Chasing the Sun to Produce Impactful Global Presentation Graphics and Marketing Materials for Financial Services
Creating branded presentation graphics and marketing assets in the financial world can be nuanced, labor-intensive work. Often, international financial organisations must customize their communications based on a variety of factors including language, cultural sensitivities, compliance, and deadlines. These challenges are compounded by the high-volume demand for graphics materials which firms must flawlessly churn out on a daily basis, sometimes across the globe and around the clock. Firms often must “chase the sun” and coordinate work done in different time zones to ensure that deadlines are met and quality standards are upheld. To meet the demand, global financial firms must have an efficient machine for producing impactful presentation graphics quickly, while ensuring they meet compliance requirements. Though this is easier said than done, it can be accomplished with the right resources, process, and technology in place. There are several variables and best practices to keep in mind for successfully producing high-quality deadline-driven marketing and presentation graphics on an international scale. Adjusting for Cultural and Geographical Differences Marketing teams for financial organisations can develop messaging that is spot-on for certain markets, and yet the same phrases fall flat elsewhere. Why? Because language is important, sometimes down to the choice of a single word. Taglines that may be pleasing in the US may be inappropriate or incomprehensible in China and vice versa. This highlights the need to have a local language expert on call for every major market. Having a “go-to” team that can vet and adjust text content to “read” properly in each region is essential. Cultural differences manifest in graphics and aesthetic presentation as well as language. A US office may gravitate toward a particular “look and feel” that substantially diverges from EMEA or APAC preferences. However, all materials still need to consistently present, serve, and reinforce the core brand despite these variances. This underscores the importance of developing versatile templates for marketing materials which enforce graphic standards while still allowing for creative engagement and tailoring for taste. Inclusivity and Special Needs Accommodation Corporate social responsibility for many financial organisations includes ensuring that everyone has access to the same consumer or user experience. This includes design and content for marketing presentations, graphics, digital content, and other collateral materials. Companies who take this extra step to accommodate individuals with special needs and disabilities can enhance their brand and image by focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Financial organisations can also mitigate risk and prevent litigation through inclusivity measures. For example, financial institutions are increasingly under the microscope to comply with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and lawsuits for ADA violations are prolific. Financial firms are therefore highly motivated to comply with ADA rules. ADA compliance is important for financial institutions and its customizations can range from tagging and remediating PDF files or making sure the firm’s website is compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Print Production Variables and Budgeting Variables exist on the production side, too. For example, UK companies typically print and design for A4 paper size, while US firms use “letter” size. If a firm is producing marketing materials for both countries, either they need to standardize on A4 (which is larger than 3/5 “letter” size) or develop two separate templates. Also, the firm must allocate sufficient budget and time to account for different print production and distribution costs based on where materials are being printed and where they will be sent. Even business cards can pose a problem for design and printing because the amount of information provided on a card in Asia is generally much lengthier than what’s usually included on an American business card. Firms may design cards for US offices, only to findtheir templates are too small to be practically used by Asian counterparts. Chase the Sun Project Management Whether financial institutions are relying on a centralized marketing team based out of one location or a decentralized network of regional delivery centers, their project management needs to be seamlessly orchestrated. Financial companies are used to coping with crushing quarterly deadlines which make 4 or 5 weeks of each three-month period both intense and exhausting. When demand is heavy, global firms benefit from creating a “chase the sun” model in which presentation work is staggered across several time zones. As one team sunsets for the day, another – perhaps located in another country or continent – takes over and continues the work. This process repeats until the projects get done. The end goal is to produce memorable collateral which are on-message, on-brand and reflect the desired “look and feel” depending on where they will be used. This requires a flexible resourcing model which can morph on the fly, adding team members here and removing 4/5 