Courier: Third Fortune 500 company coming to 1819

The Cincinnati Business Courier broke the news today, Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The full text of the press release provided to the Courier appears below. 

Fifth Third Bank and the University of Cincinnati have entered into an agreement that will strengthen the momentum building in the city’s innovation district. The bank plans to co-locate to a corporate innovation space within UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub, and will complete the move early in 2020. 

“Fifth Third is excited to come to the University of Cincinnati’s 1819 Innovation Hub and tap into the tremendous talent from UC and local startups,” said Greg D. Carmichael, chairman, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bank. “Innovation has always been at the heart of what Fifth Third is; teaming up with universities and tech centers offers additional ways to advance new ideas and thinking, fosters community innovation and provides a strong source of talent for the Bank.”

The 1819 Innovation Hub is regarded as the university’s front door to the broader community, where industry can connect directly with UC faculty and students. By co-locating to the 1819 Innovation Hub — the anchor of the Uptown Innovation Corridor — Fifth Third establishes a strong presence in Cincinnati’s innovation district that augments its innovation efforts.

Fifth Third is the third Cincinnati-based Fortune 500 Company to co-locate to the 1819 Innovation Hub, joining Kroger and Procter & Gamble. Cincinnati Insurance Companies, Kingsgate Logistics and Cincinnati Bell also maintain corporate innovation spaces at 1819, and Worldpay has announced its intentions to locate to 1819 in the near future.

“This win-win agreement creates more opportunities for our students and our faculty, while giving Fifth Third unparalleled access to UC talent and research,” says UC President Neville G. Pinto. “Innovation is central to the university’s strategic direction, Next Lives Here. Our industry partnerships amplify our message that UC is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact.”

The bank envisions an evolving creative space in which it will prototype, learn and collaborate with other businesses within the 1819 Innovation Hub. Members of Fifth Third’s innovation team plan to remain headquartered at ONE67, the bank’s innovation center at its downtown campus, but will regularly utilize its 1819 innovation space to work with UC students, faculty and industry partners. Several IT positions will permanently relocate to 1819.

“Opening the doors on the Fifth Third space within UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub is a unique opportunity to drive collaborations with students, entrepreneurs and other participating companies both large and small,” said Joel Kashuba, the bank’s head of innovation and design. “Fifth Third is proud to play a leading role in the creation of a more vibrant innovation community for Cincinnati and beyond.”

Reuters regards UC as one of the World’s Top 100 Most Innovative Universities. More recently, U.S. News and World Report ranked UC as the top public university for cooperative education in the United States and No. 3 overall.

"Our focus is on enabling organizations that partner with us to be the envy of the world by connecting them with the talent needed to innovate," says David J. Adams, UC's chief innovation officer. "We are very excited to have the opportunity to deliver meaningful value to Fifth Third."

Featured image: Fifth Third employees Justin Hendrix, left, senior manager for innovation, and Katie Hotze, lead innovation design technologist, tour the Ground Floor makerspace inside the 1819 Innovation Hub. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative Services