Travelers and NYSE Euronext CEOs Co-Host “Small Business – Big Opportunity” Symposium with SBA Chief Karen Mills as Keynote Speaker - StreetInsider.com

Bloomberg and Christie Administration Officials Discuss Ways to Spur Economic Growth and Job Creation

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV), today convened a discussion at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to raise awareness of issues impacting entrepreneurs and recommend solutions for success. Today's event culminates the national, multi-year “Small Business - Big Opportunity” symposia series, and U.S. Small Business Administration head Karen Mills delivered the keynote address.

At the event, Travelers Chairman and CEO Jay Fishman proposed specific solutions, including developing a three-year incubator period during which small businesses would face lower taxes and fewer regulatory requirements and penalties. He also recommended that cities and states consolidate overlapping and redundant regulations to reduce red tape.

“As one of the largest insurers of small businesses, we have a first-hand view of the challenges they face, and we feel a responsibility to advocate for their success,” said Fishman, whose father was a small business owner. “In addition, sound economic policy that promotes small business growth and job creation is important for our nation's economic success and preserving and promoting the American opportunity.”

NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer discussed the company’s jobs-growth initiative, “The NYSE Big StartUpSM is a joint partnership to fuel new business creation, capital-raising activity and employment growth.”

“By connecting small businesses with established corporate enterprises, we are creating a thriving hub for collaboration and entrepreneurship offering startups and small enterprises new resources for boosting procurement, networking, business development, training and more job opportunities,” Niederauer said. “We applaud Travelers leadership in identifying ways to spur economic growth and job creation, and we welcome the opportunity to co-host the Small Business – Big Opportunity Symposium at the NYSE.”

In addition, Tokumbo Shobowale, who was recently appointed as the Chief Business Operations Officer by Mayor Bloomberg, detailed New York City’s successful efforts to reduce burdens on small businesses.

“New York City is working hard to consolidate regulations and reduce the time it takes to open a small enterprise,” he said. “To ensure the city continues to be a hub of opportunity and success for new entrepreneurs, Mayor Bloomberg has created, for example, a one-stop shop to help small restaurants obtain permits and satisfy other requirements. This step alone has helped open 546 restaurants, saving them an average of 72 days by cutting through the city bureaucracy. The effort has assisted in the creation of more than 6,000 jobs in the food-services industry.”

Elizabeth MacKay, Senior Policy Advisor to the New Jersey Department of State, discussed Gov. Chris Christie's bi-partisan “Red Tape Commission," which was created to identify and resolve onerous regulatory impediments. After the event, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno said the following in a statement: “We’re delighted that Travelers and the NYSE are helping to advocate for small businesses. For America’s economy to fully rebound and create jobs, we need to help small businesses by cutting needless and destructive red tape and reforming our regulatory process so that it’s sensible and predictable."

Speaking from her own experience building Lafayette 148 New York from a small business into a successful and significant U.S.-based employer, Deirdre Quinn noted that, “Starting and running a small business requires constant dedication, focus and attention to every detail. It is reassuring to know that business and government leaders alike are intent on finding solutions to the challenges that small business owners face. These efforts will further clear the way for the next generation of small businesses to achieve success and spur economic growth.”

The full panel consisted of nationally recognized economic and small business innovators and leaders:

Moderator: Joan Woodward, Executive Vice President of Public Policy and President, Travelers Institute Kate Mitchell, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Scale Venture Partners Deirdre Quinn, Co-Founder and President, Lafayette 148 New York Tokumbo Shobowale, Chief Business Operations Officer, City of New York Elizabeth MacKay, Senior Policy Advisor, New Jersey Department of State

The symposium at the NYSE is the eighth small business forum the Travelers Institute has hosted over the past 15 months. Last year, the company released a white paper, “Small Business, Big Opportunity,” outlining its principles for advocacy. Travelers commemorated today’s event by ringing The Opening BellSM on the floor of the NYSE.

