Fiserv CEO wants location of new headquarters to help recruit younger workers

Fiserv Inc.'s top executive wants his company's new headquarters to be in an area that will make it easier to attract younger employees — perhaps a place like downtown Milwaukee. 

Chief Executive Officer Jeffery Yabuki, in an interview Wednesday after the financial technology firm's annual shareholder meeting at its headquarters in Brookfield, said it is difficult to recruit millennial tech workers to its space just south of W. Blue Mound Road.

"People, especially younger people, they value the social aspects of work — where they work and the proximity to where the action is," Yabuki said. "We have a wonderful downtown (in Milwaukee), very lively, lots of energy. That feels like it could be a good solution for us."

However, Yabuki said that doesn't necessarily mean downtown Milwaukee is the leading candidate in Fiserv's search.

Fiserv disclosed last month it is conducting an evaluation of its Brookfield corporate headquarters. Yabuki said the company needs a headquarters that would include the open and collaborative spaces tech workers and companies favor today.

Fiserv is considering locations for a new site in the metro Milwaukee area and possibly out of state.

In response to a shareholder question Wednesday, Yabuki talked about the issue.

"As the company has transformed, we’ve also transformed the associate experience that we're creating. So we're looking for what are the best ways we can deliver the right experience for our associates to make sure we’re an employer of choice and have both the interesting work but the right kind of work environment for our people," Yabuki said.

Yabuki added, "So we're evaluating different opportunities, primarily within the Milwaukee area. But we're also looking at opportunities just overall — what's the right place for us in terms of recruiting the people to help us get to where we want to be over the long period of time."

Fiserv, which was founded in 1984, moved into its three-story brick building at 255 Fiserv Drive in Brookfield in 1992. The Brookfield location has about 850 employees. Overall, Fiserv, which does business internationally, has about 23,000 employees.

Asked in an interview about the shortcomings of its headquarters, Yabuki said that when Fiserv moved into the building, "It was a different business, and the time was different."

Fiserv provides financial technology, including online and mobile banking, to the bank and credit union industries. 

"It feels more bank-esque than a technology company," Yabuki said of the Brookfield building. "If you look at some of our other locations, we have standards now that are much more geared to having a technology company feel, and this just doesn’t have that feel. And to retrofit this building, it would be pretty disruptive."

One outside-Wisconsin location that could be in the running for the new headquarters is Fiserv's modern facility in Alpharetta, Ga., where the company has consolidated six Atlanta-area work sites and has room to grow.

Alpharetta calls itself the “Technology City of the South,” and other important players in the payment technology industry, such as First Data, Global Payments and Elavon, also are there.

Fiserv has been listening to proposals in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa for the 120,000 or so square feet it needs for a new headquarters. Brookfield also is making a pitch to keep Fiserv in town.

Yabuki said he wouldn't call downtown Milwaukee the frontrunner.

"No. I think we're looking for where is it going to be best for our people, and the energy of the area is important," Yabuki said. "Brookfield has a lot of interesting things going on as well, but where is the train station, where’s transportation? I mean, it's those kinds of things. Heck, of lot of kids don't even have cars anymore. They're Ubering around. Things like that."