We received a tip last night and confirmed this morning that Mickey G's is putting a big stake in the ground in Chi-town. We may not beat the press release, as the news should be announced any minute in conjunction with the Chicago Mayor's Office.
All McGladrey employees got word this morning but Managing Partner and CEO Joe Adams sent a special message to Minneapolis employees last night and we obtained a copy of it.
Good afternoon,I have some important news to share with you. Effective tomorrow, Chicago will become McGladrey’s new headquarters. We will announce this in conjunction with the Chicago Mayor’s office at 8 a.m. CDT tomorrow morning.I wanted to let you know first and confirm that Minneapolis will play an important role in our firm’s future success. McGladrey remains committed to our people, clients and other business interests in Minneapolis, and we will continue to hire in the marketplace as needed to support our clients’ needs. In addition, Bloomington employees, partners and principals will still relocate to Minneapolis as planned in September.We are making this change now because we already planned to close our Bloomington headquarters office. Chicago is a logical choice for our firm’s new headquarters for many reasons—it is currently our largest office, it is centrally located with direct flights to many of the U.S. and international locations where our firm and our clients do business, and it is the third largest city and media market in the U.S.Establishing our headquarters in a global business hub is an important step toward enhancing perceptions of McGladrey as a major firm and achieving our domestic and international growth goals. In addition, this change makes McGladrey the largest assurance, tax and consulting firm headquartered in Chicago.I have attached the message that will be sent to all employees tomorrow morning and some talking points and Q&As for you to use in the event you receive questions from clients or other contacts.If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please reach out to [Minneapolis Office Managing Partner] Mike Nelson or me.Best regards,Joe
Honestly, there isn't a lot to argue with here (although I'm sure you'll think of something). Everything Joey A. says is pretty accurate and if McGladrey wants to play with the big boys, it makes sense to call Chicago home.
And speaking to one McGladrey source, we learned that Chicago has been the "unofficial" HQ for some time as, "all the execs come from and have offices in either Schaumburg or Chicago." This person was "glad they are making it official" and is "[hoping] we can have IT onsite instead of in Davenport!"
Oh, you mean Iowa isn't convenient?
UPDATE:
Regarding the "largest assurance, tax and consulting firm headquartered in Chicago" claim by Joe this refers to the number of employees, so Grant Thornton and BDO have their work cut out. The firm also says that they will be adding 300 to 500 new positions in Chicago.
