Management & Governance

Diageo is finalising the appointment of Joanne Wilson, currently finance chief of the London-listed marketing services group WPP, as its new chief financial officer, Sky News has learnt. An announcement could come as soon as Wednesday morning. If confirmed, the move reunites Wilson with Diageo chief executive Sir Dave Lewis, her former colleague at Tesco, and marks the latest stage of a transformation of Diageo's leadership team by Sir Dave, who took over as chief executive of the Guinness and Johnnie Walker producer earlier this year. Wilson, who joined WPP just three-and-a-half years ago, spent more than a decade at Britain's biggest grocery retailer, including a stint as finance chief of dunnhumby, Tesco's data analytics division. At Diageo, which is also in the foothills of a significant transformation programme, she will replace Nik Jhangiani, who had been tipped as a contender to take the FTSE-100 drinks group's top job on a permanent basis and is expected to leave the company. Sir Dave announced last month that Diageo would invest heavily in a number of mass-market brands, including Smirnoff and Captain Morgan, with capital freed up by a cost-cutting exercise which will ultimately lead to a significantly reduced workforce. It was unclear on Tuesday night whether WPP had had time to prepare for the appointment of an interim finance chief, or how long a notice period Wilson would be held to at the marketing services group. Diageo declined to comment, while WPP has been contacted for comment.

President Trump bought up to $50,000 worth of shares in Elon Musk's space company SpaceX in July and later sold part of the stake, according to a publicly released financial disclosure report. According to the disclosure report Trump signed on September 8, he purchased between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of SpaceX shares on July 10, and sold between $1,001 and $15,000 worth on July 17 of the same month. The transactions create a new financial link between President Trump and SpaceX at a time when his administration is making decisions that could affect the company's business. SpaceX is a major contractor for the U.S. military and frequently needs approvals and authorizations from federal agencies for its operations. SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq on June 12, and its first-day close was about 19 percent above its initial public offering price of $135, giving it a market value of about $2.1 trillion.

VERAXA Biotech is entering a new phase of development following its transition to the NASDAQ market and a series of scientific and corporate milestones centered on its proprietary BiTAC platform. The Swiss biotechnology company began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker VRXA in June following the completion of its business combination with Voyager Acquisition Corp. The transaction was accompanied by financing arrangements that included a $27.5 million senior secured note and a securities purchase agreement for up to an undisclosed additional amount. VERAXA is advancing an oncology pipeline built around BiTAC, an AND-gated therapeutic approach in which two complementary components must engage the same cancer cell before the intended cytotoxic mechanism is activated, alongside additional antibody-drug conjugate and engineered-antibody technologies. The company has reported early preclinical evidence for both its BiTAC-TCE and BiTAC-ADC approaches, including an in-vitro proof of concept for BiTAC-ADC announced in June, and recently appointed Raju Willener as CFO and Christoph Erkel, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer.

GE Aerospace named former Northrop Grumman Chairman and CEO Wes Bush as independent lead director of its board, succeeding Tom Horton in the role. The appointment took effect Sept. 21, the company announced Tuesday, and Horton, who had served as independent lead director since 2018, will remain on GE Aerospace's board. Bush joined the GE Aerospace board as an independent director in 2025, bringing extensive aerospace and defense experience from his former leadership of Northrop Grumman; he also serves on the boards of Dow and General Motors. Horton became GE's independent lead director in 2018, a period that encompassed the restructuring and eventual breakup of the former conglomerate, and he previously served as chairman and CEO of American Airlines and currently is a senior adviser at Global Infrastructure Partners, while also serving on the boards of Chevron and Walmart. The change in lead director does not affect H. Lawrence Culp Jr.'s position as chairman and CEO of GE Aerospace, which became a standalone company in 2024 after GE completed the separation of its energy businesses into GE Vernova.

Hightower Advisors has hired Marco De Freitas, the former head of digital and analytics at Vanguard, as its new president, effective in mid-fourth quarter 2026. He replaces Roberto Stewart, who stepped down from the role in June, less than three months after joining the firm. De Freitas will report directly to CEO Larry Restieri, with responsibility for Hightower's operations, technology, enterprise AI strategy and investment platform; prior to Vanguard he spent a decade at TD Ameritrade, where he led digital, client experience, investment products and advice. The firm also announced the appointment of Jennifer Frazier, a partner at Hightower Signature Wealth, as president of that division, which now has more than $40 billion in AUM; Hightower launched Signature Wealth last October as its branded RIA, seeded by Dallas-based Frontier Investment Management, a Hightower partner firm that Frazier was part of. Mike Hirsbrunner, who also came from Frontier, will serve as chief operating officer at HTSW, while Penny Phillips will continue as head of advisor growth. The moves follow news last month that HTSW added Stearns Financial Group, an affiliate firm with a 30-person team managing about $2.5 billion in client assets.

Klarna's Niclas Neglen is set to join Adyen as chief financial officer and a statutory board management member, effective February 1. Adyen's supervisory board will propose his appointment as a management board member to shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting, subject to regulatory approval by the Dutch Central Bank. Klarna had announced on August 18 plans to transition Neglen in early 2027. Adyen CFO Ethan Tandowsky announced his resignation in May, effective August 31, and Hwa Tsao was appointed interim CFO. Adyen co-CEO Pieter van der Does said Hwa Tsao's oversight as interim CFO through February 1, 2027, will allow for a seamless transition before he resumes leading finance operations as senior vice president of group finance.

Acadia Healthcare shares have surged 100% year to date, rebounding from a 2025 slump driven by patient-related litigation costs and legal liability concerns. Early this year the company brought back former CEO Debra Osteen, replacing Chris Hunter, while reaffirming its 2025 guidance. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EBITDA and earnings outlook after both the first- and second-quarter results, and after the second quarter increased its operating cash flow guidance to $350-$400 million from $285-$325 million while lowering expected capital expenditures to $235-$255 million from $255-$280 million. The company added 240 licensed beds in the second quarter of 2026 through two newly opened joint-venture facilities, a 144-bed facility with Orlando Health in Florida and a 96-bed facility with Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Iowa, and also opened two new Comprehensive Treatment Center locations. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings stands at $1.55 per share with four upward revisions and no cuts over the past 60 days, while the 2027 EPS consensus implies 14.4% year-over-year growth and 2026 and 2027 revenue consensus of $3.42 billion and $3.61 billion signals increases of 3.4% and 5.4%, respectively.

Smokey Mo's BBQ has named Von Dawson as its Vice President of Franchise Development as the Texas barbecue franchise continues building its footprint across the state. Dawson joins Smokey Mo's from Dine Brands Global, where he most recently served as Director of Franchise Sales, overseeing franchise sales across the company's IHOP, Applebee's and Fuzzy's Taco Shop brands, and he is a Certified Franchise Executive through the International Franchise Association. In his new role, he will lead franchise development with a focus on building the brand's pipeline of qualified franchise partners and expanding its presence in new and existing markets across Texas. The appointment comes as Smokey Mo's operates 22 restaurants across the Austin, San Antonio and Houston areas, with additional locations in development, following a measured approach to expansion over more than 25 years. CEO Craig Haley said Dawson's depth of franchise development experience and track record will be instrumental as the company looks ahead to its next phase of growth in Texas.

Anthropic debuted Opus 5.5 on Tuesday, the first model in its Claude 5.5 family and its first release since CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in developing frontier AI. According to Anthropic, the new model offers performance on par with its Fable 5.1 model but costs 40% less than Opus 5. Opus 5.5 will cost $4 per million input tokens and $20 per million output tokens, compared with $5 per million input tokens and $25 per million output tokens for Opus 5. Anthropic said its Claude 5.5 models have undergone extensive alignment testing, external evaluations, and safeguards for high-risk areas like cybersecurity and biology, and that it is working on new safety training scenarios. The launch comes amid internal debate over AI risk: former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned this month saying neither Anthropic nor OpenAI took AI safety seriously, alignment science lead Evan Hubinger replied that he believes there is a greater than 10% chance the technology could kill all humans, and Amodei then posted an essay calling for a slowdown that drew agreement from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceXAI's Elon Musk but pushback from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and President Trump.

Varda Space Industries announced the appointments of Steve Layne as Chief Revenue Officer and Aaron Huber as Chief Financial Officer, strengthening its leadership team as it scales across pharmaceutical development and government programs. Layne brings over 30 years of large-scale defense program experience, most recently as Vice President and Deputy General Manager for Strategic and Missile Defense Systems at LM Space, and previously as Vice President of Hypersonic Strike Weapon Systems at Lockheed Martin, where he led work on two of the Pentagon's highest-priority hypersonic initiatives. Huber joins with nearly two decades of experience spanning deep-tech and capital markets, including automotive technology, synthetic biology, and healthcare AI, and a $1.6 billion NYSE listing, multiple acquisitions, and complex non-dilutive financing structures. CEO Will Bruey said the two give Varda the commercial and financial leadership to match its technical progress. Varda has completed six successful launch and return missions and is advancing toward delivering the world's first commercial pharmaceutical product manufactured in low Earth orbit, with three vehicles at launch sites around the country set to bring its reentry record to nine commercial reentries by the end of the year.

Microsoft's Xbox division is eliminating 268 jobs and reorganizing several of its game studios, with Activision taking responsibility for development of the next Halo title, according to a staff memo cited by Variety. The cuts affect Halo Studios, other first-party studios and Xbox Game Studios management and central functions, Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty said in the memo on Tuesday. Under the reorganization, Activision will also oversee World's Edge and Rare, with the next Halo game developed by a new team separate from Activision's ongoing Call of Duty work, while a smaller group at Halo Studios continues supporting existing games and the franchise's community. Bethesda will take responsibility for Obsidian, King will add Microsoft Casual Games to its operations, and Playground and Turn 10 will combine into a single studio focused on the Forza and Fable franchises. Xbox is also continuing efforts to divest some studios: Undead Labs has transitioned to a new publisher and plans to release State of Decay 3 on Game Pass on its launch day, two proposed agreements involving Ninja Theory fell through and Xbox plans to begin consultations with employees over a possible closure, while discussions involving Arkane remain ongoing. The latest actions follow Xbox's July announcement of plans to cut as many as 3,200 jobs, or about 20% of its workforce, as part of a broader restructuring.

Marram Investment Management exited its position in PayPal Holdings at a slight loss during the second quarter of 2026 after its investment thesis broke when the company's Board abruptly fired the CEO and appointed a successor, a former HP executive with no payments, technology, or product experience. The firm disclosed the move in its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, which reported a portfolio return of +2.7% net of fees for the quarter and +3.2% year-to-date, with a cumulative return of +632.4% and a +13.7% annualized return since inception. Marram said its original thesis rested on a capable management team investing to rebuild PayPal's technology, product, and brand, and that it acted when the facts changed. PayPal closed at $52.62 per share on September 21, 2026, down 15.50% over the past month and 21.82% over the past year, with a market capitalization of $45.01 billion and a 52-week range of $38.46 to $79.22. The number of hedge fund portfolios holding PayPal fell to 60 at the end of the second quarter from 76 in the previous quarter.

THINK Surgical, Inc. announced that Rick McDowell has joined the orthopedic surgical robot maker as Vice President, Sales. McDowell will report to Executive Vice President Chris Marrus and will lead the company's national sales organization, driving market strategy and growth as THINK Surgical scales its commercial operations. He brings more than 20 years of medical device commercialization, clinical strategy and capital sales experience, most recently serving as Chief Commercial Officer at Gigly, Inc. Before that he led capital sales for Procept BioRobotics across the North Central United States and spent over a decade at Stryker Robotics/Orthopaedics, most recently as Area Sales Director for the Southeast region. Earlier in his career at MAKO Surgical he served as Director, Clinical Sales, leading an 8-district, 90-member, $85 million national clinical sales organization, and over his career he has generated more than half a billion dollars in lifetime capital and disposable sales.

Ericsson Federal Technologies Group has appointed Patrick Gorman as its Chief Technology Officer, the company announced. Gorman brings more than 40 years of government and commercial experience to the role, where he will help shape the company's technology strategy and advance secure, mission-ready communications solutions for U.S. government customers. He most recently served as an Executive Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he held leadership roles in the firm's 5G and cyber practice and led its cyber and digital incubators. His federal service includes serving as Assistant Director of National Intelligence and Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Intelligence Community, helping establish the Transportation Security Administration following September 11, and contributing to the development of U.S. Department of Defense doctrine for network-centric warfare and cyberwarfare. Gorman also served more than a decade in the U.S. Air Force in signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and psychological operations.

Goldman Sachs is bringing on Simon Lyons as co-head of U.K. investment banking, a bank spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Lyons will join as a partner alongside co-head Nimesh Khiroya and is expected to be based in London later this year. He was most recently co-head of Europe at Ardea Partners and was a founding partner at PJT Partners, and earlier served as head of U.K. mergers and acquisitions at UBS. The hire comes as Goldman Sachs has extended its lead in U.K. dealmaking, with LSEG data showing the bank leading U.K. M&A league tables year-to-date with $175 billion in transaction value spread across 69 deals. Goldman posted second-quarter investment banking fees of $3.40 billion, a 55% year-over-year increase, and advised on more than $1 trillion in announced M&A in the first half of 2026. The appointment is part of a broader pattern of senior hires Goldman has made across Europe, including David Benichou, a 2026 recruit from Morgan Stanley who leads investment banking coverage across France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

FormFactor CEO Mike Slessor sold 17,510 shares of common stock on Sept. 16, 2026, a transaction valued at approximately $1.8 million, according to a recent SEC Form 4 filing. The sale was non-discretionary, executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted in August 2025, with shares sold at prices between $103.65 and $105.80. Following the transaction, Slessor directly holds 466,694 shares, a position worth roughly $49 million as of the Sept. 16, 2026, market close and representing a 0.6% stake in the Livermore-based semiconductor testing specialist. The filing indicates all reported equity is held directly, with no indirect holdings or family trusts identified, and the executive continues to hold derivative securities alongside the common stock position. FormFactor reported 32% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter, an acceleration from the -1% growth rate in the year-ago quarter, with operating margin reaching 22% in the recent quarter.

ClickHouse, Inc. announced the appointment of Michael Scarpelli, most recently Chief Financial Officer of Snowflake, to its Board of Directors as an independent director and chair of the board's Audit Committee. Scarpelli previously held the CFO role at ServiceNow and Data Domain, leading each company through its initial public offering. He joins ClickHouse as the company surpasses $350 million in run-rate revenue, up from roughly $200 million at the end of 2025, and after a Series D funding round earlier this year valued it at $15 billion, extended to include J.P. Morgan Private Capital, BDT & MSD Partners, Craft Ventures, and 20VC. ClickHouse now employs nearly 800 people across 27 countries, with plans to reach 1,000 by year-end, and derives more than half of its revenue from outside the United States, serving more than 4,000 customers including DoorDash, Ramp, Meta, Tesla, Cisco and Visa. The appointment is part of a build-out of ClickHouse's finance and governance capabilities that included the 2025 hire of Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Sexton, who previously spent six years in finance leadership at Snowflake.

PPG has named Alex Lopez as vice president of investor relations and operational finance, effective 1 October. Lopez, currently director of investor relations, will report to senior vice-president and chief financial officer Jamie Beggs, and will retain responsibility for investor relations while also overseeing enterprise operational finance, including capital discipline, productivity oversight and improving the effectiveness of operational finance. During two decades at PPG, Lopez has held several senior finance positions, most recently moving into investor relations in 2024 after serving as global finance director for automotive OEM coatings, and in 2017 becoming finance director for architectural coatings, Latin America, based in Mexico City, where he was involved in the development of PPG Comex. Before joining PPG, he worked in financial planning and liaison roles at GE Appliances and its joint venture Mabe. PPG, based in Pittsburgh, US, operates in more than 50 countries and recorded net sales of $15.9bn in 2025. Separately, PPG Latin America vice-president Adriana Macouzet retired in April 2026, and from the same date Jennifer Solcz, previously vice-president of protective and marine coatings for the US and Canada, was appointed vice-president of protective and marine coatings for the Americas, adding Latin America to her existing responsibilities.

3M CEO William Brown told investors the company's operational turnaround is running ahead of the targets set at its 2025 investor day, even as PFAS litigation continues to resurface. Brown said 3M has lifted its on-time delivery rate from the low 80% range to around 90%, increased product launches from 125 three years ago to 284 last year, and expects to exceed 350 launches this year, with new products projected to reach roughly 20% of sales by 2027 versus about 11% when he took over. The company posted 5.4% adjusted organic sales growth in the second quarter and Brown said 3M is now tracking above a 25% operating margin by 2027, while its expanded beam optical technology, adopted by Microsoft as a data-center standard, could serve a market he estimates at nearly $2 billion. On the legal front, a Montana federal judge recently denied without prejudice motions to dismiss a nationwide PFAS class action involving firefighter turnout gear, and 3M still faces a separate lawsuit from the Australian government seeking more than A$2 billion in damages over its PFAS-containing firefighting foam. 3M's existing $10.5 billion to $12.5 billion U.S. settlement covers only claims released by participating public water systems, leaving other PFAS-related litigation outstanding. Institutional interest strengthened during the quarter, with hedge fund holdings rising from 63 funds at the end of Q1 2026 to 72 funds at the end of Q2 2026, while short interest stood at 1.79% of float as of August 31, 2026.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 1,150,680 shares of GameStop Class A common stock on Monday, spending roughly $26.4 million and pushing his total stake past 40 million shares, according to a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The weighted average price across Cohen's transactions was $22.9375 per share, with execution prices ranging from $22.76 to $23.02, and his direct holdings now stand at 40,498,522 shares. No Rule 10b5-1 designation appears on the filing, indicating Cohen did not execute the purchase through a pre-scheduled trading plan. The buy continues a stretch of insider accumulation: Cohen purchased one million shares on Sept. 10 at an average price near $20.38, and three GameStop directors — Lawrence Cheng, James Grube, and Alain Attal — also bought shares that same week, with Monday's per-share cost representing a premium of more than 12% over what Cohen paid just 11 days earlier. Cohen has been pursuing a major acquisition while building his personal stake, having put forward a non-binding proposal to acquire all of eBay's outstanding shares at $125 apiece, split evenly between cash and GameStop stock, valuing eBay's equity at roughly $55.5 billion; eBay's board rejected the offer, calling it "neither credible nor attractive," and Cohen has more recently considered withdrawing the takeover bid in favor of a partnership or joint venture with eBay. In July, GameStop disclosed it had increased its eBay stake to 9.75%, making it eBay's second-largest shareholder behind Vanguard Group funds, and at GameStop's current market cap of roughly $10.2 billion, Cohen's direct stake represents approximately 9% of the company.

Thai Oil Public Company Limited, or TOP, has notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand that two company directors have resigned from their positions due to other commitments, effective from 1 October 2026 onwards. The resigning directors are Ms. Phatralada Ngamseang, who served as a director and chairman of the risk management committee, and Mr. Chadil Chuanalikhit, who served as a director and a member of the nomination and remuneration committee. The company reported the changes to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 22 September 2026.

The Lycra Company has appointed Hua Du as chief executive officer, effective 14 September, succeeding interim CEO Dean Williams, who will continue as chief financial officer. The appointment follows the company's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, after it reduced its long-term debt by over $1.2bn and secured new investments totalling more than $75m. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, The Lycra Company said the move underpins its "next chapter" with new equity ownership and a "durable capital structure," supporting future investment in innovation, customer partnerships and operations worldwide. Board executive chairman Bruce Rubin welcomed Du's technical expertise, operational leadership and global customer focus, and thanked Williams for his leadership during the transition. Du brings three decades of leadership experience across specialty chemicals and biotechnology, most recently as CEO of Grobest Group, and previously held senior positions at Rhodia, later acquired by Solvay, and led electronic materials businesses in Asia for Rohm and Haas, later acquired by Dow Chemical. The company's portfolio includes LYCRA, LYCRA HyFit, COOLMAX and TACTEL, and in November last year it opened its largest spandex production facility in China.

The Cabinet, on 22 September 2026, approved the appointment of Ms. Salakjit Pongsirichan, Advisor on Tax Collection Strategy for the Financial and Banking Transactions Group at the Revenue Department, as the new Director-General of the Revenue Department, succeeding Mr. Somsak Anantawat, who retired from government service in the position of Advisor on Tax Collection Strategy. Ms. Salakjit oversees key units, namely the Central Tax Audit Office, the Large Business Tax Administration Office, and the Investigation and Litigation Office. She previously served as Deputy Director-General of the Revenue Department in 2020 and as Director of the Tax Audit Standards Office in the same year. In 2024, she held the position of Advisor on Strategy for the Financial and Banking Transactions Group. Ms. Salakjit graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Ramkhamhaeng University in 1991, a Bachelor of Laws from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University in 2012, and completed the Senior Executive Program, Class 92, in 2020.

