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Babson earns LGBT Corporate Ally Award at Business of Pride Celebration. June 24, 2026 Babson College President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA'92, PhD (left) joins Jerry Epps (center), director of supplier and community engagement, and Chief Inclusive Excellence Officer Sadie Burton-Goss (right) in accepting the LGBT Corporate Ally Award at the Boston Business Journal 's 10th annual Business of Pride Celebration. Babson College was recognized again for its leadership among Boston's LGBTQ community, receiving the LGBT Corporate Ally Award at the Boston Business Journal's 10th annual Business of Pride Celebration. "It's important for our community to understand that we fit in a larger environment and that education isn't this small island... but has to be integrated into what the community needs and wants," said Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA'92, PhD in accepting the award Tuesday night at the Bubble Bath Rooftop at the Citizen M Hotel. "I'm really appreciative of these kinds of awards to highlight the efforts that we're doing," Spinelli added. "We don't want to be just a part of the community; we want to lead the community." Babson was one of three organizations to earn the Corporate Ally Award, along with CrossCountry Consulting and Brown Brothers Harriman. The award recognizes Massachusetts companies and organizations that have demonstrated commitment and innovation to promote greater awareness of and solidarity with the LGBT community. "At the heart of Babson's mission is an inclusive community that champions innovation, collaboration, and belonging," said Carolyn Jones, market president and publisher of the Boston Business Journal, in introducing the Babson award. "The College's Pride Alliance and broader LGBTQ+ initiatives foster a supportive environment for students, faculty, and staff, while campus-wide programming and partnerships promote visibility, advocacy, and education through its ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion. Babson continues to cultivate a campus culture for all members of the community." The importance of Inclusive Excellence. In accepting the award, Spinelli publicly thanked three colleagues whose leadership helps shape the College's work: Sadie Burton-Goss, chief inclusive excellence officer; Jerry Epps, director of supplier and community engagement; and Nana Kwame Opoku MSBA'25, inclusive excellence specialist. In his remarks, Spinelli spoke about Babson's journey from a general embrace of inclusion to proactive inclusive excellence, and how it is imperative for businesses to create value. "It is clear in our assessment of business performance that inclusive excellence gives you a return on investment for your shareholders and your society," he said. "What you're doing is incredibly important to society." Earlier this year, Babson hosted the inaugural Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Business Awards, bringing together top business leaders and allies from across the state of Massachusetts. At that event, the College was honored as Burton-Goss and Epps received the Inclusion Innovator of the Year Award. At the Business of Pride event, Michael Lara, who served as the inaugural assistant director of LGBTQ+ and Identity Programs at Babson for two years, received one of two LGBT Trailblazer Awards in his current role as director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging with the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group. The other LGBT Trailblazer Award recipient was Victoria Brenneman, vice president of product management at SimpliSafe

CrossCountry appoints Neil Smith and Amy Bjarnason as co-CEOs. 12 June 2026 Consulting.us CrossCountry Consulting, a McLean, VA-headquartered management consultancy, has promoted co-presidents Neil Smith and Amy Bjarnason to co-CEOs, effective June 15. Smith and Bjarnason will succeed Erik Linn, who has led CrossCountry since co-founding it in 2011. Linn will transition to executive chairman, focusing on long-term strategic positioning, partner recruiting, and strategic acquisitions. Smith and Bjarnason have served as co-presidents since 2025. As co-CEOs, they will jointly oversee firmwide strategy and key decisions, with Smith focusing on the advisory practice and Bjarnason overseeing operations. Smith has 25+ years of experience helping clients optimize operations, finance, and accounting functions. He joined the firm in 2011 as a partner and has led the consulting practice since 2025. Before that, Smith was a principal at Heartwood Consulting, a manager at CapAdvisory, and a senior consultant at BearingPoint and Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. Bjarnason has 30+ years of experience in consulting, operations, and finance. She joined CrossCountry in 2012 as chief operating officer. Before that, Bjarnason was director of operations at Navigant and director of operations for the mid-Atlantic region at EY. "Elevating Neil and Amy to Co-CEOs is a natural progression that recognizes their outstanding leadership and collaborative dynamic," said Linn. "This structure allows us to capitalize on their complementary skillsets and diverse perspectives, leading to sharper decision-making." CrossCountry has over 1,600 global employees, according to LinkedIn. The firm provides corporate and private equity clients with services in accounting advisory, business transformation, corporate transactions, risk and compliance, technology, cybersecurity, and data and analytics. CrossCountry earlier this year acquired California firms CNM and CDS.

CrossCountry Consulting elevates Neil Smith and Amy Bjarnason to Co-CEOs. June 10, 2026 Amy Bjarnason and Neil Smith CrossCountry Consulting has promoted Co-Presidents Neil Smith and Amy Bjarnason to Co-Chief Executive Officers, formalizing a shared leadership structure as the business advisory and technology solutions firm prepares for its next phase of growth. The appointments take effect June 15, 2026. As part of the transition, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Erik Linn will assume the role of Executive Chairman, focusing on long-term strategy, partner recruitment, mergers and acquisitions, and market expansion initiatives. The leadership changes come as CrossCountry continues to expand its advisory and technology services platform amid growing demand from corporate clients navigating finance transformation, operational modernization, risk management and artificial intelligence adoption. "Elevating Neil and Amy to Co-CEOs is a natural progression that recognizes their outstanding leadership and collaborative dynamic," Linn said. "This structure allows us to capitalize on their complementary skillsets and diverse perspectives, leading to sharper decision-making." The move formalizes a leadership partnership that has already been operating at the center of the firm's growth strategy. Under the new structure, Smith and Bjarnason will jointly oversee firm-wide strategy and key business decisions, including continued investment in CrossCountry's AI initiatives and technology-enabled advisory services. Smith will continue leading the firm's advisory practice, overseeing the teams responsible for delivering consulting, technology and business transformation services to clients. He brings more than 25 years of consulting and advisory experience, with expertise in finance, accounting and operational transformation. Since joining CrossCountry in 2011, Smith has worked closely with Fortune 500 companies and high-growth organizations on initiatives involving finance optimization, operational efficiency and complex business change programs. Prior to CrossCountry, he held consulting positions with Arthur Andersen, Capital Advisory Services and BearingPoint. Bjarnason will continue overseeing operations while expanding her responsibilities as co-CEO. With more than 30 years of experience in consulting, finance and operational leadership, she has played a central role in building CrossCountry's organizational infrastructure and supporting the firm's expansion. Since joining the company as chief operating officer in 2011, Bjarnason has led initiatives focused on talent development, operational scalability and business platform modernization. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles at Navigant, EY and Arthur Andersen. The co-CEO structure reflects a broader trend among professional services firms seeking to balance client-facing growth initiatives with increasingly complex operational requirements. As advisory firms expand their technology, data analytics and AI capabilities, leadership models are evolving to support both business development and enterprise execution. In his new role as executive chairman, Linn will focus on strategic priorities designed to support long-term growth. The company said his efforts will center on attracting senior-level talent, evaluating acquisition opportunities and strengthening CrossCountry's position in the advisory and technology consulting market. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CrossCountry Consulting provides advisory and technology services across finance, accounting, risk and operations. The firm serves Fortune 500 companies, emerging growth businesses and private equity-backed organizations, helping clients address operational challenges, execute transactions and modernize business functions through data, technology and AI-enabled solutions. As organizations continue investing in digital transformation and operational efficiency, CrossCountry is positioning itself to capitalize on growing demand for advisory services that combine technical expertise with technology implementation and business execution capabilities. The leadership transition is designed to support that strategy while maintaining the firm's focus on client service, innovation and long-term growth.