BDO USA, LLP Announces Wisconsin Expansion Through Addition of Smith & Gesteland, LLP

Contact: Jerry Walsh, WalshPR, 631-419-9008, jerry@prwalsh.com

BDO USA, LLP ANNOUNCES WISCONSIN EXPANSION THROUGH ADDITION OF SMITH & GESTELAND, LLP

Madison Firm Brings 85 Staff to BDO

Chicago, IL – BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and advisory firms, today announced an expansion of its Wisconsin practice through the addition of 85 staff, including 15 partners, from Smith & Gesteland, LLP. Founded in 1948, Smith & Gesteland (S&G) provides a full range of accounting, tax, human resource management and information technology services to a client base of middle market businesses. The firm, based in Madison, also has a unique “80/20” consulting practice that helps clients focus on critical success factors to enhance profitability. S&G has significant strength in the construction, technology, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries. Combined with BDO’s existing offices in Madison and Milwaukee, BDO will have 185 professionals serving Wisconsin clients. The combination of BDO and Smith & Gesteland is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed on July 1, 2018.

“I look forward to welcoming all of the partners and professionals of Smith & Gesteland to BDO USA. Our firm has demonstrated steady growth in the Madison market and this combination will greatly enhance our presence in both Madison and the greater Wisconsin market,” said Wayne Berson, CEO of BDO USA. “S&G’s entrepreneurial culture is a natural fit with BDO. They bring significant resources to our existing industry strengths in real estate, nonprofit, manufacturing, construction and especially technology, where we will be the dominant firm in the market.”

“In combining with BDO, we will form the leading firm serving middle market businesses in the Madison market, while providing both our clients and our people with additional opportunities for growth,” said Bill Pellino, Managing Partner of S&G. “Our clients will still receive the same close personal attention they have come to expect from our team, but now they will have access to a wider array of services, broader industry experience, and the full coverage of BDO’s extensive global network. BDO has a team-oriented, collaborative culture, similar to our own. The firm’s reputation as a favorable workplace also fits well with our focus on our people, who will now have access to more training and many more opportunities to pursue career growth.”

Upon completion of the transaction, Bill Pellino will serve as the Tax Managing Partner for BDO’s Wisconsin Practice and Dan Kramer will continue in his existing role as BDO’s Assurance Managing Partner for Wisconsin. BDO will maintain its Milwaukee office and its current Madison location along with the new Madison (Middleton) practice. The two Madison offices, which are only blocks apart, will eventually be combined into one location. See current contact information below:

BDO USA, LLP BDO USA, LLP

One Erdman Place 330 East Kilbourn Avenue

Suite 404 Suite 750 Two Plaza East

Madison, WI 53717 Milwaukee, WI 53202-3143

Phone: 608-831-8500 Phone: 414-272-5900

S&G (BDO USA, LLP upon completion of transaction)

8383 Greenway Boulevard

Suite 500

Middleton, WI 53562

Phone: 608-836-7500

“In all my years of consulting in the Wisconsin market, I cannot recall a firm more sought after by both national and regional suitors than S&G,” said Allan D. Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, who advised both firms on the transaction. “In the end, S&G felt BDO’s culture – very similar to their own – was the right fit. They also valued the depth of resources BDO can provide their clients and the growth opportunities it provides their associates. BDO really valued S&G’s strong leadership and depth of talent.”

Smith & Gesteland has been voted the top CPA firm in Madison by In Business Magazine for 13 consecutive years. Like BDO USA, S&G has been recognized by numerous business and industry publications for its workplace accomplishments. The firm was recently named as one of Madison Magazine’s Best Places to Work and recognized by Accounting Today as one of the nation’s Best Accounting Firms to Work for.

BDO Facts:

BDO USA has 185 staff serving Wisconsin businesses from offices in Madison, Middleton and Milwaukee.
Over the past five years, BDO USA’s cumulative growth rate has far outpaced all other major U.S. accounting firms, with revenues more than doubling from $618 million in 2012 to $1.41 billion in 2017. During that time, BDO entered 24 new U.S. cities and expanded its critical mass in 13 existing markets.
BDO represents companies ranging from closely-held private businesses to leading nonprofits to Fortune 500 multinationals.
BDO USA has industry practices specialized in serving businesses in the construction, energy, financial institutions, asset management, government contracting, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, nonprofit, private equity, real estate, restaurant, retail and technology sectors.
BDO has been named a Best Company by Working Mother Magazine for seven consecutive years and been recognized with the When Work Works Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility for eight consecutive years.
BDO has more than 60 offices and more than 550 independent alliance firm locations around the country.
BDO USA has been serving clients for more than 100 years since its founding in 1910 (as Seidman & Seidman).
As an independent member of BDO International Limited, the firm can leverage the resources of more than more than 73,000 people working out of 1,500 offices across 162 countries.
About BDO USA

