The Ernst & Young Financial Services Office opened its new client service delivery center in Jacksonville with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.
The center is at Lakeside Five at Flagler Center, 12926 Gran Bay Parkway W., Suite 500.
The company said the center will provide financial services clients with expanded capabilities to help streamline and improve business processes, manage risk, achieve cost savings and maintain a competitive advantage.
By 2020, the office plans to employ about 450 people in information technology, testing and risk skills.
The ceremony was attended by Ernst & Young Financial Services Office Managing Partner Mike Middleton, Executive Director Bucky Feagans, Mayor Lenny Curry and others.
“This opening comes at a watershed time when all businesses and communities are facing disruption and the challenge to stay innovative,” Middleton said.
“EY’s decision to invest and grow in Jacksonville speaks volumes about our community and the high-quality talent here,” said City Council President Anna Lopez Brosche. “Companies need to know they are going to be able to hire the skilled employees they need to be successful, and we are educating and developing those employees right here in Jacksonville.”
Ernst & Young is one of the largest accounting and professional services firms in the world with more than 230,000 employees.
The Emerging Design Professionals, a subcommittee of the Jacksonville chapter of the American Institute of Architects, has launched a design competition for the proposed Jacksonville School of the Arts.
The school would be in 100,000 square feet of warehouse space at North Liberty and East 14th streets in Springfield.
“I think it is rare that an emerging design professional gets to be a part of something that will change a city,” said Samantha Wai, Emerging Design Professionals vice president. “I truly believe this is the start of a vibrant and flourishing arts district.”
Contest participants will submit a design board containing a minimum of one master plan and two renderings for the school. The project includes artists’ studios, apartments, workshops, event space and a café.
The owners and founder of the Phoenix Arts District, Christy Frazier and Kurtis Hort, will serve on the panel of jurors to select three finalists. On Sept. 7 at the Design Professionals Finalist Event, voting will take place. The winner, who will receive $10,000, will be announced at the Phoenix Rising Art Festival on Oct. 20.
“Words cannot describe how thankful and excited we are at the opportunity to have so many talented professionals working on this project,” Frazier said.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Corp. is offering 12 weeks of paid parental leave to full-time, U.S. stateside employees who work ashore and have been employed by Crowley for a year or longer.
The policy includes birth mothers; a spouse or committed partner of a woman who has given birth to the employee’s child; an employee who has adopted a child; or an employee who has been placed with a foster child.
“We know that becoming a new parent is a watershed event in the lives of our employees. This policy demonstrates that our company is committed to supporting employees so they may develop their careers while supporting their health and families,” said Tom Crowley, chairman and CEO. “Not only is a family-friendly environment valued by employees, it also makes our company better by increasing engagement, motivation and productivity.”
Only 10 percent of companies offer workers full pay while on parental leave, according to the 2016 National Study of Employers by the Society for Human Resource Management.
The Tax Defense Network, a national tax debt resolution company based in Jacksonville, has hired Tom Baumlin as CEO.
Before coming to Tax Defense Network, Baumlin was CFO of Triad Retail Media and Jacksonville-based Fanatics.
“It is a privilege to step into an established company like Tax Defense Network, especially in the city I know and love,” Baumlin said.
Baumlin holds an MBA in Marketing and Accounting from Columbia Graduate School of Business at Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and History from Stanford University.
Crowley Maritime Corp. has appointed Daniel Vargas vice president of international business development to support the company’s liner and logistics services groups.
He will work with Crowley’s new director of logistics in St. Maarten, Jeffrey de la Combe, to bring supply chain solutions for customers and their cargoes originating outside the United States.
Jacksonville-based Acosta has acquired ActionLink, a company that provides retailers with strategic marketing and sales solutions.
“This acquisition marks another step forward as we expand Acosta’s footprint and expertise,” said Acosta Executive Vice President Paul Wood. “Over the past 20 years, ActionLink has established itself as a leading partner for top consumer electronics brands and retailers, offering innovative solutions to drive sales for some of the biggest names in the industry. The strong synergies between the two companies make Acosta and ActionLink natural complements for one another.”
As part of the agreement, ActionLink will be an operating division of Acosta.
ActionLink has offices in Akron, Ohio, and Las Vegas and employs more than 2,000.
Acosta works with national consumer packaged goods companies to place their products on store shelves.
Architect Philip Robbie has been named national design director for Jacksonville-headquartered national architecture and engineering firm RS&H.
As national design director, Robbie is assigned to improving RS&H’s building design capabilities and working with architects and engineers from RS&H’s corporate, aerospace and defense, transportation and aviation practices.
“This is it,” Robbie said. “This is my dream job. It’s what I’ve prepared for, and I’m ready to go.”
A native of Cleveland, Robbie is a graduate of Kent State University’s College of Architecture. He has worked for Blunden Barclay Robbie, BRPH, NORR Ltd. and Perspectus Architecture.