Academy Asset Management announced that Nate Neibauer has joined the firm as Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Management. Neibauer most recently served as Head of Investments at Amazon, where he built the company's in-house investment team and managed over $100 billion of strategies, and also directed the issuance of Amazon's $30 billion commercial paper program. Earlier in his career he spent twelve years at Ford Motor Company, most recently as a Senior Portfolio Manager in Fixed Income Trading overseeing the company's liquidity portfolio. Academy Chairman and CEO Chance Mims said Neibauer brings a rare combination of corporate treasury leadership and institutional portfolio management experience, while Chief Financial Officer Anthony Graham cited his two decades of treasury and portfolio leadership at some of the country's largest corporations. Academy Asset Management is the nation's first post-9/11 veteran-owned and operated institutional asset manager, specializing in fixed-income funds and separately managed accounts.

Mark Cuban is calling for a tri-partisan commission to set guardrails on large healthcare companies, arguing they treat lawsuits and government fines as a cost of doing business. In a recent post on X, the billionaire wrote that multi-hundred-billion-dollar healthcare conglomerates get sued daily, lose most suits brought by cities, states and the Feds, and are fined hundreds of millions in individual suits, yet are "too big to care." He described the dynamic as "enforcement arbitrage," in which the financial upside of questionable practices exceeds the eventual penalties, citing a hypothetical in which a pharmaceutical giant earns $1 billion from a controversial product and pays out $200 million in settlements and regulatory penalties, leaving a net economic benefit of $800 million. Cuban said the Feds and states lack the resources to pursue every case, and that companies will delay and lobby while their lawyers outmatch regulators. He proposed a taxpayer-funded commission with representatives from both parties and independents, with frontier model representatives in the minority, suggesting a 20-year veteran of the GAO office to lead it. Kirat Kharode, founder and CEO of HealCo and a former hospital system executive, told Moneywise that the incentive problem is real and that regulation should target mechanisms rather than company size, with consequences close enough in time and magnitude to affect decisions. The same day, Cuban shared a post about the Ohio Chamber of Commerce suing United Health for "improper actions."

Odessa has appointed Mathew Abraham as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 21 September 2026, succeeding Joe Juliano. Abraham returns to the Philadelphia-based asset and auto finance software company, where he previously served as Chief Operating Officer from 2019 to 2022, leading its global delivery organization across implementation and customer success. Most recently he led and scaled a global business at Veeco, and earlier held senior leadership roles at ASML, Applied Materials and Intel; he holds a PhD from Harvard University. The appointment comes after a period of significant growth for Odessa, which over the past 18 months has delivered more than 20 implementations across North America, Europe and APAC while investing in automation, AI-powered digital experiences and platform modernization. Executive Chairman Madhu Natarajan said Abraham's industry expertise, operational leadership and deep knowledge of Odessa make him well suited to lead the company's next chapter, and Abraham said he looks forward to building on the foundation already in place.

A former Resorts World Las Vegas compliance director alleges he was fired 27 days after reporting a suspicious international patron network tied to up to $13 million in unpaid casino credit. Preston Banks, who joined the casino in September 2022 after 16 years at the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, claims in a federal complaint filed on Sept. 14 that management delayed or limited its response to warning signs involving between 60 and 150 patrons from Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Italy, and Spain. Resorts World ultimately barred 28 members of the alleged network and referred their accounts to the Clark County District Attorney's Office for collection of approximately $12 million to $13 million. Banks submitted a comprehensive report to Chief Compliance Officer Jennifer Roberts on Sept. 2, 2025, and was terminated on Sept. 29; he accuses the casino of violating whistleblower protections under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and Nevada's wrongful-termination law. Resorts World strongly denies the allegations and has called the action frivolous, following its $10.5 million Nevada regulatory settlement in March 2025.

