Home Care In Enterprise, LA

Riot Games, the developer of the popular “League of Legends” multiplayer battle game, is joining other tech companies that have been trimming their payrolls with a layoff of 11% of its staff.

In a lengthy statement to staff issued late Monday, CEO Dylan Jadeja and co-founder and president of the company Marc Merrill said the move was meant to “create focus and move us toward a sustainable future.” It said 530 jobs were being eliminated, accounting for about 11% of the headcount at the company, which is owned by the Chinese technology giant Tencent.

A note to customers said, “This isn’t to appease shareholders or to hit a quarterly earnings number—it’s a necessity.”

The Los Angeles, California-based company said it had expanded its investments across too many areas, doubling its staff in a few years, and now was cutting back to focus on games.

“Today we’re a company without a sharp enough focus, and simply put, we have too many things underway. Some of the investments we’ve made aren’t paying off the way we expected them to,” the statement said.

“To all the Rioters who are being laid off, we are deeply sorry that it has come to this,” it said.

Riot Games said it will pay staff who are laid off six months of salary at a minimum, cash bonuses and other benefits.

It said it would offer access to job placement services, counseling and visa support for staff who were working with visas. Those laid off can also request use of a laptop if needed, the company said.

Job cuts have been taking a toll on workers across various industries — including retail, tech, media and hospitality — over the last few years. In recent months, layoffs have been announced at Google, Amazon, Hasbro, LinkedIn and more.

Many have been in the tech sector, which hired heavily during the pandemic, when people whiled away time stuck at home playing games online.

Riot Games sponsors the League of Legends World Championship and the company said it remained committed to esports and entertainment in support of its games.

The company said it would make changes to its Legends of Runeterra to “move it to sustainability” and reduce the staff working on that team, shifting its focus to its “Path of Champions.” “Riot Forge” will be discontinued after the upcoming release of “Bandle Tale,” it said.

A furniture brand is supporting a brand reinvigoration effort by enabling the sharing of information across the company.

In the wake of changing consumer behaviors and new competitors that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, La-Z-Boy launched a corporate strategy called “Century Vision” in 2021. Century Vision is designed to drive growth through La-Z-Boy’s centennial year in 2027.

As part of this new strategy, the company established a consumer insights division, which did not exist before. This division dives deep into La-Z-Boy’s consumers, collecting and analyzing data on who they are, what they want, and how they shop.

However, La-Z-Boy discovered that for the findings of its consumer insights division to help make decisions and drive informed actions throughout the organization, there needed to be a central hub for quick and easy data access. The retailer decided to implement the Stravito enterprise insights platform to serve as this hub.

The retailer selected Stravito because its platform offered features such as the ability to provide search results based on keywords from adjacent topics, eliminating the need to type in exact phrases or spelling. Users can also instantly click and share documents and set up specific project teams.

La-Z-Boy started on the platform with a soft launch of 10 employees that took less than two months, and has gradually expanded usage.

“Our vision is that we will over time provide an enterprise-wide hub where all of La-Z-Boy's 11,500 employees can access insights,” said Megan Battig, senior consumer insights manager at La-Z-Boy. “Right now, we’re looking at habit adoption: Are people signing in? Are they searching? We're in those early stages of exploring the tool and making it part of our day-to-day usage.

“In the future, we will start measuring if and how teams are using insights to make decisions, really evaluating if we are making an impact within the organization, and if our cross-functional peers are using insights to make informed decisions,” said Battig.

Headquartered in Monroe, Mich., La- Z- Boy operates over 900 stores across the U.S. and is a division of residential furniture producer La-Z-Boy Inc.

Shoppers see a personalized future

With its Century Vision initiative, La-Z-Boy appears to be aligning with what customers want from future shopping experiences. A recent survey https://chainstoreage.com/retail-2030-what-do-shoppers-expect of 1,000 U.S.-based consumers from Synchrony reveals that 80% of respondents will expect experiences curated just for them by 2030.

And 81% of respondents expect to see a world where hyper personalization or "just for me" is rolled out, and 55% of respondents expressed an intent to use on-site personalization services if they were available.

As a toast to the new autumn season, BLACK ENTERPRISE would like to share an empowering conversation with the founder and CEO of La Fête Wine Co., Donae Burston. He dropped seasonal sipping tips, business knowledge, and receipts about his journey to becoming the world’s No.1 rosé wine brand.

As a Black-owned brand, La Fête has been a disruptor in the alcohol industry since its inception in 2019.

The world traveler is no stranger to the wine industry, having worked with iconic luxury brands for over 15 years. After one conversation, we captured the essence of Burston’s ongoing quest to bridge the gap between Black buyers, winemakers, decision-makers, and restaurateurs.

Leveraging his connections, Burston witnessed firsthand just how quintessential the multicultural consumer is to the industry.

“When you get into the alcohol business, it is extremely challenging when you don’t have a celebrity as the face of the brand. Certainly we caught a lot of flack in the beginning,” Burston told BE.

“Now some other brands have caught onto our messaging, and they’re starting to see that the value and the growth of the category is really outside of the cliche,” he continued.

