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EY, one of the world’s largest business-services organizations, opened its new center for executive assistants and other professional functions within its expanded and remodeled downtown Louisville office, Gov. Matt Bevin and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced today.
“We are excited to see a global icon like EY finalize plans to make Kentucky an integral part of its operations,” Gov. Bevin said. “EY’s new professional service center is further evidence that the commonwealth is an ideal destination for companies seeking a skilled, professional workforce, outstanding quality of life and low operating costs. Their innovative office concept is a prime example of why the company has been a leader in its industry for generations. We are grateful for their continued confidence and investment in Kentucky.”
The 20,109-square-foot office at 400 W. Market St. serves as EY’s Kentucky and southern Indiana market headquarters and houses members of the firm’s expanding National Executive Assistant Team (NEAT) along with the rest of EY’s practice. The center supports EY executives across the country. The firm operates similar centers in Dallas, Cleveland and Tucson. The company invested $4.3 million to remodel and outfit the Central Business District location as an expansion of its professional practice office, which has been part of Kentucky for nearly a century.
The Louisville NEAT center showcases the company’s EY@Work office design, which includes a mix of individual and collaborative spaces and robust technology resources to support teamwork and productivity. EY also announced Louisville native Greg Pope will lead the NEAT center as office managing partner for Kentucky and Southern Indiana.
“The opening of our modern, engaging office space and the ever-evolving business climate makes for an exciting time to join the Louisville office. This space will allow our people to grow as professionals and do their best work at EY, with innovation and teaming at the forefront. This collaborative environment will lead to us asking better questions and providing better answers for our clients,” Pope said. “We’ve built an amazing practice and culture here in Louisville. As a Louisville native, I could not be more excited and proud to carry them forward and work closely with our people to advance EY’s purpose of building a better working world.”
EY’s market position and brand in Louisville led in large part to the firm selecting Louisville for the NEAT center. Specialty branding in the office also celebrates EY’s 95-year legacy in the Louisville area, with unique visual nods to Muhammad Ali, the Kentucky Derby and more.
Pope succeeds David Calzi, who assumes the lead role for EY’s central region government and public sector.
“I could not be happier for Greg and for our entire practice. He is an amazing professional and more importantly a great guy who cares very deeply about the community we all live in. He along with our dedicated and passionate professionals will take the EY brand in the market to even greater heights.” Calzi said. “I am heartened by this successful transition as well as the addition of the National Executive Assistant Team being an impetus for the expansion of our local footprint. EY has been a proud local citizen for close to a century and will continue to be so for many years to come.”
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said EY’s new space helps it continue growing as an integral part of the city’s flourishing professional services sector.
“Thanks to EY’s continued investment in our city, Louisville’s business services cluster is leading the way in innovative back office support,” said Mayor Fischer. “We congratulate EY on officially opening their forward-thinking and efficient center for doing business on a global level, and we look forward to supporting EY’s team.”
Sen. Gerald Neal, of Louisville, welcomed the new jobs to the state’s 33rd District.
“This investment and commitment in our community will provide much-needed jobs and a boost to our local economy,” Sen. Neal said. “We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership.”
Rep. Darryl Owens, of Louisville, said the company’s new office was the product of a group effort and proof the city is a major driver of commerce.
“This opening is great news for our community, especially those who will benefit from these new jobs and the businesses that EY serves,” Rep. Owens said. “I want to thank its leaders for making this investment, and I appreciate the local and state cooperative spirit that made this announcement, and others like it, possible. This further solidifies our well-earned reputation as the commonwealth’s economic engine.”
EY traces its roots to the early 1900s with the founding of two accounting firms; Ernst & Ernst in Cleveland, and Arthur Young & Co. in Chicago. Their 1989 merger created Ernst & Young, which then became Ernst & Young LLP.
The firm is a member firm of the global EY organization whose members provide assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services to many of the world’s largest companies. EY operates in 152 countries and employs 231,000 people globally.
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in February 2017 preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $1 million through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the agreement term through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
In addition, the firm can receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies can receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. In fiscal year 2017, the Kentucky Skills Network provided training for nearly 95,000 Kentuckians and 5,000 companies from a variety of industry sectors.
For more information on EY, visit www.ey.com.
Mayor Greg Fischer and Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith joined the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund (LAHTF) as it celebrated a ribbon cutting and open house at its first major project.
“Housing is a basic need for all people in our city and I want to thank the partnership of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and YMCA of Greater Louisville for preserving these 41 units at the Chestnut Street YMCA,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Over the last two years, the city is proud to have made an unprecedented investment of almost $30 million in affordable housing. I look forward to celebrating more groundbreaking and ribbon cuttings of affordable housing opportunities across the city.”
