Freedom Holding Marks New Türkiye Milestone as Freedom Yatırım Secures Brokerage License

Istanbul, Turkey, August 19th, 2026, FinanceWire

Istanbul, Türkiye – August 18, 2026. Freedom Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş., a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC), has received an operating license from the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (CMB). Freedom Yatırım has become the first broadly authorized foreign brokerage firm to receive such a license in Türkiye since 1992.

The license marks an important step in Freedom Holding Corp.’s expansion in Türkiye and supports its broader strategy to grow its brokerage business and international capital markets infrastructure in the country.

“Receiving this operating license is an important milestone for Freedom Holding Corp. It marks our entry into the Turkish brokerage market as the first broadly authorized foreign firm to receive such a license in 34 years,” said Timur Turlov, Founder and CEO of Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp. operates through more than 200 offices in over 20 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia. According to its latest financial statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company’s total assets stood at US$14 billion as of June 30, 2026. Brokerage remains one of its core business lines, accounting for approximately 39% of total net revenue.

Freedom Yatırım will draw on Freedom Holding Corp.’s international brokerage expertise, technology, and infrastructure as it prepares to launch investment services in Türkiye.

Connecting Türkiye with International Markets

Freedom Yatırım plans to offer more than traditional brokerage services. Using TraderNet, Freedom Holding Corp.’s proprietary trading platform, the company intends to build infrastructure that provides two-way access between the Turkish market and international capital markets.

For investors in Türkiye, the goal is to gradually broaden access to international markets through Freedom Holding Corp.’s global brokerage capabilities.

Freedom Yatırım has also completed its integration with Borsa İstanbul, giving clients across the Group’s international brokerage network access to investment opportunities in the Turkish market. The network has more than 870,000 client accounts.

Freedom Holding Corp. expects this infrastructure to help increase international participation in Türkiye’s capital markets and strengthen links between Borsa İstanbul and global financial markets.

Building an Integrated Digital Ecosystem

Freedom Holding Corp. recently completed the acquisition of a 99.32% stake in Turkish Bank A.Ş. through its subsidiary Freedom Finansal Hizmetler A.Ş. Following the acquisition, the bank’s shareholders approved the change of its trade name to Freedom Bank A.Ş.

Together, Freedom Bank and Freedom Yatırım are expected to form the core of Freedom Holding Corp.’s digital financial ecosystem in Türkiye, combining banking and investment services with other digital offerings.

“Our ambition in Türkiye goes beyond brokerage. We plan to build an integrated digital financial ecosystem around Freedom Bank and Freedom Yatırım, bringing banking, investment, and other digital services together over time. We will draw on our experience in Kazakhstan, where Freedom SuperApp already combines financial and everyday digital services within a single platform, while adapting the model to the needs of the Turkish market,” Turlov stated.

For the local team, the next stage will be to combine the Group’s international capabilities with expertise in the Turkish market.

“Türkiye is a long-term market for us. We want to combine the Group’s technology, financial strength, and international capital markets expertise with strong local knowledge to build a sustainable business here,” said Vladimir Pochekuev, Partner at Freedom Holding Corp. and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Freedom Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş.

Pochekuev also expressed his appreciation to the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye for its constructive and professional engagement throughout the licensing process.

Preparing to Launch Operations

Following receipt of its operating license, Freedom Yatırım is continuing to prepare for the launch of full-scale operations in the Turkish market. The company is conducting comprehensive system testing and finalizing its operational readiness.

Freedom Yatırım intends to offer clients technology-driven, user-friendly investment services tailored to the regulatory requirements and specific needs of the Turkish market.

“Türkiye has a large and increasingly sophisticated investor base, with growing interest in diversifying portfolios across markets and asset classes. Our focus will be on combining access to international markets with strong local expertise and a high standard of client service,” said Vusal Mamedov, Senior Adviser to the Board of Directors of Freedom Yatırım.

About Freedom Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş.

Freedom Yatırım Menkul Değerler A.Ş. operates under Freedom Finansal Hizmetler A.Ş., a wholly owned subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp. The company received approval for its establishment from the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (CMB) in 2025 and, upon completing all regulatory requirements, obtained its operating license in 2026 to provide brokerage services in Türkiye’s capital markets. Freedom Yatırım seeks to leverage its international expertise and in-depth understanding of the Turkish market to provide investors with innovative investment solutions.

About Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial services in 24 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, multiple EU countries, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The Company’s principal executive office is located in New York City. In Kazakhstan, Freedom is actively developing its financial and digital ecosystem, which includes Freedom Bank, Freedom Broker, the insurance companies Freedom Life and Freedom insurance, as well as a lifestyle segment that features Arbuz.kz, Freedom Ticketon, and Aviata. Freedom Holding Corp. shares are traded on the U.S. technology exchange NASDAQ, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the ticker symbol FRHC. Freedom Holding Corp. is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the common stock is included in the Russell 3000 Index.

Contact

Head of Public Relations
Natalia Kharlashina
Freedom Holding Corp.
prglobal@ffin.kz
+77013641454

Hotel Price Index 2026 Released – Nearly 1 in 3 hotel comparisons showed price differences above 10%

Jersey City, NJ, USA — Travorio reviewed hotel prices across major booking platforms to see how often travelers can find a meaningful difference for the same property and travel dates. Travelers who want more flexibility can also book now, pay later hotels through supported payment options.

What we found

The study covered 394 hotel comparisons across 18 destinations. Rates were drawn from Booking.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com for a three-night stay in September 2026 for two adults.

Most comparisons were fairly close. The median difference between the lowest and highest available rate was 4%. The average difference was 8%.

The larger gaps are where comparison becomes useful. Twenty-nine percent of the searches showed a difference of more than 10%, and 10% showed a difference above 20%.

