswered phone calls, phone numbers that no longer work, fake addresses, addresses that lead to empty fields, unanswered emails and deleted job listings from LinkedIn. Lesser, who uncovered the network and shared his research with Reuters ahead of publication, said the campaign follows 'well-established' techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations. 'What makes this activity significant,' he said, 'is that the network seeks to exploit the financial vulnerabilities of former federal workers affected by recent mass layoffs.' Reuters could not determine if the companies are linked to the Chinese government or whether any former federal workers were recruited. Asked about the research, three intelligence analysts told Reuters the network appeared to be a prime example of how foreign-linked entities are trying to gather intelligence from staff fired or forced into retirement by President Donald Trump and billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Once employed by the network, federal employees could then be asked to share increasingly sensitive information about government operations, or recommend additional people who might be targeted for willing or unwitting participation, the analysts said. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told Reuters in an email that China was unaware of any of the entities allegedly involved in the campaign and Beijing respects data privacy and security. A White House spokesperson said China was constantly trying to exploit the United States' 'free and open system' through espionage and coercion. 'Both active and former government employees must recognize the danger these governments pose and the importance of safeguarding government information,' the spokesperson said. February 28 that U.S. intelligence believes Russia and China are targeting disgruntled U.S. government employees, something both countries have done for years. The companies in the network – which posted job ads to Craigslist, LinkedIn and other job sites – could be concrete evidence such operations are underway, Lesser said. Reuters reported earlier this month that some U.S. government workers with top security clearances were not given standard exit briefings which, in part, cover what to do if approached by foreign adversaries. 'GEOPOLITICAL RISK CONSULTING' One of the companies in the network, RiverMerge Strategies, bills itself on its website as a 'professional geopolitical risk consulting company' and posted two since-deleted job listings on its since-removed LinkedIn page in mid-February. One ad that sought a 'Geopolitical Consulting Advisor' with experience with government agencies, international organizations, or multinational corporations, displayed that it had more than 200 applications, according to a screenshot of the LinkedIn post. The other sought a human resources specialist who could 'utilize a deep understanding of the Washington talent pool to identify candidates with policy or consulting experience,' and 'leverage connections to local professional networks, think tanks, and academic institutions.' The U.S. number for RiverMerge Strategies listed on the company's home page is no longer in service. A separate Chinese phone number, until recently listed on the website's contact page, is the same number listed by Shenzhen Si Xun Software Co., Ltd, an information technology company focused on online retail, commercial automation and catering, according to a Google translation of the company's website. Reuters could not determine the nature of the connection between the network of companies, Smiao Intelligence, and Shenzhen Si Xun Software Co., Ltd. Calls to a phone number listed on the company's website did not go through. RiverMerge Strategies until recently listed two addresses on its website, one in Singapore and the other in Colorado. The Singapore address led to a hostel building within the campus of the Management Development Institute of Singapore, but the company could not be located during a Reuters visit. Its other address led to an address in Boulder, Colorado, tied to Northwest Registered Agent, a business services firm. A person listed on LinkedIn as an employee of RiverMerge, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters an acquaintance he met at a networking event in China reached out and asked him to help promote job listings for RiverMerge Strategies. The acquaintance, who he knows as 'Eric,' as well as another contact, 'Will,' pays the employee $1,000 or $2,000 every two or three months to post the job listings, he said. A person identifying themselves as William Wells and RiverMerge's 'strategies project manager' responded to an initial Reuters email and asked about Reuters' request for information. Even though the Reuters email identified the sender as a reporter, Wells also inquired whether Reuters was seeking a job, and said they would review a resume and set up a short call. Another company in the network, Wavemax Innovation, placed an ad February 6 on Craigslist offering 'Job Opportunities for Recently Laid-Off U.S. Government Employees.' The ad, which has since expired, sought workers with backgrounds in project management, research, technology, communications, policy analysis and more. Reuters could not establish who saw the ad or whether anyone applied to Wavemax as a result. An email to the address posted in the ad was not returned. When Reuters visited the Singapore address posted to the company's website there was no sign of the company, just a vacant