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Conrad Xiamen Awarded Four-Star Recognition in the 2025 Forbes Travel Guide

The Only Forbes-Starred Hotel in Xiamen

XIAMEN, China, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Conrad Xiamen proudly announces its Four-Star recognition in the 2025 Forbes Travel Guide, making it the only hotel in Xiamen to receive this prestigious accolade. This honor underscores the hotel’s commitment to exceptional service, refined luxury, and immersive guest experiences in one of China’s most scenic coastal cities.

Conrad Xiamen_Hotel Exterior
Conrad Xiamen_Hotel Exterior

A Landmark Above the City, Overlooking the Coastline
Located in the iconic “Twin Towers” – Shimao Strait Tower, Conrad Xiamen occupies Floors 37 to 54 of Tower B, offering panoramic views of the South China Sea, Gulangyu Island, Xiamen University, and the city skyline. Nestled in Siming District, the hotel is within walking distance of Shapowei, Nanputuo Temple, and Xiamen University, making it an ideal gateway to the city’s cultural and historical highlights.

Conrad Xiamen_Sky Lobby
Conrad Xiamen_Sky Lobby

The hotel features 239 elegantly designed guestrooms and suites, ranging from 54 to 300 square meters. Each room is designed with floor-to-ceiling windows, blending contemporary aesthetics with Chinese influences. Plush furnishings and curated luxury amenities ensure a refined stay.

Deluxe Sea View Room
Deluxe Sea View Room

Conrad Xiamen presents four distinctive dining venues:

  • Lucheng Chinese Restaurant – A Michelin-selected restaurant by 2025 Michelin Guide Fujian, celebrating elevated Fujian cuisine, featuring eight private dining rooms with sea views.
  • COAST Bar & Grill – Embracing the Farm-to-Table concept, sourcing fresh ingredients from local eco-farms to craft premium seafood and steak, complemented by stunning sunset views.
  • Pier 38 All-Day Dining – A global culinary experience featuring live cooking stations and an international buffet.
  • Plush Lobby Lounge – A tranquil space overlooking Gulangyu Island.

Conrad Xiamen offers 1,600 square meters of meeting and event spaces, including a Grand Ballroom and multifunctional venues on the 6th floor, ideal for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings.

Guests can enjoy the 37th-floor fitness center, indoor heated pool, and a luxury spa operated by a prestigious third-party brand.

Conrad Xiamen is part of Hilton Honors®, the award-winning guest loyalty program for Hilton’s 22 world-class brands. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels enjoy exclusive benefits, including a flexible payment slider, an exclusive member discount, and free standard Wi-Fi.

“We are honored to accept this award on behalf of the team at Conrad Xiamen,” said Max Mo, General Manager. “We look forward to providing outstanding service and memorable experiences for our guests.”

For more information, please visit www.conradxiamen.conradhotels.com or contact +86 592 258 6666.

Accropeutics Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase Ib Study of RIPK2 Inhibitor AC-101

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Accropeutics Inc. (Accropeutics), a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of novel therapeutics that target molecular mechanisms of regulated cell death for immune mediated diseases, today announced the dosing of their first patient in the Phase Ib clinical trial of AC-101. AC-101 is a novel RIPK2 inhibitor being developed for the treatment of moderate-to-severe Ulcerative Colitis (UC). This multi-center, open-label clinical trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability, preliminary efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of AC-101 in Chinese patients with moderate-to-severe UC. Accropeutics recently secured U.S. FDA IND clearance for AC-101 to enable its planned Phase 2 Multi-Regional Clinical Trial (MRCT) for this indication.

Dr. Xiaohu Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Accropeutics said, “Dosing of the first patient in AC-101’s Phase 1b study represents a significant step towards advancing this novel oral therapeutic for treatment of patients suffering from Ulcerative Colitis. We believe that RIPK2 comprises a critical target in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, including Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, and that targeting it with AC-101 will provide a novel front-line option to patients in urgent need of efficacious, non-immunosuppressive treatments.”

