New Milwaukee leader named for radio group that includes WISN, 'The Game'
The Milwaukee Business Journal is accepting nominations for its C-Suite Stars and Executive of the Year awards, which recognize the work of corporate leaders in a range of functions.
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Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
Discover The Unseen Gap In C-Suite And Provider Compensation Strategies
Many non-profit healthcare organizations face a significant unseen gap in their strategies to win the talent war. Competition for the most sought-after C-Suite and Providers is at an all-time high. In this battle, a crucial element of balanced compensation packages – retirement income replacement – has largely been an afterthought. Organizations on the journey to become Destination Employers have awakened this sleeping giant. They've discovered that while market rate cash and bonus pay are effective for initial attraction, they lack the fire power to retain key leadership amidst uncertain times of growth, acquisition and major C-Suite transitions. Historic cash-is-king strategies are rapidly losing their competitive edge. Incumbent pre-tax and post-tax solutions such as 457(b), 457(f) and 162 bonus plans are burdened by excessive taxation on contributions or benefits. These tax treatments siphon your organization's investment and dramatically reduce participants' net take-home value. In this rapidly changing landscape, how will your organization prevail? Win the talent war: three core componentsUndesired surprises: competition to attract and retain Surprise #1: inability to compete for top talent Here's a recent true story from a leading healthcare system. A nationally renowned surgeon who brought a substantial following to the organization was earning $2 million in cash pay. He was courted by a competing organization for $3 million in cash pay. The sought after surgeon declined the offer. Why? The extra million translated to less than $500,000/year in after-tax take-home pay for a seven-year contract period ($3.5M total). Meanwhile, his current employer had raised the ante, offering a new retirement benefit equaling $500,000 tax free for 20 years (total of $10M).Surprise #2: shell shock of unsustainable retirement Top C-Suite and Providers devote their careers to the service of others in a non-profit environment. Many have been so focused on your enterprise's success, they haven't allocated the bandwidth to understanding their own retirement picture. These leaders have grown your bottom line and created cultural glue. What is the message of gratitude imbued in your existing retirement income plans? When your key people retire, will they experience a soft and prosperous landing – feeling validated for a career of service? Or will they be devastated by a shocking reality – perhaps 20 to 30% of their previous salary? In compensation design strategies, meaningful supplemental retirement income has largely fallen short. Yet when appropriate income replacement plans are implemented, we see executive leadership both choosing to join and staying longer, even pushing back retirement dates to cement continuity in leadership transitions. Importantly, newer plan designs can catch people up, even with only two years left until retirement. These plans use a classic target income formula: a benefit equal to 2.5% of final average cash pay multiplied by years of service and capped at a maximum total benefit of 50% of final pay. The Value of Voice: art and science of an effective total rewards strategy We know from our work with over 150 non-profit healthcare organizations, that when cherished leaders feel heard, they join and stay. Plan design is not solely a journey of technical excellence. Creating momentum – and helping to ensure execution – requires an art and science approach. Art means inviting multiple stakeholders' voices to the planning table. Each leadership role has their own accountability metrics and belief system for the overall plan. Meanwhile, communication about one's own compensation requires a safe setting. Effective plan design includes outside advisory support to elicit all stakeholder voices, facilitate consensus and amalgamate them into a seamless vision. When the architects of the plan see their voices reflected in the plan, the collective leadership is empowered to implement.A successful journey invites the agendas and needs of each leadership domain and every influencer Science is the technical aspects of plan design. Importantly, many organizations are beholden to either a single plan design, or designs that have long been usurped by new regime plans with substantially greater optics and efficiencies. To maximize your budget's potential, it's essential to consider multiple plan types including custom hybrids. Thorough, prudent financial modeling is paramount. Executive leadership deserves to see not just the rose-colored glasses but the potential risks and downsides. Their boards of directors expect answers to undiscovered questions Throughout our 55 years in business, we've long believed that the questions we ask are far more powerful in our clients' worlds than the statements we could make. For many, the secret weapon to win the talent war sits in their blind spot. Savvy organizations are highly intentional in their compensation strategy design, doing the best they can within constrained budgets, and board level scrutiny. Optics and stakeholder agendas can make it difficult to achieve momentum and approval for new or different plans. The prevailing sentiment? The topic is both covered and complete. In reality, the topic is just beginning. Some of the largest organizations in the