Latest news with #Toner
Extra.ie
15-07-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Tom Toner leaves generous sum to Dogs Trust pooches
Kind-hearted businessman, Tom Toner, has given unwanted pooches at The Dogs Trust Rehoming centre a second chance, bequeathing €50,000 in his will. Mr Toner, who died last October, aged 92, following a short illness, left a generous donation to Dogs Trust in his last will and testament, which was written just five days before A former chairman of Forfás, Mr Toner, was described as a 'transformative leader' in Irish business during a period of major change in Ireland. Tom Toner. Pic: Paul Sharp/Photocall Ireland Now, after his death, his €50,000 donation will have a 'transformative effect' for the countless dogs in the care of the Dogs Trust facility in Finglas. And the cash sum couldn't have come at a more optimum moment as animal charities are facing an unprecedented crisis across the country. Since the start of this year, Dogs Trust has seen a significant increase in the number of people looking to surrender their dogs. This year, the rehoming charity has received over 3,300 surrender requests. Pic: Getty Images While some of the dogs are dumped by irresponsible owners, the charity has attributed some of the increase in surrendered pooches to people who are forced to give up their dogs due to restrictive rental laws that don't allow pets. So the 50,000 donation from the gentle-souled business leader Mr Toner will go a long way to providing care for the many dogs currently in the Dogs Trust facility, who have called on the government to appoint a dedicated minister to deal with the scale of the crisis. Tom Toner. Pic: Mr Toner was the inaugural chairman of Forfás, the state agency responsible for advising the government on economic policy. His last will and testament was dated and signed on October 21, just five days before he died. Mr Toner, who had an address at Seafort Avenue in Sandymount, Dublin 4, left an estate valued at €12,093,893.99. Mr Toner had an illustrious career that spanned both the public and private sectors. Pic: Getty Images Under his reign, Forfás had recommended that a 12.5% tax rate be applied to all industries, which turned out to be the single most important policy decision that transformed Ireland into one of the most successful economies in the developed world. Born in the Curragh army barracks in 1932, he won a Kildare County Council scholarship to study science at UCD in 1950, but later changed to commerce. He earned an MA in economics in 1955. He once said his proudest career achievement was working with Donogh O'Malley's Department of Education in the 1960s to roll out free transport to second-level students in rural areas. In 1970, he stopped drinking, joined Alcoholics Anonymous, and never touched alcohol again.
Boston Globe
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Paul Toner, Cambridge councilor charged in brothel investigation, says he will not seek reelection
Local, state, and federal authorities teamed up to bust the brothel network that operated out of high-end apartment and condo buildings in December 2023. Advertisement In March, Toner, a lawyer, former teacher, and labor leader, Prosecutors said they brought charges against the 28 men (out of 2,800) who had the most communications via phone calls and text messages with the brothel. For Toner, that was 432 calls and texts. Police said Toner paid for sex at least 13 times between February and September 2023. In March, when Toner attended his 'As this is an ongoing legal matter, I will not contest the statements being circulated . . . regarding this case,' Toner said, reading from a statement. Advertisement At the next meeting, a week later, he issued an apology. 'First, I'm ashamed to have my name associated with this case,' Toner said, according to media reports. Toner did not respond to a request for comment from the Globe on Monday afternoon. Neither did his eight fellow councilors. His court case is still pending. 'As candidates have begun pulling nomination papers for the coming City Council election, I am writing to inform you that I have made the decision not to seek re-election,' Toner wrote in the post addressed to 'friends and supporters.' He thanked the man who had encouraged him to seek another term. 'I believe deeply in public service and serving my community,' Toner wrote, reflecting on his early involvement in politics, at age 12, waving campaign signs for Mike Dukakis. Toner said his uncle, a Teamster at UPS, was working on the governor's campaign and recruited him. Toner, a former teacher at Cambridge Public Schools, president of the teacher's union, and vice president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, said he was 'very proud' of his career and reputation as an advocate for 'both residents and businesses.' 'I believe my service on the Council as a moderate who tried to bring a balanced and common-sense perspective to the issues facing the city contributed to real progress that serves all of Cambridge,' Toner, a Democrat, wrote. 'I have done my best to represent you all and I am thankful that you have given me that opportunity,' he added. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
India Today
07-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
Ex-OpenAI board member warns Meta must move fast enough or risk losing top AI hires like Trapit Bansal to rivals