“Immerse yourself in every aspect of the business,” Burston advised, crediting his thirst for knowledge despite facing the challenges of inviting people of color, an audience often overlooked in the wine industry and the conversation.

Burston suggested that we warm up our chilly nights with his rosé, its delicate sweetness and freshness reminiscent of a sunset on a beach. The liquid gold paired perfectly with a hearty grilled salmon meal. The exquisite La Fête Blanc danced on my palate. Its vibrant, fruity flavors transported me to the dance floor as if I were on a honeymoon island.

Burston said that La Fête is where the party meets approachable luxury. “You can consume it however you want.”

Burston is the 2023 Breakthru Tastemaker, leading a legacy for his wine brand La Fête du Rosé by creating an ecosystem for Black and Brown wine founders.

“Knowing that I have to start to let go and bring on a team that is far more better than I am at things has been a game changer,” Burston explained. “Instead of trying to do everything not well, we’re going to do things amazingly well by bringing in the talent.”

The movement continues in the wake of DEI casualties despite the slowing down of business connections with major retailers. Burston started strong with generous donations to The Roots Fund and continues to support organizations that expose underrepresented youth to the world via travel. All Abroad Inc. was their first beneficiary and partner.

In a continuous effort to connect the Black community with wine, La Fête Wine Company is currently sponsoring The Roots Fund’s HBCU Wine Tour in partnership with Michael Lavelle Wines.

“For La Fête, we need to be where that consumer is,” Burston said. He contemplated just how far and wide his brand continues to go.

“Here, it is brand validation and brand association. It’s about brand discovery in other places and bringing a piece of home with you.”

Cheers to that!

Area non-profit organizations and Enterprise Bank staff gather at the check presentation April 20 at UNM-LA. Photo by Carol A. Clark.ladailypost.com

By CAROL A. CLARK Los Alamos Daily Post [email protected]

Enterprise Bank & Trust’s Kenny Hitt, president of Consumer & Business Banking, flew in from Kansas City, Mo., to present a $300,000 donation to United Way of Northern New Mexico (UWNNM) to support its charitable work throughout the community.

“We are proud to partner with United Way, which partners with so many non-profit organizations and philanthropic agencies,” Hitt said. “We succeed when the communities we serve succeed.”

UWNNM’s Board Chair Liddie Martinez and Executive Director Cindy Padilla accepted the donation on behalf of the non-profit organization during a special gathering April 20 on the campus of UNM-Los Alamos.

“It is a privilege to serve our regional communities,” said Martinez, who also serves as Los Alamos Regional President of Enterprise Bank. “Both the United Way of Northern New Mexico and Enterprise Bank & Trust are making significant investments in Los Alamos and Rio Arriba counties to provide support and assistance for those most in need.”

UWNNM has been devoted to working in a united way to improve the lives of children and families through service collaboration and provided leadership, funding support and training for area nonprofit organizations for nearly 70 years. Its continued vision includes support of its many local organizations and partners with a greater emphasis on collaboration and collective impact.

Enterprise Bank maintains a 5 star rating and ranked #3 on Forbes list of Best Banks in the Country in 2020. The bank is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and was founded in 1988 by three business leaders who had an idea to create a bank that was uniquely different.

Enterprise Bank President Scott Goodman spoke during a recent telephone interview about how the bank has continued to embrace that idea, which is behind the bank’s generous support of the local United Way.

“Corporate Citizenship has always been a guiding principal,” Goodman said. “We look forward to seeing these funds be leveraged through UWNNM to organizations throughout the community.”

Goodman explained that the bank saw the positive impact over the last three years from its $150,000 matching donation with the community to Los Alamos Community Foundation. This recent $300,000 donation is not a matching fund but will be distributed at $100,000 per year over the next three years.

Enterprise Bank is headquartered in Clayton, Mo. It operates 47 branch offices in Arizona, California, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada and New Mexico, and SBA loan and deposit production offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.

Since its founding, Enterprise Bank has grown to $13 billion. Goodman attributes the company’s success to its “strong capital base.” He said the company takes advantage of opportunities to merge or acquire banks with similar community oriented philosophies such as they found with Los Alamos National Bank.

“As we grow we don’t forget our focus of empowering privately held businesses to succeed, helping families to secure their financial futures, and investing to advance the quality of life in the communities we serve,” he said.

Goodman said during the phone interview that he has been with Enterprise Bank 20 years this month.

“A family friend first drew me into the banking business by explaining how in banking we get to help people employ other people and help our communities grow stronger,” Goodman said. “My father was in public service and I liked that but I also liked business. The friend helped me realize that in banking I could use my passion for business and still help people and communities.”

So what has kept Goodman at Enterprise Bank for two decades?

“It’s the people I work with … we always want to hire passionate people from the CEO’s office to the support center to the tellers … that’s what keeps me here – that commitment to our clients and communities,” he said.

Goodman has visited Los Alamos and when asked what he thinks of the community he said, “Los Alamos is deeply caring, deeply committed, extremely intelligent and well connected … we always get challenged there in a good way!”