The largest gap in the sample was 106%, equal to $213, for the Elasophia Hotel in Istanbul.

Key numbers

Measure Result
Hotel comparisons included 394
Destinations reported 18
Median price gap 4%
Average price gap 8%
Comparisons with gap above 10% 29%
Comparisons with gap above 20% 10%
Largest observed gap 106% ($213)

Where the biggest differences appeared

The size of the price gap varied by destination. Istanbul and Bangkok stood out in this sample, while several North American and European cities showed much tighter pricing.

Destination Average gap Median gap Hotels compared
Istanbul, Turkey 20% 13% 22
Bangkok, Thailand 19% 15% 30
Tokyo, Japan 14% 13% 22
Marrakech, Morocco 12% 8% 18
Cancun, Mexico 12% 10% 24
Rome, Italy 9% 6% 26
Lisbon, Portugal 9% 7% 27
Toronto, Canada 6% 0% 11
Amsterdam, Netherlands 5% 3% 26
London, UK 5% 0% 30
Dubai, UAE 5% 0% 4
Paris, France 5% 1% 27
New York, USA 4% 0% 28
Barcelona, Spain 4% 2% 25
Singapore 2% 0% 18
Miami, USA 2% 0% 29
Doha, Qatar 2% 0% 26

Sample note: Dubai had only four hotels with rates from two or more platforms. Sydney, Melbourne, and Bali were not included in city-level reporting because there was not enough multi-platform data.

What the numbers mean for travelers

A 4% median gap means that many travelers will see only a small difference when they compare major booking sites. The more useful finding is that larger gaps still appeared often enough to matter.

In 29% of the comparisons, the difference was above 10%. On a $2,000 hotel booking, a 10% difference is $200. On a $4,000 stay, it is $400. Before booking, it can be worth a moment to compare hotel prices across a few sites.

Booking value 5% gap 10% gap 20% gap
$400 $20 $40 $80
$900 $45 $90 $180
$2,000 $100 $200 $400
$4,000 $200 $400 $800

Price variation by hotel rating

The widest average gaps in this sample appeared among 3-star hotels. The study did not test the cause, so these figures should be treated as a description of this dataset rather than a general rule about hotel categories.

Star rating Average gap Hotels compared
1-2 star 10% 20
3 star 12% 103
4 star 7% 125
5 star 6% 47

Why prices can differ

Hotel prices can vary from one booking platform to another because the platforms may receive inventory from different suppliers, use different promotions or markups, and update availability at different times.

  • Different supplier and distribution agreements
  • Platform-specific promotions and pricing
  • Changes in room availability
  • Taxes and mandatory fees
  • Breakfast and other inclusions
  • Cancellation and refund terms

The study compared total-stay prices in USD. It did not control for every room condition on every platform, so the lowest rate on one site was not always an identical room product to the lowest rate on another.

Methodology

The pricing data came from whhotel price aggregation API, which returned rates from Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO for matching hotel properties.

Check-in: September 8, 2026

Check-out: September 11, 2026

Stay length: 3 nights

Guests: 2 adults

Rooms: 1

Currency: USD

A total of 600 hotel searches were run across 20 destinations. Of those, 394 returned prices from at least two platforms and were included in the analysis. Eighteen destinations had enough data for city-level reporting.

Hotels were matched using property name and geographic coordinates. Properties appearing on only one platform were excluded. Member-only and loyalty rates were also excluded.

Limitations

  • Prices were captured at one point in time and may have changed afterward.
  • The study does not show that any one platform is consistently the cheapest.
  • The comparison used the lowest available rate per platform, not identical room categories in every case.
  • The main platforms represented were Booking.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com.
  • The study used one travel window and one length of stay. Other dates and booking windows may produce different results.

Bottom line

Most hotel price differences in this sample were modest. Still, nearly one in three comparisons showed a gap above 10%. That is large enough to matter on expensive or multi-night stays, and it is a practical reason to compare rates before booking.

About Travorio

Travorio is an online travel platform for hotels, flights, and event tickets. It also offers pay later hotels options in supported markets, including pay in 4 installments and cryptocurrency. Travorio compares hotel inventory from multiple travel supplier networks.

To learn more, visit travorio.com

Media Contact

Company Name: Travorio

Contact Person: Media Relations

Website: hi@travorio.com

Website: travorio.com

Tribal Partners with ServiceNow to Empower Enterprise Teams to Build and Deploy Apps & Agents

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 18th, 2026, FinanceWire

Tribal launches Tribal for ServiceNow, enabling enterprise teams – not just developers – to build and personalize AI where work already happens. 

Tribal today announced their partnership with ServiceNow to launch Tribal for ServiceNow. Through this collaboration, Tribal’s AI agents now support the ServiceNow AI Platform, helping teams maintain, migrate, and enhance their ecosystems. By mapping the platform with Tribal’s Metadata Fabric, users can build with full enterprise context, without breaking dependencies or business workflows.

When Tribal announced its $10 million seed round in May, expanding to ServiceNow was a strategic roadmap priority shaped by strong demand from CIOs. Just thirteen weeks later, ServiceNow support is live, advancing Tribal’s cross-platform reach across the enterprise’s most critical systems. 

The next phase of enterprise AI will not be defined by who deploys the most agents or AI assistants. It will be defined by who empowers the most people across the enterprise to build safely with AI. Tribal believes enterprise AI is entering the Builder Era: 

“Every enterprise has spent years shaping its systems around the way it works. AI should understand those systems and not force the company to start over. That is what Tribal brings to ServiceNow: the context people need to build on their existing systems faster and with confidence”, said Yoav Kolodner, CEO and Co-Founder, Tribal

Driven by strong demand from CIOs and enterprise technology teams, the ServiceNow integration marks the first step in Tribal’s broader strategy to extend its capabilities across systems of record and enable enterprises to build AI where work already happens. 

Gartner’s recent research on AI-augmented citizen development points to the same shift: as AI-powered development expands beyond software engineers, CIOs must enable more builders without sacrificing governance, security, or architectural integrity.* Enterprise systems need to adapt for AI-native work. Years of custom workflows, permissions, integrations, dependencies, and business rules make generic AI difficult to trust in production without the proper guardrails.

Tribal’s Metadata Fabric creates a shared, dependency-aware understanding of an enterprise across its systems of record – mapping objects, automations, permissions, business rules, and the relationships between them. That context powers metadata-native AI agents that can build production-ready applications, workflows, and automations in days, not quarters. The result is AI that adapts to the business, operates natively within each platform, and can extend across the enterprise rather than remaining trapped in a single system. 

With Tribal for ServiceNow, the people who know the business best, not just developers, can turn their operational knowledge into working AI applications while maintaining enterprise governance and oversight.

ServiceNow customers can now:

  • Accelerate workflows across requests, approvals, case management, and asset tracking while maintaining security, governance, and auditability.
  • Modernize legacy environments safely by migrating custom tables to standard ServiceNow architecture with full visibility into dependencies and downstream impact.
  • Build and deploy enterprise-native AI applications directly within ServiceNow, grounded in existing data, permissions, and business logic.

Enterprise technology leaders are confronting the same challenge as AI moves from pilot projects into production.

“What makes Tribal different is that it understands the actual enterprise environment – its workflows, permissions, dependencies, and business logic. That context gives teams a practical way to turn their expertise into governed AI applications”, said Tal Carmi, Chief Information Officer at WalkMe.

The first wave of enterprise AI rewarded experimentation. The next will reward organizations that empower more builders. The companies that move first will not simply use AI differently. They will build differently; at scale, while moving fast in production with full organizational context.

Enterprises interested in evaluating Tribal for ServiceNow or scheduling a personalized demonstration can visit https://gotribal.ai.

Read more about Tribal for ServiceNow: https://www.gotribal.ai/blog/mastering-servicenow-complexity-introducing-tribal-for-servicenow.

About Tribal

Tribal is an enterprise-native AI platform founded by Salesforce, Wix, and Spot.io veterans. Its context-aware AI agents learn the complete metadata graph of enterprise systems, including Salesforce, Snowflake and ServiceNow, so teams can build and deploy AI with full organizational context.

The result: development backlogs cleared up to 10x faster, maintenance costs reduced by up to 80%, and AI solutions that compliance and IT leaders can trust from day one.

For more information, visit https://gotribal.ai/.

*Based on Gartner research and webinar content concerning AI-augmented citizen development and the governance required to scale AI-powered building across the enterprise. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service.

ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is this an official ServiceNow partnership?

A: Yes. Tribal is a ServiceNow partner, and Tribal for ServiceNow is live as of August 2026.

Q: Does Tribal replace ServiceNow’s native AI?

A: No. Tribal deploys native ServiceNow code and inherits the platform’s governance, RBAC and audit trails. What it adds is the customer’s own instance: the objects, business rules, permissions and dependencies that make a change safe or unsafe to ship.

Q: Which platforms does Tribal support?

A: Salesforce, Snowflake and ServiceNow today, with SAP, NetSuite and Workday on the roadmap.

Contact

Orian Tal
The Pitch PR
orian@thepitch.media

Tribal Partners with ServiceNow to Empower Enterprise Teams to Build and Deploy Apps & Agents

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 18th, 2026, FinanceWire

Tribal launches Tribal for ServiceNow, enabling enterprise teams – not just developers – to build and personalize AI where work already happens. 

Tribal today announced their partnership with ServiceNow to launch Tribal for ServiceNow. Through this collaboration, Tribal’s AI agents now support the ServiceNow AI Platform, helping teams maintain, migrate, and enhance their ecosystems. By mapping the platform with Tribal’s Metadata Fabric, users can build with full enterprise context, without breaking dependencies or business workflows.

When Tribal announced its $10 million seed round in May, expanding to ServiceNow was a strategic roadmap priority shaped by strong demand from CIOs. Just thirteen weeks later, ServiceNow support is live, advancing Tribal’s cross-platform reach across the enterprise’s most critical systems. 

The next phase of enterprise AI will not be defined by who deploys the most agents or AI assistants. It will be defined by who empowers the most people across the enterprise to build safely with AI. Tribal believes enterprise AI is entering the Builder Era: 

“Every enterprise has spent years shaping its systems around the way it works. AI should understand those systems and not force the company to start over. That is what Tribal brings to ServiceNow: the context people need to build on their existing systems faster and with confidence”, said Yoav Kolodner, CEO and Co-Founder, Tribal

Driven by strong demand from CIOs and enterprise technology teams, the ServiceNow integration marks the first step in Tribal’s broader strategy to extend its capabilities across systems of record and enable enterprises to build AI where work already happens. 

Gartner’s recent research on AI-augmented citizen development points to the same shift: as AI-powered development expands beyond software engineers, CIOs must enable more builders without sacrificing governance, security, or architectural integrity.* Enterprise systems need to adapt for AI-native work. Years of custom workflows, permissions, integrations, dependencies, and business rules make generic AI difficult to trust in production without the proper guardrails.

Tribal’s Metadata Fabric creates a shared, dependency-aware understanding of an enterprise across its systems of record – mapping objects, automations, permissions, business rules, and the relationships between them. That context powers metadata-native AI agents that can build production-ready applications, workflows, and automations in days, not quarters. The result is AI that adapts to the business, operates natively within each platform, and can extend across the enterprise rather than remaining trapped in a single system. 

With Tribal for ServiceNow, the people who know the business best, not just developers, can turn their operational knowledge into working AI applications while maintaining enterprise governance and oversight.

ServiceNow customers can now:

  • Accelerate workflows across requests, approvals, case management, and asset tracking while maintaining security, governance, and auditability.
  • Modernize legacy environments safely by migrating custom tables to standard ServiceNow architecture with full visibility into dependencies and downstream impact.
  • Build and deploy enterprise-native AI applications directly within ServiceNow, grounded in existing data, permissions, and business logic.

Enterprise technology leaders are confronting the same challenge as AI moves from pilot projects into production.

“What makes Tribal different is that it understands the actual enterprise environment – its workflows, permissions, dependencies, and business logic. That context gives teams a practical way to turn their expertise into governed AI applications”, said Tal Carmi, Chief Information Officer at WalkMe.

The first wave of enterprise AI rewarded experimentation. The next will reward organizations that empower more builders. The companies that move first will not simply use AI differently. They will build differently; at scale, while moving fast in production with full organizational context.

Enterprises interested in evaluating Tribal for ServiceNow or scheduling a personalized demonstration can visit https://gotribal.ai.

Read more about Tribal for ServiceNow: https://www.gotribal.ai/blog/mastering-servicenow-complexity-introducing-tribal-for-servicenow.

About Tribal

Tribal is an enterprise-native AI platform founded by Salesforce, Wix, and Spot.io veterans. Its context-aware AI agents learn the complete metadata graph of enterprise systems, including Salesforce, Snowflake and ServiceNow, so teams can build and deploy AI with full organizational context.

The result: development backlogs cleared up to 10x faster, maintenance costs reduced by up to 80%, and AI solutions that compliance and IT leaders can trust from day one.

For more information, visit https://gotribal.ai/.

*Based on Gartner research and webinar content concerning AI-augmented citizen development and the governance required to scale AI-powered building across the enterprise. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service.

ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Is this an official ServiceNow partnership?

A: Yes. Tribal is a ServiceNow partner, and Tribal for ServiceNow is live as of August 2026.

Q: Does Tribal replace ServiceNow’s native AI?

A: No. Tribal deploys native ServiceNow code and inherits the platform’s governance, RBAC and audit trails. What it adds is the customer’s own instance: the objects, business rules, permissions and dependencies that make a change safe or unsafe to ship.

Q: Which platforms does Tribal support?

A: Salesforce, Snowflake and ServiceNow today, with SAP, NetSuite and Workday on the roadmap.

Contact

Orian Tal
The Pitch PR
orian@thepitch.media

Why Catrina Bodamer Says Your Best Ideas Won’t Come from Staying in One Discipline

  • Catrina Bodamer, a litigation consultant and Chartered Financial Analyst based in Atlanta, Georgia, explains why interdisciplinary learning solves problems that specialization alone cannot.

The Problem with Staying in Your Lane

Georgia, USA, Aug 18, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Sarah had spent eight years climbing the ladder in corporate finance when she hit a wall. Her models were flawless, her forecasts precise, but when stakeholders challenged her assumptions in meetings, she struggled to respond. The questions came from legal, operations, and compliance angles she had never studied. She felt trapped by her own expertise.

Then she met a consultant who had worked in law, finance, and real estate. The consultant asked questions Sarah had never considered, connected dots across industries, and reframed problems in ways that opened new solutions. Within six months, Sarah enrolled in a part-time law program. Two years later, she was leading cross-functional teams and solving the kind of problems that had once left her stuck.

“I’ve always been interested in understanding how things work,” says Catrina Bodamer, a litigation consultant and Chartered Financial Analyst whose career spans law, finance, and real estate. “The more you learn about different industries and different perspectives, the better equipped you are to solve problems.”

What Interdisciplinary Training Actually Looks Like

Bodamer earned a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with minors in Economics and History. She went on to complete an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, then earned a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law. Along the way, she achieved the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and earned FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses.

Her career has included litigation support, legal research, financial analysis, investment evaluation, securities compliance, wealth management, and real estate brokerage. She has assisted with the development and launch of investment funds, conducted valuation and cash flow analyses, supported regulatory compliance efforts, and advised clients on financial planning and investment strategies.

“I’ve learned that ideas often come from unexpected places, and staying curious helps me approach challenges from different angles,” Bodamer explains.

The Hidden Cost of Narrow Expertise

Specialists are valuable, but they often miss connections that generalists see immediately. A lawyer who understands finance can spot issues in deal structures before contracts are signed. A financial analyst who knows real estate can evaluate investment opportunities with a more complete picture. A consultant who has worked across industries can ask the questions that prevent costly mistakes.

Bodamer’s work involves evaluating public equities, modeling investment opportunities, and supporting complex litigation matters. Each of these tasks benefits from her ability to move between disciplines.

“You have to be willing to put in the work before you see results,” she says.

Copy This Framework: Five Phases to Build Cross-Disciplinary Expertise

Phase 1: Identify the Adjacent Discipline That Complements Your Core Skill Look at the problems you struggle to solve or the questions you cannot answer. If you work in finance and regulatory issues confuse you, consider legal training. If you are a lawyer who avoids financial projections, study finance. Choose one discipline that sits next to your current expertise.

Phase 2: Commit to Structured Learning, Not Just Casual Reading Enroll in a degree program, earn a certification, or complete a professional credential. Bodamer earned three advanced degrees and the CFA designation. Structured learning forces you to go deeper than reading articles or attending webinars.

Phase 3: Apply New Knowledge to Real Projects as You Learn Do not wait until you finish a program to use what you are learning. Look for opportunities at work to apply new concepts. Volunteer for cross-functional projects. Offer to help colleagues in other departments. The friction of applying unfamiliar ideas is where real learning happens.

Phase 4: Build Habits That Support Continuous Learning Bodamer identifies her most focus-intensive task first thing in the morning before checking emails. She reads daily about law, business, economics, and other topics. She does her best thinking early in the day. Create routines that protect time for learning and deep work.