The LAHTF provided $477,000 in forgivable funds to the YMCA for major deferred maintenance repairs for its 41-unit permanent supported housing program. The program is the only such program in the city that provides housing for men moving towards self-sufficiency.
“This is a great day for affordable housing in Louisville,” proclaimed Councilwoman Sexton Smith. “The renovation of these apartments was very much needed and thanks to the collaboration and leadership of so many people, it a reality for those that depend on us.”
The renovation included upgrading plumbing and bathroom facilities, laundry facilities, individual HVAC units for residents and common areas and new appliances in the main community room. This renovation has enhanced not only our facility, but the self-worth and hopes of every man that lives here,” said Leah Mullaney, Senior Program Director for Housing at the Chestnut Street YMCA.
In total, LAHTF was allocated $2.5 million for the 2017 funding period. Other projects funded last year are in various stages of progress.
“We are excited to be able to fund the types of projects that have been presented and also understand that, without the flexible type of funding available through the Trust Fund, programs like the YMCA would not receive the funds needed to continue to provide these services in our community,” said Christie McCravy, Director of the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund. “This is just one example of what is possible when the Trust Fund receives funding. Next year the impact will be even broader and greater.”
For more information on the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/housing-community-development/louisv…
On Friday, February 23 and Saturday, February 24, the Louisville Orchestra welcomes nationally acclaimed conductor, Thomas Wilkins, to Whitney Hall to lead one of Gustav Holst’s most popular symphonic works – The Planets. This presentation will include HD images from NASA projected on a big screen over the stage. Experience this symphonic powerhouse with stunning images, from the Mars Rover mission and past probe missions Magellan, Voyager, and Galileo. Single tickets range from $27 – $85 and are available by calling 502.584.7777 or visit LouisvilleOrchestra.org.
Created by filmmaker Duncan Copp and produced by The Houston Symphony in cooperation with NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratories, The Planets: An HD Odyssey is a spectacular presentation of the latest images from modern space exploration projected in high definition on a giant screen over the stage, providing a stunning visual canvas as your Louisville Orchestra performs Gustav Holst’s glorious musical score.
“The images in the movie, produced and directed by Duncan Copp, were often astonishing. Photographs from rovers and satellites, radar images and computer-generated graphics were combined to give the audience the impression of circling individual planets and sometimes flying over their awesomely barren landscapes…There is, of course, a film-score-like quality to the music, and combining it with imagery has been done before, though not to my mind with such sophistication.” – The New York Times
Thomas Wilkins is currently the Music Director of the Omaha Symphony, the Principal Conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Germeshausen Family and Youth Concert Conductor Chair with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Learn more about Maestro Wilkins at http://www.kaylormanagement.com/Wilkins_Thomas_bio.html.
PROGRAM: Hilliard Lyons Coffee Concert: Friday, February 23, 2018 11AM
Brown-Forman Classics Concert: Saturday, February 24, 2018 8PM
The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall Thomas Wilkins, Conductor | Kent Hatteberg, Choursmaster | Women of the University of Louisville Collegiate Chorale
+ CLAUDE DEBUSSY:: Nocturnes
JAMES BECKEL:: Toccata for Orchestra
GUSTAV HOLST:: The Planets
+ Saturday evening performance only
Due to the high demand by school groups, there is limited seating for Friday morning’s Coffee concert.
Opus 3 Artists is the exclusive representative for “The Planets: An HD Odyssey.”
Mayor Fischer today announced the names of seven experts and community leaders who will serve on his new Public Art and Monuments Advisory Committee.
Originally announced in December, the Committee is charged with developing a set of principles for evaluating Louisville’s existing public art and monuments.
Committee members represent a range of disciplines and perspectives, including art, history, community building, business and political science. The members include Tricia Burke, Carolle Jones Clay, Dr. Dewey Clayton, Ashley Haynes, Dr. Tom Owen, Dr. Chris Reitz and Cathy Shannon. Reitz and Shannon represent the Commission on Public Art.
The Committee’s first meeting will be from 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7 in the auditorium of the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library (301 York Street). From 5-5:30 p.m., Committee members will available for a meet-and-greet discussion format and the public is also invited to provide written comments during this time. Following the discussion, Committee members will summarize what they heard in the discussion and then discuss future meeting dates and public input strategies.
The scope of work for the Committee for January through June 2018 will include:
- review processes, actions and outcomes employed by other cities;
- develop strategies to receive public input;
- work with Metro staff to gather and review historical research;
- consider public opinion, historical research and the multi-disciplinary perspectives of Committee members in developing principles; and
- produce a report outlining the Committee’s methods of inquiry and findings on the matter of establishing principles to guide decisions on whether to alter, preserve or remove public art and monuments.
