Podcaster Greg Soros didn't have to build a mentorship program. His company, Podcraft Media Lab, could have stuck to premium clients able to pay top rates for production work. Instead, he set aside time and studio resources for creators who rarely get that kind of access, a choice that shaped his reputation as much as any client project has.The effort runs through the Podcast Academy's diversity fellowship, which connects Soros with emerging...
Philanthropic dollars do not always translate into measurable economic activity, but Colcom Foundation's grant history offers a fairly direct example of how conservation and cultural funding can support local economies as a side effect of their primary mission. That pattern has repeated itself across several different program areas the foundation supports.Tourism Follows PreservationProtected land, restored waterways, and preserved historic...
Grid Modernization Investment Accelerates Across the U.S. Power Sector The United States power sector is moving through one of its largest capital investment cycles in decades, as utilities and their contracting partners work to modernize aging infrastructure while keeping pace with rising demand from data centers, electrification, and renewable generation. Spending on transmission and distribution work has climbed steadily over the past several...
Not every executive who spends a career at the top of public companies chooses to end up running a private one. Michael Polk did, and he says it has been one of the more rewarding decisions of his professional life.From Global Brands to a Private Portfolio CompanyPolk's resume reads like a tour of the consumer goods industry. He held leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods and Unilever before becoming CEO of Newell Brands in 2011,...
Energy companies live and die by trust, and few sectors face more scrutiny than oil and gas exploration. Gulf Coast Western, a Dallas-based firm focused on developing domestic reserves along the Gulf Coast, has built a reputation that stakeholders describe as unusually consistent across independent review channels.What the Better Business Bureau ShowsThe Better Business Bureau lists Gulf Coast Western with zero complaints, a 4.9-star average,...
Justin Nelson has spent his career at JP Morgan building a reputation for disciplined asset management, and he is now applying that same structured thinking to workplace inclusion. As Managing Director and Head of the Asset Management and Financial Principals Coverage Team at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Connecticut, Nelson leads a group overseeing more than fifteen billion dollars in client assets. Those who work with him describe a leader who...
Most readers finish a children's book in an afternoon. Greg Soros spends months building the foundation underneath it. Over a writing career spanning sixteen years, Soros has developed a research process that looks less like traditional storytelling and more like fieldwork, and it shows in the finished stories he publishes.Classrooms as a Starting PointBefore drafting a manuscript, Soros heads into schools. He watches how kids talk to each...
Vancouver’s early-stage investment scene has attracted a new generation of venture capitalists who think in terms of systemic gaps rather than individual product opportunities. Among them, Yazan al Homsi has emerged as a consistent voice for investing in platforms that use technology to extend the reach of high-quality services — a thesis he has applied across healthcare, energy, and most recently, education.His early moves in AI-driven...
Private equity has a timing problem, and it works in JP Conte's favor. The median age of companies exited in the first half of 2025 sat around six years, while firms still held roughly eight and a half to nine years of inventory across their portfolios, per PwC.That backlog is the quiet pressure behind the megadeal headlines. JP Conte, managing partner of Lupine Crest Capital, watches it closely, because aging portfolios eventually become...
Business needs are not static, and payment solutions that served merchants well five years ago may be inadequate for the omnichannel, data-driven commerce environment that businesses navigate today. New York-based Thomas Priore has built Priority Commerce with this evolution in mind, investing in capabilities that serve businesses not just where they are today but where they are going.The payment landscape that modern businesses must navigate is...