Meta has made headlines for its aggressive hiring of top AI researchers, including those from OpenAI, but former OpenAI board member Helen Toner has raised doubts over how long the company can hold on to this talent. Speaking to Bloomberg, Toner said Meta will have to prove it's moving fast in AI innovation or else face the risk of losing its new recruits to rival who stepped down from OpenAI's board in November 2023, pointed out that competition for AI expertise is intense, and Meta's latest hires may already be in the sights of other companies. 'They will be getting attempts to poach them back to other companies starting on day one,' she said in the recently set up a new AI division called Meta Superintelligence Labs, co-led by Alexandr Wang, founder and CEO of ScaleAI, and Nat Friedman, former GitHub CEO. This team has attracted multiple researchers from leading AI organisations, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. One of the most high-profile hires is Indian-origin researcher Trapit Bansal, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur. Bansal, who previously worked at OpenAI, confirmed his move to Meta in a recent post on X, writing, 'Thrilled to be joining Meta! Superintelligence is now in sight.' OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood also confirmed Bansal's departure from the Meta has certainly made a strong impression with its new lineup of talent, Toner believes the real challenge lies ahead. According to her, the key test for Meta is not just to attract top minds but to create an environment where they can thrive. She warned that internal company politics and clashing egos could get in the way. 'There's a lot of organisational politics at play,' she added that companies like Meta need leadership that's willing to push back against internal resistance when needed. 'That takes a lot of willingness to stare down powerful people inside your company, who maybe don't want to lose and tell them that you actually don't want them to do what they want,' she said. She also questioned whether Mark Zuckerberg's personal involvement in the AI initiative would be enough to change the company's working style and foster recent $15 billion investment in ScaleAI has only added to its AI ambitions. As part of the deal, ScaleAI's Alexandr Wang now also serves as Meta's Chief AI Officer. With this move, Meta has made clear that it is serious about building advanced AI systems and competing with the likes of OpenAI and not everyone is convinced Meta's approach will work in the long run. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, during a recent podcast appearance, criticised Meta's strategy of offering massive upfront financial packages. He revealed that Meta has offered OpenAI employees signing bonuses worth as much as $100 million. According to Altman, this kind of compensation-first approach doesn't create the right culture. 'The strategy of a ton of upfront guaranteed comp and that being the reason you tell someone to join... I don't think that's going to set up a great culture,' he and Toner may have had their differences in the past — with Toner having supported Altman's ouster from OpenAI last year — but both seem to agree that throwing money at talent is not enough in the rapidly evolving AI race.- Ends
Mint
03-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Former OpenAI Board Member Questions Zuckerberg AI Hiring Spree
(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc.'s lavish multimillion-dollar budget for recruiting top AI talent may not guarantee success, said Helen Toner, former OpenAI board member and director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. The poaching of artificial intelligence researchers from the likes of OpenAI — with salaries in the tens of millions of dollars — and the debut of Meta's new Superintelligence group comes after the Facebook operator developed a reputation for 'having a dysfunctional team,' Toner said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The practice of luring away high performers from each other's AI labs has intensified among Silicon Valley companies since the launch of ChatGPT, she said. 'The question is, can it turn around Meta's fortunes and turn it into a real juggernaut?' Toner said. 'It'll be difficult, there's a lot of organizational politics at play.' Meta's troubles began compounding when China's AI upstart DeepSeek came out of nowhere this year and put forward credible competition to Meta's open source models. 'The fact that DeepSeek was outshining them was really not a good look for the company,' according to Toner. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is now plowing financial resources in, but whether he'll be able to change organizational dynamics and make progress fast enough to retain top engineers is an open question. 'Can Meta convince them that they are moving fast enough?' Toner said. Toner, an influential voice in artificial intelligence, came into the limelight first as a board member of OpenAI and then for her vote to oust Sam Altman from the CEO post in late 2023. The Melbourne-educated academic departed from the board following Altman's brief stepping down and restoration to the top job, and has since advanced her career in studying the AI race between the US and China. That race is now spilling across borders as the two superpowers vie for the business and collaboration of other countries, Toner said. US companies like OpenAI and Chinese players like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., DeepSeek and Zhipu AI are making plays for international partnerships with governments and businesses. South Korea's Kakao Corp. is integrating ChatGPT and other AI services into the country's most used social media platform, while Alibaba is adding new data centers in Southeast Asia. China has a long history of working with other governments and is chipping away at the US tech monopoly globally, Toner said. 'It's certainly a strong showing they're making,' she said. China's models are widely available even if they are less technically sophisticated. They compete on the basis that they're 'cheaper, easier to use, and they help you adopt and customize.' Toner hasn't interacted with Altman since their clash in the November 2023 OpenAI boardroom battle. 'At some point, we'll wind up at the same event, the AI world is pretty small,' she said. 'I'm sure we'll both be happy to shake each other's hand.' More stories like this are available on
