One of two: LSU has joined Texas A&M University as the only two Southeastern Conference schools to hold membership in the University Sales Center Alliance, a consortium of sales centers connecting faculty members with experts to advance the sales profession through research, outreach and teaching. In a news release issued today, the university announced that its Professional Sales Institute has been accepted as a member of the USCA, making LSU the only Louisiana higher education institute to hold membership.The Professional Sales Institute is a partnership between LSU and industry that is dedicated to the dissemination of sales knowledge and to the development of professional sales leaders. Read the full statement.
High honors: Baton Rouge-based software company Vinformatix is the 2016 Rising Star Award from the Women’s Business Enterprise Council South. According to a news release, the winner of the Rising Star Award is selected from amongst WBEC South’s 800 members in five states. Vinformatix was selected as the 2016 recipient because the business experienced tremendous growth and maintained a strong focus for innovation and business expansion. Founder Padma Vatsavai launched the company in 2009 at LSU’s Louisiana Business & Technology Center. Under the leaderships of Director Charlie D’Agostino, Vinformatix grew into a full-service technology company, and was named graduate company of the year in 2015. Vinformatix has since grown to 20 employees, is focusing on state and corporate contracts across all industries, and is looking to expand into the federal market. Read a Business Report feature about Vatsavai.
At the top: After incorrect or unprovable statements made by Republican President Donald Trump and some White House aides, one truth is undeniable: Sales of George Orwell’s 1984 are soaring. The Associated Press reports the novel has become No. 1 on Amazon.com and the publisher has ordered an additional 75,000 copies. First published in 1949, Orwell’s classic is a dystopian tale of a society in which facts are distorted and suppressed in a cloud of “newspeak.” The sales bump has come amid the Trump administration’s assertions that his inauguration had record attendance and his unfounded allegation that millions of illegal votes were cast against him in the presidential election last fall. Read more.
