ACS Business Operations

Atlanta, GA

The Atlanta metropolitan area is the eighth-largest economy in the country and 17th-largest in the world. Corporate operations comprise a large portion of the Atlanta’s economy, with the city serving as the regional, national, or global headquarters for many corporations. Atlanta contains the country’s third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and the city is the global headquarters of corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Newell-Rubbermaid. Over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies conduct business operations in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations. Many corporations are drawn to Atlanta on account of the city’s educated workforce; nearly 43% of adults in the city of Atlanta have college degrees, compared to 27% in the nation as a whole and 41% in Boston. Delta Air Lines, the city’s largest employer and the metro area’s third largest, operates the world’s largest airline hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and has helped make Hartsfield-Jackson the world’s busiest airport, both in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft operations. Media is also an important aspect of Atlanta’s economy. The city is a major cable television programming center. Information technology, an economic sector that includes publishing, software development, entertainment and data processing has, garnered a larger percentage of Atlanta’s economic output. Indeed, Atlanta contains the fourth-largest concentration of information technology jobs in the United States.

Bengaluru, India

Bangalore is the 3rd most populous city in India with a population of 8.4 million in the metropolitan area. Bangalore gained its nickname “Silicon Valley of India” for its role in for leading the revolution of IT outsourcing. Large IT players such as Infosys, Wipro, ISRO, Flipkart, Biocon, and HAL are all headquartered in the city and contribute to 33% of India’s IT exports. It also has a GDP of $83Billion, making it the 4th largest in India, behind Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. India is home to 57 Global 2000 companies. They are: Reliance Industries; ONGC; ICICI Bank; TCS; Bharti Airtel; Infosys; Wipro; Tata Steel; Mahindra and Mahindra; HCL and Adani Enterprises just to name a few.

Dallas, TX

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has one of the largest concentrations of corporate headquarters for publicly traded companies in the United States. The city of Dallas has 12 Fortune 500 companies and the DFW region as a whole has 20. Comerica Bank and AT&T located their headquarters in Dallas. Irving is home to four Fortune 500 companies of its own, including ExxonMobil, the most profitable company in the world and the second largest by revenue, Kimberly-Clark, Fluor (engineering), and Commercial Metals. Additional companies headquartered in the Metroplex include Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, RadioShack, Neiman Marcus, 7-Eleven, Brinker International, AMS Pictures, id Software, ENSCO Offshore Drilling, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Zales and Fossil. Corporate headquarters in the northern suburb of Plano include HP Enterprise Services, Frito Lay, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, and JCPenney. Many of these companies – and others throughout the DFW metroplex – comprise the Dallas Regional Chamber.

Detroit, MI

The city of Detroit has made efforts to lure the region’s growth companies downtown with advantages such as a wireless Internet zone, business tax incentives, entertainment, the Detroit International Riverfront, and residential high-rises. Compuware completed its world headquarters in downtown Detroit. OnStar, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and HP Enterprise Services have located at the Renaissance Center. Price Waterhouse Coopers Plaza offices are adjacent to Ford Field, and Ernst & Young completed its office building at One Kennedy Square. Some Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Detroit include General Motors, auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing, and DTE Energy. Other major industries include advertising, law, finance, biomedical research, health care, and computer software. The law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone, one of the largest in the U.S., has offices in both Detroit and Windsor. Wayne State University and medical service providers are major employers in the city.

Electronics

The electronics industry, especially meaning consumer electronics has now become a global industry worth billions of dollars. Contemporary society uses all manner of electronic devices built in automated or semi-automated factories operated by the industry. The size of the industry and the use of toxic materials, as well as the difficulty of recycling has led to a series of problems with electronic waste. International regulation and environmental legislation has been developed in an attempt to address the issues. Consumer electronics is that which is intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver. Later products include personal computers, telephones, MP3 players, audio equipment, televisions, calculators, GPS automotive electronics, digital cameras and players and recorders using video media such as DVDs, VCRs or camcorders. Increasingly these products have become based on digital technologies, and have largely merged with the computer industry in what is increasingly referred to as the consumerization of information technology. The CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) estimated the value of consumer electronics sales at US$150 billion. Favorable demographics, rising consumer incomes, and evolving more interconnected lifestyles are anticipated to boost the global consumer electronics industry. The market is expected to reach an estimated US $1,210 billion with a CAGR of 5.4% over next five years. The consumer electronics industry is consolidated as the top 10 players contribute approximately 52% of total market size. The industry, which is capital intensive and price sensitive, is a highly dynamic and fast-changing industry. Costs of raw materials such as steel and copper have increased, which had a significant effect on the price of the finished goods. A combination of factors such as rising income and consumer spending affect the market dynamics significantly. The industry has essentially recovered from the recent recessionary condition globally and is in the growing phase.

Energy

The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industry is a crucial part of the infrastructure and maintenance of society in almost all countries. In particular, the energy industry comprises: the petroleum industry, including oil companies, petroleum refiners, fuel transport and end-user sales at gas stations; the gas industry, including natural gas extraction, and coal gas manufacture, as well as distribution and sales; the electrical power industry, including electricity generation, electric power distribution and sales; the coal industry; the nuclear power industry; the renewable energy industry, comprising alternative energy and sustainable energy companies, including those involved in hydroelectric power, wind power, and solar power generation, and the manufacture, distribution and sale of alternative fuels; traditional energy industry based on the collection and distribution of firewood, the use of which, for cooking and heating, is particularly common in poorer countries. Production and consumption of energy resources is very important to the global economy. All economic activity requires energy resources, whether to manufacture goods, provide transportation, run computers and other machines. Widespread demand for energy may encourage competing energy utilities and the formation of retail energy markets.

Houston, TX

Houston is recognized worldwide for its energy industry, particularly for oil and natural gas, as well as for biomedical research and aeronautics. Renewable energy sources, wind and solar, are also growing economic bases in Houston. The ship channel is also a large part of Houston’s economic base. Because of these strengths, Houston is designated as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network. The Houston area is the top U.S. market for exports, surpassing New York City, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. Petroleum products, chemicals, and oil and gas extraction equipment accounted for approximately two-thirds of the metropol