Phase 5: Translate Your Interdisciplinary Experience into Clear Value for Others Once you have built expertise across disciplines, show others how that combination solves problems they face. Bodamer’s ability to support litigation, evaluate investments, and navigate regulatory compliance comes from her training in law, finance, and real estate. Make your interdisciplinary skill set visible and useful.

Quick Wins: Start This Week

  • Read one article or chapter outside your field every morning for the next seven days.

  • Reach out to one colleague in a different department and ask what problems they are working on.

  • Research one certification or graduate program that complements your current role.

  • Volunteer to join a cross-functional project team at work.

  • Block one hour on your calendar each week for focused learning, before email or meetings.

Red Flags: When Cross-Disciplinary Learning Backfires

  • You collect credentials without applying what you learn to real work.

  • You spread yourself so thin that you never develop depth in any area.

  • You pursue degrees or certifications just to impress others, not to solve problems.

  • You skip foundational courses because they seem boring, then struggle with advanced material.

  • You avoid the hard work of translating theory into practice.

Why Discipline Matters More Than Talent

Bodamer grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, including communities such as Canton, Cumming, Alpharetta, and Marietta. She was active in softball, cheerleading, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes while excelling academically as an Honor Graduate and Academic Scholar.

“Sports taught me discipline,” she says. “You learn how to work toward a goal, how to prepare, and how to keep going even when things don’t go exactly as planned.”

That discipline carried into her academic and professional life. She scored in the 95th percentile on the GMAT and the 96th percentile on the LSAT. She earned a perfect score in Real Estate Transactions, received multiple CALI awards, and was awarded full academic scholarships. She served as Treasurer of the Moot Court Board.

Each achievement required sustained effort over time, not bursts of inspiration.

Apply This Framework to Your Own Situation This Week

Choose one discipline adjacent to your current expertise. Research a program, certification, or structured learning path that will deepen your knowledge in that area. Block time on your calendar this week to begin. Identify one project at work where you can apply what you learn. Start building the cross-disciplinary skill set that will help you solve problems others cannot.

About Catrina Bodamer

Catrina Bodamer is a litigation consultant and Chartered Financial Analyst based in Atlanta, Georgia. Her career spans law, finance, real estate, investment analysis, and regulatory compliance. She holds a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and a Juris Doctor from Georgia State University College of Law. She also holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses and is a member of the CFA Institute and the Atlanta Track Club.

Austen Hacker Explains Why Healthcare Trust Starts With Everyday Conversations

  • Arkansas pharmacist Austen Hacker shares how small, consistent interactions build the foundation for patient safety and better outcomes across pharmacy settings.

Arkansas, USA, Aug 18, 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — Maria came to the pharmacy counter for the third time that month. Each visit, she asked the same questions about her medications. To an outsider, it might have looked like frustration on both sides. But the pharmacist saw something different: a patient trying to regain control after a frightening diagnosis. Instead of rushing through the consultation, he took five extra minutes to explain how the medications worked together, wrote down timing instructions, and asked what worried her most. Two months later, Maria told him she finally felt confident managing her treatment. That conversation became the turning point.

Austen Hacker has spent years witnessing moments like this across retail, hospital, institutional, ambulatory, and oncology pharmacy settings. He has opened and managed an oncology pharmacy, established a surgery center pharmacy, and directed multi-facility pharmacy services for Mississippi County Hospital System. Throughout his career, he has seen that clinical expertise alone does not create trust. Trust grows when patients feel heard, understood, and respected.

The Invisible Work Behind Every Prescription

Most people see a prescription bag and assume the work is done. They do not see the series of decisions that happen before that bag reaches their hands.

“People see the prescription bag. They do not always see the thirty decisions that happened before that bag reached the patient,” Hacker says.

Those decisions include checking for drug interactions, verifying dosages, confirming insurance coverage, and flagging potential safety concerns. In hospital and oncology settings, the complexity increases. Pharmacists collaborate with physicians, nurses, and specialists to adjust treatments based on lab results, patient response, and side effects.

“One of the most useful things a pharmacist can do is catch the problem before it becomes a hospital problem. Sometimes that is a wrong dose. Sometimes it is a patient who stopped taking a medication because it made them dizzy. Sometimes it is a simple misunderstanding that can become serious if no one asks the right question,” Hacker explains.

This level of attention requires more than technical knowledge. It requires listening, observing, and taking the time to understand what patients are experiencing.

Building Trust One Question at a Time

Trust is not built through dramatic interventions. It develops through small, consistent interactions that show patients their concerns matter.

“Patients want to know that someone is listening to them. Clinical knowledge is essential, but people also need to feel heard. When patients trust their healthcare team, they are more comfortable asking questions, sharing concerns, and becoming active participants in their own care,” Hacker says.

In oncology pharmacy, where patients often face complex treatment regimens and significant side effects, this trust becomes critical. Patients who feel comfortable communicating with their pharmacist are more likely to report adverse reactions, ask about symptom management, and follow through with their medication schedules.

Hacker emphasizes that trust is earned gradually, not given automatically. “Trust is something you earn one conversation at a time. It grows when patients know you will answer their questions honestly, explain things clearly, and take the time to understand what they are experiencing.”

Learning to Lead by Staying Curious

Hacker’s path to pharmacy leadership began with a career change. Before entering healthcare, he earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Baylor University. He graduated Cum Laude in 2012, but soon faced a difficult reality.

“Before I graduated from Baylor with my Bachelor of Music, I recognized a harsh reality: I was not talented enough to make a decent living as a pianist. This realization led me to pursue Pharmacy as a career, which I was a much better fit for,” he recalls.

He returned to school at the University of Louisiana Monroe, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science in 2015 and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2018. That willingness to change direction shaped his approach to leadership.