About the Travelers InstituteThe Travelers Institute, the public policy division of The Travelers Companies, Inc., engages in discussion and analysis of public policy topics of importance to the insurance marketplace and the financial services industry. The Travelers Institute draws upon the industry expertise of Travelers' senior management and the technical expertise of many of Travelers' underwriters, risk managers and other experts to provide information and analysis to public policy makers and regulators. Travelers is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home and business. For more information, visit www.travelers.com.

TravelersAshley Maagero, 860-277-2954amaagero@travelers.com

Source: Travelers

Press Releases Duncan Niederauer

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Africa, Continent Of Opportunities Says UBA Chief On Africa Day - AllAfrica.com

The wide range of opportunities which abound on the African continent was again brought to the fore on Friday in Lagos as the Deputy Managing Director, Ag. of the United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr Kennedy Uzoka stated that the future belongs to Africans, considering the business opportunities that thrive in the continent.

Mr. Uzoka said this in Lagos at a ceremony in which for the third year in a row, the pan African banking group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc joined the rest of the world to commemorate Africa Day - a day set aside to celebrate African diversity and success as well as highlight the cultural and economic potential that exists in the African continent.  On the bedrock of the experience garnered by UBA plc, one of the largest financial services providers on the continent, Uzoka noted that Africa remains the only continent that would guarantee above average returns on investments, coupled with availability of rare minerals and human resources. He said that UBA in the last two years had deemed it appropriate to observe Africa Day and was committed to making May 25 every year an annual celebration. He noted that the day was a celebration of the pride in 'who we are' as Africans, and enjoined staff to continue to push for excellence as a leading institution.

"The continent has huge growth potentials as business opportunities abound for us to harness by effectively leveraging our Pan-African network in areas of service excellence, product innovation and operational efficiencies. This year's theme for the celebration is 'We are Africa'; validating our positioning and spread across the continent as one of the largest financial services providers," he said.

Highlights of the day include breaking of Kola Nut, a cultural display troupe performance from various African cultural settings amongst other things.

Africa Day, held on the 25th of May every year, is the annual commemoration of the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), presently recognized as the Africa Union (AU). The objective of this celebration is to celebrate the achievements of African people and businesses that have brought pride to the continent, globally and inspire Africans globally to strive daily for distinction through ethics and diligence.

In line with its vision to become a leading financial institution in Africa, UBA have expanded its reach into 19 African countries, namely Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D'Ivore and Sierra Leone. The rest are Uganda, Liberia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Benin, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Chad, Gabon, Guinea, Mozambique, Congo DRC and Congo Brazzaville. The list keeps growing as we aspire to become the dominant Pan-African financial service institution, the bank stressed.

Recently, during the Annual General Meeting of the Bank held in Lagos,  the Group Managing Director, UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza informed the shareholders that the Bank's operations on the continent has contributed to the Bank's impressive Q1 results, contributing over 20 percent to the Group's bottom line. He further promised that as its African operations is consolidated, their contributions to the Group's profit will equal to its Nigerian operations by 2015.

Copyright © 2012 United Bank of Africa Group. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

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Cerus Appoints Andrew Gomperts as Chief Business Officer - Yahoo Finance

CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - News) announced today that Andrew Gomperts has joined the company as chief business officer and vice president, business development and marketing. Mr. Gomperts will be responsible for establishing strategic alliances to accelerate global sales growth and development progress for the INTERCEPT Blood System, as well as securing new business opportunities for the company.

Mr. Gomperts comes to Cerus with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having most recently served as head of corporate and business development at Sangart. Prior to Sangart, he was a director in the venture operations group at Idealab, a venture capital holding company. Mr. Gomperts was also previously in senior management with Prometheus Laboratories, a specialty pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, corporate partnering, licensing and strategic planning. Prior to Prometheus, he spent five years with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Gomperts received Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Wharton School.

“Andrew joins us at an exciting time for Cerus as INTERCEPT platelets and plasma sales continue to demonstrate strong growth and as we prepare to enter Phase III for red cells in Europe,“ said William ‘Obi’ Greenman, president and chief executive officer. "We expect his contributions to be instrumental in our pursuit of new markets in Asia, North America, and around the globe."