BDO is the brand name for BDO USA, LLP, a U.S. professional services firm providing assurance, tax, and advisory services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies. For more than 100 years, BDO has provided quality service through the active involvement of experienced and committed professionals. The firm serves clients through more than 60 offices and over 550 independent alliance firm locations nationwide. As an independent Member Firm of BDO International Limited, BDO serves multi-national clients through a global network of more than 73,000 people working out of 1,500 offices across 162 countries.

BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, is the U.S. member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. For more information please visit: www.bdo.com.

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PegEx™ Closes $8 Million Investment Round

PegEx™, Inc. Closes $8 million Series B

Plymouth Growth Partners leads funding round to accelerate launch of new SaaS platform

Madison, Wisconsin – May 14, 2018 – Today, PegEx™, Inc. announced it closed its Series B investment round led by Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Plymouth Growth Partners. Existing Milwaukee based investor, Capital Midwest Fund, and Madison based investor, WISC Partners, also participated in the round.

“PegEx is rapidly establishing a leading position with their software platform for the hazardous waste and chemical markets” said Plymouth Partner Evan Ufer. “The team’s operating history and knowledge base gives them an advantage in solving key customer issues and delivering value in these markets”.

Eric Apfelbach, President and CEO of PegEx, Inc. commented; “We are very excited to have Plymouth as a new investor. Their team’s operational and SaaS (Software as a Service) experience will be invaluable as we go through our next phase of growth.”

PegEx, Inc. grew its business over 60% from 2016 to 2017. With its new integrated software solution, aimed at the waste and chemical industries, PegEx is primed to revolutionize the waste disposal and chemical distribution lifecycle, automating the entire process of documenting, transporting, and disposing of waste. The company will use the new Series B capital to further accelerate the development, sales, and marketing of these new software solutions.

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About PEGEXTM

Pegex™, Inc. is a rapidly growing, technology-enabled solutions provider that is disrupting the waste disposal and chemicals workflow across the US and Canada. The PEGEX PLATFORM™ provides a set of productivity modules that accelerate the process of ordering, tracking, recycling, and disposing of hazardous and off-spec waste, with compliance every step of the way. The platform taps extensive rules and data to enable real-time business and operating decisions. Any Waste. Any Place™. Learn more at www.pegex.com.

About Plymouth Growth Partners

Plymouth Growth Partners invests in growth stage businesses throughout the Great Lakes region. With over 100 years of combined investing experience, Plymouth takes a flexible approach to partnering with management teams, helping to drive growth, build value and realize full potential. Plymouth focuses on B2B product and services companies that have scalable technology and proven growth. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Plymouth Growth Partners has over $150 million under management and is actively investing out of its fourth fund. For more information on Plymouth Growth Partners and its investments, please visit www.plymouthgp.com.

Contact:

Eric Apfelbach;

President and CEO, PegEx. Inc.

Eric.apfelbach@pegex.com

(608) 576-7549

Access HealthNet Selects the Datica Platform to Accelerate Interoperability and Security for Medical Reimbursements

MILWAUKEE AND MADISON, WIS. MAY 10, 2018 – Madison-based Datica™ and Milwaukee tech startup Access HealthNet (AHN) today announced a strategic partnership to deliver EMR interoperability and security through AHN’s healthcare bundling platform. The companies will collaborate to ensure compliance requirements are met to the standards of HIPAA and HITRUST CSF Certification and streamline operations for AHN’s customers.

Together the two companies will greatly expand their ability to assist providers and employers in streamlining the medical reimbursement process that has plagued modern healthcare and fueled its skyrocketing costs.

Founded in 2014, AHN has become a leader in direct contracting with its cloud-based bundling platform, offering more than 350,000 episodes of care throughout the country at more than 5,000 facility locations to self-insured employers, unions, and Medi-Share programs.

“Partnering with Datica will propel our platform forward exponentially,” said AHN’s Chairman and CEO, Eric Haberichter. “Our vision of being fully interoperable with all major hospital and medical billing systems will become a reality much more rapidly with this partnership.”

Datica has been serving an array of high-profile medical facilities across the country and has become the Midwest’s premier HITRUST CSF Certified, HIPAA compliant digital health platform. Founded in 2013, Datica now powers the next era of healthcare technology with its interoperable Kubernetes-enabled cloud infrastructure.