others there to finish on time. For example, when the US team is saturated with requests for PowerPoint presentations, an “overflow” team must be available to help, whether it’s another team within the firm or an external managed services resource. Managed services providers like Integreon have global teams of creative services resources to address round-the-clock needs. A team in the company’s Manila or India offices may start a presentation or web production work to support an APAC client project, especially for time sensitive work that cannot wait for Integreon’s UK and US offices to come online. Known for excellence in process and workflow engineering, Integreon is skilled with shifting hours between its delivery centres to accommodate different needs. The company can source virtually any local translation or specialized skillset needs relevant to the project at hand. Integreon also leverages state-of-the-art technology and strategic partnerships to achieve greater efficiency and automation. Financial companies can benefit from a robust set of presentation macros and sales enablement tools to help their people move faster. These tools help them manage content, speed work through the pipeline, and uphold template compliance. Marketing departments at global financial organisations are under enormous pressure to produce presentation graphics and collateral materials 24/7/365. Enlisting the help of qualified managed services providers like Integreon who can chase the
Integreon Appoints Legal Industry Veteran Gabriel Buigas to Lead Contracts, Compliance, and Commercial Services Business Unit
Global Alternative Legal and Managed Services Company Welcomes Seasoned Leader with Deep Experience at Law Firms and In-House Corporate Legal to Support Client Innovation October 27, 2021 – FARGO, ND AND LONDON, UK – Integreon, a global managed services and alternative legal services provider, has appointed legal industry veteran Gabriel Buigas as Executive Vice President (EVP) and head of its highly successful Contracts, Compliance, and Commercial (CCC) Services business unit. He will leverage a deep bench of talent to drive momentum and innovation, effectively expanding CCC’s global reach and service offerings. Gabriel brings 25+ years and tremendous depth of experience to Integreon. Previously, he was EVP, Digital Contracting and Commercial Solutions (DCCS) at UnitedLex where he was responsible for leading the DCCS business unit. Prior to UnitedLex, Gabriel was with Hewlett-Packard (HP) for 19 years, ultimately ascending to the role of Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for HP’s largest business unit, while also overseeing Legal Strategy and Operations for the overall legal function. Before HP, he practiced law at large firms after earning his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He also holds a BBA (Bachelor’s of Business Administration) in International Finance and Marketing from the University of Miami’s Herbert Business School. “Gabriel Buigas is the right person to lead Integreon’s Contracts, Compliance, and Commercial Services business unit, and we are extremely pleased to welcome him on board,” remarked Integreon CEO Bob Rowe. “Gabriel’s uniquely broad experience encompasses outsourced legal services, in-house corporate legal positions, professional services and law firms. His diverse knowledge ideally qualifies him to understand and bring additional innovation to our CCC client base and the organization as a whole. I am confident that Gabriel’s leadership, skills and expertise will provide a strong foundation for CCC’s future growth and innovation.” “Joining Integreon’s leadership team provides a great opportunity to leverage all my experience developing and delivering compelling CCC solutions to the marketplace,” said Gabriel Buigas. “We will continue to grow the Integreon business with a relentless focus on delivering material value to our clients in all our offerings.” For more information about CCC, visit: https://bit.ly/3vLBeIi. About Integreon Integreon is a trusted, global provider of award-winning legal, business, and research support solutions to leading law firms, legal departments, financial institutions, and professional services firms. The company applies a highly trained, experienced team of over 3,500 employees globally to a wide range of problems that require scale and expertise, enabling clients to become more operationally efficient by streamlining operations, maximizing investment, and improving the quality of work they provide their end clients. With delivery centers on three continents, Integreon offers multi-lingual, around-the-clock support, as well as onshore, offshore, and onsite delivery of services. Integreon is owned by EagleTree Capital, a leading New York-based private equity firm that has invested approximately $2.7 billion of equity capital since inception. For more information about Integreon’s extensive range of services, email [email protected], visit www.integreon.com and follow Integreon at LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Integreon Announces Addition of Comprehensive Breach Notification Services to its Cyber Incident Response Capabilities