country have already awakened the sleeping giant and implemented robust plans to fill the retirement income gap. Many are 18 to 24 months ahead of the competitive curve. They are courting the same talent you wish to hire. Their recruiters will proselytize those you need to retain. The plan design landscape has trends and seasons just like any other highly technical discipline. It is influenced by the financial markets, tax code, legal landscape and the insurance marketplace. Organizations that have not explored their options in the past 24 months may be surprised to discover dramatic increases in plans are burdened by inefficiencies…New regime plans are your partner in possibility…The opportunity cost of inaction Doing business in today's non-profit healthcare environment is more costly and complex than ever. Every new investment is subject to intensive scrutiny regarding return on investment (ROI) and internal rates of return (ROR). On the journey to recruit, retain and reward top talent, we offer an expanded perspective. Which costs more: the investment to keep great leaders in place, or the emotional and financial cost of re-recruiting a beloved leader? If one leaves, other dominoes follow. What is the cost to rebuild talent, team and culture? 'When you invest in the right C-Suite leaders and exceptional Provider talent, the ROI is infinite.' Russ Rudish, Rudish HealthWhether by intention or default, executive compensation plans are the voice of your enterprise's vision and core values. What does your strategy tell those impacted by its current provisions, pending surprises or missing components? Consider engaging a firm to learn what you have and obtain side-by-side comparisons of what's possible. We know this requires bandwidth that is precious and limited. If your plan doesn't measure up, how soon would you like to know? The Hebets Company - Retirement Income Landscape Video Insurance services are provided through The Comp Consulting Companies, LLC.; a subsidiary of NFP Corp. (NFP). Doing business in Arizona as The Hebets Company (License #29172). Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services may be offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS are not affiliated with The Hebets Company, NFP or its subsidiaries. Investor Disclosures: Federal tax laws are complex and subject to change. The information in this message is based on current interpretations of the law and is not guaranteed. Neither The Hebets Company nor its employees, its agents, brokers or registered representatives give tax or legal advice. You should consult an attorney or competent tax professional for answers to specific tax questions as they apply to your situation.
Business of Fashion
12 hours ago
- Business of Fashion
Exclusive: Amouage Is The First Beauty Brand to Join Aura Blockchain Consortium
Amouage is looking to blockchain to provide traceability for its luxury fragrances. The perfume house on Monday announced its entry into the Aura Blockchain Consortium, established by LVMH, Prada Group, OTB and Richemont's Cartier as an alliance to leverage blockchain technology for greater traceability and transparency in luxury goods. Since 2021, the group has logged more than 50 million products from dozens of brands on its private blockchain, creating digital identities — known as digital product passports, or DPPs — for each item which consumers and regulators can access for information such as the product's provenance. Amouage said its DPPs will be accessible via a QR code on the fragrance's packaging. Customers will get a unique certificate of ownership, as well as access to exclusive benefits such as personalised beauty routines and invites to community events. The brand, which has introduced refillable bottles, is also planning a programme to encourage refills, where the QR code could be scanned at a boutique or refill point and the DPP would be updated with details such as when, where and how the refill took place. Founded in Oman in 1983, Amouage is the first beauty player to join the consortium, as well as the first brand from the Middle East. In February, L'Oréal took a long-term minority stake in the fragrance house. As of this month, all new products from Amouage will be integrated into Aura's blockchain, and by the end of the month, it will have added existing items produced in or before this year as well, the company said. 'This announcement represents several important milestones for Aura Blockchain Consortium, with a particular focus on venturing into a new vertical, and establishing a strong new footing in the Middle East luxury industry,' Lorenzo Bertelli, chairman of the Aura Blockchain Consortium and head of corporate social responsibility for Prada Group, said in a statement. Beauty brands have been slower to adopt DPPs than fashion, but much like fashion, the beauty industry is encountering increased scrutiny over issues like the sourcing, sustainability and authenticity of its products. Some brands are starting to look for blockchain-based solutions. Earlier this year, French beauty brand Ulé, part of the Shiseido group, partnered with technology provider Arianee to create DPPs for its C-Bright Serum. Starting in 2027, the EU will also begin to require many products to be enabled with a DPP as part of a broader push towards sustainability and corporate transparency, prompting companies to begin preparations. Learn more: Millions of Luxury Products Have Digital IDs. Is Anyone Using Them? Brands are attaching the virtual identifiers to their products to comply with upcoming regulations, and see potential side benefits that could make for a better user experience — if they can get customers to notice.