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. The INTERCEPT system is designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases by inactivating a broad range of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in donated blood. The nucleic acid targeting mechanism of action enables INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate established transfusion threats, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, and is designed to inactivate emerging pathogens such as influenza, malaria and dengue. Cerus currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for both platelets and plasma in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and selected countries in other regions around the world. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical development. See http://www.cerus.com for more information.

INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to potential growth in INTERCEPT platelet and plasma sales, the potential initiation of a Phase III trial for INTERCEPT red blood cells in Europe, and potential new market opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based upon Cerus’ current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks associated with the commercialization and market acceptance of, and customer demand for, the INTERCEPT Blood System, risks respecting the uncertain and time-consuming clinical development and regulatory process, including the risk that clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells may not be initiated in a timely manner, or at all, as well as risks relating to the outcome of red blood cell clinical trials and adverse decisions or actions by regulatory agencies, risks relating to the sufficiency of Cerus’ cash resources to conduct and complete clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells, and other risks detailed in the Cerus' filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Cerus' quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, filed with the SEC on November 3, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.

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Cerus Appoints Andrew Gomperts as Chief Business Officer - Yahoo Finance

CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - News) announced today that Andrew Gomperts has joined the company as chief business officer and vice president, business development and marketing. Mr. Gomperts will be responsible for establishing strategic alliances to accelerate global sales growth and development progress for the INTERCEPT Blood System, as well as securing new business opportunities for the company.

Mr. Gomperts comes to Cerus with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having most recently served as head of corporate and business development at Sangart. Prior to Sangart, he was a director in the venture operations group at Idealab, a venture capital holding company. Mr. Gomperts was also previously in senior management with Prometheus Laboratories, a specialty pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, corporate partnering, licensing and strategic planning. Prior to Prometheus, he spent five years with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Gomperts received Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Wharton School.

“Andrew joins us at an exciting time for Cerus as INTERCEPT platelets and plasma sales continue to demonstrate strong growth and as we prepare to enter Phase III for red cells in Europe,“ said William ‘Obi’ Greenman, president and chief executive officer. "We expect his contributions to be instrumental in our pursuit of new markets in Asia, North America, and around the globe."

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. The INTERCEPT system is designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases by inactivating a broad range of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in donated blood. The nucleic acid targeting mechanism of action enables INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate established transfusion threats, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, and is designed to inactivate emerging pathogens such as influenza, malaria and dengue. Cerus currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for both platelets and plasma in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and selected countries in other regions around the world. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical development. See http://www.cerus.com for more information.

INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to potential growth in INTERCEPT platelet and plasma sales, the potential initiation of a Phase III trial for INTERCEPT red blood cells in Europe, and potential new market opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based upon Cerus’ current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks associated with the commercialization and market acceptance of, and customer demand for, the INTERCEPT Blood System, risks respecting the uncertain and time-consuming clinical development and regulatory process, including the risk that clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells may not be initiated in a timely manner, or at all, as well as risks relating to the outcome of red blood cell clinical trials and adverse decisions or actions by regulatory agencies, risks relating to the sufficiency of Cerus’ cash resources to conduct and complete clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells, and other risks detailed in the Cerus' filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Cerus' quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, filed with the SEC on November 3, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.

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Cerus Appoints Andrew Gomperts as Chief Business Officer - Yahoo Finance

CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - News) announced today that Andrew Gomperts has joined the company as chief business officer and vice president, business development and marketing. Mr. Gomperts will be responsible for establishing strategic alliances to accelerate global sales growth and development progress for the INTERCEPT Blood System, as well as securing new business opportunities for the company.

Mr. Gomperts comes to Cerus with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having most recently served as head of corporate and business development at Sangart. Prior to Sangart, he was a director in the venture operations group at Idealab, a venture capital holding company. Mr. Gomperts was also previously in senior management with Prometheus Laboratories, a specialty pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, corporate partnering, licensing and strategic planning. Prior to Prometheus, he spent five years with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Gomperts received Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Wharton School.