Leading Global Managed Services Provider now offers expanded breach response from data mining and extraction through to notification October 4, 2021 – FARGO, ND AND LONDON, UK – Integreon, a global managed services and alternative legal services provider, announced today at the NetDiligence Cyber Risk Summit the expansion of its Cyber Incident Response (CIR) capabilities to now include Cyber Incident Notification Services. Cyber Incident Notification Services will include delivery and fulfillment by mail or email to impacted individuals of required communications, along with call center support and credit monitoring services. This latest offering is designed to expertly assist clients to meet strict international, national, and state data privacy and consumer regulations deadlines and other compliance requirements. Once an incident occurs at an organization, Integreon’s CIR professionals mobilize and partner with the affected clients’ internal security and privacy teams and their breach coaches, insurance carriers, and incident response consultants to identify, extract, and organize exposed sensitive data. Using a combination of technology and processes honed over thousands of projects, Integreon adeptly mines the data to identify sensitive information for the purpose of creating a detailed list of impacted individuals. This enables the company to confidently prepare for notification. Service providers assisting organizations to respond to cyber breaches and ransomware attacks can now rely on Integreon to handle a fuller spectrum of response and notification activities. When breached, clients have the choice to review the exfiltrated data and notify just a targeted group or give notice to all potentially impacted individuals. Integreon works with its clients to understand and execute their preferred approach. Working with a single company, clients are able to achieve their goals of maximizing cost savings while lowering risk. Leveraging Integreon’s global delivery centers in North America, Europe, and Asia, the Integreon team operates 24/7 to complete the notification and inquiry process quickly and accurately. Integreon CEO Bob Rowe remarked, “As bad actors continue to attack businesses and exfiltrate sensitive personal data, Integreon has broadened its cyber incident response capabilities to help insurance providers, law firms and forensics shops assist their clients with efficient, effective notification services. This is exactly what Integreon does best. We apply technology, fit-for-purpose process, and the right people against a data-driven challenge. Notification is an essential step in the cyber incident response process, and we have built a superior team with qualified talent to do cyber breach notification right.” “Integreon’s CIR practice group has been one of our fastest-growing divisions since its launch in 2019,” said Jamie Berry, Executive Vice President at Integreon. “With Cyber Incident Notification Services, our team has done a tremendous job adding a top-notch notification program to our response offerings and we plan to further expand CIR in the future.” For more information about Cyber Incident Notification Services or CIR, visit: https://www.integreon.com/what-we-do/risk-regulatory-services/cyber-incident-response/. About Integreon Integreon is a trusted, global provider of award-winning legal, business, and research support solutions to leading law firms, legal departments, financial institutions, and professional services firms. The company applies a highly trained, experienced team of over 3,500 employees globally to a wide range of problems that require scale and expertise, enabling clients to become more operationally efficient by streamlining operations, maximizing investment and improving the quality of work they provide their end clients. With delivery centers on three continents, Integreon offers multi-lingual, around-the-clock support, as well as onshore, offshore, and onsite delivery of services. Integreon is owned by EagleTree Capital, a leading New York-based private equity firm that has invested approximately $2.7 billion of equity capital since inception. For more information about Integreon’s extensive range of services, email [email protected], visit www.integreon.com and follow Integreon at LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Meeting the High Bar of Schrems II Compliance
The UK has historically been a key player in digital markets due to its geographical location and position in global business. In fact, until recent years when Brexit was still in progress, over 40% of all large EU digital companies originated in the UK and 75% of UK’s crossborder data flows were with EU countries. The fact that the UK has been an epicenter for so many European deals made it critical for the country to maintain its adequacy status. ‘Adequacy’ is a term the EU uses to describe countries, territories, sectors or organisations it deems to have an “essentially equivalent” level of data protection to the EU” after Brexit. In June 2021, UK businesses were given a reprieve as the UK is now deemed an ‘adequate’ jurisdiction for receipt of personal data from the EU/ EEA (European Economic Area) by the European Commission, with a ‘sunset clause’ that limits this to four years. However, despite this stay of execution, several regulatory requirements are still currently bearing down on UK corporates.