About Ulcerative Colitis (UC)

Ulcerative Colitis (UC), is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory disease of the digestive tract, characterized by the inflammation of the large intestine and an intermittent relapsing–remitting disease course. Recurring UC flares lead to significant cumulative morbidity and long-standing disease is associated with significant risk of developing colorectal cancer. Patients with active disease are more likely to experience psychological comorbidity, including stress, anxiety and depression, that significantly impair their quality of life and work productivity. While many advanced therapeutics exist to manage moderate-to-severe UC, the majority of these drugs associate with less than impressive clinical remission rates (20–30%), along with a high incidence of secondary loss of response in patients who initially responded.

About RIPK2

Receptor interacting protein kinase 2 (RIP2 or RIPK2) is a member of the receptor interacting serine/threonine protein kinase family. NOD/RIPK2 dependent signaling pathway dysregulation is implicated in several forms of immune mediated inflammatory disease, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and sarcoidosis.

About AC-101

AC-101 was developed from the company’s “regulatory cell death and inflammation” drug discovery platform. Preclinical studies show that AC-101 effectively inhibits the release of the NOD-RIPK2 dependent inflammatory factors and significantly protects tissue damage in nonclinical in-vivo models. AC-101 has completed Phase I clinical testing in Australia and China with evidence of strong safety and PK/PD signal. 

About Accropeutics

Accropeutics Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for immune mediated inflammatory disease, by targeting molecular mechanisms of regulated cell death. The company has a robust portfolio of innovative compounds in various stages of development, ranging from lead optimization to clinical testing. AC-003, a selective RIPK1 inhibitor, completed phase I clinical testing in China and the United States, and is undergoing phase Ib clinical trials in aGVHD. AC-201, a selective TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor, has completed Phase I testing in Australia and China, and is currently undergoing a Phase II psoriasis trial in China. The Accropeutics portfolio additionally includes several assets in research and preclinical stages of development. Accropeutics entirely owns global rights for all of its assets, and boasts 23 issued patents in China, Japan, Korea, US and the EU.

Contact: 

Accropeutics
Kenneth Gao
Senior Vice President
kenneth.gao@accropeutics.com

Economy, Cyber Threats and Talent Dominate List of Critical Near-Term Risks for Boards and Executives, Protiviti and North Carolina State University Survey Finds

Business leaders feel their organizations’ resilience and ability to navigate a dynamically shifting risk landscape has been battle tested

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Above all other concerns, the economy remains the number one risk keeping global business leaders up at night, according to a new survey from Protiviti and North Carolina State University’s ERM Initiative. The survey measures the most pressing business risks over the next 2-3 years, as well as a decade later. Economic uncertainty and volatility are expected to persist as leaders grapple with inflation, tariffs, geopolitical upheaval, growth in AI and other emerging technologies, and upcoming policy changes from new administrations globally.

Experience the interactive Multimedia News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/robert-half/9318151-en-protiviti-nc-state-near-and-long-term-business-risks-survey-results

The 13th annual survey, “Executive Perspectives on Top Near- and Long-Term Risks,” polled 1,215 board members and C-suite executives around the world about their views on 32 macroeconomic, strategic and operational risks facing their companies over the near-term (two to three years ahead) and the long-term (a decade later). In today’s interconnected risk landscape, business leaders face complex uncertainties but feel better prepared to operate in a volatile environment and keep pace with change.  

Top 10 Global Risks (over the next 2–3 years)

  • Economic conditions, including inflationary pressures
  • Cyber threats
  • Ability to attract, develop and retain top talent, manage shifts in labor expectations, and address succession challenges
  • Talent and labor availability
  • Increases in labor costs
  • Heightened regulatory change, uncertainty and scrutiny
  • Third-party risks
  • Rapid speed of disruptive innovations enabled by new and emerging technologies and/or other market forces
  • Adoption of AI and other emerging technologies requiring new skills in short supply
  • Emergence of new risks from implementing artificial intelligence

A notable change in the results is that board members and executives generally feel more positive about their organizations’ resilience, agility and preparedness to deal with crises or changes in the market. Resistance to change was ranked as the fourth biggest risk for companies in 2023 and has fallen to 17th place for this year’s survey, indicating that companies have established more agile business models and frameworks for identifying and responding to the unexpected with an increased level of flexibility in their strategic approaches.

“Despite the volatile economic environment with deglobalization, tariffs and the threat of trade wars, and changing regulation, leaders are feeling more confident that their organizations are battle-tested and better prepared to deal with disruption whether it’s anticipated or not,” said Matt Moore, Global Leader of Risk & Compliance at Protiviti. “Global leaders will need to tap into this confidence to adapt to evolving policies and a dynamic business landscape in the U.S. and abroad.”

Talent Risks Remain High: AI Risks Permeate Everything
Risks related to talent – whether challenges about attracting and retaining talent or increasing labor costs – occupy three of the top five short-term risks, indicating significant ongoing challenges. It is now clear that the risks AI poses are embedded in several of the other top 10 risks. This is especially true when looking at the talent-related risks. As AI technology evolves to agentic AI and physical AI, this will require widespread reskilling and upskilling, so that workforces are prepared to meet the demands of the future. 

It’s Not “If” But “When” For Cyber Attacks
Boards and C-suite leaders ranked cyber threats as the second most concerning risk over the next two to three years, outranked only by the economy. Cyber threats also represent the most-cited long-term operational risk for executives, with 31% selecting it among their two most concerning operational risk issues for the next decade.

“The widespread impacts of a cyber event permeate an entire company, which result in a number of potential risks – operational, financial, reputational and beyond. It’s imperative that CISOs have open and honest conversations with senior leadership and board members on the organization’s cyber risk profile. These discussions inform the steps taken to manage the variety of cyber threats that companies must face – including everything from risk of third parties with access to the company’s data or environment to nation state-sponsored attacks,” said Andy Retrum, Global Leader, Technology Risk & Resilience, Protiviti.

The Road Ahead: Top Risks for 2035
The study asked respondents to rank their top two risks a decade out across three risk categories:

Macroeconomic risk outlook:

  1. Economic conditions, including inflationary pressures
  2. Talent and labor availability

Strategic risk outlook:

  1. Heightened regulatory change, uncertainty and scrutiny
  2. Rapid speed of disruptive innovations enabled by new and emerging technologies and/or other market forces

Operational risk outlook:

  1. Cyber threats
  2. Ability to attract, develop and retain top talent, manage shifts in labor expectations, and address succession challenges

Many of the near-term risks continue to show up in the long-term assessment – the economy, talent and cyber remain center stage. While leaders may be confident about their ability to deal with change, it’s clear that the impacts of today’s risks are expected to persist into the next decade.

It is not just the top risks, but those a little further down the list that give insight into the risks on the rise for the next decade. Just over one-fifth (22%) of global executives ranked geopolitical shifts as one of their top two macroeconomic risks over the long term. Customer loyalty (22%) and supply chain (16%) were also on the minds of survey respondents, with a sizeable number selecting them as one of their top two operational and strategic risks respectively. 

Dr. Mark Beasley, professor of Enterprise Risk Management, director of North Carolina State University’s ERM Initiative and co-author of the report, said: “The best companies will see these risks as inherently interconnected. Too often, companies are looking at risks in silos where one hand isn’t consistently talking to the other. To address the future impacts of AI, geopolitical events and regulation, executives will need effective collaboration to strengthen their organization’s resilience.”

Resources Available

The “Executive Perspectives on Top Near-Term Risks and Long-Term Risks” report from Protiviti and North Carolina State University’s ERM Initiative provides detailed results and analysis broken out across executive positions and industry groups.

webinar will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. ET, where panelists will share key takeaways from the survey and explore the interconnected nature of emerging risks and their strategic implications. Panelists include Carrie McNish, Managing Director, People & Change, Protiviti; Constantine Boyadjiev, Risk & Compliance Analytics Global Leader, Protiviti; and Ryan McCarthy, Senior Director, Security & Privacy, Protiviti.

About Protiviti

Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and its independent and locally owned member firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, digital, legal, HR, risk and internal audit through a network of more than 90 offices in over 25 countries.

