News

Pleasanton, Calif. – September 15, 2026 -- Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) has appointed Sarah Kennedy Ellis as chief marketing officer, effective October 5, 2026, tasking her with driving the enterprise software vendor's brand strategy for the AI era.

Kennedy Ellis arrives from Google Cloud with two decades of enterprise marketing experience

Kennedy Ellis will report directly to co-founder, CEO, and chair Aneel Bhusri and take charge of Workday's global marketing and communications organization. She joins from Google, where she led global marketing for Google Cloud and Google Workspace, contributing to what the company describes as one of enterprise technology's fastest-growing businesses.

Austin – September 15, 2026 -- SHIFT, a health and performance platform built for industrial and frontline workforces, has launched a Clinical & Performance Advisory Council and named clinical psychologist Dr. Brandi Luedtke, PsyD, HSPP, as its Founding Advisor.

Construction suicide rates far exceed workplace fatality figures

Approximately 5,200 construction workers aged 16 to 64 died by suicide in 2022, more than five times the number who died from fatal workplace injuries, according to data analyzed by CPWR–The Center for Construction Research and Training. CDC figures for 2021 show men in construction had a suicide rate of 56.0 per 100,000, compared with 32.0 per 100,000 among men in the overall working population.

San Mateo, Calif. – September 15, 2026 -- Helix has launched Whole Exome+ Sequencing (WES+), a diagnostic test that combines exome sequencing, mitochondrial genome analysis, and genome-wide digital karyotype into a single order for patients with unexplained developmental delay, neurological conditions, and rare genetic disease.

WES+ integrates four diagnostic capabilities in one order

The test covers 99% of clinically relevant exome regions, includes mitochondrial testing that other labs typically bill as a separate add-on, and performs high-resolution chromosomal copy number analysis via a digital karyotype. Helix says the digital karyotype feature may eliminate the need for a standalone chromosomal microarray (CMA) in many clinical scenarios, though the company notes CMA or additional cytogenetic testing may still be clinically indicated in some cases.

Washington – September 15, 2026 -- Grain Management has completed the merger of Ritter Communications and Great Plains Communications, forming Rightfiber, one of the nation's largest privately held fiber broadband platforms operating across 20 states.

New entity secures $1.6 billion credit facility to fund expansion

Rightfiber has entered into a $1.6 billion credit facility led by Fifth Third Bank to finance organic growth and potential acquisitions. CEO Heath Simpson said the company's team is in place, its network connected, and systems integration is under way following the funding close.

Combined network reaches 300,000 fiber passings across 28,000 miles

Rightfiber now serves more than 400 communities in 20 states through a 28,000-mile fiber network with over 300,000 Fiber-to-the-Home passings. The platform provides services to residential customers, businesses, carriers, hyperscalers and community partners.

New York – September 15, 2026 -- Karas Wines, an Armenian winery founded in 2004, has been nominated for 'New World Winery of the Year' in the 2026 Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards, marking a milestone for the country's wine sector on the international stage.

Karas cultivates over 400 hectares at elevations above 1,300 meters in Armenia's Ararat Valley

The estate, located in the Armavir region, grows both indigenous Armenian grapes and international varieties in mineral-rich volcanic soils. Karas has supported ampelographic research identifying more than 120 indigenous Armenian grape varieties, including Areni and Sireni, combining traditional clay vessel fermentation with modern viticulture.

Winery became first in Armenia to certify an organic vineyard

Karas has invested in solar energy, advanced drip irrigation and digitally managed water systems to address vineyard management challenges in the semi-arid Ararat Valley climate.

Toronto – September 15, 2026 -- Manulife has appointed Sarah Chapman as Global Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer, effective January 1, 2027, giving her oversight of brand, marketing and customer experience strategy for a company serving more than 37 million customers worldwide.

Chapman joins Manulife's Executive Leadership Team, reporting directly to CEO Phil Witherington

Chapman will lead Manulife's Global Marketing organization and report to President and Chief Executive Officer Phil Witherington. Witherington said the appointment reflects internal succession planning and cited Chapman's track record leading transformation as key to advancing Manulife's goal of becoming the top choice for customers.

Boca Raton – September 15, 2026 -- The national average price of diesel hit an all-time high of $5.85 a gallon on September 4, 2026, according to AAA, then climbed further to $5.9015 three days later, surpassing the previous record set in June 2022.

Diesel prices have risen more than 50% since the outbreak of war with Iran

A year ago the same gallon cost $3.71; on the eve of the conflict it cost $3.76. Six months of disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and crude trading near $90 a barrel have added more than two dollars to a fuel that powers freight, agriculture, construction and a large share of the country's backup and off-grid electricity.

Lehigh Valley, Pa. – September 15, 2026 -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) will donate up to $15,000 to the Ceramic & Glass Industry Foundation and the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council through a donation tied to attendance at the 87th Conference on Glass Problems in Toledo, Ohio, running Sept. 14-17.

Air Products Foundation Ties Donation to Booth Visits

For each visitor to its exhibit and hospitality event, the Air Products Foundation will contribute $100, capped at a total of $15,000, to support the next generation of ceramic and glass professionals. The event runs 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on Sept. 14 and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on Sept. 15 in Salon 2 of the Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel.

Baltimore -- T. Rowe Price, which manages $1.87 trillion in client assets as of July 31, 2026, is rolling out Anthropic's Claude across its investment organization, giving portfolio managers, analysts and developers direct access to the AI system for research and tool-building.

Portfolio managers and analysts gain Claude Cowork for research synthesis

Investment professionals will use Claude Cowork to process large volumes of information and support multistep, knowledge-intensive workflows. The firm frames this as increasing capacity for research, analysis and debate rather than replacing analyst judgment.

Developers adopt Claude Code to build proprietary investment tools

T. Rowe Price's technology teams are deploying Claude Code to build and improve tools intended to enhance productivity across investment and operating workflows firmwide.

San Francisco – September 15, 2026 -- Voxel, an industrial intelligence company, has appointed Hal Mady as Chief Revenue Officer, Krishna Gopalakrishnan as Vice President of Perception and AI, and Asaf Elani as Field Chief Technology Officer, expanding its leadership team as the company ranks No. 71 on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies.

Three executives join to scale go-to-market, AI and field engineering functions

Mady will lead Voxel's global go-to-market strategy and commercial operations. Gopalakrishnan will run the engineering organization behind the company's computer vision systems and operational AI models. Elani will serve as the technical bridge between enterprise customers and Voxel's product teams under a forward-deployed execution model, working directly with site leaders to convert applied AI models into enterprise-grade capabilities.