Integreon Report Finds 70% of US and UK Corporations Do Not Have Adequate Resources and Budget to Address Regulatory Compliance
Corporates and Law Firms Feel Pressure to Comply with Regulations with Brexit as #1 Concern, Though Some Promising Signs of Improvement Have Surfaced August 18, 2021 – FARGO, ND AND LONDON, UK – Today, global managed services provider Integreon released results of its 2021 Regulatory Readiness Report (“2021 Report”), its second annual survey of regulatory compliance professionals. Once again conducted by Pensar Media, the 2021 Report polled over 200 regulatory compliance professionals at US and UK corporations and law firms. The pressure is on. The 2021 Report found that 70% of corporations do not completely agree that they have adequate resources and budget to achieve regulatory compliance. Corporate compliance budgets were spread more thinly in 2021, with minimal spending. Technology investment captured 26-50% of the budget for many respondents, likely a direct effect of data security concerns and the Covid pandemic which forced most businesses into work-from-home mode. On the law firm side, 62% responded they are under client cost pressures when delivering legal services in support of regulatory change. 42% of law firms responded to those pressures by using outsourced alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) like Integreon or relying on their own offshore captive operations. Corporations are still struggling to comply with US, UK and EU regulatory issues. 31% of corporates are still not fully compliant with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in 2021. Though this is down 7 percentage points from 38% in 2020, it’s still high enough to raise eyebrows since organizations have already had three years to achieve compliance. Likely, the split of GPDR into EU and UK flavors due to Brexit has been a factor as well as other complications like the Schrems II decision. Compliance with CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) was static (40% in 2021, 41% in 2020.) However, it’s not surprising that CCPA’s compliance numbers would lag behind GDPR’s since this California-specific law is new and smaller in scope than GDPR. Brexit continues to stir up anxiety for corporates. Nearly half (49%) of corporations now report they are not well-prepared for Brexit compared to 44% last year. Full repercussions of Brexit are still in flux, though UK companies now must comply with UK-specific GDPR as well as EU GDPR for cross-border business. Brexit changes have already catalyzed massive repapering efforts for contracts, and 20% of corporates named Brexit as their biggest anticipated impact next year. On the bright side, the 2021 Report also yielded some promising signs that corporations are getting more traction on regulatory compliance. 29% of corporations agreed that responding to regulatory change created operational pressure for their business, a 9 percentage point drop from 2020’s 38% which shows improvement. Also, last year, 40% of corporations agreed that responding to regulatory change increased their business risk profile versus 21% in 2021, a drop of 19 percentage points. The encouraging improvements described above may be linked to the 2021 Report’s finding that law firms have stepped up their capacity to help corporates with regulatory compliance. Nearly half (49%) of law firm professionals completely agreed that their internal resources were sufficient to help multiple clients with regulatory compliance simultaneously, a 12 percentage point increase from last year’s 37% response. When asked which regulatory events will have the biggest impact next year, corporates named Brexit (20%), new US government legislation (8%), Covid-related legislation (7%), GDPR (7%) and LIBOR reform (6%). Law firms also noted Brexit as their #1 impact (28%) but named Covid-related legislation second (14%) followed by GDPR (13%), CCPA (7%) and LIBOR reform (7%). “This year’s Report sheds light on how US and UK corporations and law firms are coping with the tremendous challenges of regulatory readiness,” remarked Integreon CEO Bob Rowe. “Clearly corporations are still struggling to maintain regulatory compliance especially in light of static or inadequate resources. A combination of people, process and technology resources provided by law firms, ALSPs and software vendors are filling the gaps. Looking forward, issues like Brexit, Covid-related legislation, United States data privacy laws, and the LIBOR transition will all require corporations and their legal counsel to step up more. Integreon is committed to helping its clients to accomplish more with tight budgets and unrelenting requirements.” To request a complete copy of the 2021 Integreon Regulatory Readiness Report, visit: https://www.integreon.com/regulatory-readiness-report-2021/. About Integreon Integreon is a trusted, global provider of award-winning legal, business, and research support solutions to leading law firms, legal departments, financial institutions, and professional services firms. The company applies a highly trained, experienced team of over 3,500 employees globally to a wide range of problems that require scale and expertise, enabling clients to become more operationally efficient by streamlining operations, maximizing investment and improving the quality of work they provide their end clients. With delivery centers on three continents, Integreon offers multi-lingual, around-the-clock support, as well as onshore, offshore, and onsite delivery of services. Integreon is owned by EagleTree Capital, a leading New York-based private equity firm that has invested approximately $2.7 billion of equity capital since inception. For more information about Integreon’s extensive range of services, email [email protected], visit www.integreon.com and follow Integreon at LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. About Pensar Media Pensar Media is a research and content agency that specializes in legal and financial services. It provides survey-based thought leadership reports, content marketing and general copywriting support. For more information about Pensar Media’s services, email [email protected] or visit www.pensar.media.
