CGI, one of the world’s largest independent IT and business consulting services firms, recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest U.S. onshore delivery center, an expansion of its already considerable presence in Knoxville. Company executives and state and local leaders were on hand for the occasion. The University Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business was also represented at the event.
Haslam’s Jon Holztrager, executive director of Supply Chain Graduate & Executive Education and the Global Supply Chain Institute’s Executive in Residence, and Julie Ferrara, senior lecturer and assistant department head for business analytics and statistics, attended. As it does with many local, national and international business organizations, Haslam does transformative work with CGI.
Haslam Talent Pipeline
“Our department has strong ties with CGI,” Ferra said. “CGI is a partner in the Business Analytics Forum and provides challenge problems for our students to address in their capstone experiences, and they have hired some of our graduates. We appreciate their contributions to our department and expect our mutually beneficial connections to strengthen as their workforce in Knoxville grows and more of our alumni join their organization.”
CGI’s relationship with the Department of Supply Chain Management is similarly beneficial. Holztrager noted that CGI is a Supply Chain Forum member and recruits students at department events.
“In addition,” he added, “Our faculty have collaborated with CGI on some joint projects, presenting topics to CGI clients. In November, CGI representatives will be co-presenting with our faculty members at the Fall Supply Chain Forum. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the future on illuminating projects, both academic- and industry-oriented.”
These connections in the college provide CGI with a steady stream of talent. Jeannine Berge, director of undergraduate professional development and career management in Haslam’s Office for Student Engagement & Success, said CGI regularly participates in recruiting events, such as multiple career fairs and Haslam’s Employer of the Day, in which a business sets up an exclusive booth in the Haslam Business Building to share opportunities and showcase their brand.
“CGI has recruited successfully at Haslam,” Berge said. “Last year alone, they hired five of our students at both the graduate and undergraduate level and over the last three years, they brought on a total of 10 of our alumni. We anticipate working closely with CGI to fill their talent needs as their local footprint expands and industry demand heats up.”
CGI’s Growing Local Presence
Since 2021, CGI has employed more than 100 Knoxville-area professionals who serve clients in the financial services, retail, healthcare, life sciences and government sectors. With its new delivery center, by 2026, CGI plans to create 300 high-quality jobs that will help support the growing client demand for digital transformation. This influx of employment opportunities will create a new hub for the area’s growing tech community and expand a dynamic ecosystem for delivery of innovative IT services and solutions to government and commercial clients in Tennessee, across the country and around the world. CGI’s U.S. onshore delivery centers offer IT services and solutions that balance security with innovation for government and commercial clients as a core element of its global best-fit delivery approach.
“With the opening of our Knoxville onshore delivery center’s permanent office, we have expanded our delivery options of in-demand technology capabilities and resources to help clients thrive in an evolving digital world,” said Tim Hurlebaus, president of U.S. Commercial and State Governments Operations for CGI. “Our onshore center provides proximity to clients to unlock lasting innovation at pace and scale.”
As part of its onshore delivery strategy, CGI continually assesses U.S. locations that offer access to a quality workforce, a strong economy and opportunities to partner with state and local governments, academia and industry. Since 2021, CGI has partnered with UT to engage students for internships and research projects across interdisciplinary programs in colleges such as Haslam and the Tickle College of Engineering. CGI also supports regional workforce development and tech entrepreneurship through partnerships with the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, innov865 Alliance, TechStars and the Knoxville Technology Council.
“The strength of local partnerships and Knoxville’s talent pool is driving growth and innovation on behalf of our clients in Tennessee and around the country,” said Stephanie Mango, president of CGI Federal. “This dedicated collaboration space will allow our members, clients and partners to work together in a dynamic environment to innovate. This collaboration is central to our proximity approach, and unlike purely remote work models, offers greater opportunities for professional development and building a workforce that celebrates diverse voices, experiences and perspectives.”
As CGI’s eighth IT delivery center in the U.S., employees in Knoxville join more than 2,000 similar professionals at seven delivery center locations in Alabama, Louisiana, Maine, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.
CGI: A Global IT and Consulting Force
Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world. With 91,500 consultants and professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results.
About the Haslam College of Business
The Haslam College of Business, founded in 1914, sets the standard in developing future business leaders. More than 7,200 undergraduate and graduate students are taught by 130 faculty with 125 staff members facilitating their needs. The programs consist of seven departments and 11 undergraduate majors. Its eight centers, institutes and forums, and myriad of graduate and executive education programs reach across the for profit, not-for-profit and governmental sectors of business, with a heavy emphasis on practical research.
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CONTACT:
Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu
