GoDaddy Global Technology Center opens in Tempe
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TEMPE, Ariz. – GoDaddy, the world’s largest technology provider dedicated to small businesses, officially opened the GoDaddy Global Technology Center this morning in Tempe at the ASU Research Park.
The new facility supports more than 1,100 colleagues, including engineers, developers and corporate staff, along with small business consultants. So far, 200 people have been hired to work in Tempe since last year’s ground-breaking, and in the months ahead, GoDaddy expects to hire an additional 250 people.
“This is a phenomenal facility. It exemplifies the GoDaddy spirit … energetic, innovative and passionate and supports our company values to be extraordinary, own outcomes and join forces,” said GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving. “We are here to help our customers succeed and it all starts at our core, with our employees. This environment is collaborative, fun, open and invigorating – exactly what fuels creativity for our customers and helps us attract top-tier talent. Our teams are invigorated by helping solve real problems that have a positive impact on the global economy, especially for the very small business sector.”
The stunning 150,000 square foot facility is a specially-designed two-story facility located in the sprawling ASU Research Park in Tempe. The employee-friendly amenities include a fitness area, locker rooms, yoga room, game center, indoor climbing wall, a go kart track, relaxation stations, a putting green, plus GoDaddy bicycles, outdoor basketball and sand volleyball courts, as well as a soccer field, eco-friendly features and a giant slide from the second-floor office area into a full-service kitchen with on-site chefs.
“The caliber of tech talent GoDaddy attracts is an absolute asset for our whole community,” said Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell. “GoDaddy is a great example of a company that started with a simple idea and quickly grew into a billion-dollar global company right here in Arizona. We love the go-getter attitude of the company and the employees.”
Ryan Companies is the developer for the project and provided design/build services along with its partner, the Smith Group. The GoDaddy facility was the ninth project constructed by Ryan Companies at ASU Research Park.
“The GoDaddy Global Technology Center is exactly the type of project for which the ASU Research Park was created – to provide a best-in-class environment for knowledge-based and technology companies to innovate and for their creative employees to flourish and succeed. We welcome GoDaddy to the Park and look forward to their interactions with our leading research faculty and entrepreneurial students,” said Dr. Morgan Olsen, President of the Board at ASU
Research Park.
“We are so proud to be a part of the team that brought another outstanding project to ASU Research Park. GoDaddy has really set the bar for corporate facilities that support their workforce with this unparalleled campus,” said Molly Ryan Carson, Vice President of Development at Ryan Companies.
GoDaddy’s mission is to radically shift the global economy toward small business by empowering people to easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures. GoDaddy employs more than 4,000 people. Its headquarters is in Scottsdale, but the company has opened other collaborative offices during the past 18 months near Seattle, as well as in Sunnyvale, Calif. and in Cambridge, Mass. near the MIT campus. GoDaddy now serves more than 12 million customers around the world and offers products and support in 42 markets, 44 currencies and 17 languages.
“GoDaddy is the quintessential ASU Research Park resident … this Global Technology Center showcases innovation, creativity and collaboration, and is doing important work using technology to help improve people’s lives,” said ASU Senior Vice President of Knowledge Enterprise Sethuraman Panchanathan, Ph.D.
Leaders from the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Arizona Commerce Authority, Ryan Companies US, Inc. and SmithGroupJJR were at today’s opening ceremony, along with GoDaddy employees. Guests were toured about the facility, which included trips down the giant GoDaddy slide.
As for how the building was officially opened, CEO Blake Irving and engineer Jolie Gayles pedaled go karts breaking through the paper seal of a giant GoDaddy logo in what was a most unorthodox “ribbon cutting.”
“This GoDaddy facility is unmatched in the state of Arizona. It’s more than just a building, it’s a place for team-building and camaraderie – you can feel it as soon as you set foot inside. This really does set a new standard when it comes to Arizona workplace environments,” said Ryan Companies US, Inc. Chairman Tim Gray.
“We designed to create a space that was reflective of GoDaddy, an environment that promoted a sense of movement, collaboration and energy. The GoDaddy team gave us a clear mandate to think big and we think we delivered,” said SmithGroupJJR Interior Designer Michelle Goodlive.
Today’s office opening launches a week of technology events that reflect GoDaddy’s values and investment in people and technology. Tomorrow is the opening ofThe Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the largest gathering of women technologists in the world, which is sponsored by GoDaddy and being held in downtown Phoenix. CEO Blake Irving and Chief Technology Officer Elissa Murphy are both speaking at the event, as well as sponsoring students to attend. The sponsored students are set to visit the GoDaddy Global Technology Center Friday.