KPMG LLP announced today the opening of the KPMG Ignition Center – Chicago, the firm’s seventh and largest Center designed to allow the firm’s clients to become better, more competitive and transform. The 30,000 square foot Ignition Center, located on the 68^th floor of the Aon Center, brings together the firm’s collective capabilities across signal sensing, design thinking, data & analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), strategy, business process and technology.

“With the rate and pace of disruption in the market, KPMG is constantly focused on making strategic, short and long-term investments that address market disruption and support a transformation journey,” said Mike Nolan, KPMG Vice Chair, Innovation & Enterprise Solutions (I&ES). “We are excited to open our seventh and largest Ignition Center. These spaces help us to bring together our capabilities across emerging technologies, strategy and business services in a new way that represents how KPMG is transforming our business and how we help our clients transform.”

The proliferation of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence/cognitive, blockchain, cloud, augmented/virtual reality and platform business models promise greater efficiency and lower costs, but many organizations find it challenging to capitalize on these new technologies. KPMG is able to help businesses navigate the signals of disruption that are impacting their business, establish strategic approaches to evolving their business models, financial models and operating models, and design technology solutions that can support their organizational needs.

KPMG’s 2018 CEO Outlook found that 86 percent of U.S. CEOs consider their companies to be active disruptors. A vast majority see technology as the only significant disruption their business faces. KPMG Ignition Centers enable the firm to anticipate technology advances and monitor the signals of disruption in order to support the modernization of business, including human-centered design thinking and ways of working.

The firm selected Chicago for its newest KPMG Ignition Center in part due to the breadth of industry sectors and businesses located in the Chicagoland area, convenient access to transportation, and access to talent. The firm’s second-largest office, Chicago’s more than 2,500 partners and professionals serve more than 1,000 publically and privately held companies in the Chicago area across audit, tax and advisory.

“Chicago’s ability to attract and retain technology talent is critical to the work we are doing to support enterprise-wide business transformation,” said Linda Imonti, Chicago office managing principal. “Our clients represent a cross-sections of the industries and businesses that are being transformed by emerging technologies, regulatory changes and the changing customer. Having a KPMG Ignition Center in Chicago enables us to not only help solve their complex business problems, but also to attract and retain the new types of talent critical to KPMG’s continued growth.”

“Chicago’s tech scene has grown tremendously over the past several years because of our deep talent pool, global connectivity, world-class infrastructure, affordability and amazing quality of life,” said Mayor Emanuel.  “KPMG’s ongoing commitment to invest in Chicago and foster the next generation of technologists in Chicago will advance our technology ecosystem for many years to come.”

The 30,000 square foot KPMG Ignition Center in Chicago incorporates:

• Innovation Lab: KPMG Innovation Labs detect and interpret signals of change, from an outside-in perspective. Using proprietary research and tools, customer insights, and robust analysis capabilities, KPMG applies design thinking for business model innovation, enabling our clients to synthesize new outlooks and translate complex signals into actions.
• Insights Center: A state-of-the-art facility to showcase the art of the possible using data & analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). Companies can engage in real-time data exploration and scenario testing, and prototype development for big data systems, data visualization, machine learning, predictive analytics, and optimization. In addition to Chicago, KPMG Insights Centers are located in New York, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Sydney.
• Technology Solutions collaborates with leading technology firms to drive transformational outcomes through innovation. The integrated teams of data scientists, developers, engineers, technologists and business specialists support a vast array of enabling solutions including cyber security, Tax transformation and technology, robotics and process automation, data and analytics, HR and business transformation, and cloud-based human capital management and financials.
• Green Room: A prototyping “Garage” space. It currently houses a “retail branch of the future,” an immersive demonstration of how Cloud, AI, and Machine Learning are helping retail banks and mortgage lenders to enhance customer service and simplify complex interactions.
• A Briefing Center with a 13-person “Harkness-style” table for strategy and planning.
• The Living Room: A mindful space with natural finishes, a living wall and executive dining area for person-to-person interaction and executive dining.

KPMG Ignition Centers are located in Atlanta, Denver, Grand Rapids, New York City – midtown and downtown, and San Francisco. KPMG will open its next Ignition Center at the KPMG Lakehouse in Lake Nona, FL in 2020.

SOURCE KPMG LLP