Discover opens an analytics hub in Chicago for prospective employees

Discover Financial Services is the latest financial institution to build a technology center in a bid to attract diverse talent. It's also the second technology hub the bank has opened in August.

The Riverwoods, Illinois, company announced the launch of its Advanced Analytics Resource Center on Monday. The program, named AARC@606 because it is based at Discover's downtown Chicago office called the 606, is meant for recent graduates and young professionals who are interested in data and analytics careers at Discover. They will rotate through projects before settling on one area of specialization and eventually take on a permanent role in that department.

The goal is to recruit young talent in a competitive market, with the allure of working in Chicago an added bonus.

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Discover opens call center on Chicago's South Side

Within two years, the credit-card company expects to employ more than 1,000 people from a historically disadvantaged part of the city.

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"Recruiting top data analysts and technologists is especially competitive these days," Simon Kho, director of emerging talent programs, human resources at Discover, said in a press release. "We feel that Discover's AARC@606 program and the opportunity to work in a city that is nurturing emerging tech and analytics talent will differentiate Discover among other employers."

Discover is also broadening its outreach to universities, student exploration centers and partnerships with community and professional organizations.

"We want early-in-career employees who are just joining the workforce to gain experience in different areas, find what they are most passionate about and grow their capabilities and careers at Discover," Keith Toney, chief data and analytics officer at Discover, said in the press release.

The first cohort comprises 75 employees, and the $114.6 billion-asset bank hopes to add another 75 to 100 employees in 2023. The launch of AARC@606 follows the Aug. 1 opening of Discover's customer care center in Chatham, a historically disadvantaged neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. The Chatham center houses a tech hub for employees interested in business technology. 

These openings follow moves by other banks with similar motives.

Truist Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, opened a 100,000-square-foot facility dedicated to innovation in June. The Innovation and Technology Center will include client journey rooms, where clients work with designers, architects, engineers and business risk and compliance people to develop new products and services. 

TD Bank Group, which is based in Toronto, unveiled a tech hub in April 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The goal is to hire 200 local people with technology skills.

M&T Bank opened its technology hub in downtown Buffalo, New York, a year prior. The 13 floors in the office tower include a workspace for M&T employees and its Tech Academy, a space for continuous learning for 3,000 local technologists and residents. This is among several efforts the bank has made to become a top contender for technology talent.