Gov. Edwards And CenturyLink CEO Jeff Storey Announce Corporate Headquarters Retention For Louisiana Through 2025

Gov. John Bel Edwards and CenturyLink CEO Jeff Storey announced an agreement to retain CenturyLink’s corporate headquarters in Louisiana through 2025, with the Monroe corporate campus remaining the Fortune 200 company’s hub of operations. Serving customers in more than 60 countries, CenturyLink is a leading global technology company with annual revenue of more than $23 billion.

The agreement represents the third corporate headquarters retention agreement in the past decade between the State of Louisiana and CenturyLink, and continues a higher education investment in Louisiana Tech University and other higher education campuses to provide technology curricula for CenturyLink employees and other students. CenturyLink and Louisiana Tech form two key points of presence on Louisiana’s Interstate 20 Cyber Corridor that also includes Barksdale Air Force Base’s Global Strike Command, the 3,000-acre National Cyber Research Park, the Cyber Innovation Center and General Dynamics Information Technology in the Shreveport-Bossier City metro to the west.

“CenturyLink’s rise to prominence as one of the world’s most successful technology firms tells a uniquely Louisiana story,” Gov. Edwards said. “We prize CenturyLink’s contributions to our way of life in Louisiana, to the thousands of families the company has supported for generations, and to the new generation of technology professionals in Louisiana who will proudly carry the company’s banner into the future. Signing this headquarters retention agreement ensures that CenturyLink’s presence in Louisiana will continue to drive our tech sector along the I-20 Cyber Corridor and throughout our state.”

“CenturyLink is pleased to reaffirm our commitment to Louisiana,” Storey said. “As we continue to evolve into a leading global technology company, our talented employees in Northeast Louisiana will continue to play important roles in our transformation. A highly trained workforce is key to our continued success.”

To secure the latest corporate retention project, the State of Louisiana offered CenturyLink a competitive incentive package that includes an annual performance-based grant, subject to company payroll performance. In addition, the agreement creates funding for information technology faculty, curricula and education at Louisiana Tech University, where CenturyLink and the state have supported the Clarke M. Williams Professorship in Telecommunications in honor of the company’s founder.

The agreement funds up to $2 million in education grants to Louisiana Tech University and other eligible universities, such as the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Grambling State University, for enhancing IT and STEM-related higher education programs in the region.

“CenturyLink is a major anchor of the North Louisiana I-20 Cyber Corridor, and we are thrilled that they will continue to advance these special opportunities for our region, state and nation through their continued investments in education and programs at Louisiana Tech,” said President Les Guice of Louisiana Tech University. “We have worked to advance educational opportunities for CenturyLink employees on their campus and throughout their organization, and we hope to continue our innovative work with them in research and product development. Our partnerships with CenturyLink have been robust over the years, with support for the Clarke M. Williams Professorship in Telecommunications, internships for our students, and jobs for our graduates. This is a great day for Louisiana, and I know that the headquarters retention will advance even more opportunities for our citizens in the future.”

One of the leading economic driver firms in Louisiana’s private sector, CenturyLink represents a key contributor to Louisiana’s growing software and IT economy. Leveraging an attractive business climate, higher education partnerships and strategic technology incentives, Louisiana has attracted a host of software, digital media and IT employers to locate and expand in the state. In addition to CenturyLink, those employers include EA, GE Digital, IBM, General Dynamics Information Technology, CGI, DXC Technology, Accruent and more.

In the past decade, STEM-related investments on Louisiana’s higher education campuses have helped secure projects with many of those companies, as well as advanced manufacturing investments by Benteler Steel/Tube, Sasol Ltd., Boeing and others. Together, the more than $200 million dedicated to higher education public-private partnerships in STEM, software and IT projects are resulting in more than 20,000 new jobs in Louisiana.

About CenturyLink
CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL) is the second-largest U.S. communications provider to global enterprise customers. With customers in more than 60 countries and an intense focus on the customer experience, CenturyLink strives to be the world’s best networking company by solving customers’ increased demand for reliable and secure connections. The company also serves as its customers’ trusted partner, helping them manage increased network and IT complexity and providing managed network and cybersecurity solutions that help protect their business. For more information, visit CenturyLink.com.

SOURCE: https://www.opportunitylouisiana.com/led-news/news-releases/news/2019/04/02/gov.-edwards-and-centurylink-ceo-jeff-storey-announce-corporate-headquarters-retention-for-louisiana-through-2025