Corporate Report: August 16

Burger 21 brand adds Georgia, Carolina locations
Tampa-based restaurant franchise Burger 21 is expanding its brand to Georgia and North Carolina with the opening of its first metro Atlanta restaurant followed by a new location in Charlotte, N.C. The restaurants mark the concept's eighth and ninth locations. Another 16 restaurants are said to be in development along the East Coast.

“The expansion into two new states marks a major milestone for Burger 21 as we strive to introduce the Atlanta and Charlotte markets to our diverse menu of crafted burgers and hand-dipped shakes,” Mark Johnston, Burger 21 president and chief concept officer of Front Burner Brands, management company for Burger 21, says in a press release.

The company plans to eventually develop 15 to 20 restaurants in Atlanta and an additional 10 in Charlotte through franchises.

The new Metro Atlanta restaurant is located at 3385 Woodward Crossing Blvd., Suite 350, in Buford and is owned and operated by Corley and Meg Steward, who plan to open a second location in the North Alpharetta area in 2014. The Charlotte location will open Aug. 5 in Ballantyne Village at 14825 Ballantyne Village Way.

Raymond James Financial partnering on social media platform
St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial Inc. has partnered with Hearsay Social, a provider of social sales platforms, to support advisors.

Raymond James first launched social media marketing and compliance tools for its financial advisor population in November 2011, and has seen adoption by advisors grow steadily over the past 20 months, to more than 2,000 of its almost 6,000 North American-based advisors.

“Social media engagement is becoming critical to helping advisors manage and build their brands and support their client and prospective client communications,” Mike White, chief marketing officer at Raymond James says in a press release. “Hearsay Social's platform not only helps keep them compliant, but will help advisors take advantage of many of the communication and relationship-building features that are unique to social media platforms.”

Raymond James advisors will have access to a vast library of pre-approved content, as well as the ability to post original content using a compliance review and posting process.

Former Canadian honorary consul joins Shumaker Loop, Kendrick
Andrew McIntosh has joined the law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP as a partner practicing in the areas of corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, international business and franchising.

From 2005 to 2012, McIntosh served as an Honorary Consul for Canada — one of 16 in the United States. He is a co-founder of Cross Border Partners Advisory Services, which provides project management and consulting services to businesses expanding their platform through exports or direct investment.

Edison State College nursing administrator to lead Park Royal Hospital
Park Royal Hospital has hired Denise McNulty as the chief nursing officer of Park Royal Behavioral Health Services. McNulty's role will be to oversee all nursing personnel and activities in the Fort Myers facility.

For the past two years, McNulty has served as the nurse administrator for Edison State College, where she was responsible for the nursing programs at the Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties campuses. She was also previously director of mental health services of Doylestown Hospital in Pennsylvania, director of nursing for The Willough at Naples, chief nursing officer for South Florida State Hospital/Atlantic Shores Healthcare, and director of service excellence/patient satisfaction for the NCH Healthcare System.

Copytalk+ Smartphone App offered for iOS, Android devices
Copytalk LLC, a Sarasota-based provider of secure transcription services for financial advisors, is offering its Mobile Scribe service from any mobile device, with the new free Copytalk+ application.

Copytalk+ allows users to record conversations or dictation and have it securely transcribed and returned within hours, or uploaded directly into a customer-relationship management system.

The Copytalk+ application runs on all iOS devices 3G or greater. It is also available on Android devices running version 2.2 or later. No dictation or transcription data is stored on the device itself and the application consumes no voice minutes.

When using Copytalk+, there is also no need for data connectivity or even a phone signal. Once the user is logged in to Copytalk+, the application can record dictations in a disconnected mode, for example in Airplane mode. Once a signal becomes available, the dictations will upload to the Copytalk servers for scribe processing. For users with limited data plans, the application can be configured to upload only when it has a WiFi signal.

Copytalk+ is available now via iTunes or Google Play.

India company signs deal to sell Romark's Alinia
Tampa-based Romark Laboratories reached a strategic agreement with Mumbai, India's Lupin Limited and its subsidiaries. Lupin acquired an exclusive license to promote and distribute Romark Laboratories' drug Alinia in the United States. Alinia is used to treat symptoms from Cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite that primarily effects HIV-positive or immune-reduced people.

Lupin will promote the product for pediatric use through the Lupin Pharmaceuticals sales force.

Romark will continue to promote and distribute Alinia tablets.