Five-customer AI agent services advance into actual delivery; CEO reiterates long-term confidence through a previously disclosed US$1.0 million Rule 10b5-1 share purchase plan

Summitas, a leading client engagement platform for family offices, wealth advisors, and other client-facing businesses, today announced that Lori Barnett, Senior Creative Director, has been named a winner in the Marketing Individual (Americas) category at the inaugural WealthBriefing Innovation in Marketing Awards 2026.

The inaugural WealthBriefing Innovation in Marketing Awards celebrate the firms, teams, and individuals demonstrating outstanding creativity, innovation, and excellence in marketing across the global wealth management industry. The program recognizes organizations and professionals setting new standards within their specialist areas, with winners selected by an independent panel of expert judges through a rigorous and impartial process.

Commenting on Lori’s winning this award, Dan Gregerson, Chairman & CEO at Summitas, said:

“Lori has been shaping exceptional products and brands since her early years at Apple and Adobe, and we’ve had the extraordinary good fortune to have her as a founding member of Summitas. For nearly two decades, she has defined how our company looks, feels, and communicates — and continually evolved our brand as we’ve grown. Lori is one of the finest people I’ve ever worked with: immensely talented, thoughtful, creative, and uncompromising about quality. I couldn’t be more pleased to see her work recognized with this award. It is richly deserved.”

Stephen Harris, CEO of Clearview Financial Media and publisher of WealthBriefing, congratulated all of this year’s winners and highly commended firms:

“Every category winner and highly commended firm has undergone a rigorous and truly independent judging process and should be immensely proud of their achievement. The launch of the WealthBriefing Innovation in Marketing Awards reflects the growing importance of creativity, strategic thinking, and innovation within the wealth management industry. These awards give organizations and individuals the opportunity to have their work independently recognized, benchmark themselves against their peers, and celebrate outstanding achievements. They now join the wider community of WealthBriefing Award winners recognized across our global awards program.”

Summitas provides a centralized client operating platform that gathers data from multiple sources, including user-generated content, to simplify operations, improve communication, and organize, protect, and share information — all from one place. From the Digital Vault to collaboration tools, private communication, financial information integration, task management, and streamlined workflows, a branded Summitas portal delivers measurable value to family offices, wealth advisors, and other client-facing businesses.

Product-centric delivery helps organizations sustain value beyond individual projects by maintaining ownership, direction, and accountability across the product lifecycle. New insights from Info-Tech Research Group show that AI agents are adding new governance challenges as they increasingly make decisions and execute within product workflows, sometimes without explicit human authorization. The firm’s Make the Case for Product Delivery blueprint offers a five-step approach to help leaders define product for their context, map human and agent decision authority, and build a stakeholder-ready roadmap for the transition.

Many IT organizations are still structured to deliver initiatives within defined periods, even though the products and services those initiatives support must continue to evolve and deliver value long after a project ends. Recent findings from Info-Tech Research Group show that moving toward product-centric delivery requires organizations to establish a shared definition of product, clear ownership, decision authority, and stakeholder support. The global research and advisory firm’s Make the Case for Product Delivery blueprint brings these elements together while addressing an emerging governance challenge as AI agents increasingly participate in product decisions.

Info-Tech’s research emphasizes that projects can continue to fund and implement defined changes within a product-centric model, while ongoing product ownership preserves direction, prioritization, and accountability across the full lifecycle. As AI agents become more involved in product workflows, that accountability must also extend to the decisions agents make or influence, including who authorized the decision, who can override it, and who remains accountable for the outcome.

“Projects deliver change. Product ownership sustains the value,” says Hans Eckman, research fellow at Info-Tech Research Group. “In today’s agent-enabled environments, clear ownership is even more critical. Teams need to know what an agent is authorized to do, when a human needs to approve or intervene, and who remains accountable for the result.”

Key Insights for Product Delivery Leaders
Info-Tech’s resource identifies several key considerations for leaders when building the case for product-centric delivery:

• Product delivery connects temporary change to continuous value: Projects can continue to fund and deliver product changes, while ongoing product ownership maintains direction, prioritization, and accountability as products evolve over time.
• Product ownership establishes accountability for value: Clear ownership helps keep product decisions and tradeoffs aligned with organizational goals. In agent-enabled environments, that accountability extends to decisions AI agents make or influence on the team’s behalf.
• Silent delegation can hide AI-influenced product decisions: As agents participate in discovery, prioritization, experimentation, delivery, and support, decisions can occur without explicit human authorization or intervention. Leaders need visibility into where agents make recommendations or execute and who has authority to approve, override, or remain accountable for the outcome.