USA Today
20 hours ago
- USA Today
MCP Connects, SDP Delivers: The Missing Half of AI Memory is Here
Prescott, Arizona / Syndication Cloud / July 22, 2025 / David Bynon Key Takeaways Model Context Protocol (MCP) creates AI connections to external tools but doesn't define structured memory content Semantic Digest Protocol (SDP) provides trust-scored, fragment-level memory objects for reliable AI operations Multi-agent systems typically fail due to missing shared, verifiable context rather than communication issues MCP and SDP together form a complete memory architecture that stops hallucinations and contextual drift MedicareWire will implement SDP in 2025 as the first major deployment of AI-readable, trust-verified memory in a regulated domain AI's Memory Crisis: Why Today's Systems Can't Remember What Matters Today's AI systems face a critical problem: they process vast information but struggle with reliable memory. This isn't merely a technical issue — it's what causes hallucinations, inconsistency, and unreliability in advanced AI deployments. This problem becomes obvious in multi-agent systems. When specialized AI agents work together, they don't typically fail from poor communication. They fail because they lack shared, scoped, and verifiable context. Without standardized memory architecture, agents lose alignment, reference inconsistent information, and produce unreliable results. David Bynon, founder at MedicareWire, identified this issue early on. In regulated areas like Medicare, incorrect information can seriously impact consumers making healthcare decisions. The solution needs two protocols working together to create a complete memory system for AI. The first protocol, Model Context Protocol (MCP), addresses the connection problem. But it's just half of what's needed for truly reliable AI memory. Understanding Model Context Protocol (MCP) IBM recently recognized the Model Context Protocol (MCP) as core infrastructure for AI systems, describing it as 'USB-C for AI' — a universal connector standard allowing AI models to connect with external tools, data sources, and memory systems. This recognition confirmed what many AI engineers already understood: standardized connections between AI models and external resources build reliable systems at scale. IBM's Recognition: The 'USB-C for AI' Breakthrough The USB-C comparison makes sense. Before USB standardization, connecting devices to computers required numerous proprietary ports and cables. Before MCP, every AI tool integration needed custom code, fragile connections, and ongoing maintenance. IBM's official support of MCP acknowledged that AI's future requires standardized interfaces. Just as USB-C connects any compatible device to any compatible port, MCP creates a standard protocol for AI systems to interact with external tools and data sources. What MCP Solves: The Transport Problem MCP handles the transport problem in AI systems. It standardizes how an AI agent: Negotiates with external systems about needed information Creates secure, reliable connections to tools and data sources Exchanges information in predictable, consistent formats Maintains state across interactions with various resources This standardization allows developers to build tools once for use with any MCP-compliant AI system. Custom integrations for each new model or tool become unnecessary — just consistent connectivity across platforms. The Critical Gap: Missing Content Definition Despite its value, MCP has a major limitation: it defines how AI systems connect, but not what the content should look like. This resembles standardizing a USB port without defining the data format flowing through it. This creates a significant gap in AI memory architecture. While MCP handles connections, it doesn't address: How to structure memory for machine understanding How to encode and verify trust and provenance How to scope and contextualize content How information fragments should relate to each other This explains why AI systems with excellent tool integration still struggle with reliable memory — they have connections but lack content structure for trustworthy recall. Semantic Digest Protocol: The Memory Layer MCP Needs This is where the Semantic Digest Protocol (SDP) fits — built to work with MCP while solving what it leaves unaddressed: defining what memory should actually look like. Trust-Scored Fragment-Level Memory Architecture SDP organizes memory at the fragment level, instead of treating entire documents as single information units. Each fragment — a fact, definition, statistic, or constraint — exists as an independent memory object with its own metadata. These memory objects contain: The actual information content A trust score based on source credibility Complete provenance data showing information origin Scope parameters showing where and when the information applies Contextual relationships to other memory fragments This detailed approach fixes a basic problem: AI systems must know not just what a fact is, but how much to trust it, where it came from, when it applies, and how it connects to other information. Using the 'USB-C for AI' analogy, SDP is a