GOVERNOR JINDAL, CENTURYLINK CEO GLEN POST HIGHLIGHT COMPLETION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
Governor Bobby Jindal recently highlighted the completion of CenturyLink’s
new Technology Center of Excellence as CenturyLink CEO and President Glen
F. Post III formally opened the new 300,000-square-foot facility. The
Technology Center of Excellence – an expansion of CenturyLink’s
existing 365,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Monroe –
will help fulfill the company’s 2011 announcement of an 800-job
headquarters expansion. These jobs, combined with a prior 350-job expansion
announced in 2009, will contribute $67.7 million in new annual payroll
by 2016, pushing CenturyLink’s statewide annual payroll in Louisiana
beyond the $200 million mark. The company will then have 2,600 employees
in the Monroe area.
A global leader in cloud infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for business
customers, CenturyLink represents the No. 1 economic driver company in
Northeast Louisiana and one of the Top 10 economic drivers statewide in
Louisiana’s private sector. The company completed its 2014 financial
year with $18 billion in annual revenue and $772 million in net income.
By the end of 2014, the company had hired 530 of the 800 jobs announced
with the headquarters expansion. In addition to the 800 new direct jobs,
LED estimates the headquarters expansion will result in 1,170 new indirect
jobs in the greater Monroe area, and the building project created an additional
350 construction jobs at peak activity. Employees will begin moving into
the new center this week.
Governor Jindal said, “Today’s dedication not only marks the
completion of CenturyLink’s new Technology Center of Excellence,
but it signifies the start of an incredible new chapter in CenturyLink’s
history. Under the leadership of Glen Post, CenturyLink stands as a beacon
for new companies looking to invest in our state and provide great new
jobs for our talented workforce. CenturyLink, including its leadership
and thousands of employees, represents an extraordinarily valuable Louisiana
asset. We look forward to all they will accomplish through this new center
and related innovations and growth at their corporate headquarters in
Monroe.”
The CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence includes a technology
research and development lab, a network operations center, and collaborative
office and meeting space. In the center, employees with network, cloud,
information technology and other skills will work together to create innovative
new products and services for CenturyLink’s customers.
“Today marks an important milestone for CenturyLink and our North
Louisiana community as we open the CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence,
a facility that will be a key in driving our company’s future growth,”
Post said. “As CenturyLink transitions from a traditional network
communications provider to a growing, integrated provider of advanced
IP-enabled network, cloud, hosting and IT services, it will be increasingly
important that we are able to attract the best talent in the world. We
believe the Technology Center will help us accomplish this transition
successfully.”
To secure the headquarters expansion, Louisiana Economic Development offered
the company a customized incentive package, including a performance-based
grant of $14.9 million toward the headquarters expansion, at a rate of
$1 for every $2 spent by CenturyLink. LED also provided $1.2 million over
four years to expand CenturyLink's partnership with Louisiana Tech
University, a higher education initiative initially announced with the
prior expansion in 2009. Additionally, LED provided 150,000 square feet
of discounted space in the state-owned Accent Building in Monroe through
2015, which was to be utilized as needed, as swing space for CenturyLink
staff during construction of the expanded headquarters facilities. CenturyLink
also is expected to continue utilizing the LED FastStart® program,
as well as LED’s Quality Jobs program. The company began construction
of the new facility in May 2013. Site work, including a new north loop
road on the corporate campus, began in late February 2013.
“This is another landmark event in the evolution of Monroe’s
expanding economy,” Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo said. “These new
jobs and the partnership opportunities CenturyLink continues to create
have made Monroe a destination for 21st century job seekers. We continue
to thank Governor Jindal and LED officials for their support. We are very
proud of CenturyLink CEO Glen Post and his team for their visionary leadership,
which is enhancing this company, our city and the communications industry.”
For the new center, CenturyLink is pursuing LEED certification in the
U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design rating system, which recognizes buildings that reach a high degree
of environmental performance in such categories as water efficiency, energy
use, materials and resources, innovation and design, indoor environmental
quality and site sustainability.
“CenturyLink is a leading economic driver for North Louisiana and
one of the main anchors for our region’s growing I-20 Innovation
Corridor,” said President Scott Martinez of the North Louisiana
Economic Partnership. “Today’s headquarters expansion is a
milestone in the growth of our emerging knowledge economy. North Louisiana
Economic Partnership is pleased to be a partner for CenturyLink in supporting
its recruitment efforts.”
As a testament to CenturyLink’s success in Monroe, major global
companies have identified Monroe as a prime location for their new investments.
In February 2015, IBM announced it would establish a 400-job Application
Development and Innovation Center in Monroe, which will serve as the anchor
of an 88-acre, CenturyLink-affiliated technology park and mixed-use development.
The new development will be located along U.S. Highway 165 directly across
from CenturyLink’s corporate headquarters.
About CenturyLink
CenturyLink is the third-largest telecommunications company in the United
States and is recognized as a leader in the network services market by
technology industry analyst firms. The company is a global leader in cloud
infrastructure and hosted IT solutions for enterprise customers. CenturyLink
provides data, voice and managed services in local, national and select
international markets through its high-quality, advanced fiber-optic network
and multiple data centers for businesses and consumers. The company also
offers advanced entertainment services under the CenturyLink™, Prism™
TV and DIRECTV brands. Headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, CenturyLink
is an S&P 500 company and is included among the Fortune 500 list of
America’s largest corporations. For more information, visit
www.centurylink.com.