When Lowe’s chose Charlotte for its new Tech Hub, it solidified its reach as one of the world’s largest home improvement retailers in the Charlotte region. The 357,000-square-foot center will house up to 2,000 technology professionals in South End, a bustling neighborhood just outside of center city. Chief Information Officer Seemantini Godbole says the dedicated technology center will accelerate the Fortune 50 company’s technology transformation, serving as the epicenter for the team that will build future retail experiences as part of a relentless focus on its customers.
“Our global technology center in South End is a fascinating building,” Godbole said. “The available jobs are wide ranging from software engineering, infrastructure and information security to an abundance of creative positions and careers around data sciences, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Our new center is going to cover such a gamut of skills, and it’s also going to be a place where talent will be able to find a job that matches their career interests.”
The Charlotte region enjoys a tech talent pool that is growing twice as fast as the national average, and the availability of a quality technical workforce played a role in Lowe’s decision to choose Charlotte for its new center. In fact, large companies across all industries in the region sought digital transformation in 2020, when hiring in the technology industry was up 15% in Q4 over Q2. For Lowe’s, its new center will offer a gamut of tech positions designed to assist talent in finding jobs that align with their career interests. As an added benefit, Godbole said, its South End location provides an environment that today’s tech talent is looking for.
“Today’s workforce wants to walk to work, bike to work or ride the light rail. They want to be able to take a lunch break and pop into neighborhood restaurants. They also want a workplace that has open collaboration spaces that inspire them, and they want the neighborhood around them to do the same. South End — the community, the sense of place, our center — really encourages that type of culture and creativity.”
Visit any city in the U.S. and workforce development will be on the forefront of efforts to build a 21st-century labor force. For Sun Belt cities such as Charlotte, talent development and increased economic mobility are priorities for the country’s 15th largest city, which is why Lowe’s placed its corporate headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina, about 25 miles north of the city, nearly 20 years ago.
“When I moved to Charlotte in 2018, I simply fell in love with the region and its spirit of regional collaboration,” she said. “There is tremendous economic opportunity here, and the ecosystem of all the businesses working together is felt across our 15-county region.
“In my role as CIO, what impresses me about Charlotte is how it has become a huge magnet for technology talent and overall business talent,” she added. “There is tremendous potential for this trend to continue over the long term in Charlotte, and Lowe’s is proud to be a part of our region’s success.”
According to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, which collaborates to promote and advance regional economic development in the 15-county Charlotte region, people move to the region for jobs in a healthy and growing economy with thriving professional services sectors. The Charlotte region is already one of the fastest-growing tech talent markets, and as Lowe’s will attest, its new technology center is destined to become a magnet for both technology and business talent.
“Our region offers the diversity of talent that businesses are looking for,” Godbole said. “Lowe’s is looking for diverse talent because we want our talent to represent the local population. I think the Charlotte region gives us a head start on that front and that makes my job a little bit easier. I also think Charlotte is a city that’s not too big to get lost in and not too small to find everything you need, from the perfect talent to a host of amenities that enhance quality of life. Simply put, Charlotte is the perfect size.”
To learn more about business relocation and expansion opportunities in the Charlotte region, including an outlook for 2021 that is bright across all sectors, visit charlotteregion.com.