Info-Tech’s Five-Step Approach to Building the Case for Product Delivery
The Make the Case for Product Delivery blueprint guides product owners, product managers, development team leads, portfolio managers, and business analysts through five steps, with data, platform, and AI/ML stakeholders involved where agent participation and governance need to be assessed:

1. Define product by establishing a shared definition across the organization and distinguishing product delivery from project delivery. Where AI agents are involved, leaders also determine whether an agent is part of a product, a product itself, or a delivery mechanism, as each classification carries different accountability implications.
2. Define drivers and goals by connecting pain points and root causes in the current delivery model to the outcomes the transition should achieve. For agent-enabled product work, this includes establishing explicit goals for governing AI-influenced decisions.
3. Recognize AI and agent participation in product decisions by mapping where AI tools and agents make recommendations or execute across product workflows. Teams flag decision points where human approval, a known authorization ownership, override paths, or outcome accountability are unclear.
4. Communicate what comes next by identifying the critical steps required to advance product-centric delivery and organizing them into a now-next-later roadmap. Where agents participate in product workflows, the roadmap can also sequence actions such as mapping agent decision points, defining delegation boundaries, and integrating agent governance into the product operating model.
5. Make the case to stakeholders by clarifying each stakeholder’s role in the transition, defining what the product team needs from them, and translating the findings into a stakeholder-ready proposal. In agent-enabled environments, this can include stakeholders such as data owners, platform teams, and AI/ML teams responsible for configuring and operating agents.

The blueprint includes a supporting workbook and presentation template as well as practical outputs such as a Human-Agent Decision Map and a now-next-later roadmap. Together, these resources help leaders define how product-centric delivery will operate within their organization, surface gaps in agent decision governance, establish clear accountability, and build a practical case for moving forward.

For exclusive and timely commentary from Info-Tech’s experts, including Hans Eckman, and access to the complete Make the Case for Product Delivery blueprint, please contact pr@infotech.com.

More than 600 industry leaders will gather for conversations featuring leaders from Sunrun, General Motors, IBM, Apollo, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management

Recently, LongHu, the century-old brand under Shanghai Zhonghua Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., joined forces with Eastday to launch a brand revitalization initiative aimed at bringing new vitality to the time-honored Chinese brand through cross-industry collaborations, creative content and innovative consumer experiences.

The initiative began at a coffee culture festival, where LongHu attracted widespread attention with its unconventional “LongHu Medicated Oil Coffee.” The creation quickly captured the attention of younger consumers, generating over a million impressions, drawing significant foot traffic and becoming a widely discussed topic across social media platforms.

On May 7, LongHu reached another milestone with the launch event for “Shen Long Huo Hu II,” a co-branded product collaboration between LongHu and Shanghai Shenhua Football Club. The crossover introduced new products that preserve LongHu’s classic herbal heritage while incorporating a younger, more contemporary and stylish expression.

On September 17, the “Shen Long Huo Hu II Energy Recharge Pop-Up Store” opened for a seven-day run, featuring a continuous lineup of activities. Through immersive experiences, interactive check-ins and limited-time experiences, the pop-up gives consumers an opportunity to experience LongHu’s innovative appeal up close.

At the same time, LongHu has partnered with the Shanghai High School Football League to create an AI-powered short drama, connecting the spirit of sports with the spirit of the brand through technology-driven storytelling. Together, these initiatives form part of LongHu’s broader brand revitalization efforts.

From a cup of LongHu Medicated Oil Coffee to a new product launch, and from a pop-up store to an AI-powered short drama, LongHu is building on the wisdom of traditional Chinese herbal culture while embracing cross-industry innovation. Through these initiatives, the brand is presenting overseas markets with a renewed image of a time-honored Chinese brand that is becoming younger and more international. Looking ahead, LongHu will continue to collaborate with partners to bring new vitality to its century-old heritage and expand its presence on the global stage.

Today, SellYourWay.org announces the launch of a new, dynamic feature on their website, defining the Certified Business Intermediary^® (CBI) designation. This interactive tool educates small business owners on the advantages of working with these highly qualified and ethical Business Brokers when preparing to sell their business. This new resource emphasizes the benefits of selecting a CBI^® — a professional who has met educational and performance requirements — and remains committed to ongoing education on industry trends, standards, and best practices. SellYourWay.org is a website for small business owners powered by The International Business Brokers Association^® (IBBA), the largest international not-for-profit association for business brokers.

When a small business owner sells a business, the very-best representation comes from a Business Broker who has achieved the Certified Business Intermediary^® (CBI) designation.

The new, interactive feature on sellyourway.org breaks the designation down into six qualifications that business owners should look for in their Business Broker:

• Active IBBA^® Members — A CBI^® must be a member in good standing of the International Business Brokers Association^® (IBBA).
• The Most-Educated Business Brokers in the Industry — To earn the CBI^® designation, brokers must complete a total of 68 credit hours of specialized education, including coursework in Professional Ethics and Standards, Business Brokerage or Mergers & Acquisitions, and Legal Aspects of Business Brokerage or Mergers & Acquisitions.
• Experts in Valuation, Pricing & Recasting — CBI^®s are required to complete a three-course Recasting & Pricing Summit on business valuation, covering methods including the Direct Market Data Method, Capitalization of Benefits Income Method, Excess Earnings Method and Multiple of Discretionary Earnings Method.
• Annual IBBA^® Conference Attendees — Industry-leading courses, workshops and seminars at the Annual IBBA^® conferences provide insights on the latest market conditions and trends in the valuation, sale and marketing of businesses.
• Successful in Passing the CBI^® Exam — Once CBI^® candidates have met all of their education requirements and passed the exams demonstrating their proficiency in each course, they can sit for the CBI^® exam, which they must pass with a 70% rate or higher.
• Experienced Sell-Side Business Brokers — To achieve the CBI^® designation, candidates must submit three deals for approval as the lead seller broker. To retain the CBI^® designation, educational and performance requirements must be met every three years.

These rigorous education, examination and experience requirements help ensure CBI^®s stay current on the latest market trends — giving business owners greater confidence when choosing a qualified professional to value, market and sell their businesses.

“For most business owners, selling their businesses is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Working with a CBI^® ensures that the entire process — from valuation to negotiation to final sale — is executed with expertise and integrity. This partnership not only improves the odds of a successful close, but also provides sellers with peace of mind, knowing that an experienced professional is guiding them through every step of the transaction.” – Emily Bowler, Executive Director, IBBA

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Key Takeaways:

• Newsweek and Statista recognized Digital Silk among America’s 300 most reliable companies for 2026.
• Digital Silk ranks No. 23 nationwide, ahead of major companies such as Accenture, Deloitte, FedEx and JPMorgan Chase.
• Digital Silk ranks No. 1 among digital agencies on the list.
• The recognition supports Digital Silk’s “We Deliver” promise to its B2B clients.

Digital Silk has been ranked No. 23 among America’s Most Reliable Companies 2026 by Newsweek and Statista, placing the digital agency among the top 300 companies recognized nationwide and making it the No. 1-ranked digital agency on the list. Digital Silk received an overall score of 85.37.

The ranking recognizes companies based on their reliability and performance in the B2B market. More than 2,400 business decision-makers took part in the independent survey and submitted over 80,000 evaluations of companies they had purchased from, worked with or researched within the previous three years.

Companies received evaluations across five measures:

1. Likelihood of recommendation
2. Ease of doing business
3. Value for money
4. Consistency of deliverables
5. Reputation for dependability

Likelihood of recommendation accounted for 50% of the final score, while the four remaining criteria made up the other 50%.

Digital Silk ranked ahead of several major companies on the list, including Boston Consulting Group at No. 24 and JPMorgan Chase at No. 25. It also placed above Accenture at No. 33, FedEx at No. 37 and Deloitte at No. 39.

For Digital Silk, the recognition reflects the importance of reliable delivery in digital work. Branding, website development and digital marketing projects often involve multiple teams, complex requirements and long-term business goals, which makes consistency and follow-through critical to the client relationship.

“Reliability is what clients experience throughout the entire process, from the first conversation to the final delivery,” said Gabriel Shaoolian, CEO and Founder at Digital Silk. “It means doing what we say we will do, meeting the standard we set and taking responsibility for the result. That is what ‘We Deliver’ means to us.”

Digital Silk provides branding, website design and development, and digital marketing services for businesses across industries. The agency works with companies on digital transformations, website redesigns, brand strategy and digital growth initiatives.

Newsweek and Statista’s America’s Most Reliable Companies 2026 marks the second edition of the ranking. Digital Silk’s No. 23 position provides independent recognition of the company’s work and the experience it delivers to B2B clients.

Market, objections, and fact-checking reveal the attributes AI associates with a brand, the arguments it raises, and where AI-generated claims conflict with company-supplied facts