“We recognize the health tech surge happening in both Madison and Milwaukee today. That’s only one reason why Datica is delighted to partner with Access HealthNet in providing the compliance and security layers that hospital and medical systems seek,” said Datica CEO and Chief Privacy Officer Travis Good, MD. “With its bundled payments solution, Access HealthNet is providing a much-needed cost transparency for healthcare; seeing these innovations arise from two Wisconsin cities is a boasting point for the state of Wisconsin.”

About Datica
The Datica Platform is designed for those who store, manage and share protected health information (PHI) in the cloud and manages all ongoing compliance and security burdens found within the exacting standards of HIPAA, HITRUST, GDPR, and GxP. Customers can license and deploy cloud-native applications on their own cloud account, or tap Datica’s cloud account to receive compliance, security and electronic health record (EHR) integration expertise to launch and manage applications. Datica’s Kubernetes-enabled platform customers include mid-to-late stage startups to Fortune 100 companies across the healthcare spectrum: solution providers, hospital organizations, pharmaceutical giants and nationwide health insurance payers. For more information, go to Datica.com.

About Access HealthNet
Access HealthNet (AHN) increases access and affordability in healthcare through an e-commerce healthcare marketplace called The Super Option that connects value-based providers offering flat-rates and bundles to self-funded employers. AHN’s proprietary platform has several iterations to serve healthcare’s vast stakeholders, including a direct-to-consumer offering called The Super Option Direct, and a workers’ compensation solution called WC Bundled Payments. To learn more, visit accesshealthnet.com.

EAA Corben Chapter 93 to host World War II Bomber Aircraft in Madison, WI

Local EAA Chapter to host aviation event that features both historic and current aircraft

Madison, WI, May 7, 2018 (Newswire.com) – ​​In a sixth annual gathering of World War II era aircraft, EAA Chapter 93 is hosting the recently restored WWII B-29 bomber “Doc” along with the EAA Boeing B-17G “Aluminum Overcast” in Madison, Wisconsin at the Dane County Regional Airport the weekend before EAA AirVenture. A beautifully restored 1937 DC-3 airliner from the Flagship Detroit Foundation will also be appearing at the event. Each of these aircraft will offer rides for sale to the public.

The event will be held on the east side of Dane County Regional Airport at Wisconsin Aviation, 3606 Corben Court, Madison, Wisconsin. Admission for the 3-day event which runs from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 20 through Sunday, July 22 is $15 per individual, $25 per family. Admission for veterans and active military personnel is $10. Children under 8 are free with a paying adult. Payment of the admission fee gains access to the event for all three days. Ground tours for all aircraft are included in the admission fee.

In addition to the B-17, a collection of experimental aircraft will be on display, and other World War II era warbirds will make an appearance at the event.

A Bell 47 helicopter will also attend and be available for rides. The cost of a helicopter ride is $45 per passenger. Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://sierra.ticketleap.com/madison-wi/

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream will be available daily, along with food from other vendors. Memorabilia and clothing will be available for purchase during the event from all the aircraft exhibitors.

Ride reservations for the DC-3 can be made at www.flagshipdetroit.org

Advance Purchase
$409 EAA Members

$449 Non-EAA Members

Walk-up
$435 EAA-Member

$475 Non-EAA Member

Ride reservations on the B-17 are recommended and can be made online at https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/flight-experiences/aluminum-overcast-eaa-b-17-bomber-touror by calling EAA reservations toll-free at (800) 359-6217. The price is as follows:

All airplane and helicopter rides are weather permitting.

About the B-29 Superfortress “Doc”

Doc is a B-29 Superfortress and one of 1,644 manufactured in Wichita during World War II. Since 1987 when Tony Mazzolini found Doc on sitting and rotting away in the Mojave Desert, plans have been in the works to restore the historic warbird to flying status to serve as a flying museum. Over the past 15+ years, hundreds of volunteers have worked on Doc and the restoration project. Skilled workers and retirees from Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, veterans, active duty military and others wanting to honor those who served, have spent tens of thousands of hours on Doc’s restoration. Countless individuals and organizations also made financial and in-kind contributions to keep the project going.

About the EAA B-17 “Aluminum Overcast”

EAA’s B-17 “Aluminum Overcast”is more than just an airplane. It is a living tribute to the brave individuals who served, sacrificed, and, in many cases gave up their lives defending freedom during World War II. It is a connection to the past and the Greatest Generation who built and served historically on these magnificent warbirds.

EAA’s B-17 tour takes “Aluminum Overcast” around the United States, providing people of all backgrounds with the chance to remember and honor the men and women of WWII who either served on or worked to maintain and build this amazing aircraft.