Enterprise Bank’s Kenny Hitt, president of Consumer & Business Banking speaks to members of UWNNM and non-profit partners gathered for the April 20 check presentation at UNM-Los Alamos. Photo by Carol A. Clark.ladailypost.com

UWNNM Board Chair Liddie Martinez presents a special weaving to Enterprise Bank’s Kenny Hitt in appreciation for his support of the non-profit organization. Photo by Carol A. Clark.ladailypost.com

UWNNM Executive Director Cindy Padilla and Board Member Steve Renfro present a Nambé gift of appreciation to Enterprise Bank’s Donavan Price for her support of the organization. Photo by Carol A. Clark.ladailypost.com

This post contains spoilers for the "Star Trek: Picard" series finale.

In the "Star Trek: Voyager" episode titled "Timeless" (November 18, 1998), Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) found themselves lost in an alternate future after the destruction of their ship. It seems that 15 years before, the Voyager was tinkering with something called a quantum slipstream when the experiment went wrong and the entire starship crashed, killing almost everyone. Chakotay and Kim endeavor to steal a time-altering widget that would allow them to restore the past as it was. In stealing said widget, however, they are pursued by a Federation starship. The ship is the U.S.S. Challenger, a Galaxy-class vessel captained by ... look, Trekkies! It's LeVar Burton as Captain Geordi La Forge! He finally got that command that he always — or at least once — wanted.

Geordi's place in the captain's chair in the "Voyager" alternate future would play itself out in official canon in "The Last Generation," the series finale of "Star Trek: Picard." While Picard (Patrick Stewart), Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Worf (Michael Dorn) left the Enterprise-D to mount a rescue, Geordi would stay behind to command the ship. For the first time since 1998, Trekkies got to see Geordi in command. The character fulfilled a dream he once had as a young lieutenant.

Of course, careers change. Starting with the third season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Geordi served as the chief engineer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D and provided the show with the bulk of its wonderful multisyllabic techno-jargon. In wearing the gold uniform, the color used to denote engineers and security officers, La Forge presented himself as being on a very particular career track. He was not aiming to command a vessel, preferring to focus on machines and technical details.

Timeless

Paramount

La Forge's technical know-how, in the "official" timeline of "Star Trek: Picard," eventually led him to become the chief curator at a Federation starship museum where ancient ships are put on display. He bore the rank of commodore. For an engineer, this is an appropriate place to end up. He also had a reputation as one of Starfleet's best tinkerers, and Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), previously an engineer himself, became a little starstruck when talking to La Forge face-to-face.

But in the first two seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the young Geordi La Forge wore a red uniform, a declaration that he was on the command career track. The officers in red uniforms aimed to be leaders, needing to study all aspects of a ship and train themselves to manage teams and oversee all of a starship's functions. La Forge clearly wanted to be a captain eventually, and would happily sit in the captain's chair when asked. Even though he was, at the time, only a lieutenant (junior grade).

La Forge was a bridge officer, which put him in close proximity to the captain's chair on multiple occasions. This made the ship's snippy original chief engineer, Lieutenant Logan (Vyto Ruginis), rather miffed in the season 1 "Next Generation" episode "The Arsenal of Freedom" (April 11, 1988). In that episode, the bulk of the Enterprise's senior staff became stranded on a planet, pinned down or injured by automated weapons fire left behind by a long-dead civilization. La Forge was left in command of the ship, dealing with a similar weapon in orbit. When the Enterprise was buffeted by phaser fire, Logan charged to the bridge demanding a command position.

La Forge, stalwart, refused. Good for him.

'The Arsenal of Freedom'

Indeed, in "The Arsenal of Freedom," Geordi's solution for the crisis du jour is brilliant. The ship attacking him is invisible and its attacks are increasingly destructive. He eventually has the great idea of separating the Enterprise's saucer section and ceding control of it over to Logan. Using the drive section, Geordi lures the invisible ship into the upper part of a planet's atmosphere, causing it to become visible as it heats up. La Forge has to get command advice from Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) and reassure the ensigns in his command that everything will be fine. When Picard returns to the ship, he lets Geordi stay in command until it is reunited with its saucer. It seems that Geordi would have made a pretty excellent captain.

La Forge's engineering career, of course, interrupted that particular ambition, leaving "Arsenal of Freedom" fans a little upset. It seemed that Geordi was fated to never be captain again.

Thankfully, "The Last Generation" will finally leave said fans sated. Geordi, now perhaps in his 80s, is left in command of the Enterprise-D he reconstructed himself (it was destroyed in "Star Trek: Generations"). At the helm sits Data (Brent Spiner) who pilots the ship, Millennium Falcon-style, into a vast Borg vessel, hoping to bomb its core. Geordi lets Data do his piloting, stays in contact with his team, and again asks Troi for advice. It's been decades for both the actor and the character, but it seems that being a captain was something he never lost a knack for.

"Picard" may not take place in a timeline where Geordi became a starship captain, but fans of the famed engineer finally get to see something they've longed for since 1988. It only took 35 years.