A South Korean appeals court has reduced the prison sentence of Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, to 5 years from the 7 years handed down by the lower court, in a corruption case that included the selling of posts at state agencies. The Seoul High Court also acquitted Kim on some charges, overturning its ruling on a luxury wristwatch she received from a robot dog business operator in September 2022 in exchange for business favors, and acquitted her on charges of receiving a replica of a famous painting in exchange for lobbying help on personnel appointments, as the allegations could not be proven. However, the court upheld its finding that Kim was guilty on other corruption charges from the lower court trial, and ordered the forfeiture of gifts she received and the payment of a fine for the confiscation of assets amounting to 24.4 million won, or about 18,000 US dollars. Kim was indicted in August 2025 while in custody, making her the first wife of a former South Korean president to stand trial while detained. The special prosecution team of Min Jung Ki had sought a 7-year prison sentence for her.

Walhalla Gold Corp. has appointed Owen Greenberger as Vice-President of Exploration to lead its district-scale exploration strategy across its Victorian precious and critical minerals portfolio. Greenberger brings nearly two decades of Australian exploration experience, including approximately eight years at the Fosterville Gold Mine in Victoria, where he was part of the geological team associated with the discovery and advancement of the Lower Phoenix orogenic gold system, including the Swan and Eagle orebodies. He later held senior exploration leadership roles at the Morning Star mine and with Kirkland Lake Gold, evaluating and prioritizing opportunities across more than 1,600 square kilometres and budgeting more than $30 million in exploration expenditure. The Company owns the Walhalla Gold Project in Victoria, a district-scale project consisting of 1,230 km2 of concessions, where the Pinnacles target is fully permitted, accessible, and ready for immediate drilling. Chief Executive Officer and Director Steve Jukes said Greenberger's appointment strengthens the Company's technical leadership on the ground in Victoria and represents an important step in advancing Walhalla's next phase.

The Cabinet meeting approved the appointment of six civil servants to senior executive positions as proposed by the Ministry of Justice. Police Major General Piya Raksakul was appointed Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation, or DSI, while Police Lieutenant Colonel Pongthorn Thanyasiri becomes Director-General of the Department of Juvenile Observation and Protection. Mrs. Tharinee Saengsawang and Mr. Komol Prompheng were named inspectors-general of the Ministry, Office of the Permanent Secretary. Miss Nantharat Thepphonchai and Police Lieutenant Colonel Prawut Wongsini were appointed deputy permanent secretaries of the Ministry, Office of the Permanent Secretary. The meeting also approved the transfer of Police Major General Yuthana Phraedam, Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation, to serve as a special expert attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, at the senior executive level, Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office. In addition, the meeting approved the appointment of three civil servants to senior executive positions as proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Mr. Pasusit Wongsuravat as ambassador attached to the Ministry, Office of the Permanent Secretary; Mrs. Chatwadee Jindawong as Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs; and Miss Marinee Suwanmolee as ambassador attached to the Ministry, Office of the Permanent Secretary. Miss Lalida Pherdwiwattana, deputy government spokesperson, disclosed the details.

The Cabinet meeting resolved to appoint and transfer civil servants to eight senior administrative positions as proposed by the Ministry of Finance. Ms. Salakjit Pongsirichan, Advisor on Tax Collection Strategy at the Revenue Department, was promoted to Director-General of the Revenue Department, while Mr. Theeralak Saengsanit, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, was appointed Director-General of the Treasury Department. Mr. Abhidit Wattanakul, Director of the State Enterprise Policy Office, was appointed Director of the Public Debt Management Office, and Mr. Phonchak Nimmawattana, Advisor on Policy and Strategy at the Office of the Permanent Secretary, was promoted to Director of the State Enterprise Policy Office. For the two Deputy Permanent Secretary positions at the Ministry of Finance, the appointees are Mr. Kanawut Sitithiraphan, Inspector-General of the Ministry, and Ms. Jitra Neesanant, Advisor on Tax Base Development at the Revenue Department. The Inspector-General positions at the Ministry of Finance went to Ms. Saphatporn Thammapornpilat, Advisor on Monetary and Fiscal Economics at the Fiscal Policy Office, and Mrs. Taraporn Singhabhandhu Mahitthafongkul, Advisor on Real Estate Valuation Development at the Treasury Department. The announcement was made to the media by Ms. Lalida Perdviwattana, Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office.