Named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the 10th consecutive year, Protiviti has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with government agencies and smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI).

About North Carolina State University’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Initiative

The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Initiative in the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University provides thought leadership about ERM practices and their integration with strategy and corporate governance. Faculty in the ERM Initiative frequently work with boards of directors and senior management teams helping them link ERM to strategy and governance, host executive workshops and educational training sessions, and issue research and thought papers on practical approaches to implementing more effective risk oversight techniques (www.erm.ncsu.edu).

Malaysia Airlines Elevates Luxury Travel with Time for Premium Leisure Campaign; With an Irresistible Offer on Business Class

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As a continuation of its globally recognised ‘Time for’ campaign, Malaysia Airlines is proud to unveil ‘Time for Premium Leisure’, a campaign that redefines Business Class travel by showcasing its unparalleled comfort, personalised service, and world-class amenities. From spacious seating and bespoke in-flight experiences to exclusive access to award-winning lounges and gourmet dining, travellers can indulge in a seamless and luxurious journey. Running until 20 February 2025, this exclusive Business Class campaign offers up to 20% off fares across its Malaysian domestic and international network.

 

Malaysia Airlines Elevates Luxury Travel with Time for Premium Leisure Campaign; With an Irresistible Offer on Business Class

In addition, members of the airline’s award-winning Enrich programme can also enjoy an additional 5% off fares, while non-members are encouraged to sign up for free to unlock this exclusive benefit. Whether it’s a dream escape to the Maldives, a romantic getaway to Paris, or a coastal retreat in Da Nang, now is the perfect time to experience premium travel at exceptional value.

Dersenish Aresandiran, Chief Commercial Officer of Airlines from Malaysia Aviation Group, said, “At Malaysia Airlines, we continuously elevate the premium travel experience, ensuring that every journey is defined by comfort, exclusivity, and our signature Malaysian Hospitality. This commitment is exemplified in the introduction of our next-generation A330neo, setting a new benchmark in business class travel. Designed for discerning travellers who seek more than just a seat, our Business Class offers spacious suites with privacy doors, direct aisle access, and our state-of-the-art elevation seat, designed for ultimate relaxation. Whether traveling for business or leisure, our goal is to ensure that every moment onboard is an indulgence in premium comfort.”

As part of this journey, Business Class passengers can enjoy an elevated end-to-end travel experience from the moment they arrive at the airport, including personalised Meet and Greet assistance, access to the Golden Lounge and partner lounges worldwide, and private terminal transfers at KLIA Terminal 1, powered by Mercedes-Benz. Onboard, enjoy gourmet dining selections, including the option to pre-order Chef-on-Call signature dishes, along with premium amenities for ultimate relaxation. Complimentary unlimited Wi-Fi via MHconnect is also available to ensure seamless connectivity throughout the journey.

To make the journey even more rewarding, passengers transiting through KLIA Terminal 1 can enjoy a Bonus Side Trip, unlocking the chance to explore one of seven exciting Malaysian destinations at no extra cost. From the stunning beaches of Langkawi to the cultural heritage of Penang, the lush rainforests of Kuantan, or the vibrant cityscape of Johor Bahru, this offer allows travellers to immerse themselves in Malaysia’s breathtaking landscapes and world-renowned cuisine—all within one trip.

For more details and to explore Malaysia Airlines’ Time for Premium Leisure experience, visit the official Malaysia Airlines website at www.malaysiaairlines.com or mobile app to get the latest information and promotions conveniently at your fingertips anytime and anywhere.

https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/hk/en/promotions/elevate-your-journey.html?cid=oth|HK0225GBC|pr_newswire|tactical|art|pros|hk||en|campaign|mab|awa

About Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia, offering the best way to fly to, from and around Malaysia through its premium and full-service offerings. Malaysia Airlines carries up to 40,000 guests daily on memorable journeys inspired by Malaysia’s diverse richness. As the nation’s flag bearer, it embodies the incredible diversity of Malaysia; capturing its rich traditions, cultures and cuisines via its inimitable Malaysian Hospitality across all customer touch points.

