A London-based company started by the former head of Arthur Andersen’s outsourcing business is setting up its U.S. headquarters at the O’Hara Plaza on Higgins Road in Chicago, and intends to hire and expand rapidly.
The outsourcing company, called Xchanging, is the largest processor of insurance claims in the U.K., and it sees an opportunity to get involved in this country’s health care reform, as well as in fields where it handles other companies’ back-office work, such as banking, procurement and human resources.
Xchanging consolidated several offices and moved 15 of its European managers here, bringing the Chicago office at 8755 W. Higgins Rd. to 150 employees.
“We’re looking to take it as high as possible as fast as possible,” with job growth in everything from clerical staff to experts in bank trades and insurance claims settlements, said founder and CEO David Andrews.
The company chose Chicago as its U.S. headquarters, where it has set up a teaching center and a “claims office of the future,” because of Chicago’s infrastructure, dedication to the arts, nightlife, and livability, Andrews said.
“I used to come to Chicago for training and lived there for a couple of months. I liked Andy’s Bar, the nightlife and the whole social scene and infrastructure, said Andrews, whose last position at Arthur Andersen was managing partner, West Europe. He left Andersen in 1999, three years before its collapse.
Xchanging, which sets up 50-50 partnerships with its clients, will also set up a processing center in the Midwest, but its location hasn’t been decided.
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/business/1834332,CST-FIN-XCHANGING20.article