“I used to think success came from getting everything right. Now I think it comes from continuing to learn, staying curious, and helping the people around you do their jobs well,” Hacker says.

His leadership roles have included directing pharmacy operations for multiple hospital facilities, managing a 340B drug pricing program, implementing remote order entry coverage, and establishing new processes for sterile compounding compliance. In each setting, he focused on creating systems that supported both staff and patients.

A Framework for Building Trust in Patient Care

Trust is not abstract. It is built through intentional actions that can be applied by any healthcare professional working directly with patients.

Copy This Framework: Five Phases to Strengthen Patient Trust

Phase 1: Create space for questions. At the start of every interaction, invite patients to share concerns. Ask open-ended questions like “What worries you most about this medication?” or “Is there anything that has been confusing?” This signals that their input matters.

Phase 2: Listen without rushing. Avoid interrupting or finishing sentences. Give patients time to express themselves fully. When people feel heard, they are more likely to share critical details about symptoms, side effects, or medication adherence challenges.

Phase 3: Explain clearly, then confirm understanding. Use plain language to describe how medications work, what side effects to watch for, and when to call for help. After explaining, ask the patient to repeat the key points in their own words. This ensures nothing is lost in translation.

Phase 4: Document and follow up. Keep notes on patient concerns and follow up during the next visit. A simple question like “How did that new medication work for you?” shows that you remember their situation and care about the outcome.

Phase 5: Build relationships over time. Trust deepens through repeated positive interactions. Consistency matters more than perfection. Show up, listen, and follow through, even when schedules are tight.

Quick Wins: Small Actions That Build Trust Immediately

  • Greet patients by name and make eye contact.

  • Repeat important instructions in writing.

  • Offer to call patients a few days after starting a new medication.

  • Acknowledge when you do not know the answer and commit to finding out.

  • Validate patient concerns instead of dismissing them.

Red Flags: Signs That Trust Is Breaking Down

  • Patients stop asking questions or seem withdrawn.

  • They nod along but do not follow medication instructions.

  • They avoid eye contact or give short, guarded answers.

  • They express frustration about past experiences with other providers.

  • They miss appointments or stop picking up prescriptions without explanation.

Rethinking Success in Healthcare

Hacker’s view of success has evolved over the years. Early in his career, he measured success by outcomes. Now, he focuses on growth and learning.

“In the past, I measured success by outcomes, but more recently, I realized that the best measure of success is how you grow and learn from any experience,” he says.

He also believes that professional achievement should not come at the expense of personal well-being. “I think you should devote no more than 40% of your time to achieving professional success, and the other 60% should be spent on personal life (family, relationships, self-care, entertainment, church, hobbies, etc.).”

This philosophy shapes how he approaches both leadership and patient care. Success is not about appearing flawless. It is about showing up consistently, learning from mistakes, and helping others do the same.

Apply This Framework This Week

Trust is not built in a single moment. It is built through small, intentional actions repeated over time. Whether you work in a retail pharmacy, a hospital, or a specialty clinic, you have opportunities every day to strengthen the relationships that make healthcare work.

This week, choose one phase from the framework and apply it to your patient interactions. Create space for questions. Listen without rushing. Explain clearly and confirm understanding. Document concerns and follow up. Build relationships over time.

Your patients are watching. They are listening. They are deciding whether to trust you. What you do in the next conversation matters.

About Austen Hacker

Austen Hacker, Pharm.D., is a licensed pharmacist in Arkansas with experience across retail, hospital, institutional, ambulatory, and oncology pharmacy settings. His career includes serving as Director of Pharmacy at Mississippi County Hospital System, where he managed two hospital pharmacies and one oncology pharmacy. He also opened and managed an oncology pharmacy and a surgery center pharmacy during his tenure at CARTI Cancer Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Before entering pharmacy, he earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Baylor University. He is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Star Wars Actress Femi Taylor Publishes Memoir Tracing Path from Nigerian Village to West End and Beyond

The new memoir reveals a remarkable life shaped by adoption, dance, identity, motherhood and unexpected turns

Woking, Surry, United Kingdom, 18th Aug 2026 – About The Book:  From Mud Hut to STAR WARS and Beyond is the 2026 memoir of Femi Taylor, born 8 April 1961 in a rural village in southern Nigeria. The book recounts her early life beginning in tragedy: her birth mother died during the delivery of twins, and the babies were left at an orphanage in Ibadan after their father could no longer care for them. Adopted by British couple Richard and Allegra Taylor, she was raised in England and later became a British citizen.

The narrative follows her development as a dancer from childhood ballet classes through professional training and a career on stage and screen. It covers her experiences in the original London production of the musical Cats, her casting as the Twi’lek dancer Oola in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi (a role she later revisited for the 1997 Special Edition). But the memoir goes far beyond these best-known credits, including her subsequent work in television and film, among many other professional and personal milestones.

Taylor addresses themes of adoption, racial identity in a predominantly white environment, family relationships, personal loss, and the gradual process of coming to terms with her dual heritage and authentic self. The account includes reflections on international travel, convention appearances, and private life as a mother. The book presents these events in a straightforward chronological and reflective style drawn from the author’s own experiences.

Key Highlights:
•    Details the author’s survival as a premature twin left at a Catholic orphanage in Ibadan after her mother’s death in childbirth in 1961.
•    Documents her adoption by a British family working in Nigeria and subsequent move to England.
•    Chronicles her early dance training and professional breakthroughs in London’s West End, including the original production of Cats.
•    Describes her casting and performance as Oola in Return of the Jedi and the unique return for additional scenes in the 1997 Special Edition.
•    Examines the challenges of navigating racial identity, family dynamics, and personal growth while building a career in the performing arts.
•    Reflects on later life experiences, including motherhood, international conventions, and the decision to write the memoir as a means of understanding her own story.