universal, USB-C thumb drive for the Model Context Protocol. It provides data, across multiple surfaces, in a format MCP recognizes and understands Machine-Ingestible Templates in Multiple Formats SDP creates a complete trust payload system with templates in multiple formats: JSON-LD for structured data interchange TTL (Turtle) for RDF graph representations Markdown for lightweight documentation HTML templates for web publication Invented by David Bynon as a solution for MedicareWire, the format flexibility makes SDP work immediately with existing systems while adding the necessary trust layer. For regulated sectors like healthcare, where MedicareWire operates, this trust layer changes AI interactions from educated guesses to verified responses. The Complete AI Memory Loop: MCP + SDP in Action When MCP and SDP work together, they form a complete memory architecture for AI systems. Here's the workflow: From User Query to Trust-Verified Response The process starts with a user query. Example: 'What's the Maximum Out-of-Pocket limit for this Medicare Advantage plan in Los Angeles?' The AI model uses MCP to negotiate context with external resources. It identifies what specific plan information it needs and establishes connections to retrieve that data. The external resource sends back an SDP-formatted response with the requested information. This includes the MOOP value, geographic scope (Los Angeles County), temporal validity (2025), and provenance (directly from CMS data), all with appropriate trust scores. With trust-verified information, the model answers accurately: 'The 2025 Maximum Out-of-Pocket limit for this plan in Los Angeles County is $4,200, according to CMS data.' No hallucination. No vague references. No outdated information. Just verified, scoped, trust-scored memory through standardized connections. Eliminating Hallucinations Through Verified Memory This method addresses what causes hallucinations in AI systems. Rather than relying on statistical patterns from training, the AI retrieves specific, verified information with full context about reliability and applicability. When information changes, there's no need to retrain the model. The external memory layer updates, and the AI immediately accesses new information—complete with trust scoring and provenance tracking. Real-World Implementation: MedicareWire 2025 This isn't theoretical — SDP launches on in August 2025, marking the first major implementation of AI-readable, trust-scored memory in a regulated domain. 1. First Large-Scale Deployment in a Regulated Domain The healthcare industry, especially Medicare, offers an ideal testing ground for trust-verified AI memory. Incorrect information has serious consequences, regulations are complex, and consumers need reliable guidance through a confusing system. MedicareWire's implementation will give AI systems unprecedented accuracy when accessing Medicare plan information. Instead of using potentially outdated training data, AI systems can query MedicareWire's SDP-enabled content for current, verified information about Medicare plans, benefits, and regulations. 2. Solving Healthcare's Critical Information Accuracy Problem Consumers using AI assistants for Medicare options will get consistent, accurate information regardless of which system they use. The SDP implementation ensures any AI agent can retrieve precise details about: Plan coverage specifications Geographic availability Cost structures and limitations Enrollment periods and deadlines Regulatory requirements and exceptions All come with proper attribution, scope, and trust scoring. 3. Creating the Foundation for Multi-Agent Trust Infrastructure Beyond immediate benefits for Medicare consumers, this implementation creates a blueprint for trust infrastructure in other regulated fields. Multi-agent systems will have shared, verifiable context — eliminating drift and hallucination problems that affect complex AI deployments. The combination of MCP's standardized connections and SDP's trust-verified memory builds the foundation for reliable AI systems that can safely operate in highly regulated environments. From Connection to Memory: The Future of Reliable AI Is Here David Bynon, founder of Trust Publishing and architect of SDP, states: 'We didn't just create a format. We created the trust language AI systems can finally understand — and remember.' As AI shapes important decisions in healthcare, finance, legal, and other critical fields, reliable, verifiable memory becomes essential. The MCP+SDP combination shifts from probabilistic guessing to trust-verified information retrieval — defining the next generation of AI applications. SDP will be available as an open protocol for non-directory systems, supporting broad adoption and continued development across the AI ecosystem. As the first major implementation, MedicareWire's deployment marks the beginning of a new phase in trustworthy artificial intelligence. MedicareWire is leading development of trustworthy AI memory systems that help consumers access accurate healthcare information when they need it most. David Bynon 101 W Goodwin St # 2487 Prescott Arizona 86303 United States
