UMRF Ventures Inc. Celebrates 5th Anniversary

April 12, 2022 – UMRF Ventures Inc., the private company founded in 2017 by the University of Memphis Research Foundation with a grant from FedEx, is celebrating five years in business at its headquarters on UofM’s Park Avenue Campus.

“UMRF Ventures is one of the many examples of the innovative ways our University is serving our students,” said Hardgrave. “I’m very thankful for FedEx’s support from the initial stages, and their continued support and impact on UMRF Ventures and the UofM. The impact UMRF Ventures is having not only on our students but the City of Memphis is remarkable. I am looking forward to helping their future success.”

Pierre Landaiche has been CEO of UMRF Ventures since September 2020, taking over for Tom Kadien, who was the first CEO beginning in 2017.

“In just five years, we have employed more than 750 students and paid nearly $8 million in wages to these students,” said Landaiche. “Our mission is to help college and university students succeed by creating good-paying, part-time jobs and creating potential career paths with our partner companies after they graduate. We are a pipeline of experienced talent ready to work immediately after graduation -- 38 of our students have been hired by our customers over the years.”

In 2017, the company began its first contract with FedEx with 23 students working on the company’s IT Help Desk. Ventures now employs more than 200 active students and in addition to FedEx, its customers include Raymond James, Sedgwick, Banded Holdings, the City of Memphis and the Atlanta-based call center company, Chime Solutions. 

“When we needed help last year to encourage our citizens to get vaccinated, we called Ventures,” said City of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. “They hired 15 College of Health Science students and in a matter of about five months, made more than 130,000 calls to almost 80,000 Memphians. They were a huge help in our vaccine advocacy campaign.”

To prepare for the next five years and beyond, Landaiche said UMRF Ventures has launched a long-term strategic plan that will develop the vision for the company in a post-Covid world.

“Even though we work with university and college students, we’re not immune to the highly competitive labor market, and we’ll develop new ways to attract the best students to serve our customers,” he said.

For more information, visit umrfventures.com.