Helios Insurance Group and Direct Event Insurance Announce New Hires

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) October 28, 2011

Helios Insurance Group, a specialty business insurance MGA and its subsidiary, Direct Event Insurance, a specialized online insurance agency focused on general liability insurance for special events, recently announced that two new employees have joined the team.

The company welcomed the two new additions in October. John Oden has joined Helios Insurance Group in the role of Vice President. Prior to his work at Helios, Mr. Oden founded Oden Consulting, a firm focused on facilitating middle market private equity and investment banking transactions. His clients ranged from family offices to a private equity firm managing billions of dollars. Mr. Oden facilitated transactions across a variety of industries, including technology, insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, distressed lending, and real estate.

Mr. Oden is a graduate of Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business where he earned his MBA. While in school, Mr. Oden honed his financial analysis skills by interning at five private equity firms: Transition Capital Partners, Paragon Equity Group, Palomino Capital, Adjacent Capital, and the Patterson-Thoma Family Office. During this period, Mr. Oden also worked as the Chief Financial Officer of a small renewable energy firm.

Mr. Oden possesses a strong competency in technology as well. Before pursuing his MBA, Mr. Oden directed all software development, project management, and enterprise software administration for a global online university system. Mr. Oden has also worked in outsourcing and has taught at the University of Texas in Austin.

Mr. Oden obtained a B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Michigan, where he was ranked 11th in the country at intercollegiate debate. Mr. Oden is also an Eagle Scout, a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, and a former Texas state debate champion.

The insurance industry is ripe for innovation and change, and I thrive in this kind of environment, Oden said. Im excited about helping Helios Insurance Group execute its strategy of vertical integration within the industry and I look forward to helping the company to develop and rollout innovative commercial insurance products that meet the company goals of serving and protecting the public.

For more information on Helios Insurance Group, please visit http://helioscoverage.com.

David Carbrey has joined the Direct Event Insurance team as a Protection Advisor. Mr. Carbrey has spent many years in the entertainment industry in a variety of roles. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, with a degree in electronic journalism with an emphasis in TV/Radio and Film. On the side, Mr. Carbrey is a musician; He has formed and plays in, Butch Cavendish, an "insurgent" country and western band that frequently plays in the southwest.

Mr. Carbrey brings incredible positive energy and people skills to Direct Event Insurance. He has walked in the shoes of his clients, having served as an event coordinator and promoter in various capacities in the past including setting up and organizing events for performers, from Tony Bennett to Slash.

Direct Event Insurance allows me to leverage my entertainment background with a unique value proposition of event insurance, Carbrey said. The ability to help event organizers and promoters by providing protection through insurance and assisting them with making their event safe and successful makes my day. The fact that this company is a B-Corp and practices conscious capitalism, only makes it more worthwhile.

For more information about Direct Event Insurance, please visit http://directeventinsurance.com.

About Direct Event Insurance

Direct Event Insurance is an innovative force in the special event liability insurance market. The company has extensive experience within all areas of entertainment insurance and event insurance. The company is licensed in all 50 states and strives to provide best in class service that allows customers to price, pay and print their event insurance certificate and policy on the same business day.

Specialties

Event Insurance, Special Events Insurance, Vendor Booth Insurance, Trade Show Insurance, Music Festival Insurance, Holiday Party Insurance, Corporate Function Insurance, Office Party Insurance, Meeting Insurance, Sporting Event Insurance, Parade Insurance, Art & Craft Fair Insurance, Anniversary Party Insurance, Fraternity/Sorority Event Insurance, Party Insurance

About Helios Insurance Group

Helios Insurance Group is a nationally leading business insurance firm offering an integral approach to protecting company stakeholders while fostering sustainable growth. The firms approach requires in-depth industry knowledge and expertise that allows the firm to help its customers to transform risk management into risk mastery.

Specialties

Event Insurance, Professional Liability Insurance, Cyber Liability Insurance, Business Insurance

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Smartphone App Earns The Kitchen & Bath Channel 2011 Innovation Award from the SEN Design Group

Chapel Hill, NC (PRWEB) October 28, 2011

The Kitchen & Bath Channel is proud to announce that Co-Founder and Partner Philip D. Zaleon has been awarded the 2011 Innovation Award by the SEN Design Group at their semi-annual conference.

The SEN Design Group, the kitchen and bath industrys first buying group, presents the award annually to the member or vendor who has made a uniquely positive contribution to the group, or the industry as a whole, through innovation.

The award was presented for the Kitchen & Bath Channels smartphone app. Leveraging the geo-location capabilities and a directory of over 15,000 kitchen and bath industry professionals, the app is designed to help consumers locate a local professional. The consumer also has the opportunity to view professional profiles including, videos, images and website without leaving the smartphone. Hyperlinks to automatically place phone calls, send emails and get step-by-step driving directions via Google Maps are also available for a number of the professionals.

Ken Peterson, CKD, President of the SEN Design Group said, "At a time when design firms are in desperate need of leads and showroom traffic, Phil Zaleon came through for them with the Kitchen & Bath Channel."

I was surprised by the award, and quite honored, said Mr. Zaleon. The new economy, coupled with technological advances makes it apparent that traditional marketing techniques need a boost. As a marketer for the kitchen & bath industry for over a dozen years, I went looking for a strategy that would allow the industry to easily and cost effectively take control of the latest marketing technologies and The Kitchen & Bath Channel was born!

The App is available for iPhone (iPad), Android and BlackBerry platforms:

Android Marketplace

iTunes

BlackBerry App World

The Kitchen & Bath Channel is a joint venture between 36-year veteran of the kitchen and bath industry, Max Isley, CMKBD of Hampton Kitchens (Raleigh, NC), and Z promotion & design (Chapel Hill, NC) founder and president, Philip D. Zaleon.

The Kitchen & Bath Channel gives the kitchen & bath professional access to the latest marketing tools and technology with ease and affordability, while providing homeowners with a buying experience that includes research, education and social interactions with professionals, as well as other homeowners.

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Acquity Group Mobile Audit Reports 210% Increase in Retailers Deployment of Mobile Sites Over Past Year

Chicago (PRWEB) October 10, 2011

Acquity Group LLC, a leading global brand eCommerce and digital marketing company, announced today the results of its third-annual Mobile Audit, which analyzes Internet Retailers Top 500 companies on their rate of mobile adoption.

This years Top 10 Best-in-Class companies leading the way in mobile initiatives include, in alphabetical order: Amazon, Armani Exchange, Barnes & Noble, Buy.com, Cabelas, Gilt Groupe, The Home Depot, Newegg, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart.

These ten retailers are executing mobile tactics that are positioning them ahead of the mobile commerce curve, said Tom Nawara, Vice President of Digital Strategy and Design at Acquity Group LLC. All of these companies have made a focused commitment to mobile, and its paying off. Not only have they implemented mobile-optimized sites to support a wide range of devices, but they have taken initiatives a step further with exceptional transactional functionality and well-designed apps that meet customer needs.

The results show that 37% of the analyzed e-tailers now have a mobile site, up from only 12% in 2010.

The study also found that one in four retailers have at least one mobile app. These numbers have steadily risen over the past few years, a key indicator of the mobile revolution: