Training – Our Story Insight

Canadian Premier League launches anti-match-fixing training

admin — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:49:29 +0000

The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) and Professional Footballers Association Canada (PFA Canada) have announced a preventive training program to safeguard against potential match-fixing and betting breaches.

The Canadian Soccer Players’ Association has announced the successful completion of a second year of training for the professional football league’s anti-fraud education programme.

Canadian Premier League anti-match-fixing training

In a statement from the IBIA, the body said that the player education program aims to inform more than two hundred players and staff across all eight Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams.

The training is said to be centered on sports betting-related match-fixing and the perils it can pose for athletes who may not recognize the signs or have a way to flag an illegal approach.

The IBIA and PFA Canada ran the sessions based on three key pillars: Rules, Responsibility and Reporting under the ‘Protecting the Integrity of the Game’ course.

Marco Carducci, President of PFA Canada and Cavalry FC captain, said, “With the growth of sports betting across Canada, this training has progressed PFA Canada’s goal of supporting athletes and keeping integrity and fairness at the heart of our sport.”

The training, according to some of the league’s prominent figures, was beneficial in underscoring the real dangers that interaction with any form of illegal betting can pose to a player’s career.

Captain of Vancouver FC, Callum Irving, said, “The training was super informative for our players, providing essential information on the rules of sports betting, the consequences of being involved, and ways to report any illegal activity. Resources like the IBIA are beyond integral to safeguarding our sport and locker rooms from sports betting-related match-fixing.”

bet365, Betway and FanDuel fund education program

Some of the biggest hitters in global gambling are sponsoring the program, including Bet365, Betway and FanDuel.

Their CA$300,000 ($214,500) backing of the IBIA is part of a three-year deal. It aims to offer “Canadian athletes and sports organisations can access free, in-person integrity education, helping safeguard Canadian sport against match manipulation and corruption.”

Sports betting in North America and the darker side of gambling, like match-fixing, prop bet tampering and sensitive information being released for the benefit of betting, has been a prominent storyline across the latter half of 2025.

As we reported, the NBA betting scandal has rocked the sports world and led to a domino effect, with other sports put under an intense media spotlight.

Dana White has also been vocal across sports media and has threatened athletes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with internal investigations linked to the FBI in an attempt to dissuade any fighters linked to illegal betting.

The Commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB), Rob Manfred, also publicly promoted the sport’s transparency amid the United States Senate’s broader gambling inquiry.

The litany of sports figures now under investigation shows a growing, costly trend for sports teams, making education like the IBIA’s and the CPL’s approach all the more important for Canadian athletes looking to avoid the same fate.

Featured image: PFA Canada/IBIA

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Musk says Tesla is training new Full Self-Driving (FSD) model

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:03:27 +0000

The Tesla Motors Inc. logo.

Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tesla is now training a new Full Self-Driving model boasting “big” video improvements and size upgrades, CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday on social media.

“Tesla is training a new FSD model with ~10X params and a big improvement to video compression loss. Probably ready for public release end of next month if testing goes well,” the tech billionaire said in an update on the X social media platform.

FSD is a partially automated driving system that seeks to enable Tesla vehicles to navigate and maneuver in driving situations with minimal driver assistance. Owners must keep their hands on the wheel, and remain ready to take over steering or braking at any time. It also serves as an upgrade to the company’s Autopilot driver assistant, which is already available in Europe and China.

The system is based on an artificial intelligence model that helps the car’s cameras and sensors perceive the world around it. Musk’s comment on “10X params” refers to a larger parameter size. In the case of AI models, that usually means it is a bigger model that is trained on more data and is more capable.

FSD has been a central pillar of Musk’s strategy for Tesla’s revenue growth and tech advancement in the increasingly competitive electric vehicle market, where Chinese automakers have stepped up to the plate.

Tesla bulls expect the company’s future will be in autonomy as Musk’s automaker focuses on ramping up its offering of self-driving features.

Tesla launched its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, this year.

But right now, the market is focused on how Tesla’s core business of selling cars is doing. And it has been challenging. Tesla most recently reported a 16% decline in automotive revenue in the second quarter and has also been notching steep declines in its European sales.

The company’s stock has taken a bruising this year that has been exacerbated by reputational damage from Musk’s now-severed relationship with the White House administration. Tesla shares were down 23.55% this year as of Wednesday morning.

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CEO training ground for the restaurant industry

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 01:40:24 +0000

Customers walk out of a Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurant during lunchtime in Los Angeles, California.

Kevork Djansezian | Getty Images

Looking for the next CEO for your restaurant chain? Try mining the ranks at Yum Brands.

The restaurant conglomerate, which owns Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell and reported quarterly results Tuesday, has supplied rival eateries with CEOs for decades. Between its globally recognized chains, massive international footprint and company culture, Yum has quietly become an incubator for future industry leaders.

“They have such a strong focus on leadership development, and in the past couple of decades, they have had very, very strong CEOs who have led very much ‘people first’ or ‘culture first,'” said Sarah Lockyer, chief brand officer of The Elliot Group, an executive search firm.

Yum’s status as a CEO training ground can trace back to its days as part of PepsiCo, which is also known for its talent development. The food and beverage giant owned KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell before spinning off the business as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997. Five years later, the company was renamed Yum.

“Our commitment to unrivaled culture and talent enables our leaders to drive impact across our global business,” a Yum spoksperson said in a statement to CNBC. “As the largest restaurant company in the world, we’re proud that many industry leaders have roots at Yum!, and our strength is in how we continue to grow and elevate exceptional talent within our own organization.”

Lockyer pointed to past Yum CEOs like David Novak and Greg Creed, who she said gave other executives at the company the chance to shine and opportunities to grow their confidence and their resumes.

Take Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol. After starting his career at Procter & Gamble, he joined Yum in late 2005, when Novak led the company. Niccol had a stint as chief marketing officer of Pizza Hut before moving over to Taco Bell, where he introduced the chain’s Live Mas tagline and Doritos Loco Tacos.

When Creed transitioned from Taco Bell CEO to chief executive of Yum, Niccol took over his vacated role as head of the Mexican-inspired chain. Niccol left in 2018 to lead a turnaround at Chipotle, where he stayed for more than six years before Starbucks lured him away for another fix-up job.

While the coffee giant is still reporting same-store sales declines, Niccol said during the company’s earnings conference call last week that the comeback is ahead of schedule.

Brian Niccol, incoming CEO of Starbucks.

Anjali Sundaram | CNBC

Another much-lauded restaurant CEO with Yum connections is Kevin Hochman, who currently leads Brinker International. He joined Yum in 2014 as chief marketing officer of KFC and eventually rose to lead the U.S. businesses of both the fried chicken chain and Pizza Hut. He left Yum in 2022 to revive Brinker, which owns Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy.

Under Hochman’s leadership, Chili’s has become the rare restaurant chain reporting double-digit same-store sales growth for multiple quarters. Savvy value-focused advertising and the viral Triple Dippers appetizer offering have helped the once-sleepy chain become a dining destination yet again. Since Hochman took the reins of Brinker, the stock has more than quintupled in value.

Like Niccol, Hochman also began his career at P&G, which has also long been known for its corporate leadership training. So did Arby’s President David Graves, who then spent eight years at Yum learning the ins and outs of the restaurant industry before jumping ship for the Inspire Brands sandwich chain.

For some Yum alumni, the internal competition for the top job means that they have to leave to take the next step in their careers. With three global restaurant chains under the broader Yum umbrella, the race to the top can be stiff.

“These companies have so much high-performing talent because they’re so large, there’s so many divisions, but there can only be one CEO of Yum Brands,” Lockyer said.

That’s also true for its brands, which can have marketing, operations, domestic and international executives all competing for the top spot.

Julie Felss Masino joined Yum as president of Taco Bell North America in 2018, following roles at Starbucks, Sprinkle Cupcakes and Mattel. Two years later, she became head of Taco Bell’s growing international business. Although she was positioned as a potential candidate to lead Taco Bell as CEO, she left the chain in June 2023, the same month that Taco Bell’s then-CEO Mark King announced his intent to retire and Yum tapped Sean Tresvant to succeed him. Two months later, Cracker Barrel announced Masino as its latest CEO.

More recently, Dave & Buster’s tapped Tarun Lal last month to lead the company after a months-long search that began even before his predecessor departed in December. The restaurant and arcade chain has seen its sales slide in recent months as low-income consumers spend less on dining out. Lal previously served as president of KFC U.S., which has had its own struggles winning over diners in recent months.

The exterior of a Dave & Buster’s restaurant is seen on June 10, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

When Dave & Buster’s announced Lal as its pick, BMO Capital Markets analyst Andrew Strelzik wrote in a note to clients that he was “surprised” the chain went for a restaurant operator over an amusement-industry veteran. But Lal’s resume — including more than two decades of experience across Yum’s international business — likely won over the board.

“Given execution issues the board has cited from prior CEO, it likely was looking for more of an operations background. Lal has run the ~4,000-unit KFC U.S. since 2022 and previously oversaw ~20,000 global units as KFC COO,” Strelzik said.

Yum veterans aren’t found only in the restaurant industry. Harley-Davidson on Monday announced Artie Starrs as the motorcycle company’s latest CEO.

Starrs is departing his role as chief executive of “eatertainment” chain Topgolf to take the new job. Prior to Topgolf, he served as Pizza Hut Global CEO.

Yum is also undergoing its own CEO transition. In October, CFO Chris Turner will take the reins from David Gibbs, who plans to retire after 37 years with the company. The hand-off could mean a bigger shakeup ahead for Yum’s executive ranks if other top executives like Chief Operating Officer Tracy Skeans, for example, decide to look externally for their next moves.

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FDA guts education, training division as part of RFK Jr.’s cuts

admin — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 09:30:06 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration has gutted a division responsible for training agency staff and outside health-care professionals on an array of key public health, regulation and safety practices and supporting professional development for employees, CNBC has learned.

In an email viewed by CNBC, workers were notified that the Division of Learning and Organizational Development, or DLOD, faces cuts under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s broader plan to restructure the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS. All of the more than 30 employees in the division were laid off. While it was a small team within the FDA, it was a key resource for the entire agency and external doctors, nurses, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, among other professionals.

Kennedy is slashing 10,000 jobs at HHS, including roughly 3,500 full-time employees at the FDA, to focus on what HHS called “streamlining operations and centralizing administrative functions.” The FDA is responsible for regulating and overseeing the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, medical devices, food and cosmetics, among other items.

HHS has said the cuts at the agency will not affect inspectors or reviewers of drugs, medical devices or food, and will primarily target workers deemed as having unnecessary responsibilities. But reports suggest that the Trump administration is eliminating some employees who played a key role in protecting public health, such as top veterinarians overseeing the FDA’s bird flu response amid outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, along with several recent human cases.

Kennedy last week said some personnel and programs at federal agencies affected by his sweeping reductions will be reinstated, but it is unclear if that includes DLOD employees. The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The division is canceling all planned activities, including scientific and regulatory education along with leadership and organizational development, according to the email. It is also scrapping the processing and approval of any so-called continuing education activities across the FDA, which refers to formal educational programs that help agency staff and external health-care professionals stay up to date on medical science, public health and regulatory practices, the email said.

For example, some programs trained agency staff and external doctors, nurses and pharmacists about opioid safety, avoiding medication errors, infectious and rare diseases, clinical trials and using artificial intelligence to support regulatory decisions, according to two FDA employees, who requested anonymity to speak freely. The division also held monthly presentations to highlight research across the agency – such as a recent study on tobacco use – and its impact on protecting public health, the employees said.

There are now no staff available to award credits, or points for completing approved educational activities, such as lectures, online modules or workshops, according to one FDA employee. Depending on the state, health-care professionals must earn a certain number of credits each year or licensing cycle to maintain their credentials and stay up to date with medical knowledge and standards.

The FDA is also losing a central resource that employees can go to for professional development and training.

“With the removal of DLOD, there’s a great deal of uncertainty about how learners and professionals will adapt,” one of the FDA employees said. “They are now responsible for independently finding and selecting their own courses, which may result in confusion or inefficiency.”

One office in the division was fully funded by so-called user fees, not taxpayer dollars, according to the two FDA employees. The FDA collects those fees from companies that produce certain products like drugs and medical devices and from other entities, such as certain certification bodies.

The Trump administration has cited federal cost savings as part of its justification for laying off employees at HHS, raising questions about why it targeted that unit.

The office – known as the Continuing Education and Consultation Accreditation Team – was the only group within the FDA authorized to issue credits to both FDA employees and outside health-care professionals, the two employees said. The office included six workers, all of whom will lose their jobs.

The office was also the only “jointly accredited” unit within the FDA, which means it was qualified to provide training across different health-care disciplines, the employee said.

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