Business Wire
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Business Wire
Element Labs Unveils NEOZANT™ Polymer: A Groundbreaking Material Revolutionizing Industry Standards
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Element Labs ( a pioneering division of NZT Group, Inc. ( proudly introduces NEOZANT™, a revolutionary polymer engineered to redefine performance, sustainability, and versatility across industries such as aerospace, mobility, chemical industry, infrastructure, dunnage, medical equipment, and energy. With its unique combination of properties, NEOZANT™ sets a new benchmark for advanced materials, delivering innovative solutions for the most demanding applications. ELEMENT LABS UNVEILS NEOZANT™ POLYMER: A GROUNDBREAKING MATERIAL REVOLUTIONIZING INDUSTRY STANDARDS; Exothermic and JBT Showcase NEOZANT™'s Real-World Impact Share a key partner, has leveraged NEOZANT™'s fire-retardant properties for JBT's ( new line of autonomous vehicle tops and fronts, ensuring safety and durability in demanding commercial environments. Using the Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) process, Exothermic achieves perfect encapsulation of metal inserts, creating seamless components with superior structural integrity and thermal performance. Through Exothermic's value-added sub-assembly services, JBT receives fully assembled NEOZANT™. A recent breakthrough in material science and advanced manufacturing techniques produced a superior consolidated component for military applications. By reverse-engineering broken fiberglass parts used in aircraft maintenance, engineers molded a ready-to-use solution from pigmented NEOZANT™ resin, integrating 3D-printed components and bonded elastomeric materials. This innovative design passed a 20-foot drop test, met specific corrosion resistance standards, and eliminated the need for painting. By bonding 3D-printed plugs, nitrile feet, and walking treads directly to pigmented NEOZANT™ parts, Exothermic provides ready-to-install solutions that enhance reliability and eliminate painting needs. NEOZANT™ combines the best traits of thermoplastics, thermosets, and fluoropolymers, offering high-temperature performance, exceptional impact strength, and extreme corrosion resistance. These properties are ideal for applications ranging from lightweight aerospace fuel tanks to durable pipelines and robust infrastructure components. Its versatility in manufacturing is unmatched, supporting neat resin processes like injection molding, casting, and 3D printing, as well as composite techniques including press and rotational molding, spin casting, filament winding, vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), fiber placement, pultrusion, and tooling. 'Sustainability and innovation are at the core of NEOZANT™,' said Stuart A.M. Toner, COO at NZT Group, Inc., and President at Element Labs. 'Our material not only pushes the boundaries of performance but also meets the demand for environmentally responsible solutions, offering lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and highly durable options for industries worldwide.' Paul K. Steck, President of Exothermic Molding, Inc., added, 'NEOZANT™ has transformed our ability to deliver high-performance solutions. Its durability and process versatility allow us to replace legacy materials with components that withstand extreme conditions while streamlining production through our value-added sub-assembly services.' NEOZANT™ is earning acclaim as an engineered polymer for its toughness, physical property selectivity, and ability to be processed by all traditional thermoset manufacturing technologies. The transformative potential of NEOZANT is evident in its wide range of applications, from advancing Hydrogen transportation and storage technologies to strengthening reinforced concrete and reducing the carbon dioxide footprint in critical infrastructure development. Element Labs, a division of NZT Group, Inc., remains committed to advancing material science for a sustainable future. NEOZANT™ embodies this mission, balancing cutting-edge performance with environmental responsibility. For more information about NEOZANT™ and its industry-transforming capabilities, visit About Element Labs: Element Labs, a division of NZT Group, Inc., is a leader in advanced material solutions, specializing in engineered polymers and composites for the world's most rigorous applications. With a focus on innovation, sustainability, and excellence, Element Labs delivers technologies that empower industries to thrive. About NZT Group, Inc: NZT Group, Inc. is a leading materials science company delivering advanced technology solutions for energy, infrastructure, mobility, additive manufacturing, polymer sciences, and defense. Headquartered in Northern California, NZT Group creates high-performance, reliable products through its divisions: Element Labs ( Extremis Systems ( and ESL Infrastructure ( Founded by Robert Comizio, Jenna Landry, Zack Spencer, and Stuart A. M. Toner, NZT Group drives innovation with proprietary materials, redefining performance in demanding applications. About Exothermic Molding, Inc: Exothermic Molding achieves ongoing organizational excellence through certified adherence to the ISO Management System, providing more and better services while improving jobs and business performance.