field. A search of Singapore's corporate registry for the company was equally barren. Asked how it verifies job listings, LinkedIn said it uses automated technologies and a team of reviewers to find and remove inauthentic activity and profiles. The spokesperson said on Tuesday RiverMerge Strategies' profile had been restricted. In response to questions about Reuters' findings, an FBI spokesperson warned that Chinese intelligence officers can represent themselves as think tanks, academic institutions and recruiting firms to target 'current, former, and prospective' U.S. government employees. Agents for the Chinese government have used similar tactics in the past. In 2020 a Singaporean national named Jun Wei Yeo pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to acting as an agent of a foreign power, starting in 2015. Prosecutors alleged he worked to spot and assess Americans with access to non-public sensitive information and paid them to write reports for unnamed Asian clients, without disclosing that the work was actually for the Chinese government. That operation relied on a fake consulting company and job advertisements, according to court records. Chinese intelligence operatives told Yeo how to recruit targets, including by asking them if they were 'dissatisfied with work, were having financial troubles [or] had children to support,' according to court records. China's foreign ministry denied any knowledge of Yeo's case and accused the U.S. of repeatedly accusing Beijing of espionage, saying 'it has reached a state of extreme suspicion,' at the time. Foreign intelligence services often use job recruitment scams to recruit sources without them even knowing they are working for a foreign government, David Aaron, a former Department of Justice prosecutor now in private practice, told Reuters. 'I would expect China's intelligence services to dial those efforts up as they see a wave of government employees suddenly having to look for new jobs,' Aaron said, adding that while many former government employees are motivated by patriotism, some may be vulnerable to deceptive tactics. Reuters
NBC News
26-03-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Secretive Chinese network tried to lure fired federal workers, research shows
A network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers, according to job ads and a researcher who uncovered the campaign. Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats with the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said some companies placing recruitment ads were 'part of a broader network of fake consulting and headhunting firms targeting former government employees and AI researchers.' Little information is publicly available on the four consultancies and recruitment companies allegedly involved in the network, which in some cases shared overlapping websites, were hosted on the same server, or had other digital links, according to Reuters' reporting and Lesser's research. The four companies' websites are hosted at the same IP address alongside Smiao Intelligence, an internet services company whose website became unavailable during Reuters' reporting. Reuters could not determine the nature of the relationship between Smiao Intelligence and the four companies. The news agency's attempts to track down the four companies and Smiao Intelligence ran into numerous dead ends including unanswered phone calls, phone numbers that no longer work, fake addresses, addresses that lead to empty fields, unanswered emails and deleted job listings from LinkedIn. Lesser, who uncovered the network and shared his research with Reuters ahead of publication, said the campaign follows 'well-established' techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations. 'What makes this activity significant,' he said, 'is that the network seeks to exploit the financial vulnerabilities of former federal workers affected by recent mass layoffs.' Reuters could not determine whether the companies are linked to the Chinese government or whether any former federal workers were recruited. Asked about the research, three intelligence analysts told Reuters that the network appeared to be a prime example of how foreign-linked entities are trying to gather intelligence from staff members fired or forced into retirement by President Donald Trump and billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Once employed by the network, federal employees could then be asked to share increasingly sensitive information about government operations, or recommend additional people who might be targeted for willing or unwitting participation, the analysts said. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told Reuters in an email that China was unaware of any of the entities allegedly involved in the campaign and that Beijing respects data privacy and security. A White House spokesperson said China was constantly trying to exploit the United States' 'free and open system' through espionage and coercion. 'Both active and former government employees must recognize the danger these governments pose and the importance of safeguarding government information,' the spokesperson said. CNN reported on Feb. 28 that U.S. intelligence believes Russia and China are targeting disgruntled U.S. government employees, something both countries have done for years. The companies in the network — which posted job ads to Craigslist, LinkedIn and other job sites — could be concrete evidence that such operations are underway, Lesser said.