Since September 2015, the airline has been owned and operated by Malaysia Airlines Berhad. It is part of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), a global aviation organisation that comprises of different aviation business and lifestyle travel solution portfolios aimed at serving global air travel needs. The airline is committed to facilitating safe and seamless travels by placing safety and hygiene as the anchor across all end-to-end consumer touchpoints in line with its MHFlySafe initiative. Via its alliance with oneworld®, Malaysia Airlines offers superior connectivity to more than 900 destinations in 170 territories across the globe. For more information, please visit www.malaysiaairlines.com and download the Malaysia Airlines app to get the latest promotions conveniently at your fingertips.

Issued by Group Communications, Malaysia Aviation Group. 

 

Mega Matrix Inc. Announced that the Urban Romance Micro Drama “A flash Marriage With The Billionaire Tycoon” Premiered on FlexTV

SINGAPORE, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Mega Matrix Inc. (NYSE American: MPU)’s globally leading short series streaming platform, FlexTV, has launched a romantic miniseries exploring love, responsibility, and redemption—A flash Marriage With The Billionaire Tycoon—on January 17. When two individuals from vastly different social standings, each carrying their own secrets, are bound together, how will they protect their happiness and love in the face of societal scrutiny?

Elise, an accountant at the Hawthorn Group, is known for her cautious professionalism. However, an unexpected incident during a business trip disrupts her quiet life. After a night of drinking, Elise accidentally becomes entangled with her boss, Lucian, leaving her terrified about losing her job. Before she can fully recover from the shock, an even bigger crisis strikes—her mother informs her that their family home has been seized to cover her father’s massive debts, and they must move out immediately. Facing overwhelming financial pressure, Elise feels cornered. In a desperate moment, Lucian proposes a contract marriage, offering to resolve her family’s financial problems in return. Though stunned by the suggestion, Elise agrees after careful consideration, prioritizing her family’s well-being.

Unbeknownst to Elise, Lucian has secretly admired her since falling in love at first sight a decade ago. This situation gives him the perfect opportunity to get close to her. However, within the company, rumors swirl that Lucian has feelings for another colleague. Determined to keep their contractual marriage hidden, Elise struggles to maintain secrecy. Yet, their intimate arrangement becomes increasingly difficult to conceal, leading to intentional challenges at work…

FlexTV currently provides short-drama content to over 100 countries, offering multiple language options, including English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Renowned for its high-quality productions and exceptional user experience, FlexTV continues to captivate audiences worldwide. A flash Marriage With The Billionaire Tycoon premiered on January 17 on FlexTV, with its characters’ journeys inspiring viewers to hold onto hope in adversity and pursue their own happiness with courage. For more exciting content, please visit https://www.flextv.cc/.

#Workplace #SecretCrush #Redemption #Marriage #ShortDrama #FlexTV #MPU

About Mega Matrix Inc.: Mega Matrix Inc. (NYSE American: MPU) is a holding company and operates FlexTV, a short-video streaming platform and producer of short dramas, through its subsidiary, Yuder Pte, Ltd.. Mega Matrix Inc. is a Cayman Island corporation headquartered in Singapore. For more information, please contact info@megamatrix.io or visit: http://www.megamatrix.io.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this press release other than statements that are purely historical are forward looking statements. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose,” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others, are: the ability to manage growth; ability to identify and integrate future acquisitions; ability to grow and expand our FlexTV business; ability to execute the strategic cooperation with TopReels, ability to obtain additional financing in the future to fund capital expenditures; ability to establish the investment fund with 9 Yards Communications under the memorandum of understanding; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions; costs or other factors adversely affecting the Company’s profitability; litigation involving patents, intellectual property, and other matters; potential changes in the legislative and regulatory environment; a pandemic or epidemic; the possibility that the Company may not succeed in developing its new lines of businesses due to, among other things, changes in the business environment, competition, changes in regulation, or other economic and policy factors; and the possibility that the Company’s new lines of business may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. The forward-looking statements in this press release and the Company’s future results of operations are subject to additional risks and uncertainties set forth under the “Risk Factors” in documents filed by the Company’s predecessor, Mega Matrix Corp., with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s latest annual report on Form 10-K, as amended, and are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. In addition, such risks and uncertainties include the Company’s inability to predict or control bankruptcy proceedings and the uncertainties surrounding the ability to generate cash proceeds through the sale or other monetization of the Company’s assets. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Disclosure Channels