Ms. Nann Bunnathida Somchai, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy and Society, confirmed that the TH-AI Passport project is ready for scrutiny by relevant agencies at every stage, but that any review must be based on facts, not imagination. This follows Ms. Karadee Leopairoj, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, submitting a letter to the Office of the Auditor General requesting an investigation into the transparency of the project. The DES deputy minister stated that projects using a budget exceeding 1 billion baht must be referred to the Comptroller General's Department to determine whether they must enter the integrity pact process, and the Comptroller General's Department has already replied in writing to the agency that the TH-AI Passport project does not meet the criteria requiring an integrity pact. As for the allegation of inflating registration numbers, the DES deputy minister views it as a very serious accusation and would not be surprised if legal action follows. She insisted that registration requires a digital ID via ThaiD of the Department of Provincial Administration or the Thang Rath application of the Digital Government Development Agency, so numbers cannot be inflated without clear evidence. She also stated that if registrations really were being inflated, there would already be 5 million registrants, and urged verification of registration figures against active users on the project's website and the DES Ministry's social media channels.

The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn on behalf of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul, approved the appointment of civil servants to senior executive positions. It endorsed the Finance Ministry's proposal to appoint Salakjit Pongsirichan, advisor on tax collection strategy for the financial and banking transactions group, as Director-General of the Revenue Department. It also appointed Theeralak Saengsanit, deputy permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry and head of the revenue affairs group, as Director-General of the Treasury Department. Meanwhile, on a Justice Ministry proposal, the Cabinet resolved to transfer Police Major General Piya Raksakul, Director-General of the Department of Probation, to serve as Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation, or DSI.

QXO announced on August 24 that Ken West will become its President and Chief Operating Officer effective September 1, taking over day-to-day operations and reporting directly to Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs. The hire comes just weeks after QXO closed its acquisition of TopBuild on July 1, a deal that made it the second-largest publicly traded building products distributor in North America. West spent more than two decades running large industrial businesses at Honeywell Technologies and PPG Industries, where he led the acquisitions and integrations of Johnson Matthey's Catalyst Technologies business, Sundyne, and AkzoNobel's Architectural Coatings business in North America. The timing matters because QXO's net sales jumped to $3.25 billion in the second quarter of 2026 from $1.91 billion a year earlier, with Kodiak Building Partners alone contributing $595 million of that total, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $272 million from $204 million and adjusted net income climbed to $130 million from $109 million. Jacobs has said the plan is to more than double EBITDA by 2030 and reach $50 billion in revenue within the decade, but the net loss for the first six months of 2026 widened to $282 million from $50 million a year earlier and adjusted diluted earnings per share flipped to a loss of two cents from a profit of 17 cents.

The Cabinet meeting approved the appointment and transfer of eight director-general or C10-level officials at the Ministry of Finance. Ms. Salachit Pongsirichan, advisor on tax collection strategy for the financial and banking transactions group at the Revenue Department, will become director-general of the Revenue Department, while Mr. Theeralak Saengsanit, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance and head of the revenue affairs group, will become director-general of the Treasury Department. Mr. Abhisit Wattanakul, director of the State Enterprise Policy Office, will move to become director of the Public Debt Management Office, and Mr. Phonchak Nimmawathana, advisor on policy and strategy at the Ministry of Finance, will become director of the State Enterprise Policy Office. In addition, Mr. Kanawut Sititheeraphan, inspector-general of the ministry, will become deputy permanent secretary; Ms. Saphatporn Thammapornpilat, advisor at the Fiscal Policy Office, will become inspector-general of the ministry; Mrs. Tharaporn Singhabhan Mahitthafongkul, advisor on real estate valuation development at the Treasury Department, will become inspector-general of the ministry; and Ms. Chitra Neesanant, advisor on tax base development at the Revenue Department, will become deputy permanent secretary.

Porsche may face around 4,100 additional job cuts after parent company Volkswagen presses ahead with a major restructuring to improve profitability, amid mounting pressure on the luxury sports car business. The proposal is part of Volkswagen's largest restructuring plan, aimed at closing a roughly 700 million euro shortfall in its overhead savings target, according to German business newspaper Handelsblatt. Documents relating to the latest agreement, approved by Volkswagen's supervisory board, set out a proposal to eliminate around 4,100 positions at Porsche. The new cuts come on top of previously agreed workforce reduction plans and reflect pressure to shrink Porsche's cost base as the company grapples with operational and market challenges, including weaker performance in key markets, which is forcing Porsche to rethink its business strategy more deeply, particularly its approach to electric vehicles.