Aflac Cuts Ribbon for New Digital Innovation Center in Charlotte

North Tryon Street Facility Receives $3 Million Face-Lift to Accommodate Growth While Rebranding Company as 'Empowered' to Reflect its Position as a Full-Service Digital Company

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Aflac

Nov 09, 2017, 12:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Empowered Benefits, a benefits administration and enrollment software company owned by Aflac Inc., the leading provider of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the U.S., today unveiled its newly renovated high-tech offices located at 525 North Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina (9^th floor). Following a $3 million investment to accommodate recent growth for the business, the new office space reflects the company's status as a digital, full-service transformation company. In addition to the new space, the branding of Empowered Benefits has been changed to "Empowered," a move designed to highlight the wide range of services that the company provides for clients in an increasingly digital environment geared for speed.

Empowered employees along with a robot created by grade school students from grades K-12 from Queen City Robotics take part in today's ribbon cutting ceremony for Empowered's new office space in Charlotte, NC.

Leading executives from Aflac attended the ribbon-cutting event, including Chief Financial Officer Fred Crawford and Aflac Corporate Ventures President Nadeem Khan.

"For more than 60 years, Aflac has been in the business of helping people when they need us most, and we have accomplished that through hard work, innovation and technology," Crawford said. "We believe in simplifying people's lives, and that sentiment is what we want to demonstrate whenever someone walks through these doors. We want them to be Empowered to help find solutions for our customers."

"We see the possibilities that lie before us as limitless, and we want a company name and a work environment that not only reflect our optimism, but also inspire the best from every one of our employees," Khan said. "It is only fitting that our name and our brand should be without limitations, as well. So, starting today, we are Empowered: empowered to do great things; empowered to lead; and empowered to leverage our expertise and knowledge to uncover better ways of doing things."

At a time when benefits enrollment and administration have become increasingly complex, Empowered provides a cloud-based benefits administration solution and state-of-the-art enrollment software, including Aflac's Everwell benefits program, which is now being used by more than 162,000 businesses across the country. The volume of business at Empowered has more than tripled in size since Aflac purchased the company in 2015, so Aflac is investing in Charlotte and Empowered with a plan to grow and bring more talent to a region of the country that is already viewed by many as the financial center of the South.

While making the renovations, the Empowered team worked closely with architects, designers and builders to create a space that inspires creative thinking and innovation. The goal was to create an environment that sparks new ideas – and empowers each employee to expand their creativity as Empowered continues to transform its culture and identity into a premier digital innovation center. All told, the newly expanded office has grown from 14,000 square feet to 30,500 square feet.

In addition to Empowered Benefits, earlier in 2017 Aflac announced a $100 million Venture Capital Fund, headquartered in Charlotte. Aflac Corporate Ventures, which is a core part of Empowered's growth strategy, is pursuing investment opportunities with early-stage companies whose mission is relevant to Aflac's core business and designed to help the company enhance its strategic and innovative focus.

Media contacts – Jon Sullivan, 706.763.4813 or [email protected]

Aflac analyst and investor contact – David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667, FAX 706.324.6330, or [email protected]

SOURCE Aflac