European software firm chooses Valley for US HQ
A software development company based in the Netherlands has announced it will build its US headquarters in the Phoenix area.
The announcement came Tuesday from Gov. Jan Brewer and Gerard Warrens, CEO of Stealth Software.
Warrens said that when they began looking for a location for their American headquarters, the first places that came to mind were the traditional high-tech havens such as Austin, Texas; Boston; the New York area; and Silicon Valley.
But he said one of the firms they hired to help them evaluate various metro areas was based in Tempe, and that company helped open Stealth's eyes to the advantages of Arizona.
Warrens says one of the biggest advantages is the cost of doing business. He said both the cost of the physical building (including land and taxes) and the cost of the "talent pool" from which they would draw employees are much lower here.
"The same kind of skill set would have cost the company a lot more money" in those other locations, he said.
He said the exact location of their US headquarters has yet to be determined, but that decision should come in the next two to four weeks. The company expects to hire an estimated 200 people, mostly software developers and sales people, over the next three years.
PHOTO: Gov. Brewer and Stealth CEO Gerard Warrens announce the company's decision to locate in Arizona.
