Mayor Kasim Reed and Governor Nathan Deal joined Accenture Senior Managing Director Jimmy Etheredge to announce the company’s plans to open an Innovation Hub in Atlanta in 2018, more than doubling its footprint in Midtown’s Technology Square.  The Hub will be a destination where Accenture people and clients can work side-by-side to ideate, rapidly prototype and launch solutions that meet the demands of today’s fast-changing digital world.

As part of the expansion, Accenture will add 800 highly skilled technology jobs in Atlanta by 2020, accelerating its investment in its innovation capabilities and contributing to the city’s fast growing tech community.  The company is recruiting people with the critical skills needed to serve clients across all its businesses – Strategy, Consulting, Digital, Technology and Operations.

“Accenture’s leadership in our city enhances our status as a global center for technology and innovation,” said Mayor Reed. “We are excited that Accenture has chosen Atlanta as a location for one of its new Innovation Hubs. The more than 800 new jobs the company is creating as part of its expansion is a testament to the strength of our economy and our highly-skilled workforce.”

“Accenture has a longstanding commitment to advancing the technology ecosystem in Atlanta,” said Governor Nathan Deal. “Georgia’s advanced technology infrastructure and robust workforce will benefit Accenture both in building this new Innovation Hub and in the company’s future growth. We are proud to see Accenture expand in Midtown, creating new opportunities for our citizens to be at the forefront of technology with highly skilled jobs while further securing Georgia’s status as the Silicon Valley of the South.”

Recently named one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Best Places to Work, Accenture employs more than 2,800 people in Atlanta.  The company is an active contributor to many of the city’s technology and digital initiatives, including the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Technology Association of Georgia and the Technology Innovation Awards. Accenture also partners with organizations including Girls Who Code, Junior Achievement, Boys and Girls Clubs to deliver skill-development programs across the metro community.

“Our clients look to us to help them grow, compete and transform in the digital economy,” said Jimmy Etheredge, senior managing director—US Southeast, Accenture. “We are bringing innovation to their doorsteps with a new destination in Atlanta where we can co-create solutions to their biggest challenges and deliver ground-breaking, tangible results faster than ever.”

Accenture’s new Innovation Hub in Atlanta will build on its extensive innovation footprint and is part of its accelerated investment in innovation in the United States. By 2020 the company will invest $1.4 billion in training, create 15,000 highly skilled new jobs and build 10 new Innovation Hubs in key U.S. cities.  The first of these new Hubs, which the company opened in Houston earlier this year, joined existing Hubs in New York, Chicago, San Jose and Washington, D.C.

The Innovation Hub in Atlanta will include a Liquid Studio that quickly turns concepts into prototypes through rapid software application development and a Fjord Design Studio, that brings design thinking methodologies to service design and digital product creation.  Specialized expertise from across Accenture Digital will enable clients to reimagine how their customers engage with their brand and experiment with emerging technologies.