General News

Seattle – September 25, 2026 -- McGee Air Services has elected Ben Reed as President, effective Oct. 1, formalizing a role he has held on an interim basis for six months. Reed will oversee more than 3,200 employees managing ground services for Alaska Airlines' subsidiary across six airports.

Reed takes permanent control after six-month interim tenure

Reed was named interim President in March 2026 following his prior stint as managing director of operations at McGee's Seattle station, a post he held from November 2025 until his interim appointment. The board's decision converts that interim mandate into a full presidency starting Oct. 1, 2026.

San Antonio – September 25, 2026 -- Alta Home Lending has been selected by DRB Group, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, as its mortgage joint venture partner for the West, following a competitive search and extensive due diligence. The new venture, DRB Home Loans, will serve DRB homebuyers in Texas, Colorado and Arizona. DRB Group announced the partnership on September 23, 2026.

DRB Group ran Alta through builder-community reference checks before committing

Matt Wolf, VP of Financial Services at DRB Group, said the company vetted Alta through a rigorous process, including calls to references across the builder community. He said Alta's performance history held up and that the firm structured the venture around how DRB actually runs its business rather than applying a standard model.

Oulu, Finland – September 25, 2026 -- iLOQ, the Finnish smart access technology company that reported €150 million in turnover in 2025, has launched a new global brand campaign featuring Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen and his son Robin Räikkönen.

Campaign extends a multi-year sponsorship from Kimi to the next generation of the Räikkönen family

Titled "The Next Generation Is Coming," the campaign builds on iLOQ's longstanding partnership with Kimi Räikkönen, now extended to Robin as he develops his own career in karting. Kimi Räikkönen retired from Formula 1 in 2021 after a career spanning more than two decades and now supports Robin as a mechanic, describing his role as offering options rather than instructions during Robin's development on the track.

New York – September 25, 2026 -- European companies participating in the UN Global Compact posted an average sustainability contribution score of 58.2 out of 100, according to the second edition of the European Private Sector SDGs Stocktake released around the United Nations General Assembly.

The study, compiled by UN Global Compact Networks in Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Türkiye, analyzed 136 data points from 5,793 participant companies across 21 European countries. It marks the first attempt to quantify the private sector's contribution to the 2030 Agenda at this scale.

Health commitments outperform environmental action across Europe

SDG 3 on health recorded the highest contribution score at 73.6, while climate action under SDG 13 lagged at 45.8. Only 28.1% of responding companies have developed a climate adaptation plan, exposing a gap between stated commitments and operational execution.

New York – September 25, 2026 -- Global healthcare, investment, philanthropy and government leaders convened at a roundtable on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly to address a women's health gap that the World Economic Forum projects could exceed $1 trillion annually by 2040 if unaddressed. The session, titled "The $1 Trillion Case for Women's Health," was convened by Burjeel Holdings, a super-specialty healthcare provider operating across the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud calls for lifelong, integrated women's healthcare investment

HRH Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia's envoy to the United States, opened the roundtable with a virtual address urging governments to treat women's physical and mental health as interconnected rather than episodic. She argued that no nation can rely on half its population to drive economic growth while leaving their healthcare needs to chance.

Hong Kong – September 25, 2026 -- Eventus won Market Surveillance Solution of the Year for its Validus platform at the FOW Asia Pacific Awards in Hong Kong, marking one of 17 honors the firm has collected in the APAC region alone.

Validus platform secures back-to-back industry recognition across markets

The APAC win follows Eventus' fourth consecutive win in the same category at the FOW International Awards earlier this year. It also comes after the firm was named Best Trade Surveillance Solution in the July 2026 Capital Markets Technology Awards APAC and Trade Surveillance Product of the Year in the global Risk Technology Awards.

South Carolina -- A new Public Television segment filmed on September 25, 2026, at Sterling Contract Packaging's South Carolina facility examines how consolidating packaging design, engineering, and manufacturing under one operator is reshaping healthcare product distribution. The feature, part of the nationally syndicated "All Access hosted by Andy Garcia" series, positions single-source packaging models as an alternative to fragmented, multi-vendor supply chains that have historically caused delays and compliance failures in the medical device and OTC pharmaceutical sectors.

Copenhagen – September 25, 2026 -- H. Lundbeck A/S will relocate its US headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Greater Boston, Massachusetts, establishing a global innovation hub in the region over the next year.

Lundbeck ties the move to the next phase of its Focused Innovator strategy

The Danish biopharmaceutical company said the relocation supports plans to scale its growing neuroscience portfolio, expand innovation opportunities and build out digital and AI capabilities. Charl van Zyl, President and CEO of Lundbeck, said the US has been a key driver of the company's commercial progress over the past three years, during which Lundbeck delivered growth, transformed its pipeline and applied disciplined capital allocation.

Beijing -- Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on September 25, 2026 that China will invite 100,000 young Americans for exchange and study programs over the next five years, a pledge made during a White House welcome ceremony marking his state visit to the United States.

Xi unveils five-year youth exchange initiative during Washington visit

The commitment followed a wave of grassroots engagement, including nearly 100 students from 10 US universities who participated in youth exchanges in China and later wrote to Xi describing their experiences. Harvard faculty member Marlon Forrester and Columbia University student Joey Zhang, among the letter writers, told CGTN the initiative represents a foundation for sustained bilateral exchange.

Los Angeles – September 25, 2026 -- Young consumers trust artificial intelligence for everyday use but not for advice, according to a new industry report that has reshaped how retail and consumer brands are approaching Gen Z engagement.

Pacsun's 2026 Youth Report, developed with GlobalData, found that influencers never exceed an 11% trust share in any category tested among young consumers. Artificial intelligence shows an even starker gap between adoption and credibility: 85% of young people use AI, yet only 2% trust it for fashion advice and 5% for financial advice. The research instead points to family and friends as the primary trusted sources for this demographic.