ACS Operational Risk

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte has become a major U.S. financial center and is now the second largest banking center in the United States (after New York). The nation’s second largest financial institution by assets, Bank of America, calls the city home. Charlotte has 10 Fortune 500 companies listed in order of their rank: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Lowe’s, Nucor (steel producer), Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar, Goodrich Corporation, SPX Corporation, Domtar, Chiquita Brands International. Other major companies headquartered or with corporate operations in Metro Charlotte include: Extended Stay Hotels, Babcock and Wilcox, RSC Brands, TIAA-CREF, Time Warner Cable, Fox Sports 1, ESPNU, Continental Tire the Americas, LLC., Muzak, Belk, Harris Teeter, Meineke Car Care Center, Lance, Inc, Carolina Foods Inc, Bojangles’, Carlisle Companies, National Gypsum, Electrolux, LendingTree, Compass Group USA, Food Lion, and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated U.S. Airways regional carrier CCAir is headquartered in Charlotte. Charlotte is also a major center in the U.S. motorsports industry, housing multiple offices of NASCAR as well as the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Major energy players in Charlotte include AREVA, Babcock and Wilcox, Duke Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, Fluor, Metso Power, Piedmont Natural Gas, Siemens Energy, Shaw Group, Toshiba, URS Corp., and Westinghouse. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has a reputation in energy education and research and its Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) trains energy engineers and conducts research.

Chicago, IL

Chicago has the third largest gross metropolitan product in the United States. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. Chicago is a major world financial center, with the second largest central business district in the United States. The city is the headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (the Seventh District of the Federal Reserve). The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are home to the second largest labor pool in the United States with approximately 4.25 million workers. In addition, the state of Illinois is home to 66 Fortune 1000 companies, including those in Chicago.

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.

New York, NY

New York is a global hub of international business and commerce and is one of three “command centers” for the world economy (along with London and Tokyo). The city is a major center for banking and finance, retailing, world trade, transportation, tourism, real estate, new media as well as traditional media, advertising, legal services, accountancy, insurance, theatre, fashion, and the arts in the United States. New York City has been ranked first among 120 cities across the globe in attracting capital, business, and tourists. Many major corporations are headquartered in New York City, including 45 Fortune 500 companies. New York is also unique among American cities for its large number of foreign corporations. One out of ten private sector jobs in the city is with a foreign company.

Orlando, FL

The City of Orlando is an international business center. A bustling downtown draws businesses of all types and is especially strong in its ability to attract corporate headquarters. Some of those that have selected downtown Orlando include BBA Aviation, Signature Flight Services, CuraScript and Indra Systems, Inc. The city’s potential has only begun to be realized. Numerous major multi-use commercial projects are on the drawing board. An unprecedented level of office development is planned for downtown Orlando. All told, more than one million additional square feet of construction has been announced for the downtown business district. But, downtown Orlando is more than just business. Ten public and private secondary schools, all noted for excellence and innovative teaching, bring schoolchildren of all socio-economic realms into our downtown on a daily basis. Downtown is also alive with higher education. In addition to its downtown center that specializes in continuing education, the University of Central Florida’s Interactive Entertainment Academy’s (FIEA) state-of-the-art facilities and faculty train graduate-level game developers on an innovative campus once housed the City’s local expo center. UCF is also planning an expanded downtown campus to enhance educational opportunities for students which will further energize downtown. Florida A&M’s Law School opened in downtown Orlando in fall 2002. Florida State University’s Medical School has a regional campus in Delaney Park, just south of downtown, where third and fourth year medical students complete their training through involvement with two of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, both of which are also located in downtown Orlando. Valencia College also has a downtown Orlando campus.

San Francisco, CA

Tourism, the city’s largest private-sector employer, is the backbone of the San Francisco economy. Its frequent portrayal in music, film, and popular culture has made the city and its landmarks recognizable worldwide. Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees and self-employed firms make up 85% of city establishments as lately, it has been particularly popular with entrepreneurs establishing “start-up” companies. Many large financial institutions, multinational banks and venture capital firms are based in or have regional headquarters in the city. With over 30 international financial institutions, seven Fortune 500 companies, and a large support infrastructure of professional services – including law, public relations, architecture and design. San Francisco’s economy has increasingly become tied to San Jose and Silicon Valley, its neighbors to the south, sharing the need for highly educated workers with specialized skills. San Francisco has been positioning itself as a biotechnology and biomedical hub and research center. The Mission Bay neighborhood, site of a second campus of UCSF, fosters a budding industry and serves as headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the public agency funding stem cell research programs state-wide.