We announce material information about the Company and its services and for complying with our disclosure obligation under Regulation FD via the following social media channels:

The Company will also use its landing page on its corporate website (www.megamatrix.io) to host social media disclosures and/or links to/from such disclosures. The information we post through these social media channels may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor these social media channels in addition to following our website, press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The social media channels that we intend to use as a means of disclosing the information described above may be updated from time to time as listed on our website.

Ferrero Group reports Consolidated Financial Statements for the 2023/2024 Financial Year

  • The Ferrero Group continues its growth trajectory with an 8.9% increase in turnover to EUR18.4 billion.
  • Continued innovation across new products and categories including the launch of Nutella Ice Cream in the same year the brand turns 60 years old.
  • Total capital investment for the financial year saw an increase of 18% to EUR958 million including in the United States, Italy, Germany and Chile.

LUXEMBOURG, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Ferrero Group, through its holding company Ferrero International S.A., approved the Consolidated Financial Statements for the 2023/2024 financial year, which ended on August 31, 20241. The Group closed the financial year with a consolidated turnover of EUR18.4 billion, an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous year, thus continuing the growth strategy driven by Executive Chairman Giovanni Ferrero and executed by Chief Executive Officer Lapo Civiletti.

The 2023/2024 financial year was again marked by a challenging economic environment, with volatile commodity prices and continued inflationary pressures. Despite this, the Ferrero Group continued its strong growth thanks to the resilience of its people, brands and business model. Ferrero maintains its global presence, with 37 manufacturing plants, and ended the financial year with a global workforce reaching 47,517 as of August 31, 2024.

Daniel Martinez Carretero, Chief Financial Officer at Ferrero Group, said: “We are pleased to report another strong year of growth for the Group, despite the continued headwinds the industry is facing. Although the economic environment remains complex, our brands and products continue to perform well. This is testament to the way we continue to innovate our products to meet the changing needs of consumers. To spur this innovation on and to increase our manufacturing capabilities, this financial year saw us increase total capital investment by 18% on the previous period.”

The Group’s continued product innovation has enabled further expansion across categories, including ice cream and biscuits. Highlights in the 2023/2024 financial year include:

–  the launch of Nutella Ice Cream, the first packaged ice cream by the brand, driving the continued growth of the ice-cream category;
–  further expansion into the biscuit category with the launch of Kinderini in key markets;
–  the successful rollout of Eat Natural and FULFIL brands into further European markets, illustrating how the Group is meeting changing consumer trends and the growth of the better-for-you category.

To support the portfolio and geographic expansion, the Group is working hard to increase its manufacturing capacity. Highlights include:

–  the opening of the Group’s first chocolate processing plant in the United States. The new 70,000 square feet facility in Bloomington, Illinois produces chocolate for Ferrero leading brands in North America, including Kinder, Ferrero Rocher, Butterfinger, and CRUNCH, and now house a new Kinder Bueno production facility;
–  modernization of our Stadtallendorf facility;
–  building out our hazelnut sourcing and processing capacity in Chile.

The Group’s long-term growth strategy continues to be guided by our commitment to sustainability and having a positive impact throughout the value chain.

1 From 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024.

About Ferrero Group

Ferrero began its journey as a pastry shop in the small town of Alba in Piedmont, Italy, in 1946. Today, it is one of the world’s largest sweet-packaged food companies, with much loved brands sold in more than 170 countries. The Ferrero Group brings joy to people around the world with much-loved products including Nutella®, Kinder®, Tic Tac®, and Ferrero Rocher®.

About 47,000 employees are passionate about helping people celebrate life’s special moments. The Ferrero Group’s family culture, now in its third generation, is based on dedication to quality and excellence, heritage and a commitment to the planet and communities in which we operate.

To receive the latest news and stories, subscribe to our newsletter here.

For more information, please visit www.ferrero.com

 

SAP Debuts Business Data Cloud with Databricks to Turbocharge Business AI

Landmark Collaboration Redefines Enterprise Data Management and Unleashes the Full Potential of Agentic AI

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced SAP Business Data Cloud, a groundbreaking solution that unifies all SAP and third-party data throughout an organization, providing the trusted data foundation organizations need to make more impactful decisions and foster reliable AI. The solution harmonizes data from organizations’ most mission-critical applications with data engineering and business analytics capabilities, paving the way for next-level innovation and insights.

This landmark partnership between SAP and Databricks marks a new era in enterprise data management as two leaders in their domains come together to redefine how applications and data platforms work together. The new solution natively embeds Databricks technology for data engineering, machine learning and AI workloads.

“SAP Business Data Cloud unleashes the full value of enterprise data for Business AI,” said SAP CEO Christian Klein. “It combines SAP’s unique expertise in mission-critical, end-to-end processes and semantically rich data with Databricks’ world-class data engineering capabilities to create a ground-breaking solution that helps organizations do more with their data than ever before.”

“Every company on the planet wants to get more value out of their data and greater returns on their AI investments,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co-founder and CEO of Databricks. “By joining forces with SAP, we’re helping organizations bring together all their data — regardless of format or where it lives — to govern, analyze and build domain-specific AI applications on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.”

Introducing the data product economy

SAP Business Data Cloud also helps SAP foster the growth of a data product economy. It delivers fully-managed SAP data products across all business processes – from finance, spend and supply chain data in SAP S/4HANA and SAP Ariba, to learning and talent data in SAP SuccessFactors. These data products maintain their original business context and semantics, providing immediate access to high-quality data without costly extraction processes. For example, if a CFO wants to assess the impact of rising inflation on profitability, SAP Business Data Cloud integrates real-time external data such as the consumer price index with financial data products such as general ledger accounts or cost centers to create a comprehensive financial snapshot.

SAP Business Data Cloud will also offer new capabilities called insight apps that use data products and AI models connected to real-time data to deliver advanced analytics and planning across all lines of business, including core enterprise analytics, finance and human resources.

“SAP Business Data Cloud will help us unlock the value of our data and drive innovation across our business,” said Markus Hartmann, Corporate Vice President and Head of Business Technology and regions Europe, APAC and IMEA, at Henkel, a multinational chemical and consumer goods company. “Its semantically rich data products and deep Databricks integration will enhance our existing data products and empower us to model scenarios and leverage AI insights, building a sustainable future for our data ecosystems.”

Delivering on the full promise of AI agents

SAP Business Data Cloud will improve how Joule, SAP’s generative AI copilot, accelerates cross-functional workflows and improves business decision-making with AI agents. Powered by the highest-quality enterprise dataset in the industry – and the SAP Knowledge Graph solution, which provides a business-friendly model of data – Joule agents deeply understand end-to-end processes and can collaborate across functions to solve complex business challenges, something no other agent builder technology can do out of the box.

Underscoring today’s announcement and its significance for AI innovation, SAP also unveiled a series of ready-to-use Joule agents across finance, service, sales and more to come across the SAP Business Suite. In finance, for example, agents will work together across a variety of tasks to process claims faster and improve cashflow. Joule sales agents, meanwhile, will accelerate multi-step business processes to resolve disputes and process customer inquiries faster.

SAP today also announced a powerful new agent builder capability, so customers can build and deploy their own AI agents alongside SAP’s library of ready-to-deploy Joule agents. SAP’s decades of business process expertise are built into the guided workflow so users can ground their custom agents in the most relevant data and business context.

Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP at @SAPNews.

