World City Guide

Business

Business Profile
Denver’s leading industries are communications, utilities and transportation. Other leading business sectors include aerospace, biomedicine, environmental products and services, information technology and business and financial services.

Nearly 75,000 people are employed in the business and financial services sector, which includes international firms such as Merrill Lynch. Biomedicine and health care is another big sector, with more than 100 companies and several prestigious research institutions, including Clare Chemical Research, who are at the cutting edge of technology for visualising DNA, the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and Avidity, who develop molecular biology products.

Telecommunications giants US West, Qwest, Level 3 Communications and cable company TCI are established in the Denver area. TCI has a significant share of the American cable market and a financial stake in most of the cable programme companies. Leading information technology firms include AT&T Broadband and Internet software pioneer Sun Microsystems.

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is a big employer in the region, particularly for engineers, with several branches of its Space Systems Company, which develops technology for NASA and the US Air Force, spread throughout the metro area. Electronics also plays a significant part in the economy, as does the utility provider, Xcel Energy.

By far the largest sector of the economy, however, is the service industries, accounting for nearly one third of the total workforce in Denver. This is followed by the wholesale and retail trade. The Government is the largest single employer in the city.

Denver was founded on a gold rush and mining, and, although the mining industry is in decline, the mineral and mineral fuels industry still employs several thousand people. The Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are both located here, as are top engineering and consulting companies.

For most of the past 12 years, Denver has experienced unprecedented growth and prosperity. In the 1990s, Fortune magazine ranked Denver as the second best business city in America. Like the rest of the nation, however, the city has suffered from the recent economic downturn. Denver International Airport, a hub for major airlines, such as United Airlines, brought economic growth to the city until the downturn in the industry after September 2001. A year later, Denver was ranked 20th out of 315 metropolitan areas for the total number of jobs lost as a result of the terrorist attacks on New York. There were also job losses in telecommunications and high-tech manufacturing industries.

As a result, Denver ranked near the bottom of the country’s major metropolitan areas for job growth in the year ending August 2002. This looks set to turn around, however, as Denver added over 25,000 jobs – a 2.2% increase – within this period. The Denver metro unemployment rate also fell to 5.2% in September 2002, which is up from 4.9% last year but still well below the national average of 5.7% (October 2002).

Most projections show an economy that is continuing to grow, albeit at a slower rate than over the past ten years. The main business areas are centred on Cherry Creek, Denver Technological Centre and the Stapleton Business Centre at the former international airport.

Business Etiquette
Good business etiquette is essential in America and the most successful businesspeople are those who exhibit confidence, appear sincere and convey the impression that they are prepared to go beyond standard service. Standing up when greeting someone conveys respect, while a strong handshake, a friendly smile and establishing eye contact will confirm friendliness, honesty, confidence and professionalism. Appointments for meetings should be arranged in advance and times adhered to. Most meetings will start with an exchange of business cards and a little small talk before getting down to business.

Appearance matters and a business suit or pressed trousers, fresh shirt and neatly groomed hair is the order of the day. Even on ‘ dressing down days’, when casual clothes are worn by everyone from the office junior to the managing director, it pays to ensure that the clothes are new, clean and smart. Normal business hours are 0800-1700 Monday to Friday. Entertaining clients is usually done over lunch, dinner or drinks after work, rather than at home.