The set of principles that the Committee is tasked with developing will acknowledge the complexities of Louisville’s past, as well as the values that matter to us today. They will be comprehensive, rather than specific to current controversies, and informed by the work of the city’s Commission on Public Art, Compassionate City initiatives, and Historic Preservation Advisory Task Force.
The Committee will consider the historical representation of our city’s existing public art and monuments and develop principles that aspire to make public spaces welcoming and reflective of our diverse community. The principles will guide the administration’s deliberation on whether to alter, to preserve or to remove public art and monuments that may be interpreted as honoring bigotry, racism and/or slavery.
As the Committee begins its work, agendas and associated documents will be made available at Louisville Metro Public Art’s webpage: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/public-art
Photo: KFC Yum! Center
Kevin Hart announced he is expanding his widely successful and massively hysterical ‘The Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour,’ adding over 100 new dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. Produced by Live Nation, the new dates will kick off March 23 in Baltimore, MD and hit all new cities including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, Paris, London, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, and more. See below for full routing and on sale details.
Tickets for the newly added dates will go on sale to the general public starting Wednesday, January 31 at 12pm ET at LiveNation.com
Hart’s last multi-city domestic and international WHAT NOW comedy tour sold out large venues all over the world, including being the first comedian to sell out an NFL stadium, selling over 50,000 tickets in one show at Lincoln Financial Field. Internationally, he sold out over a dozen arenas in the European market, selling over 150,000 tickets, and sold out arenas across Australia, selling 100,000 tickets. Hart’s hit comedy tour grossed over $100 million worldwide.
2017 was a banner year for Hart, his memoir I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons debuted at Number One on the New York Times Bestseller list and remained on the list for ten consecutive weeks. The book also topped records on the Audible platform, selling over 100,000 copies in the first five weeks. Earlier in the year Hart voiced a title character in Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. To close 2017, Kevin appeared in the Sony reboot of the classic film Jumanji alongside Dwayne Johnson and Jack Black. Jumanji has been Kevin’s highest grossing box office release to date, the movie has made over $800 million worldwide.
Hart’s newest business venture is his digital platform the LOL NETWORK – Laugh Out Loud, the comedy brand and multi-platform network founded by Hart in partnership global content leader Lionsgate. Hart’s next feature film is Night School for Universal, a film in which he co-wrote, produces and stars in – all under the Hartbeat production banner. The comedy follows a group of misfits who are forced to attend adult classes in the longshot chance they’ll pass the GED exam.
The Louisville Resilience team is asking citizens to complete a short web-based survey to help craft the city’s strategy for withstanding “shocks and stresses,” such as economic downturns and natural disasters.
“Louisville and its citizens can only reach their full potential if we’re prepared for disruptions that might come our way, both sudden and long-simmering,” said city Chief Resilience Officer Eric Friedlander, who is responsible for developing strategies to improve resilience across the city.
“We need input from as many residents as possible. We need to know what Louisvillians in every neighborhood see as our most pressing challenges, so we can work on them together as a community.”
The survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, can be taken here.
Louisville Resilience will use the residents’ feedback as the office, in partnership with the community, crafts policies and implementation strategies.
Louisville Resilience launched early last year with support from 100 Resilient Cities – pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, an international network aimed at building urban, environmental and economic resilience.
Louisville’s efforts focus on breaking down barriers within city government, developing pre-existing plans, and creating partnerships, alliances and financing mechanisms that will address the resilience vulnerabilities of all city residents, with a particular focus on low-income and vulnerable populations.
Those local efforts include a focus on economic and social challenges, environmental and infrastructure issues, and health and wellbeing.
The Public Safety Committee of the Louisville Metro Council will hold a special discussion at its first meeting of the year to hear about the impact of crime on a specific group that sometime gets lost in the aftermath of violence: crime victims.
“Many times this Committee talks with law enforcement and other agencies to see how we can combat the growing homicide rate and violent crime,” says Councilwoman Jessica Green (D-1) who chairs the Committee. “It is important we also hear about how victims are trying to piece their lives and their families back together after the kind of tragedies we are seeing on our streets. We need to know if we are meeting their needs in healing.”
The Committee will hear from Joshua Crawford of the Pegasus Institute, who is the author of Voices of the Survivors: Louisville Metro Violent Crime Impact Report.
Also invited are Brigadier General Rob Givens, Air Force (Retired), and survivors Micheshia Norment, Nicole Taylor, and Misty Tweedy along with retired LMPD Officer Richard Gibbs.
The Public Safety Committee will meet at 3:30pm in Council Chambers, 601 West Jefferson Street.
All Metro Council Committee meetings are carried live on Metro TV, Spectrum Cable Channel 184 and on UVERSE Channel 99. You can watch the meetings online by going to the Metro Council home page at http://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council/metro-council-clerk and click the “Watch Meetings Online” button.