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Company matters LexCorp: past, present and future.


Though it bears the same name, the corporation headed by Alexander Joseph Luthor Jr is nearly unrecognizable compared to the petrochemical and heavy machinery behemoth founded by his father. Both incarnations of the company have profoundly shaped Metropolis, but it is the quantum- leap innovations coming from the current ‘next-tech’ giant that are setting the course for the city of tomorrow.


The LexCorp legacy Seeking freedom from authoritarianism, Alexander Luthor Sr emigrated to the United States from East Germany. In Metropolis, he discovered an open attitude toward industrial development, leading to rapid progress and billion- dollar profits. Whole sections of the Financial District and Midtown wear their familiar skylines thanks to urban infrastructure investments laid down by the LexCorp of old.


Times of transition Alexander Luthor Sr died unexpectedly in 2000. To critics, his college-aged son seemed like a poor fit for a moneyed industrial empire – and to everyone’s surprise, Lex Luthor Jr agreed. The genius wunderkind set to work reimagining his father’s creation, transforming LexCorp into a leading force in the fields of science and technology. The new LexCorp was perfectly positioned to take advantage of revolutions in genome sequencing, nano-robotics and personal connectivity. By the age of 31, Lex Luthor was the youngest-ever


Fortune Businessperson of the Year, and LexCorp had rocketed to the rank of the second-largest tech company in the world, behind Gotham City’s Wayne Enterprises.


Building a future The tragic events of 2013 only accelerated Lex Luthor’s plans for Metropolis. It was LexCorp that spearheaded the city’s reconstruction efforts, and the all-new LexCorp Tower took shape in less than 18 months. This combination of breathtaking ambition and tangible progress proved to the world that Metropolis was open for business, attracting a flurry of international investment and goodwill. Unlike many executives, Lex


Luthor is frequently spotted in public, and not just at five-star restaurants. This gregarious whiz kid holds season tickets for the Metropolis Mammoths and mingles daily with the lunchtime crowds that fill LexCorp Circle. Elsewhere, LexCorp’s


philanthropic efforts have benefited low-income housing in Hob’s Bay and museums and libraries in Midtown. Visionary futurism is the order of the day at LexCorp’s ‘inspiration stations,’ where employees eat gourmet lunches and scale climbing walls in between intense sessions of computer coding. To some, LexCorp’s recent expansion into military defense stands to benefit Metropolis even more by introducing methods of stopping the next Kryptonian- style attack before it can begin.


Time Out Shortlist | Metropolis 45


METROPOLIS

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