About SAP
As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE:SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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Databricks Announces Launch of SAP Databricks

Databricks announces new product natively integrated into the SAP Business Data Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Databricks, the Data and AI company, today announced the launch of SAP Databricks, a strategic product and go-to-market partnership with SAP that natively integrates the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform within the newly launched SAP Business Data Cloud. The partnership combines the most important business data that is in SAP with the Databricks platform for data warehousing, data engineering, and AI all governed by Databricks Unity Catalog. Databricks recently announced $15B in fundraising and intends to earmark a quarter of a billion dollars ($250M) to help make customers and system integrator partners successful with SAP Databricks across deployment and migrations, ultimately unlocking the tremendous business value of SAP data.

SAP applications power enterprises’ most important decisions around business planning, procurement, HR and travel management. Every enterprise wants to maximize the value of their SAP data by combining it with data from their other business-critical systems. Yet, those systems are varied, and many still sit on-premises in legacy platforms, making it difficult to develop advanced analytics and AI applications. SAP Databricks will have all the relevant datasets enriched and ready to be used for everything from data warehousing to building AI that can reason on that data.

“Every organization is searching for a faster, more reliable way to translate their data into strategic advantage,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co-founder and CEO of Databricks. “Together with SAP, we’re helping businesses seamlessly unify their data sources, streamline analytics, and accelerate the development of domain-specific AI applications.”

“Our partnership with Databricks represents a turning point in how enterprise data is harnessed,” said Muhammad Alam, Executive Board Member at SAP. “Together, we’re fusing SAP’s proven expertise in mission-critical applications with Databricks’ cutting-edge data engineering and AI capabilities to help our customers unlock the next era of digital innovation.”

Databricks + SAP: Domain-specific AI

The power of SAP Databricks is that it allows customers to combine their SAP data with the rest of their enterprise data easily. Through bi-directional sharing of data via Delta Sharing between their SAP Databricks environment and their native Databricks (non-SAP) environment, they can unify all their data without complicated data engineering. This dramatically increases the productivity of teams trying to innovate with their most valuable data. The entire data estate is then consistently governed and secured with Unity Catalog so enterprises can build on a trusted foundation, allowing enterprises to conduct exploratory data science and SQL analytics at scale with a full understanding of the business semantics. Additionally, Mosaic AI capabilities will allow companies to easily develop domain-specific AI trained on their private SAP data to unlock agent systems for the most important functions in their businesses.

Partner Quotes
“Generative AI is a catalyst for reinvention across the enterprise, but to build and scale AI applications effectively, organizations need to have a complete understanding of their data,” said Karthik Narain, Group Chief Executive – Technology and CTO, Accenture. “We’re working closely with SAP and Databricks to help our clients maximize the convenience of integrated and open data, draw better insights faster, create new personalizations and launch AI-based innovations.”

“A strong data foundation remains the cornerstone of all successful AI integrations. SAP Databricks will enable clients to seamlessly merge ERP data with operational insights to maximize the value of AI for organizations and drive critical business benefits,” said Niraj Parihar, CEO of Insights and Data Global Business Line at Capgemini and member of the Group Executive Committee. “The recent acquisition of Syniti reinforces Capgemini’s data-driven digital core business transformation services, notably large-scale SAP transformations. Combined with our long-standing partnership with SAP, Capgemini is expertly placed to drive intelligent decision-making for our clients.”

“Breaking down silos between structured and unstructured data is a crucial step in unlocking true value from data-driven AI investments – especially amid constant industry disruption,” said Jessica Kosmowski, Global Ecosystems and Alliances Leader and Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “The new SAP Databricks offering can address that need for our shared clients, combining the power of the SAP business suite and Databricks with rich SAP data to drive business transformation and data modernization.”

“EY is focused on helping clients connect data from across the enterprise to realize transformative business opportunities,” said EY-Databricks Alliance Leader Hugh Burgin. “We are excited to leverage the combined strengths of SAP and Databricks to transform data into trusted business insights.”

Availability
The new offering, SAP Databricks, is sold by SAP as part of SAP Business Data Cloud, and will be available in a staged rollout on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Learn more about SAP Business Data Cloud and SAP Databricks during the SAP Business Unleashed virtual event.

About Databricks
Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Block, Comcast, Condé Nast, Rivian, Shell and over 60% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to take control of their data and put it to work with AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more, follow Databricks on X, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Contact: Press@databricks.com