Forbes Magazine (http://www.wral.com/news/4459985/detail.html)

Just goes to show, we're awesome!

Forbes Magazine (http://www.wral.com/news/4459985/detail.html)

Just goes to show, we're awesome!Bunch of crap, because if it was really #2 it would have about 40-50 Fortune 500 companies.

i dont feel like clicking the link to read all of that but based on the thread title - it is a great place to have business done. aka - have your hq in a city with a name to it [nyc, la, chicago, denver, san fran, atlanta, miami, houston, dallas, etc etc etc] and then put a bunch of people in raleigh since RTP is cheap suburban office land.

Great to see this..Raleigh-Durham makes another "best of" list, and Charlotte forumers hate on it. What a surprise. Maybe you should just acknowledge the fact that Raleigh is an "it" place, and has been for a long time now. I guess Washington DC and Austin are also on the list due to their industrial parks, and "cheap suburban office land". You do know cost of living is higher in RDU than Charlotte, no?

Bunch of crap, because if it was really #2 it would have about 40-50 Fortune 500 companies.

Dammit people, this isn't a ranking of Fortune 500 headquarters. Additionally (not that it matters) I'm sure many Fortune 500 companies are represented in Raleigh. The area is laden with many big and important high technology corporations--IBM has its world's largest facility in RTP, Cisco Systems has one of its largest campuses, Redhat is actually based in Raleigh, SAS is based in Cary... There's Biogen, Delta Electronics, Nortel Networks, GlaxoSmithKline (several locations), GE Aircraft, RTI, the list goes on and on.

This is a list based on criteria such as "business and living costs, the education of the work force, job and income growth, crime rates and a culture-and-leisure index".

It is a list of what they believe are the "best places to do business". Judging by the number of great companies already in Raleigh, some of which arrived decades ago, and the continued high growth rate of high-tech sector in the area, I'd say the list accurately places Raleigh in the top 10--putting it in direct competition with many much larger places.

No real surprise to me. :) the Triangle has a had a great business climate for some time.

Is Raleigh ever going to be represented by itself?

no.

Is Raleigh ever going to be represented by itself?

Not in the near future, but then why would you when you have Durham and Chapel Hill 20-25 miles away (suburb distance for any single city)with RTP in the middle. You throw that together, with that kind of brainpower, youth, and culture..and there is a recipe for a superior metro no question. Even if Raleigh wanted to be completely separate from CH and Durham (and some would argue that it does want to), they're just too close to not be connected somehow. :)

But don't you think that in some ways, it is to Raleigh's disadvantage? After all, it is the primary city in the Triangle. Also it can lead to confusion, in that folks may think that Raleigh-Durham is one city like Winston-Salem. I remember looking at a particular program one day, and the featured speaker was to make stops in certain US cities. "Raleigh-Durham, NC" was listed (and the only area to be listed as two cities), but Greenville, SC was listed by itself, as opposed to "Greenville-Spartanburg, SC." I certainly understand the benefits of being a "regional" city, but at the same time, I do believe that Raleigh could benefit to stand on its own sometimes.

^
I hear you on that though. Good point.

Nice reply, IHateBirds :okay:

Well, this recognition for Raleigh is definitely a shot in the arm for our economy... and our image. The environment for doing business is good, but the time has come for us to attract a few major employers, in the downtown area, not just the suburbs. I hope somebody out there reads this carefully and gives Raleigh some consideration.

Raliegh has done well in the magazine rankings for quite some time now...so this should not be a surprise to anyone with a brain.

Well I think this is excellent news for the Triangle. As stated, it’s also pretty much the status quo. It’s not the fastest growing metro in the state for nothing.

Regarding Charlotte, I think there is good cause for the city to be envious. We should be. This should encourage the city to tackle issues like the school system and crime in hopes of getting to the tops of these types of lists. The city should also “watch its back”. It made little press around here, but I thought it was very significant last October when Credit Suisse First Boston announced they were building a new operations center in RTP. Charlotte wasn’t even in the running for it. While the facility will have IT positions, it will primarily have several financial services jobs kind of along the lines of Vanguard and TIAA-CREF in Charlotte. If the Triangle’s going to be going after jobs like these, Charlotte should prepare.


Job Title: Operations Specialist
Overview of Role:
Exciting Financial Services Operations role for experienced professionals at Credit Suisse First Boston’s new Global Business Center in Research Triangle Park!

We are currently recruiting for an August 1, 2005 start date. All new hires must be available to start on August 1 and attend our 60-day training program in Research Triangle Park.

CSFB Operations is responsible for ensuring that all transactions are processed, settled and confirmed in a timely and accurate manner, in adherence with all regulatory requirements. In addition, Operations ensures that all client accounts are properly serviced and reconciled. Operations support all business areas within CSFB including Corporate & Investment Banking, Fixed Income, Equities, Private Client Services, Asset Management and Private Equity.

Multiple openings exist in several departments within Operations: International Operations, Account Services, Listed Derivative Options Investment Service Options and Listed Derivative Options Client Support

WORK EXPERIENCE/BACKGROUND
Work experience in a professional environment
Accounting & audit experience a plus
Financial Services/Investment Banking experience desired
Management/supervisory experience a plus

EDUCATION
Bachelor’s Degree (with focus in finance or accounting a plus)

Link: http://www.csfb.com/about_csfb/careers/gbc/index.shtml



LATEST NEWS
RSS Feeds | Reprints | E-mail Alerts | Printable Version | Email Story
October 22, 2004

Credit Suisse a different kind of win for RTP
Kim Nilsen and Leo John

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK - RTP economic developers scored a major win on Oct. 21, when Credit Suisse First Boston announced it will relocate a business unit inside the park, creating 400 new jobs.

CSFB, a global investment banking firm headquartered in New York with 18,000 workers, will locate the offices at the corner of Louis Stephens Drive and Kit Creek Road. A new building will be constructed near Cisco's operations, but no timeline was released. CSFB's parent, Credit Suisse Group, is based in Zurich, Switzerland.

CSFB will invest more than $100 million to create what it calls a Global Business Center - a site aimed at assuring the continuity of business should a disaster occur, officials say. Credit Suisse and other financial institutions were spurred by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to set up such operations outside New York City.

Credit Suisse marks the first major economic development announcement for Rick Weddle, who took over as head of the Research Triangle Foundation, which markets and manages RTP, upon the retirement of the foundation's longtime leader, Jim Roberson.

In exchange for the commitment, North Carolina has committed $3 million from the governor's discretionary One North Carolina Fund, and the company will receive $8.9 million in Job Development Investment Grant funding over 10 years. Wake County Manager David Cook says he has been authorized to negotiate incentives that could total as much as $2 million.

Credit Suisse will be moving the jobs from sites in New York and New Jersey, and officials say the average salary will top $72,000. Sources say the job total in RTP could eventually reach 850.

Gov. Mike Easley, in making the announcement Thursday, said the state Department of Commerce had worked with the company for months and fended off several neighboring states to land the big-name client. In recent years, several Southeastern cities - particularly Tampa, Fla., and Atlanta - have snared similar projects initiated by other financial services firms.

Credit Suisse's announcement follows by a few months a decision by Verizon Wireless to set up a call center in Wilmington with an estimated investment of $29 million and eventual employment of 1,200. Verizon received state and local incentives valued at $7.2 million to lure it to the Port City.

The Credit Suisse operation is a bit of a shift for RTP, which is stocked with companies doing research into new technologies and medicines. Economic developers hope the fact that the venerable investment bank picked the area will lead other such companies to smile favorably in the direction of RTP.

Should Credit Suisse reaches an employment of 850 in RTP, the company will have a significant presence in the park, where IBM's work force of 13,500 easily outdistances all others. Behind IBM are GlaxoSmithKline, with 4,000 workers, and Cisco, with 2,500.

Credit Suisse Group reported net income of $2.72 billion for the first half of 2004. The company is helmed by Oswald J. Grübel. Duke University alum John Mack was ousted earlier this year from his post as co-chief executive, leaving Grübel as sole CEO of Credit Suisse Group.

Mack, who has a home on Figure Eight Island, also left the top job at CSFB. A Wall Street veteran nicknamed "Mack the Knife" for his skill at trimming costs, Mack was hired in 2001 to fix Credit Suisse First Boston. Under Mack's reign, CSFB pruned about 10,000 jobs to help Credit Suisse trim expenses by 38 percent between 2001 and 2003. The investment banking arm landed a plum underwriting job this year when it was named to a leading role in Google's initial public offering.

The company endured a black eye in May, when Frank Quattrone, a star investment banker who generated business for CSFB in the tech sector, was convicted of obstructing justice and witness tampering.

Note: This story appears in the Oct. 22 print edition of Triangle Business Journal.

© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.

Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2004/10/18/daily30.html

i dislike it when people say that Raleigh's downtown is at a disadvantage since rtp is located so far away b/c the fact of the matter is that if rtp didnt exist as it does today raleigh and the triangle could be a completely different place for better or worse.

i dislike it when people say that Raleigh's downtown is at a disadvantage since rtp is located so far away b/c the fact of the matter is that if rtp didnt exist as it does today raleigh and the triangle could be a completely different place for better or worse.


I agree with you on this. They can successfully co-exist, no question. Not to mention, when people say an office park with many jobs detracts from a downtown, they could be speaking of any large metro in the country. Route 128 has a high number of tech, but that doesn't mean Boston can't thrive because it's not downtown.

RTP has been both a blessing and a curse... I think most of us can agree on this. Without RTP and the businesses that depend much on it, Raleigh's population would have been between 150,000 and 200,000 at best. RTP's existence has benefitted many property owners, construction companies and real estate agents; people whose income depends on RTP need to live somewhere. We can think of many things about RTP's effect on Raleigh's growth, and the downtown area should be among them. Suburban growth was responsible for turning a vibrant core into a deserted place. Not until the last 7-8 years DT Raleigh received some attention and today we are talking about investments exceeding $1 billion, just in the downtown area alone.

What I cannot accept is cheap excuses for downtown's poor skyline. There is enough growth to justify at least one tower a year, but the local developers are taking advantage of the [still] poorly implemented urban guidelines and build crappy, suburban-type developments all over the place. The only thing that saves DT Raleigh's growth is the existing momentum. People are discovering downtown and slowly embracing the city's vision. To make the second place in a major publication is a big thing, but downtown revitalization plans and momentum mean little in the overall rating methodology. The climate for doing business is great and once we improve our urban fabric we can celebrate (just a little bit) for yet-another major success story. Now, we may slip a few positions, but we'll be a city that offers more options, and that counts for something.

As stated in other threads, the residential booming is where DT Raleigh will see most of the improvements. Provided TTA's regional rail is going to be built, even if a delay is necessary, living somewhere in DT Raleigh and working in RTP will not be a dream, or a vision, but a reality. I do not anticipate much of the downtown growth to come from the corporate world. Take RBC/Centura as an example: We've been waiting and waiting to hear from them, yet they still remain silent. Many people speculate that RBC/Centura will eventually move to DT Raleigh, but until that happens we cannot talk about success stories that justify the 2nd place when it comes to big businesses.

It's hard to imagine rdu become ral and dur. The problem lies in the fact that, while raleigh is very large and growing more quickly than durham or chapel hill--RTP is still 75% in durham. Also the two more well known universities in the metro are not in raleigh. So even if raleigh had a million people....RTP would still be in durham and Duke/UNC would still not be in raleigh. Also the airport is jointly owned...so it almost has to be called RDU in order to be fair.

Of course this is in terms of the national perspective.

Understood.

Raleigh and Durham are toooooooooo connected to be separated.....and for the record, Durham aint a small place either.....take it from someone who lives there! Like it or not Raleigh and Durham's existance thrive off of each other

Well said, ejohnson :okay: Your word is wise, and for a reason: you are familiar with both places, more so than I am... Both cities benefit from being in close proximity, and complement each other. There is no competition except in the eyes of those who know little about the Triangle. If Durham gets something we don't have, we move on and try to attract something else. Durham has Nordstrom, Raleigh has Saks Fifth Avenue. Chapel Hill and Morrisville have the only new urbanist projects in the area (Meadowmont Village, Southern Village and Carpenter Village). There is more love between the Triangle's cities and towns than outsiders think. Sure, there are always people in Raleigh who look down on Durham, and vice versa, but that is as far as it goes. One visit to the other place and people realize that both cities have strengths and weakness that they need to maintain and work on (respectively).

The Triangle is blessed to have both Raleigh and Durham. Triangle residents know that, and evidently so does Forbes magazine, which is why they rate Raleigh and Triangle as high as they do. Lack of cut-throat competition among close-by cities is another compelling reason for any business to move into an area. That's my 2 cents...

Cool. I see the cooperation in the Triangle is much better than in the Triad. LOL.

I consider Durham to be a part of the greater community here. In fact I didn't even think about the Nordstrom being in Durham (and not Raleigh) until you mentioned it in that context. True that Raleigh has Saks, but I'm sure Durham citizens don't feel envious because of that either.

The cities are different, but they compliment eachother well. Each of the four biggest components of the Triangle has its own role and I really don't see any of the city-possessive nonesense that I perceive from the Triad (as indicated on these forums).

Cool. I see the cooperation in the Triangle is much better than in the Triad. LOL.

You right about that. For some reason W-S just doesn't want to cooperate with anybody. :wink2:

No seriously, I think RTP has been a great joint effort in the Triangle which has brought the greater area together. People can argue about the effect RTP has had on sprawl but the economic benefits are undeniable.

So exactly who are the biggest employers at RTP?

Here is a list of top employers and the number of employees in the Research Triangle Park taken from RTP.org

IBM 13,300
GlaxoSmithKline 5,000
Nortel Networks 3,000
Cisco Systems 2,500
RTI International 1,700
US EPA 1,200
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 1,000
Sony Ericsson 750
Bayer CropScience 500
Diosynth Biotechnology 500

Wow, I had no idea the park employed over 20,000 people. I can see now, in part, why the Triangle gets rave reviews.

Actually the Park boasts an estimated 38,000 full time employees (44,000 including contract employees).

RTP is certainly the largest employment center in the region. Recently, I read an article about the projected growth and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the plans for the future included more mixed-use areas, taller buildings and denser/more walkable developments. What this meant was not the transformation of RTP into a city, but the surrounding areas will definitely become more urban. If I find the article I will post it here because it is extremely important for this area's urban growth. If the mindset changes, so will the attitudes of the developers. I don't think that such developments would hurt Raleigh and Durham any more than RTP already has, but there will be some competition, indeed. However, companies that desire a suburban location will choose RTP, while others will seek a more urban setting; DT Raleigh and DT Durham will definitely see some growth.

RTP is certainly the largest employment center in the region. Recently, I read an article about the projected growth and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the plans for the future included more mixed-use areas, taller buildings and denser/more walkable developments. What this meant was not the transformation of RTP into a city, but the surrounding areas will definitely become more urban. If I find the article I will post it here because it is extremely important for this area's urban growth. If the mindset changes, so will the attitudes of the developers. I don't think that such developments would hurt Raleigh and Durham any more than RTP already has, but there will be some competition, indeed. However, companies that desire a suburban location will choose RTP, while others will seek a more urban setting; DT Raleigh and DT Durham will definitely see some growth.

RTP may be the the largest employment sector in the triangle, but locally
Duke Uniuversity/ Medical Center is the largest employer in the city of Durham, then IBM is second, etc.......

RTP may be the the largest employment sector in the triangle, but locally
Duke Uniuversity/ Medical Center is the largest employer in the city of Durham, then IBM is second, etc.......
That's correct. I am not sure what is the total number of employees, but I know that Duke University, including its medical center, offers employment to many people. Having a university with a reputation as good as Duke is definitely a great factor, for many businesses, to choose the Triangle. Businesses that depend on, or work with the medical sector stand to benefit the most, especially if you take UNC/UNC Hospitals in consideration. The small distance between Duke and UNC Hospitals is definitely a plus, including their own need for additional employees. I wish SunTrust could increase its presence in Durham and become a major employer, too.

I hope so. Raleigh-NC. I'm still trying to get used to their logo on top of the former CCB tower, downtown.

Let me share an article with you, published today (05/19/2005) in the News & Observer. Nothing revealing, but nevertheless interesting:

Triangle Watch - Economic Development
By AMY MARTINEZ, Staff Writer

More businesses are apparently mulling a move to the Triangle.

The Research Triangle Regional Partnership, which covers 13 counties, responded to 438 requests for information during the first three months of this year. That is up 14 percent from the same period last year.

Inquiries fell during the 2001 economic recession, but have since picked up. As the economy improves, the partnership also is getting more hits on its Web site, www.ResearchTriangle.org. The economic development group's site received 392,275 hits during the January-through-March period, a 74 percent increase from the same three months last year.

The rise in inquiries and Web site hits is an indication that businesses are growing and may be considering a move to the Triangle, said Charles Hayes, president of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership.

"We don't chase or get companies that are dissatisfied with where they are," Hayes said. "We look at companies that are expanding and need additional capacity."

The hope is that those inquiries will lead to new businesses for the Triangle, Hayes said.

Still, another factor may be driving the increase in Web site hits, said research director Bo Carson. The Web site's new design, launched in January, makes it easier to use and more informative, he said.

" The rise in inquiries and Web site hits is an indication that businesses are growing and may be considering a move to the Triangle, said Charles Hayes, president of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership."

The interest alone is enough to show that the Raleigh-Durham area is up and coming!

Great news. The Triangle could see a flurry of economic activity in the coming months. Good for NC.

one under estimated employers of raleigh actually is the goverement. If i am not mistaken it is the second highest employer