James Anderson has some big ambitions for Urban Science. The CEO of automotive retail consulting firm has built the 37-year-old company into a $200 million business. That is up from $147 million in 2012, and Anderson expects to grow the firm exponentially within the next 10 years.
"I like the b word (billion)," Anderson says.
Urban Science provides sales and marketing software and other solutions for the automotive industry. It got its start in 3,600 square feet of the Renaissance Center when it opened in 1977. Urban Science now occupies six floors of the building. It employs about 850 people after making 110 hires (mostly of technical talent) in the last year.
Urban Science plans to create another 126 jobs over the next five years. The firm plans to expand its software consulting and engineering and services operations with a $2.1 million investment. Anderson hopes to hit that hiring goal sooner rather than later.
"I would expect to see a lot of that happen before we hit year four or year five," Anderson says.
The downtown Detroit-based company also recently hired Elizabeth Klee as its chief information officer. Klee served as managing director at
Accenture before joining Urban Science. At Accenture, she was responsible for numerous technology strategies and outsourcing engagements across multiple industries.
"As the world becomes more digital everyday we have to rely more on software to thrive in the marketplace," says James Anderson, CEO of Urban Science.
Source: James Anderson, CEO of Urban Science
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.