Israeli web giant Wix to expand in Miami Beach amid city’s push to diversify economy
web development giant Wix is announcing plans to expand on Miami Beach by approximately 50% over the next three years, amid a larger push by Beach officials to diversify the city’s economy.
Wix, which has called the Beach home since 2015, moved into its current offices at 1691 Michigan Ave. near Lincoln Road in 2018. The company now plans to target as many as 150 new hires on top of its existing 300strong workforce there and stands to receive city incentives if it meets those hiring goals. Wix also purchased and absorbed emIsraeli ployees and executives from South Florida startup SpeedETab earlier this year.
“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of growth in the last two years,” said Joe Pollaro, U.S. general manager at Wix. “The need to be online has increased, and we needed to expand our employee count globally, but especially in the U.S.”
Wix’s Beach office is home to its main customer service unit in the U.S.; the company now has 210 million users around the world.
“We’ve found we’ve been able to create a talent pool of young, fast learners [in the Beach office] who can quickly adjust in a fast-paced environment and also found people with strong customer service support experience,” Pollaro said. “The diverse language skill set has also been really beneficial for us.”
Wix’s announcement comes amid a push to increase the volume of high-paid, high-skilled jobs in Miami Beach. The city has heralded the arrival of three new financial firms in 2021, joining the city’s anchor private equity firm, Starwood Capital.
Helping lead that economic transformation is Rickelle Williams, the city’s director of economic development.
“We think the Miami Beach environment lends itself to the tech community, and we want to make sure we are here with open arms,” she said. “Our quality of life, our infrastructure, especially in terms of our resilience; our schools; and our restaurants and hospitality are superior — a lot of these firms are looking for Miami Beach’s lifestyle.”
Rob Wile: 305-376-3203, @rjwile