Apr 05, 2023

The Standard

Louw

Portland-based Standard Insurance (The Standard) promoted Piet Louw to second vice president of information security and deputy chief information security officer. Louw joined The Standard in 2021 as senior director of information security program management. In that role, he was responsible for further enhancing The Standard's information security program and leading the organizational effort to successfully obtain the company's SOC2 security attestation. In his new role, Louw will be responsible for overseeing security engineering, asset and platform security as well as security program management. Prior to joining The Standard, Louw held several leadership roles managing technology services. Previously, he was senior director of technology services for Trader Joe's and director of service strategy and design at UTi Worldwide. The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, and its subsidiaries.

Lyceus Group

Lyceus Group, a public relations and marketing firm specializing in the financial services industry, announced it has been shortlisted by Hedgeweek's US Emerging Manager Awards 2023 for the Best Communications and PR Firm. Lyceus Group represents a variety of clients in the financial services and technology space, including mutual funds, ETF's, private equity firms, hedge funds, startups, cryptocurrency funds, private credit funds, and fund service providers. The Hedgeweek US Emerging Manager Awards recognize excellence among hedge fund emerging fund managers and service providers. The service provider categories span all the key areas of the broader hedge fund industry ecosystem. Headquartered in Seattle, Lyceus Group was founded in 2016.

Apr 04, 2023

MultiCare

MultiCare Health System is launching a nursing assistant training program. A 2021 survey by the Washington State Hospital Association showed hospitals in Washington need to hire 6,100 new nurses to meet current staffing needs. Other data shows that nearly half of nurses and hospital staff plan to leave the industry in the next few years. MultiCare's new five-week paid training program has an inaugural class of six students training at MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital. Participants in the program will be full-time MultiCare employees. Once the students complete training, they will be able to take the state's certification test and become certified nursing assistants (CNAs). The nursing assistants will be placed at a MultiCare hospital based on need. MultiCare is looking to fill up to 200 CNA positions throughout the system. The organization currently works with nursing assistant programs at Tacoma Community College, Bates Technical College in Tacoma, and Sparrow Healthcare Education in Spokane. Participants in the nursing assistant training program need to have a high school diploma or GED, and previous patient care experience is preferred. Classes will run every eight weeks, with the goal of increasing classes to 30 students. Current MultiCare employees are eligible to apply, as well as the public, provided they meet the program requirements. MultiCare Health System is a Washington-based not-for-profit health care organization with 12 hospitals and more than 22,000 team members.

The Standard

Portland-based StanCorp Financial Group (The Standard) and Elevance Health announced a definitive agreement under which The Standard will acquire the Life & Disability business from Elevance Health and enter into a product distribution partnership. The Standard, a group life, disability and ancillary benefit provider, was founded in 1906. Elevance Health provides health solutions that serve customers through a portfolio of medical, digital, pharmacy, behavioral, clinical, and complex care solutions. Its Life & Disability unit provides life, disability and related employee benefits. The distribution agreement partners The Standard's sales team with Elevance Health's medical sales team, expanding The Standard's network and bringing a life and disability partner to Elevance Health customers. Upon closing, The Standard will acquire Elevance Health's life, disability, accidental death and dismemberment, absence management and paid family leave businesses. Citi is acting as financial advisor and Debevoise & Plimpton is acting as legal advisor to The Standard. Barclays is acting as financial advisor and Faegre Drinker is acting as legal advisor to Elevance Health.

KinderCare

KinderCare Learning Companies received Gallup's Exceptional Workplace Award for the seventh consecutive year. KinderCare is the only early childhood education provider recognized with this award, and one of just four companies worldwide to receive the distinction seven years in a row. This award recognizes organizations for their ability to build an engaged workplace where employees thrive and drive business outcomes. KinderCare, headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, employs more than 38,000 teachers and staff who provide early childhood education and care at more than 2,000 early learning centers and sites across the country. KinderCare provides all employees with competitive benefits, including a child care tuition benefit.

Mar 31, 2023

Lemonade

Lemonade, a digital insurance company, announced the launch of Lemonade Car in Oregon, marking the fifth state where the full suite of Lemonade insurance products are available. Lemonade Car offers drivers the ability to only pay for the miles they drive on top of a monthly base price. With the Lemonade app, this gives drivers an option for car insurance with built-in safety features, including free crash detection and emergency services, and access to its claims process. Additionally, Lemonade Car will fund reforestation efforts throughout Oregon's Santiam State Forest. Lemonade also offers renter, homeowner, car, pet and life insurance. Lemonade is currently available in the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom.

PACCAR

Bellevue-based PACCAR announced that it has made a minority equity investment in its connected truck partner, Platform Science. This strategic investment complements the partnership recently launched by PACCAR and Platform Science to integrate Platform Science's Virtual Vehicle technology with the PACCAR Connect telematics system. The integrated product will offer Kenworth and Peterbilt customers a standardized telematics operating system and application store, enabling customers to access software solutions, real-time vehicle data, and third-party applications directly from their vehicles. Platform Science provides enterprise fleets with a unified, user-friendly technology platform.

Mosaic Dental Collective

Mosaic Dental Collective, announced a partnership with Audax Private Equity, an alternative investment manager and capital partner for North American middle market companies. Mosaic is a dental services organization (DSO) supporting 49 affiliated dental offices in California and Washington, with a differentiated dentist-led DSO model. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Proskauer Rose served as legal counsel to Mosaic. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Mosaic supports practices across general dentistry, periodontics, orthodontics, prosthodontics, endodontics, and oral surgery. Mosaic was founded by Jagdev Heir. Audax is an experienced investor in healthcare, having acquired over 30 platforms in the sector and more than 450 add-ons. Audax was founded in 1999, and is based in Boston and San Francisco.