About the Author: 

Femi Taylor is a writer and performer whose life journey has taken her from a remote village in southern Nigeria to the stages of London’s West End and the universe of Star Wars and beyond. This book grew out of a need to understand and give shape to her own story.
 

Author: Femi Taylor
Contact Name: Femi Taylor 
Website: www.femitaylor.com 
Availability: Available in print and kindle formats through major online retailers including Amazon.

Media Contact

Organization: London Publisher UK

Contact Person: London Publisher

Website: https://londonpublisher.co.uk/

Email: Send Email

Contact Number: +447575831895

Address:Balmoral Drive, Woking GU228EY

City: Woking

State: surry

Country:United Kingdom

Release id:48219

The post Star Wars Actress Femi Taylor Publishes Memoir Tracing Path from Nigerian Village to West End and Beyond appeared first on King Newswire. This content is provided by a third-party source.. King Newswire makes no warranties or representations in connection with it. King Newswire is a press release distribution agency and does not endorse or verify the claims made in this release. If you have any complaints or copyright concerns related to this article, please contact the company listed in the ‘Media Contact’ section

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BurnesSEO Launches Generative Engine Optimisation Service for South African Businesses

BurnesSEO, a South African digital growth studio based in Highbury, Meyerton, today announced the launch of a dedicated Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) service.

Meyerton, Gauteng, South Africa, 18th Aug 2026 — BurnesSEO, a South African digital growth studio based in Highbury, Meyerton, today announced the launch of a dedicated Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) service, designed to help local businesses become visible inside the AI-generated answers produced by ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Gemini rather than only in traditional blue-link search results.

The new offering responds to a rapid shift in how South African consumers discover service providers. According to Google’s own guidance on AI features in search, “AEO” (Answer Engine Optimisation) and “GEO” (Generative Engine Optimisation) describe the practice of preparing content so AI-powered engines can surface, cite and synthesise it within their responses (Google Search Central). HubSpot’s recent GEO dataset reports that ChatGPT now reaches roughly 900 million weekly active users, that 60 percent of Google searches end without a click, and that AI-referred traffic has climbed 600 percent since January 2025 (HubSpot Marketing Blog).

“Most South African service businesses have spent the last fifteen years learning how to win the blue links. The next fifteen years will be about winning the AI answer,” said Bibi Burness, Founder and Director of BurnesSEO. “Generative Engine Optimisation is not a replacement for search engine optimisation; it is the next layer of it. The companies that get cited inside ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews in the next twelve months will own the next decade of discovery, and most local competitors have not even started measuring their AI visibility yet.”

GEO is the practice of optimising digital content — including structured data, entity references, citation signals, factual clarity and author authority — so that large language models identify, trust and reference a brand inside AI-generated answers, rather than treating that brand as invisible beneath a generic response (Semrush). As the Geo Guide 2026 notes, GEO “adds a discoverability layer” rather than replacing traditional SEO (LLMrefs).

BurnesSEO’s GEO service is delivered as a standalone engagement or as an add-on to the studio’s existing local SEO, national SEO and AI marketing automation bundles, which start at R10,000 per month. The studio is also offering a free AI Visibility Score tool that benchmarks where a business currently appears — or fails to appear — across the four leading AI search engines.

The launch reinforces BurnesSEO’s positioning as an AI-first specialist studio for South African service businesses. Founded and led by Bibi Burness, the team includes Shané Van Staden (Digital Marketing Specialist) and Caitlyn Martin (Web Designer and Digital Marketer). The studio operates from Meyerton and serves clients across Gauteng with remote delivery nationwide.

“Local service businesses are the most exposed to this shift,” Burness added. “When a homeowner in Johannesburg asks an AI which plumber to call, the answer comes from the model, not from the directory. If a business is not cited, it does not exist in that conversation. The studio’s job is to make sure its clients are cited accurately, in the right towns, and in front of the right buyers.”

About BurnesSEO

BurnesSEO is a specialist digital growth studio based in Highbury, Meyerton, Gauteng, South Africa. The studio builds SEO, GEO and AI-powered marketing strategies for South African service businesses, designed to make its clients “impossible to ignore.” Service offerings include local SEO, national SEO, Google Ads management, Generative Engine Optimisation, AI marketing automation and website design. Packages start at R10,000 per month. The team is led by Bibi Burness and built around a tight in-house roster that serves clients across Gauteng and beyond. For a free benchmark, request the AI Visibility Score

Media Contact

Organization: Burnesseo Seo consultating

Contact Person: Bibi Burness

Website: https://burnesseo.co.za/

Email: Send Email

Contact Number: +27729850426

Address:19 Kransvalk Rd, Highbury, Meyerton, 1961

Address 2: henley on klip

City: Meyerton

State: Gauteng

Country:South Africa

Release id:48218

The post BurnesSEO Launches Generative Engine Optimisation Service for South African Businesses appeared first on King Newswire. This content is provided by a third-party source.. King Newswire makes no warranties or representations in connection with it. King Newswire is a press release distribution agency and does not endorse or verify the claims made in this release. If you have any complaints or copyright concerns related to this article, please contact the company listed in the ‘Media Contact’ section

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Comu Launches Action Pro: An AI-Powered Hardware Device for Professional Meeting Workflows

San Jose, California, United States, 18th Aug 2026 – Comu, a productivity technology company, recently announced the launch of Comu Action Pro, a dedicated AI-powered hardware device designed to bridge the gap between spoken conversation and actionable work. Moving beyond traditional AI note-taking, Comu Action Pro acts as a tool that automatically transforms interviews, meetings, and brainstorming sessions into immediate, practical outputs like follow-up emails, presentation outlines, and prioritized action lists.