“Aluminum Overcast” is one of only 12 airworthy B-17s remaining today. Since EAA began tours of the B-17 in 1994, tens of thousands of people have experienced this unique airplane through its flights and ground tours. Known as The Flying Fortress, the B-17 bomber is considered one of the greatest military airplanes ever built and one of the best-known aircraft types of the World War II era.

About the Flagship Detroit Foundation DC-3

NC 17334 was manufactured in 1937 and was the 21st of American Airline’s fleet of 84 Douglas DC-3 aircraft operated from 1936 to 1947. American accepted the Detroit delivery on March 2, 1937. This aircraft has the distinction of being one of the oldest DC-3s in the world. The Flagship Detroit DC-3 was located in Virginia, and purchased by the Flagship Detroit Foundation in August of 2004. The Foundation goal is to continue to operate and maintain this aircraft as a flying tribute to all of American Airlines employees, past and present. By displaying the historic aircraft at various airshows throughout the country, the Flagship Detroit Foundation hopes to foster a continuing awareness of the significance of this era of American aviation. We invite all interested parties, especially American Airlines alumni to share this beautiful aircraft with us and with the next generations of young aviators.

About EAA Corben Chapter 93

Whether you fly, build, restore or simply enjoy airplanes and aviation, you are welcome to attend Chapter events and join our Chapter located in Madison, Wisconsin.

Chapter 93 is a group of aviation enthusiasts, aircraft builders, and pilots who get together with like-minded people to share ideas, exchange information, encourage safety, serve the local aviation community and have a lot of fun doing so.

Please visit our website at: https://eaa93.org/ or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EAA93 For more information on EAA Chapter 93 and its programs please contact Rob Tweed at 608-213-8271.

For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or go to www.eaa.org. For continual news updates, connect with www.twitter.com/EAAupdate.

Media Contact: Trevor Janz, (920) 426-5914

Datica’s HITRUST CSF Certified, GDPR and HIPAA Compliant Platform Featured at Microsoft Build 2018

SEATTLE AND MADISON, WIS. MAY 08, 2018 – Datica, a Microsoft solution provider, was featured at this year’s Microsoft Build 2018 Developer Conference, May 7-9. Engineers and executives leading the way in the cloud heard how Datica’s platform, which is HIPAA, HITRUST, GDPR and GxP compliant, works in concert with Microsoft Azure to help break-through real-world workflows within clinical settings. During Build 2018, Datica’s compliant cloud technology was highlighted for its success in connecting Microsoft 365 Business tools with Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The new integration tooling that bridges Microsoft Teams with EHRs will work within the bot framework of Teams. An announcement of the tooling’s general availability in the Azure Marketplace was also made in Seattle during Microsoft Build 2018.

Travis Good, MD, CEO and chief privacy officer of Datica, said “Announcing this new tooling on top of our new Kubernetes-based platform as being generally available for enterprise customers in Microsoft’s ecosystem while simultaneously being featured at Microsoft Build 2018, is a huge honor.”

In the healthcare IT field, Datica’s technology is recognized for its compliance with HIPAA and HITRUST, as well as its security-focused approach. Datica engineers made healthcare compliance a non-issue for application developers when they built the HITRUST CSF Certified platform to assume all liabilities in the cloud associated with HIPAA, GDPR, and GxP. The new integration tooling that works to connect Microsoft further with healthcare and yet in a compliant way is good for the healthcare field.

“We are pleased to see Datica build technologies that help solve healthcare’s technology challenges,” said Kristina Behr, General Manager, Office for Healthcare, Microsoft Corp. “By bringing Electronic Health Record data into Microsoft Teams for secure collaboration, Datica is meeting the challenging workflow demands of the healthcare enterprise.”

Following Microsoft Build 2018, customers will also be able to license Datica’s platform, putting it on their own Azure account, or for additional security and compliance oversight, have it managed within Datica’s Cloud on Azure.

About Datica
The Datica Platform manages all ongoing compliance and security burdens found within the exacting standards of HIPAA, HITRUST, GDPR, and GxP. Customers can license and deploy cloud-native healthcare applications on their own cloud account, or tap Datica’s compliance and security expertise to launch and manage applications on Datica’s cloud account, as well as receive integration guidance for connecting to electronic health records (EHRs). Datica built the HITRUST CSF Certified Platform for those who collect, store, manage and share protected health information (PHI) in the cloud. Datica’s customers range from mid-to-late stage startups to Fortune 100 companies across the healthcare spectrum: solution providers, hospital organizations, pharmaceutical giants and nationwide health insurance payers. For more information, go to Datica.com.