Helping a renowned sports brand win the Contract Management Race
A leader in the sports marketplace with global operations generates a continuous stream of contracts and agreements with vendors and other external parties, posing a major workflow challenge for its U.S. Legal department. Recognizing the problem, the company’s assistant general counsel needed a solution to optimize efficiency for its high-volume contract operations.
Integreon Appoints Lou Andreozzi, Former CEO of LexisNexis North American Legal Markets and Former Chairman of Bloomberg Law, to Board of Directors
July 22, 2021 – Integreon, a leading global managed services provider, announced today that Lou Andreozzi has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Andreozzi will serve in a non-executive capacity on Integreon’s Board of Directors, consulting with Bob Rowe, Integreon’s Chief Executive Officer, other members of Integreon’s senior management team, and the EagleTree Capital investment team on strategic initiatives including potential acquisitions and partnerships. Integreon was acquired by funds managed by EagleTree Capital in June 2021. Since 1998, Integreon has been a trusted, longstanding strategic global partner to leading law firms, corporate legal departments, financial institutions, and professional services firms. Integreon provides a broad range of services including litigation, cyber incident response, contracts and compliance, creative, and legal administrative services. The company specializes in process-driven, high-volume engagements to build efficiencies and economies of scale. “We are thrilled to welcome Lou to our Board of Directors,” said Rowe. “Lou brings tremendous knowledge of the legal market and a unique perspective in a wide range of areas, including technology partnerships and acquisitions.” “Integreon is very well positioned to accelerate growth by deepening its service proposition and partnering with leading technology providers to reimagine and reengineer workflows for greater speed, scalability and performance,” said Andreozzi. “I’m delighted to join the board, and I look forward to partnering with Bob and the Integreon leadership team, as well as the investment team at EagleTree.” In addition to his board role with Integreon, Andreozzi is vice chairman of EPIQ’s Mass Tort Division and Brand Ambassador of .law, the top internet domain alternative to “.com” for accredited lawyers and law firms. He also currently serves on the boards of directors of Insight Global and PulsePoint, as well as on the advisory boards of Prevail Legal, Joinder and Zero. Andreozzi was previously chairman of Bloomberg Law and held the chief executive title at services procurement software vendor IQNavigator, legal tech SaaS provider Inference Data, and LexisNexis North American Legal Markets, a division of Reed Elsevier as well as CEO of Martindale Hubbell and lawyers.com. During his tenure as CEO of LexisNexis, Andreozzi oversaw the acquisition, development, and growth of some of the most prominent legal products and services in its portfolio, including two electronic filing companies, the market leading legal customer relationship management system and many top practice management tools. “Lou is a visionary leader in the fields of business information and technology who we have known for over 20 years,” said Anup Bagaria, Co-Managing Partner at EagleTree Capital. “Lou’s strategic guidance will be invaluable to Integreon during this next period of accelerated growth.” About Integreon Integreon is a trusted global provider of award-winning legal, business, and research support solutions to leading law firms, legal departments, financial institutions, and professional services firms. The company applies a highly trained, experienced team of over 3,500 employees globally to a wide range of problems that require scale and expertise, enabling clients to become more operationally efficient by streamlining operations, maximizing investment, and improving the quality of work they provide their end clients. With delivery centers on three continents, Integreon offers multi-lingual, around-the-clock support, as well as onshore, offshore, and onsite delivery of services. For more information about Integreon’s extensive range of services, please visit www.integreon.com. About EagleTree Capital EagleTree Capital is a leading New York-based middle-market private equity firm that has invested approximately $2.8 billion of equity capital since inception. The Firm has completed over 35 private equity investments and over 70 add-on transactions over the past 20+ years. EagleTree primarily invests in the following sectors: media and business services, consumer, and water and specialty industrial. For more information, please visit www.eagletree.com.
Now is the time for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Legal Tech
Legal tech companies may believe that their participation in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) doesn’t matter, but it makes a difference. Even the smallest legal tech startup can advance positive actions to further the DEI transformation that is changing the industry to be stronger and more successful – right now.