As professional environments become increasingly fast-paced, the struggle to manage post-meeting workflows remains a major productivity bottleneck. While recording technology has improved, the manual burden of processing those conversations—transcribing, summarizing, and assigning tasks—remains time-consuming and prone to error.

The current AI experience often creates additional work by requiring users to learn complex prompts and navigate multiple tools. In contrast, Comu Action Pro is built on the principle that AI should adapt to the user. It goes beyond simply capturing words to capture actual intent, turning it into measurable progress as soon as the conversation ends. 

Post-Meeting Processing

A key feature of Comu Action Pro lies in its ability to streamline post-conversation processing. Rather than leaving users with a raw transcript, the device’s software analyzes conversation context to generate structured deliverables:

  • Actionable Intelligence: Automatically extracts decisions, deadlines, and responsibilities.
  • Drafting Capabilities: Instantly creates structured follow-up emails and presentation outlines based on meeting discussions.
  • Structured Organization: Produces high-level summaries that are ready to share, organize, and reference immediately.

Engineering for the Real World

Designed to function in challenging acoustic environments—from bustling airports to crowded conference halls—Comu Action Pro integrates specialized hardware with intelligent software. Key features include:

  • Advanced Audio Capture: A six-microphone array optimized for group dynamics and noise reduction.
  • Extended Performance: Up to 70 hours of continuous recording capability.
  • Intuitive Interaction: A dedicated AI button allows users to initiate tasks naturally, without the need for manual prompt engineering or complex workflow builders.

Security-First Design

Recognizing that professional conversations often involve sensitive information, Comu Action Pro is built with a robust security architecture that aligns with GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 standards, ensuring that productivity does not come at the expense of data privacy.

Availability and Pricing

Comu Action Pro is now available for purchase on Comu’s official store.

For more information please visit Comu Action Pro’s official store.

About Comu

Comu is a productivity technology company dedicated to building productivity tools. The company is redefining how professionals interact with technology by combining dedicated hardware with intelligent workflows. Comu’s mission is to reduce the complexity of the modern digital workspace, allowing users to spend less time processing information and more time moving ideas forward.

Media Contact

Organization: Comu

Contact Person: Arya Chen

Website: https://store.comu.com/

Email:
arya@comulytic.ai

City: San Jose

State: California

Country:United States

Release id:48088

The post Comu Launches Action Pro: An AI-Powered Hardware Device for Professional Meeting Workflows appeared first on King Newswire. This content is provided by a third-party source.. King Newswire makes no warranties or representations in connection with it. King Newswire is a press release distribution agency and does not endorse or verify the claims made in this release. If you have any complaints or copyright concerns related to this article, please contact the company listed in the ‘Media Contact’ section

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Borderless.xyz Deepens Africa Coverage as CrissCross Goes Live on Its Network

New York, New York, August 18th, 2026, FinanceWire

This integration brings local collections, payouts, FX, and corporate treasury across African markets, with direct reach into local banks and more than 15 mobile money operators, to the Borderless.xyz payments network.

Borderless.xyz, the global stablecoin orchestration and liquidity network, today announced that CrissCross is live on its network as a Partner Financial Institution (PFI), expanding stablecoin on/offramp coverage across Africa. African corridors are among the network’s most active, with South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana already ranking among its top routes, and demand keeps growing. CrissCross adds local depth across the continent, available immediately to Borderless.xyz customers through their existing API integration.

CrissCross builds cross-border payment infrastructure for businesses trading in Africa: local collections, payouts, FX, and treasury management across the continent. CrissCross runs direct integrations into local bank networks and more than 15 mobile money operators, a distinction that matters because in many African markets mobile money functions as the primary banking system. CrissCross’s reach into Francophone West and Central Africa covers eleven countries running on operators in markets where most provider coverage stops at the border. Its merchant-of-record model lets businesses operate across the region, and into Egypt and the UAE, without carrying local entity and licensing requirements themselves.

“Emerging markets are where stablecoin payments earn their keep, and Africa is the clearest case. The rails, the currencies, and the banking realities are different in every market, and CrissCross knows them from the ground. That’s the kind of depth we’re looking to provide our clients.” — Kevin Lehtiniitty, CEO, Borderless.xyz

“Africa’s payments landscape requires deep local expertise, genuine in-market infrastructure and deep liquidity. Traditional methods for moving money across the continent are slow and expensive. Our partnership with Borderless brings direct local access and faster, cheaper money movement to a global client base that has historically struggled to reach African markets efficiently.” – James Cope, GM, CrissCross 

CrissCross’s corridors are available to all existing Borderless.xyz customers immediately, with no additional onboarding, contract negotiation, or API integration required. The value runs both ways: joining the network routes demand from Borderless.xyz customers around the world to CrissCross’s corridors through a single integration. Borderless.xyz’s network currently connects wallet infrastructure to 15+ locally-licensed stablecoin providers across 100+ countries and 75+ fiat currencies.

About CrissCross

CrissCross provides cross-border payments infrastructure and corporate treasury management for enterprise businesses operating across 30+ African markets. The company’s platform supports local collections, payouts and FX conversion through a single API, backed by direct in-market banking relationships, deep in-country liquidity and regulatory compliance across every market it serves. CrissCross is licensed with FINTRAC as a Money Services Business in Canada and holds FSP, CASP and TOC licences in South Africa, along with additional regulatory designations across its operating markets.

For more information, visit crisscross.money or contact sales@crisscross.money.

About Borderless

Borderless is the platform to scale payouts and collections across 115 countries on local rails, using stablecoins. One API connects businesses to the licensed local experts in every region, with the operations tooling to add providers without adding work and insights from the network’s cumulative volume to improve every payment. Every relationship stays yours: your contract, your pricing, no middleman. Borderless is SOC 2 Type II certified and headquartered in New York. Learn more at borderless.xyz.

Contact

Sarah Cohen
SJC PR
sarah@sjc-pr.com