“Andrew joins us at an exciting time for Cerus as INTERCEPT platelets and plasma sales continue to demonstrate strong growth and as we prepare to enter Phase III for red cells in Europe,“ said William ‘Obi’ Greenman, president and chief executive officer. "We expect his contributions to be instrumental in our pursuit of new markets in Asia, North America, and around the globe."

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. The INTERCEPT system is designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases by inactivating a broad range of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in donated blood. The nucleic acid targeting mechanism of action enables INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate established transfusion threats, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, and is designed to inactivate emerging pathogens such as influenza, malaria and dengue. Cerus currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for both platelets and plasma in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and selected countries in other regions around the world. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical development. See http://www.cerus.com for more information.

INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to potential growth in INTERCEPT platelet and plasma sales, the potential initiation of a Phase III trial for INTERCEPT red blood cells in Europe, and potential new market opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based upon Cerus’ current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks associated with the commercialization and market acceptance of, and customer demand for, the INTERCEPT Blood System, risks respecting the uncertain and time-consuming clinical development and regulatory process, including the risk that clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells may not be initiated in a timely manner, or at all, as well as risks relating to the outcome of red blood cell clinical trials and adverse decisions or actions by regulatory agencies, risks relating to the sufficiency of Cerus’ cash resources to conduct and complete clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells, and other risks detailed in the Cerus' filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Cerus' quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, filed with the SEC on November 3, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.

View the original article here

Cerus Appoints Andrew Gomperts as Chief Business Officer - Yahoo Finance

CONCORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cerus Corporation (NASDAQ:CERS - News) announced today that Andrew Gomperts has joined the company as chief business officer and vice president, business development and marketing. Mr. Gomperts will be responsible for establishing strategic alliances to accelerate global sales growth and development progress for the INTERCEPT Blood System, as well as securing new business opportunities for the company.

Mr. Gomperts comes to Cerus with extensive experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, having most recently served as head of corporate and business development at Sangart. Prior to Sangart, he was a director in the venture operations group at Idealab, a venture capital holding company. Mr. Gomperts was also previously in senior management with Prometheus Laboratories, a specialty pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, corporate partnering, licensing and strategic planning. Prior to Prometheus, he spent five years with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Gomperts received Bachelor of Science degrees in Chemistry and Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles, a JD from Stanford Law School and an MBA from the Wharton School.

“Andrew joins us at an exciting time for Cerus as INTERCEPT platelets and plasma sales continue to demonstrate strong growth and as we prepare to enter Phase III for red cells in Europe,“ said William ‘Obi’ Greenman, president and chief executive officer. "We expect his contributions to be instrumental in our pursuit of new markets in Asia, North America, and around the globe."

ABOUT CERUS

Cerus Corporation is a biomedical products company focused on commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. The INTERCEPT system is designed to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases by inactivating a broad range of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and parasites that may be present in donated blood. The nucleic acid targeting mechanism of action enables INTERCEPT treatment to inactivate established transfusion threats, such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, West Nile virus and bacteria, and is designed to inactivate emerging pathogens such as influenza, malaria and dengue. Cerus currently markets and sells the INTERCEPT Blood System for both platelets and plasma in Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East and selected countries in other regions around the world. The INTERCEPT red blood cell system is in clinical development. See http://www.cerus.com for more information.

INTERCEPT and INTERCEPT Blood System are trademarks of Cerus Corporation.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements relating to potential growth in INTERCEPT platelet and plasma sales, the potential initiation of a Phase III trial for INTERCEPT red blood cells in Europe, and potential new market opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based upon Cerus’ current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, without limitation, risks associated with the commercialization and market acceptance of, and customer demand for, the INTERCEPT Blood System, risks respecting the uncertain and time-consuming clinical development and regulatory process, including the risk that clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells may not be initiated in a timely manner, or at all, as well as risks relating to the outcome of red blood cell clinical trials and adverse decisions or actions by regulatory agencies, risks relating to the sufficiency of Cerus’ cash resources to conduct and complete clinical trials for INTERCEPT red blood cells, and other risks detailed in the Cerus' filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in Cerus' quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, filed with the SEC on November 3, 2011. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Cerus does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, changed assumptions or otherwise.

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