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CONTENTS

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED Honoring four Baton Rouge business leaders and two homegrown companies who all embraced risk while overcoming challenges on the road to success.

2022 BATON ROUGE BUSINESS AWARDS & HALL OF FAME

Publisher: Julio Melara

EDITORIAL

Editorial Director: Penny Font Executive Editor: JR Ball Managing Editor: Allan Schilling Online News Editor: Deanna B. Narveson Staff Writers: Julia-Claire Evans, David Jacobs Digital Content Editor: Dillon Lowe Contributing Writers: Sam Barnes, Tom Cook, Maggie Heyn Richardson, Chelsea Brasted, Emily Kern Hebert Contributing Photographers: Brian Baiamonte, Marie Constantin, Don Kadair, Tim Mueller, Collin Richie

ADVERTISING

Sales Director: Kelly Lewis Senior Account Executives: Marielle Land-Howard, Mary Katherine Bernard Account Executives: Gabi Bivins, Angie Laporte Advertising Coordinators: Devyn MacDonald, Brittany Nieto

CORPORATE MEDIA

Editor: Lisa Tramontana Content Strategist: Allyson Guay Multimedia Strategy Manager: Tim Coles Account Executive: Judith LaDousa

MARKETING

Marketing & Events Assistant: Taylor Falgout Events: Abby Hamilton

ADMINISTRATION

Assistant Business Manager: Tiffany Durocher Business Associate: Kirsten Milano Office Coordinator: Tara Lane Receptionist: Cathy Varnado Brown

PRODUCTION/DESIGN

Production Manager: Jo Glenny Art Director: Hoa Vu Graphic Designers: Melinda Gonzalez, Emily Witt

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

COVER STORY - PAGE 33

Audience Development Director and Digital Manager: James Hume Audience Development Coordinator: Ivana Oubre Audience Development Associate: Jordan Kozar

STARTUP

THE LIST

VIEWPOINT

6 Big Story: Big change and big deal

51 Woman-owned businesses

6 One Sentence Stories: Key news from last month

NEWS

59 Matter of Perspective: Election endorsements for March 26 races

9 3 Things to Know: Claire Willis 11 Entrepreneur: Mary Ellen Slayter 12 What One Thing: Stephen Toups 13 Data Bank: Numbers tell the story 15 Design: Baton Rouge Primary Care Collaborative 16 Tom Cook: Low inventory raises office warehouse prices 19 Bottom Line: Economic Indicators 20 Awards: Best Places to Work 22 How To: Order wine during a business dinner 24 Business Lunch: Chow Yum Phat

52 Where everybody knows its name The iconic Juban’s has new ownership and while the name—and the Hallelujah Crab—will remain, there will be changes at the restaurant. 54 Seeking net-zero Gov. John Bel Edwards has Louisiana on a path to “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but industry officials worry change is happening too fast. 56 Avoiding pandemonium With digital attacks on the rise, local banks are ramping up cybersecurity investments.

61 Random Thoughts: Extracting knowledge and research

YOUR BUSINESS 65 Company News

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Circulation/Reprints 225-928-1700 email: circulation@businessreport.com Subscriptions/Customer Service 225-421-8181 email: subscriptions@businessreport.com Volume 40 - Number 8

69 Moving Up 73 Flashback: 2001 74 Passion: David DiVincenti | Sports with his children

CONNECT WITH US:

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A publication of Melara Enterprises, LLC Chairman: Julio Melara Executive Assistant: Brooke Motto Vice President: Penny Font Chief Operating Officer: Guy Barone Chairman Emeritus: Rolfe H. McCollister Jr.

©Copyright 2022 by Melara Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved by LBI. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report (USPS 721-890 ISSN 0747-4652) is published monthly by Louisiana Business Inc. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Business address: 9029 Jefferson Hwy., Ste. 300, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. Telephone (225) 928-1700. Periodicals postage is paid at Baton Rouge, La. Subscription rate is $59.00 for 12 issues, with 3 additional issues published annually in April, May and December. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, 9029 Jefferson Hwy. Ste. 300, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report cannot be responsible for the return of unsolicited material—manuscripts or photographs, with or without the inclusion of a stamped, self-addressed return envelope. Information in this publication is gathered from sources considered to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. No information expressed here constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities.

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STARTUP ON E E S E NTE NC STORlaIstEmSonth

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POLITICS

DON KADAIR

Focused solely on benefitting incumbents and maintaining Republican power, state legislators complete a redistricting process that most certainly will be challenged in court.

TH E B IG STORY

Big change and a big deal THE GIST: Scott Wester, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center’s local market president, will go from leading the region’s largest hospital to overseeing a new $170 million investment with LSU. WHY IT MATTERS: The Lake is the top dog in an increasingly competitive Capital Region health care sector, reporting $1.35 billion in patient revenue in 2018. LSU, as Louisiana’s flagship university, has “an inherent commitment and responsibility to elevate our state,” according to new President William Tate. BACKGROUND: Wester has worked with the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady of Health System for 30 years, and, as CEO, has overseen tremendous expansion of OLOL’s reach. His watch also includes a contentious public divorce with Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and the revelation that the hospital’s top fundraiser had embezzled some $800,000 from the Lake’s foundation. 6

THE DEAL: OLOL beat out Ochsner and other contenders to join the $245 million partnership with LSU and New Orleans-based LCMC Health. The Lake’s responsibilities include: • A $40 million investment in the LSU Student Health Center, which OLOL will manage. • $20 million to the LSU School of Medicine–New Orleans Baton Rouge Branch Campus to “strengthen physician residency and fellowship programs, expand high school students’ interests in health care and provide broad training in clinical and non-clinical health-related professions.” • $15 million to construct the Interdisciplinary Science Building, described as LSU’s top capital priority. Officials say the investment will close more than half of the college’s current gap in educational and lab space needs. Our Lady of the Lake would get naming rights for the building, assuming the Board of Supervisors approves. • $10 million to establish a health care-focused research fund directed to advance universitywide research that could span all

LSU campuses. Addressing health disparities will be a top priority, officials say. • $85 million to deploy integrated clinical technology, facility improvements and educational programming “to advance student-athlete health and wellness.” The deal includes a continuation of OLOL’s status as the “official health care provider of LSU athletics.” WHAT’S NEXT? The operational details still need to be worked out. But OLOL officials say: • Listening sessions will be held to find out what students want from their health center. • The LSU athletics sports science program will be incorporated into OLOL’s Epic health records platform and eventually opened to the general public, potentially attracting weekend warriors from throughout the region. • LSU students will be exposed to myriad options for careers in health care, all of which can be pursued at the Lake.

RETAIL A group of residents led by Sonny Cranch looks to start a nonprofit with the goal of raising enough money to purchase the closing Cottonwood Books, the last independent full-service bookstore in Baton Rouge.

POLITICS With redistricting done—for now—the state House sets its sights on investigating Gov. John Bel Edwards over the State Police beating death of Ronald Greene, seeking these answers: What did he know and when did he know it?

ENERGY The Public Service Commission, in a 4-1 vote, declares Entergy customers will pay the $3.2 billion tab for repair costs associated with five storms in 2020 and 2020, raising customer bills as the utility company’s profits are soaring.

—David Jacobs

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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STARTUP

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

3 THINGS TO KNOW:

CLAIRE WILLIS

Executive director, Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge

As a child, Claire Willis dreamed of becoming a teacher. After graduating with a master’s in secondary education from Vanderbilt, the Baton Rouge native returned to Louisiana with aspirations of giving back to the local community. “I always wanted to work in the education system in Baton Rouge because I’ve seen inequity in opportunities.”

Willis used to work in the public school system. She shifted to working in private schools for a better work-life fit as a mother of five, and advanced into leadership roles. While principal of Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School, she learned the importance of including stakeholder input at all levels of decision-making as well as leaning on others for help.

DON KADAIR

Willis became executive director of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge last summer. Moving forward, she is focused on recruiting and engaging with students from all nine Capital Region parishes. “The academy is an opportunity that’s available to any student with an entrepreneurial spirit, regardless of background or geographic location. We’d love to expand to a second class or expand over the state.”

Breakfast “Every day, it’s typically eggs in any shape or fashion.”

Craft beer “My go-to adult beverage is craft beer, typically darklike stouts and porters.”

Running “In the past year, I ran my first full marathon and three half-marathons.”

Brunch “We love to go to Superior Grill on Sunday mornings for brunch.”

ISTOCK

FAVORITE THINGS:

Marvel movies “We’re an avid Marvel family. I’ve seen all the movies, all the spinoff shows, every series—you name it.”

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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STARTUP

ENTREPRENEUR

“People are afraid of AI, but I think we should use that to do things we couldn’t previously do at a scale we couldn’t do before. Investing in tech accelerates our growth and helps us continue to do good work.”

Mary Ellen Slayter Founder, Rep Cap

WHAT THEY DO:

B2B content marketing

WEBSITE:

Repcap.com

NEXT GOALS:

Expand staff and move headquarters to Government Street

DRAFT Mary Ellen Slayter attended LSU with aspirations of working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As an undergrad, she worked for her hometown newspaper, the Minden Press-Herald, and LSU’s student newspaper, The Reveille. She remained in journalism after graduation, and at 23 she joined The Washington Post as a columnist. She stayed with The Post for eight years but decided to leave journalism in search of better hours and digital opportunities after giving birth to her first child. After three years with a remote marketing firm, she was laid off on her daughter’s fifth birthday, in December 2011.

EDIT After the layoff, Slayter’s friends encouraged her to open her own business focusing on writing blog posts, emails and other content businesses needed. “You can’t fail, you’ll starve,” she says. It took Slayter three weeks to secure the first client for her new B2B content marketing agency, Rep Cap, but by Mardi Gras, she had a contract that allowed her to get her business fully off the ground and hire employees. Four years ago, the company retired its blog and launched Managing Editor magazine. “It’s good for my marketing and branding. It generates its own revenue streams and it also solves my hiring needs.”

PUBLISH Over the past decade, Rep Cap has evolved to become a multimedia operation specializing in marketing for human resources, technology and financial services. While Slayter is personally based in Baton Rouge, she considers her business to be decentralized, with employees working remotely from Minnesota, New York and Texas. This year, Rep Cap is entering another period of growth, with plans to move its headquarters to Government Street this fall and to double its staff to 20 by the end of the year. “We’re a specialty hybrid player. We’re not a full-service agency and we don’t want to be. It’s our specialty work that’s driving our growth.” —By Holly Duchmann • Photography by Collin Richie

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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STARTUP

INSIGHT WHAT ON E TH I NG…

Makes you happy in business? “Seeing an empty field turn into something has always intrigued me. Some of the best days are visiting our job sites and talking to the people who really make that happen. Those are incredible days.”

COLLIN RICHIE

Stephen Toups recently was named CEO of Turner Industries—to go along with his title of president—when his father, Roland Toups, decided in early January to take a step back from the company’s daily operations. Turner Industries ranks second on Business Report’s list of the top 100 private companies, reporting $2.36 billion in revenue in 2020. —Julia-Claire Evans

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Average rent in Baton Rouge for a two-bedroom apartment in 2021, up from $1,055 in 2019

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STARTUP

REAL ESTATE

DESIGN

BATON ROUGE PRIMARY CARE COLLABORATIVE

7050 Plank Road, Baton Rouge PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIM MUELLER

Owner: Baton Rouge Primary Care Collaborative Architects: WHLC Architecture Contractor: Cangelosi Ward General Contractors Cost: $4.5 million Date completed: March 2022 Use: Nonprofit health care provider for north Baton Rouge FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION: “One of the biggest things in this design is that the clinic offers a lot of services under one roof. This clinic has the widest variety of services that’s not a hospital. It has a pharmacy, labs, an OB clinic, pediatrics, dental services, behavioral health services and normal clinic rooms.” —Micah Morgan, partner at WHLC Architecture

1. A new medical facility on Plank Road is nearing completion for The Primary Care Collaborative, a nonprofit created to provide health care services to the underserved population in Baton Rouge. 2. The entrance and reception area features ceilings of varying height and pitch as well as large windows along the east and south walls. Also, the furniture is made with antimicrobial material. 3. The conference room offers health care providers adequate space for training, seminars and meetings. 4. The facility’s state-of-the-art exam rooms have multifunctional exam chairs that properly position patients for better blood pressure intake as well as an integrated scale. The building offers patients a pharmacy, exam rooms for ophthalmic, pediatric, OB and dental services as well as behavioral health counseling. Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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STARTUP

REAL ESTATE

Low inventory raises office warehouse prices

TOM COOK ANYONE TRYING TO purchase a single-family residence right now knows that a lack of inventory has raised prices and reduced the length of time on the market. This phenomenon is not only taking place in the single-family market, but also in the light industrial market. Three sales in the last couple of weeks highlight this. The Cloverland area saw two notable sales. Brad Downs with RE/MAX Professional sold a

building at 11447 Cloverland Avenue. It was listed for $600,000 and sold for that price in 34 days, according to the Louisiana Commercial Database. The price for the 5,000-square-foot building came out to a healthy $120 per square foot. “The building received four offers within hours of being listed, all at or around list price,” Downs says. “The buyer will be using the property as an investment property, and possibly adding an additional building on the vacant lot.” Grey Hammett with NAI/Latter & Blum sold a building at 6237 Fieldstone for $325,000 in 93 days. According to LACDB, it had been listed for $325,000 and sold for that price. The price on the 3,206-square-foot office warehouse came out to about $101.50 per square foot. A final sale of interest was for an office warehouse listed by David Keller and Steve Legendre with Stirling Properties, which was sold

by Jack Herrington with Saurage Rotenberg. The building, 10609 North Dual Street, is in an older industrial area off South Choctaw Drive. Listed for $900,000, it sold for $810,000 in about 99 days, according to LACDB. The price worked out to nearly $38 per square foot for the 24,179-squarefoot building. “North Dual had a tenant with a five-year lease in place,” Legendre says. “The deal worked out to about a 9% cap rate. The tenant is Southern Style OffRoad, an aftermarket parts design and manufacturing business. Legendre says the property went under contract within a week of going on the market. Herrington represented the buyer. SPANISH TOWN SALE Chris Gremillion and Hunter Harris with NAI/Latter & Blum sold an interesting property they had listed in Spanish Town. It comprises a fourplex at 730

Spanish Town Road and a duplex at 718 Spanish Town Road, both situated on the same lot. According to Gremillion, the property closed for $540,000, or about $90,000 per unit. The six-unit complex was a mix of one- and two-bedroom units and had private off-street parking, an amenity that is somewhat unusual for the Spanish Town area. “The purchaser was a local buyer group called Red Stick Brothers,” Gremillion says. “It is most likely a long-term hold for them. They liked the deal due to the unique units, location, offstreet parking, and potential to add value with unit upgrades.” Spanish Town continues to benefit from increasing demand for residential units in the downtown area. Tom Cook of Cook, Moore, Davenport and Associates has been an independent real estate appraiser for more than 20 years.

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• Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

THANK YOU TO OUR ADVOCACY CHAMPIONS! GBRAR 2022 MAJOR INVESTORS The Greater Baton Rouge Association of REALTORS® would like to recognize the following REALTOR® Champions for their support of the real estate industry in 2022. Dedicated support from members like these allow REALTORS® to effectively advocate for the real estate industry, protect property rights and encourage home ownership.

Mark Akchin

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY RED STICK PARTNERS (225) 768-1800

Jerry del Rio

Liacia “Lucy” Baaheth LACY BAAHETH & ASSOCIATES (225) 906-9350

Leo Desselle

DEL RIO REAL ESTATE, INC. (225 ) 218-0888

PENNANT REAL ESATE. (225 ) 663-2112

Michelle Guidry

Victoria Haddad

GUIDRY GROUP PROPERTIES (225) 800-3031

Megan Lecoq

EXP REALTY BATON ROUGE (225) 412-9982

Steve Legendre

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY PREMIER PARTNERS (225) 664-1911

STIRLING PROPERTIES (225) 329-0295

Tiffany Palmer

Amanda Parfait

CENTURY 21 INVESTMENT REALTY (225) 291-2121

David Trusty

TRUSTY COMMERCIAL (225) 810-9926

ENGEL & VÖLKERS BATON ROUGE (225) 331-8011

Donna Villar

WEICHERT, REALTORSVILLAR & COMPANY (225) 744-2610

Brandon Baird

KEYFINDERS TEAM REALTY (225) 408-5932

Linda Dowden

THE DOWDEN GROUP (225) 924-5930

Jennifer Hebert

PENNANT REAL ESATE (225) 663-2112

Valerie Lewis

LEWIS COMPANIES (225) 766-8802

Michael Platte

PENNANT REAL ESATE (225) 663-2112

Ashley LaBorde Vuci

LATTER & BLUM - PERKINS (225) 769-1500

Kasey Barnes

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Laurie Dugas

Stacey Boudreaux

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Robyn Eunice

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SUPREME, LLC (225) 267-7447

Matt Hughes

Alissa Jenkins

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY PREMIER PARTNERS (225) 664-1911

Ginger Maulden

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Scott Saporito

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Mike Walker

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Andrea McKey

Kai Smith Burton ANCHOR REALTY GROUP LLC (225) 267-7894

Doug Ferris

Cathy Craddock MIKE WALKER & ASSOCIATES (225) 291-1117

Mary Beth Crain

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY PREMIER PARTNERS (225) 664-1911

Herb Gomez

Yvonne Graham

Lisa Landers

Cheryl Leatherwood

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Julie Ferris

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Connie Kyle

Frankie LaBorde

Brent Lancaster

David McKey

Chelsea Meng

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RE/MAX PROFESSIONAL (225) 615-7755

Larry Miller

Ginger Murray

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Sandra Scallan

Shelley Simmons

Laura Buck Smith EXP REALTY, TEAM SMITH (225) 953-8889

LATTER & BLUM - LAKE SHERWOOD (225) 292-1000

Kelli Wascom

Pat Wattam

Carolyn Webber

Yvona Ward

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LANCASTER & ASSOCIATES (225) 753-4980

COLDWELL BANKER ONE (225) 925-2500

WEICHERT, REALTORSVILLAR & COMPANY (225) 744-2610

Caroline Davis

TOWN & PARISH REALTY (225) 243-7277

RE/MAX FIRST (225) 291-1234

LATTER & BLUM PERKINS (225) 769-1500

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EXP REALTY, TEAM SMITH (225) 953-8889

KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY RED STICK PARTNERS (225) 768-1800

Carolyn Spicer

RE/MAX REAL ESTATE GROUP (225) 768-7600

ENGEL & VÖLKERS BATON ROUGE (225) 331-8011

RE/MAX FIRST (225) 291-1234

Kendra Novak

RE/MAX FIRST (225) 291-1234

NOVAK REALTY, LLC (225) 778-7070

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Jeffrey Welsh

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LATTER & BLUM PERKINS (225) 769-1500

KEYFINDERS TEAM REALTY (225) 4008-5932

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GUIDRY GROUP PROPERTIES (225) 800-3031

EACH OFFICE IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED

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Presents

MARCH 9 • 11 AM CST WEBCAST • BE OUR GUEST!

STEVE BEAUCHAMP, CEO

Creating a Thriving Workplace The Paylocity executive routinely ranks among Glassdoor’s Top 100 CEOs in the nation, and the payroll software solutions firm he leads is listed among Fortune’s Top 100 fastest-growing companies in the world.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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ECONOMY

The bottom line

$18 MILLION

Sales tax collections in East Baton Rouge Parish for November 2021

19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

UNEMPLOYMENT TRACKER

$239,950

Median home sale price for East Baton Rouge Parish for January 2022

270 265 260 255 250 245 240 235 230 225 220 215 210 205 200

J F M A M J J A S O N D 2021

SALES TAX TRACKER N D J F M A M J J A S O N 2020 2021

58 56 54 52 50 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26

RIG TRACKER

REAL ESTATE TRACKER

J J A S O 2021 13-month comparison

CASINO REVENUE TRACKER

Rigs operating inland and offshore Louisiana (as of Feb. 18)

26 25 24 23 Collective revenue (millions)

East Baton Rouge Parish unemployment rate in December 2021

13.0 12.0 11.0 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.2 4.0 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.2 3.0 2.8 2.6

Tax dollars (millions)

3.5%

Unemployment percentage

The latest indicators giving insight on how well Baton Rouge’s economy is performing. BY HOLLY DUCHMANN

Sales price (thousands)

STARTUP

22 21 20 19

$22.2 MILLION

18 17 16 15 10 0

Total revenue earned by Baton Rouge’s three riverboat casinos in January 2022 F

J J A 2021

13-month comparison J F M A M J J A S O N D J F 2021 22

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Labor, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, East Baton Rouge Parish Finance Department, Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

Generations of care

We’re here for you and your family through the stages of life, with the strength of the cross, the protection of the shield. The Right Card. The Right Care.

01MK7677 02/22

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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STARTUP

YOU SEARCH. WE FIND.

AWARDS

Is your business a Best Places to Work? TRASHING REPUBLIC

BLURRED LINES WHEN WORKING FROM HOME

CONSTRUCTION CONCERNS

OCTOBER 2021 • BUSINESSREPORT.COM

2021

BEST PLACES toWORK in Baton Rouge

BUILDING BLOCKS OF SUCCESS: The Pangburn Group Inc. is this year’s winner in the medium-sized company category.

business skills

THINK YOUR COMPANY is one of the best places to work in the Capital Region? Find out by registering for Business Report’s 2022 Best Places to Work. Registration is now open (bestplacestoworkbatonrouge.com) and closes May 6. Best Places to Work is a free awards program that recognizes companies of workplace excellence that are known for their efforts to recruit and retain the best and brightest employees. Independent firm Workforce Research Group determines the selection and ranking for Business Report’s Best Places to Work. Participants must meet the following criteria:

business skills learning business skills training Free business skills online learning business plans

• Have at least 15 full- or part-time permanent employees working in Baton Rouge. • Have a physical operation in the Baton Rouge region, which comprises the following nine parishes: Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, Tangipahoa, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana. • Are a publicly or privately held organization, or are a for-profit, not-for-profit, or a government organization. • Have been in business for at least one year, at the program registration deadline.

Your Library team is skilled at helping you find the tools and resources you need to keep your organization moving forward. You can search our Digital Library. You can call a librarian. You can even text our team at (225) 361-8476 with your top challenges and questions.

Visit ebrpl.com/DigitalLibrary Available 24/7 Online • ebrpl.com Reference Service: (225) 231-3750

Companies that choose to participate are assessed by Workforce Research Group on two factors: A questionnaire about company policies, practices, demographics and benefits, and a survey of randomly selected employees at each firm on nine key focus areas, including role satisfaction, work/life balance, leadership and training. Business Report will recognize the 2022 Best Places to Work in a special issue in October. An in-person celebration also will be held in their honor. Best Places to Work in Baton Rouge is presented by Business Report, the Greater Baton Rouge Society for Human Resource Management and Workforce Research Group. For more information or to register go to bestplacestoworkbatonrouge.com.

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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BUSINESS REPORT & JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT PRESENT

Business wards A B AT O N

R O U G E

& Hall of Fame

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THIS LIVE EVENT AS WE RECOGNIZE THE SUCCESS OF OUR HONOREES.

Honorees

Wednesday, March 9

BUSINESS HALL OF FAME LAUREATES

6:30 p.m. | Crowne Plaza Hotel

Pepper Rutland Gerry Lane

PRESENTING SPONSORS:

BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR

Judi Terzotis YOUNG BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR

Tupac de la Cruz COMPANY OF THE YEAR (100 OR MORE EMPLOYEES)

b1BANK COMPANY OF THE YEAR (FEWER THAN 100 EMPLOYEES)

Genesis 360

Tickets on sale NOW! Limited seating. To purchase, visit businessreport.com/events or email Taylor Falgout at taylor@businessreport.com

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STARTUP

ETIQUETTE THE WINE WORLD is awash in obnoxious, intimidating terms, creating unnecessary stress for business people charged with hosting dinners. But a few simple hacks, says sommelier and restaurant owner Scott Higgins, can take the fear out of selecting wines for the table. “It’s a great idea to take a glance at the wine list beforehand if it’s online or call ahead and talk to the wine manager or the in-house sommelier,” says Higgins, owner of the downtown wine bar Blend. “A little preplanning can make you feel a lot more relaxed.” Midsized gatherings of about six to eight guests are typical for business dinners, but that size can make them tricky, Higgins says. They’re large enough to merit ordering multiple bottles for one course, but small enough to encourage opting for something beyond well-worn standards served at larger events. “With smaller groups you can push the boundaries a little and order some really interesting things,” Higgins says.

HOW TO…

Order wine when hosting a business dinner

ISTOCK

SOME ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Complimentary Audio Visual Equipment

Order two different wines. Depending on the size and preferences of the group, order two different wines to put everyone at ease. A red and a white, work well, especially with so much seafood served in Baton Rouge. If red is everyone’s preference, opt for two different flavor

Refuel with Chef-Inspired Breakfast, Lunch Banquet and Snack Packages

profiles, Higgins advises. Unless you’re planning a curated set of wines for each course, this is a great way to show hospitality. Know your budget. Bottles are absolutely a better bargain than ordering by the glass, but it’s still a good idea to have a budget in mind before you order. “It’s not always necessary to break the bank,” Higgins says. “Some preplanning will allow you to tell the wine manager what range you want to be in.” Look beyond Caymus. Sure, the poster child of big Napa cabs signals confidence and success, but it’s also overdone, Higgins says. If you like the profile of this well-known red, ask the wine manager or sommelier for an equivalent wine that will excite your guests and show your worldliness. “There’s a lot out there with a similar style.” Keep learning. In your leisure time, work on your wine awareness by taking one month at a time to taste a single style or region, Higgins says. “Let’s say I want to learn more about pinot noir, and there’s a lot made in the world. I might buy two French Burgundies, and pinots from Chile, California and Oregon’s Willamette Valley to taste the differences, spending a few minutes really paying attention to what they’re like.” —Maggie Heyn Richardson

Challenge your attendees to Laser Tag, Gravity Ropes, and more!

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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Webcast 2022 LOUISIANA

PETROCHEMICAL OUTLOOK WEBCAST FEATURED SPEAKERS

RHOMAN HARDY Shell USA

MARTHA GILCHRIST MOORE

DAVID YANKOVITZ

American Chemistry Council

Deloitte

TUESDAY, MARCH 29 • 11 AM Register for this free webcast today at 1012industryreport.com/events or scan here SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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STARTUP

TASTE

CHOW YUM PHAT

BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON • PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLLIN RICHIE

IN CHOW YUM PHAT’S interpretation of bao, mouthwatering ingredients like pork belly, soft shell crab or fried chicken thighs are enveloped in the pliable steamed bun that gives the dish its name. The handheld street food, which comes in threes here, pops with a sweet-meets-heat interplay. Chow Yum Phat got its start in the former White Star Market, then a ramen-focused eatery that ran bao as a daily special. The move to the Perkins Road overpass area brought more traffic and an expanded menu that now includes six permanent bao options. (Substitute tofu to make one plant based.) “People loved them,” Chow Yum Phat co-founder Jordan Ramirez says. “We had to add more over time.” The most popular, Ramirez says, is the hot honey chicken bao, in which deep-fried boneless thigh meat—skin unrepentantly attached—is tossed with a ghost pepper and honey sauce and tucked into a bun slathered with soft boursin whipped with scallions and spices. It’s finished with pickled onions and the restaurant’s signature “crack crunch,” a medley of roasted peanuts and almonds, sunflower seeds, toasted panko bread crumbs, fried garlic and Szechuan spices. The menu also includes small plates like dumplings and vegan hummus, several ramen and rice dishes, variations on wings and a kaffir lime bread pudding made with bread from Dong Phuong Bakery in New Orleans.

Bao has become a customer favorite and topping the list is the hot honey chicken bao, with deep-friend boneless chicken tossed with a ghost pepper and honey sauce. After getting its start as a ramen-focused eatery in the former White Star Market, owners Vu “Phat” Le and Jordan Ramirez expanded the menu after moving to the Perkins Road overpass area. While standard soft drinks are available, it’s worth trying some of the restaurant’s Asian teas, soda and beer.

Address: 2363 Hollydale (under Perkins Road overpass) Phone: 225-726-7335 Web: chowyumphat.com Cuisine: Pan-Asian street food Chef/Owner: Vu “Phat” Le and Jordan Ramirez Scene: Hip, relaxed restaurant serving ramen, bao, starters Pricing: $-$$

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Solutions From Cells to Society

Pennington Biomedical: longer, healthier lives start with world-class scientists and leading-edge research

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Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Advancing Scientific Discovery AT PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL we’re in the business of bringing solutions from cells to society. In 2021, we launched a groundbreaking national campaign called Obecity, USA to spotlight what everyone at Pennington Biomedical has known for some time: obesity is a chronic disease. It results from a number of factors, many of which individuals do not control. Ending the stigma of obesity will foster meaningful conversations in doctors’ offices, in public policy settings, and even around the dinner table. These kinds of honest discussions will help end this epidemic. We played a critical role in the fight against COVID. We participated in our first vaccine trial to study the safety of the Moderna vaccine in children. In another study with school-aged children, we helped develop and test a non-invasive biomarker to signal the virus’s presence.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

When we heard that more children were being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes during the pandemic, we undertook a retrospective study. We found that locally, twice as many children were being hospitalized with Type 2 diabetes. We also continued to engage in cutting-edge research. For example, we are a clinical research site for Nutrition for Precision Health. This is a national federally funded effort that will use machine learning to factor in everything—from a person’s genetics and metabolism to their microbiome and environment—in order to predict whether a particular diet will improve an individual’s health. Research initiatives like Nutrition for Precision Health are what we at Pennington Biomedical mean when we say we’re bringing solutions from cells to society. Every day, we are advancing scientific discovery that helps millions of people live longer and better lives. It’s who we are. It’s what we do. It’s the business we’re in.

John Kirwan, PhD Executive Director

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Putting Science to Work PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER is dedicated to creating a healthier Louisiana. A world research leader right here in Baton Rouge, its mission is to discover the triggers of chronic diseases through innovative research that improves human health across the lifespan. Pennington Biomedical is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the causes of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. It is a campus of Louisiana State University and conducts basic, clinical and population research. The center includes approximately 65 faculty and more than 20 post-doctoral fellows who comprise a network of 44 laboratories staffed by lab technicians, nurses, dietitians and support personnel, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. The center’s 450 employees perform research activities in state-of-theart facilities on the 222-acre campus.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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Pennington Biomedical Research Center

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Metabolic Chambers:

Gaining insight into how the body works YOU CAN GET a great estimate from a fitness tracker on how many calories you burn throughout the day, but to get a more accurate measurement, scientists use a powerful tool called a whole-room calorimeter (or a metabolic chamber). Not only can a metabolic chamber measure how many calories are burned, but it can also shed light on what kind of calories are being burned and whether they are from fat, protein or carbohydrates. LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is one of a select few institutions around the world to house not one, but four metabolic chambers. Our scientists use the chambers to learn more about how different diets, exercise routines, supplements or other lifestyle factors impact our metabolism. Gathering this information is vital to the mission at Pennington Biomedical of combatting obesity and its associated chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Pennington Biomedical’s metabolic chambers resemble dorm rooms or small hotel rooms, each one with a bed, a television, a desk with a laptop computer, a sink and a toilet.

BY THE NUMBERS The number of calories a person burns throughout the day depends on their size and activity level. Someone who is smaller and sedentary may burn around 1,200-1,400 calories in a day. The average American burns 2,000 calories a day, although a taller person who weighs more and has more muscle may burn significantly more calories.

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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Pennington Biomedical Research Center

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

GO WITH THE FLOW Here’s how the metabolic chambers work: fresh air is circulated into the room and as it flows out of the room, it goes through a series of analyzers that measures the ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the room. All three measurements—oxygen consumed and the carbon dioxide and nitrogen exhaled—are plugged into a calculation that can give scientists a detailed look at metabolism.

During their stay in the metabolic chamber, people spend most of their time relaxing and doing what they might have spent their downtime doing anyway—watching TV or movies, reading or playing games online, or talking on the phone. Most stays in the metabolic chamber are 23 hours long, since it is important to measure how many calories are burned during sleep. “The respiratory quotient—or ratio of carbon dioxide exhaled and oxygen inhaled—during sleep is a really good measurement for metabolism, since sleep is a time when the body is conserving energy,” said Dr. Jennifer Rood, Associate Executive Director for Cores and Resources at Pennington Biomedical.

MEALS AND METABOLISM At fixed times, a registered dietitian prepares each meal and delivers it to the study participant via a small, air-locked cupboard—that way, all the air can be accounted for and scientists can get a more accurate reading on metabolism. Renee Puyau, RD, Director of the Metabolic Kitchen, explains that researchers must know exactly how many calories and nutrients participants are receiving as part of a clinical study diet, and it is equally important that all the participants in a study receive the exact same foods in the exact same proportions. Registered dieticians and scientists work together to carefully design menus and recipes that will meet specific requirements for different clinical study protocols. “Meals for clinical studies are planned and prepared to contain a specific number of calo-

ries, macronutrients and even micronutrients,” Puyau said. “When we prepare study meals in the Metabolic Kitchen, all foods are weighed to one-tenth of one gram, ensuring that study participants receive the exact number of calories and nutrients that are prescribed to them according to the study protocol.” For researchers at Pennington Biomedical who are working to combat chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, metabolic chambers are invaluable and rare instruments. “We get incredible insight about how the body works from our metabolic chambers—information that we can then use to develop new targets for treating diseases that affect our quality of life. Our ultimate goal is to help people improve their quality and length of life,” said Rood.

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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Pennington Biomedical Research Center

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Finding Inspiration in the Unknown EVERYBODY LOVES a good “aha moment.” To find those moments, Dr. Eric Ravussin encourages scientists to seek answers to questions they feel hold uncharted answers. A scientist cannot be afraid of the unknown, he says. Rather, the unknown should be inspiration for finding those curveball discoveries. One major query continues to drive Ravussin’s research: Why do some people naturally burn more energy than others? The easy answer is genetics, but Ravussin strives to understand the molecular mechanisms behind the phenomenon of human metabolism. Much of his work revolves around determining differences among people in energy expenditure, fat burning and why some people develop diabetes with obesity while others don’t. Hailing from Lausanne, Switzerland, Dr. Ravussin is one of today’s most renowned and respected researchers for his work related to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and human metabolism. “We are not just scientists. We are entrepreneurs,” he said. “This career is about being creative and developing new ideas to overcome the health challenges that are facing your society.” Dr. Ravussin has attracted more than $80 million in research grants and contracts, become a Boyd Professor in the LSU system, published more than 550 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and mentored more than 60 postdoctoral fellows. He has received most of the prestigious national and international awards in obesity and nutrition research, including the 2021 Bray Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award in Obesity Research. He is a past president of The Obesity Society (TOS) and the Editor in Chief of the journal Obesity. He is also Associate Executive Director for Clinical Science at Pennington Biomedical and oversees the metabolic chambers, a research core that assesses energy output in people. Ravussin’s work includes impressive breakthroughs in human physiology, including how genetics influence metabolism, the major determinants of energy expenditure, and the positive effects of long-term calorie restriction. Despite his long list of accomplishments, his major pride and happiness lie in his mentees. Even after earning a lifetime achievement award, Ravussin credits his postdoctoral fellows for much of his success. After nearly 20 years at Pennington Biomedical, Dr. Ravussin said the center has shown tremendous growth in facilities and employees as well as in creativity and entrepreneurship. “This is a unique place,” he said, “because under one roof we have all the different facets of knowledge about obesity research. With outstanding facilities and exceptional equipment, we are an avenue for phenomenal research.”

Eric Ravussin

“It isn’t the studies I’ve done or the discoveries I’ve made that will ultimately make a difference. It is the young scientists I have mentored that will eventually change the world.”

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Dedicated to Diabetes Research MORE THAN 400 million people are living with Type 2 diabetes worldwide, and the incidence rate in Louisiana is twice the national average. Jacqueline Stephens is one of the researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center dedicated to advancing knowledge of this pervasive disease. “Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in the world, the leading cause of non-accident-related limb loss, and is why many people need kidney dialysis. The cost of this health care burden is enormous,” she said. Stephens specifically studies fat cells for a number of reasons. More than 85 percent of people with Type 2 diabetes have obesity, which is excess fat accumulation. Fat cells are important in the action of insulin and a variety of other hormones that contribute to metabolic processes. “Most people look at fat as something to lose. And it’s true that in some instances, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed with weight loss,” Stephens explained. “But fat cells are really important to your health. They influence everything from your appetite to your immune system. Disrupting just one of fat cells’ many functions can affect your entire metabolic system, such as the way your body breaks down lipids, like cholesterol, and blood sugar. However, it’s important to remember there are differences between a healthy fat cell—where even people who have obesity don’t develop diabetes—and an unhealthy fat cell that promotes the development of diabetes.” Stephens also studies genes, proteins, and various factors at the molecular level, where hundreds, if not thousands, of processes can go wrong and trigger a metabolic disease state. “Basic science projects are really complex and take a long time to complete,” says Stephens. “As a basic scientist, you really have to be in it for the long haul, and that’s okay with me. Most scientists, like myself, don’t do research for profit and we don’t do it for the promise of some new technology that’s going to change our lives tomorrow. We do it to understand the world around us and to hopefully make it a better place.”

Jacqueline Stephens

“To me, each scientist is putting a brick into a cathedral of understanding where each brick rests on ones that have been placed there before it.”

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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Pennington Biomedical Research Center

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Helping Cancer Patients Live Longer JUSTIN BROWN was only 14 when his father passed away from colon cancer. Justin’s future career path became instantly clear. “My mission is motivated by the need to prevent children from having to watch their parents melt away from cancer,” he said. Although a sizable percentage of patients with colon cancer initially beat it, 30 to 50 percent of them relapse—and 90 percent of those who relapse die within two years. This is exactly what happened to Dr. Brown’s father. At just 46 years old, he was diagnosed with early-stage colon cancer. Usually, patients under age 50 are not screened, so Dr. Brown’s father was too young to receive the devastating prognosis. He was cancer-free after surgery, but at 48, he relapsed. Dr. Brown was a Research Fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and was recruited to Pennington Biomedical to lead the newly created Cancer Metabolism Research Program. His research has a particular focus on cancer survivorship and prevention through nutrition, weight control, physical activity and chemopreventive strategies. Evidence suggests that patients who are physically active after their first cancer diagnosis are less likely to relapse. Dr. Brown wants to understand how and why losing weight, managing weight, and managing diabetes can prevent a relapse. His research builds on Pennington Biomedical’s strengths and further expands the Center’s collaborative relationships with regional cancer centers and health professionals. “We know that small steps toward healthy lifelong habits can make a big difference in how cancer survivors feel, function, and survive,” he said. “With our new program, cancer survivors across Baton Rouge can now enroll in a 10-week program to determine if a lifestyle program that includes exercise, diet, and weight management helps cancer survivors improve overall wellness and prevents cancer recurrence.” Reflecting on his work, Dr. Brown said, “My father left too early, but at the end of the day he is the motivation behind the work that I do here every day, finding ways to help people live longer with a higher quality of life. I am grateful for all those who have generously invested in our vision of a world where cancer survivors thrive.” To learn more about this cancer program, visit www.pbrc.edu/smallsteps

Justin Brown

Brown’s mission is motivated by the need to prevent children from having to watch their parents suffer from cancer.

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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COVERSTORY

DRIVEN TO SUCCEED Honoring four Baton Rouge business leaders and two homegrown companies who all embraced risk while overcoming challenges on the road to success.

2022 BATON ROUGE BUSINESS AWARDS & HALL OF FAME Hall of Fame

GERRY LANE (POSTHUMOUS)

Founder, Gerry Lane Enterprises

Hall of Fame

JAMES “PEPPER” RUTLAND Founder, President and CEO, MMR

Businessperson of the Year

JUDI TERZOTIS President and Publisher, The Advocate

Young Businessperson of the Year

TUPAC DE LA CRUZ Founder and CEO, Roofing Solutions

Company of the Year (100 or more employees)

Company of the Year (Fewer than 100 employees)

GENESIS 360

or the 39th year, Business Report is honoring leading professionals and companies in the Capital Region that distinguish themselves by not only succeeding in business, but also by giving back to the community and making our city a better place to live. This year’s honorees, as

selected by a community panel of judges, are certainly no exception. Along with telling their stories and spotlighting their accomplishments on the following pages, all of this year’s honorees will be celebrated at a special event on March 9. The Business Awards were launched

in 1984 to pay tribute to remarkable individuals and companies in the Capital Region and celebrate their many accomplishments. In 1993, Business Report partnered with Junior Achievement to present the awards and added a Hall of Fame category to recognize those with a lifetime of achievement.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLLIN RICHIE Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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COVERSTORY

Hall of Fame

DAVID WOOD

GERRY LANE (POSTHUMOUS)

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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A RAGS TO RICHES STORY

experience, Lane knew he could succeed. Finally, someone at Pearson’s Ford gave him a chance. He was given the keys to a brand new 1953 Ford and told to drive downtown and find someone who was interested in buying the car and Driven by a fear of returning to poverty, Gerry Lane rose then let them drive the demo back to the dealership and he was from the Oklahoma Dust Bowl to build a Baton Rouge to drive the potential car buyautomotive empire. BY JR BALL er’s vehicle back to the lot. Lane erry Lane’s earlididn’t know anyone in San Diego, est moneymakbut he knew he had to find someing endeavor one to buy the car, or he would involved draglose his job, Eric Lane says. ging pipe by mule to a Incredibly, Gerry Lane sold ditch on family land, his first car on his first day and ROUGH START: arranging the pipe like Gerry Lane, went on to sell five cars that first culverts and covering week, Eric Lane says. “He was shown here in them with dirt to crevery honest with people. They his Dust Bowl bathtub, was born ate a makeshift bridge started bringing their neighbors in Red Mound, so people who lived and friends to see an honest car Oklahoma, nearby had easier acsalesman.” shortly after the cess to the river for HOLLYWOOD STAR: Gerry Lane’s ascent as a Lane’s sucstock market car salesman took him to a Hollywood Lincoln- cess earned him fishing. His father had crash of 1929 and Mercury dealership in the late 1950s where he a sales mantold him the project just before dust sold cars to clients Gregory Peck, Clark Gable was a waste of time ager position at storms destroyed and Milton Berle, who had his car repossessed the family’s and not to do it. 23. He moved when he wouldn’t make the payments. crops. But the 12-year-old on from San knew his idea would Diego to Los work and did it anyway. The Angeles, placing him right young entrepreneur charged in the middle of Hollywood 50 cents a car to drive across the where he was making more bridge, and in three days, he had money than he could have made more money than his fadreamed of as the top salesther had brought home in weeks, man and interacting with says Lane’s son, Eric. As Eric Lane such Hollywood stars as Clark tells the story, his dad, Gerry Gable and Gregory Peck. Lane, cautiously approached But, Eric Lane says, his fahis own father prepared for a ther hated the smog, SOUTHERN LIVING: Gerry Lane joined whipping, or at least a stern lecPolk Chevrolet in December 1957 and began and he didn’t like the ture. Instead, his father took the dishonesty he enbuilding a life in Baton Rouge, marrying his money and told him, “I guess I countered among “Southern belle,” Faye Rogan Lane. was wrong, and you were right.” his co-workers and Lane, the founder of Gerry clients. He asked for a Lane Enterprises, is being intransfer and the available poFAMILY TIES: Shortly after marrying, ducted into the Business Hall of sitions included Houston, Gerry and Faye Lane completed the famFame and will be honored postNew Orleans, Baton Rouge or ily with the births of Saundra and Eric. humously at the 2022 Business Baltimore. So, Gerry Lane decided the things in the windows that he Awards & Hall of Fame gala dinto take a road trip and check out couldn’t have. He said, ‘One day, ner March 9. The company, which those cities. I’m going to make enough money includes Gerry Lane Chevrolet, After initially dismissing Baton to buy this stuff.’” Gerry Lane Cadillac and Gerry Rouge because of its size, Lane At 22, Gerry Lane joined worked. He chose Ford because Lane Buick-GMC-Hummer, is was driving across the Huey P. the many who were fleeing his father drove Fords. one of the Capital Region’s most Long Bridge toward West Baton Oklahoma and heading west to Gerry Lane was immediately recognizable business names. Rouge when he was struck by the California in search of cleaner air, turned down for the position Lane was born Feb. 15, 1931, potential that Baton Rouge had to better-paying jobs and a brighter because he was so young. The the sixth child of Burl and offer, with universities, numerous future. He sought employment nearby Chrysler dealership was Bonnie Lane, in the Dust Bowl refineries along the Mississippi at a San Diego Ford dealership, also hiring, however, and offered of Oklahoma and just in time River and much more. He turned wanting a job as a car salesman him a job on the spot. But instead for the crushing economic imaround in Port Allen and drove where his income would be based of going to work there, he used pacts of the Great Depression. back through downtown Baton on his performance, rather than the offer as leverage to try and “Dad was born into a really tough Rouge to Capital City Ford, where an hourly wage where he would convince the Ford dealer to hire situation,” Eric Lane says. “He the dealer was waiting for him, be capped no matter how hard he him. Even without connections or would go into town and see all Eric Lane says.

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COVERSTORY Gerry Lane began working as a car salesman for Capital City Ford in Baton Rouge in June 1957. Prior to Lane’s employment, the dealership was selling an average of 103 cars per month. By September, Eric Lane says, Capital City Ford was selling 303 cars per month. Gerry Lane did so well that the Ford dealer put him on a payment plan, capping his income potential. Lane decided to make a move to nearby Polk Chevrolet, where he flourished managing operations there from 1958 to 1966. During that time, he told his wife, Faye, that he craved his own dealership. When an opportunity emerged in 1966 to buy the Gulf Chevrolet dealership in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Lane took it. He went on to buy and sell 15 dealerships over his career, starting along the Mississippi Gulf Coast but eventually selling those to focus solely on Baton Rouge. Eric Lane says his father was so strongly motivated to succeed because he was “petrified” of living in poverty again. “He said it so many times, ‘I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor, and it’s so much better to be rich.’” Eric Lane now serves as president of Gerry Lane Enterprises. Gerry Lane’s daughter, Saundra, came back to Baton Rouge from an advertising job in Dallas to work in the family business. She started the company’s own advertising arm, The Lane Agency. Saundra Lane recalls her first sales meeting and hearing her father repeat some of the same life lessons he shared with her and her brother. On the 50th anniversary of the date Gerry Lane sold his first car, Saundra Lane helped plan a party to celebrate her father’s career. Part of the decor was a collage of all his inspirational quotes. “He was always encouraging others to do better,” she says. Along with taking care of his family, Gerry Lane felt a strong personal commitment to the causes he supported. He was a longtime supporter of the Angola Prison Rodeo, helping the event to return significant funding to the prison at no cost to taxpayers. Lane believed in basic kindness toward inmates, and would bring them bags of fried pork cracklins. He supported a host of 36

THROUGH THE YEARS 1930

1940 1953 At age 22, moves from Oklahoma to California and begins his career as a car salesman in San Diego.

Feb. 15, 1931 Born in Oklahoma, the sixth and final child of Burl and Bonnie Lane.

1950

1957 Moves to Baton Rouge to work for Capital City Ford.

1960

1968 through 1980s Continues to buy dealerships, first along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and then in Louisiana.

1970

1980

1987 Buys Polk Chevrolet in Baton Rouge and begins focusing on the Baton Rouge market.

1966 Buys his first car dealership in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

2004 Receives GMAC Champion of Life Award, a national award for his community service efforts.

1990

2000

2010 1995 Earns Louisiana Dealer of the Year award.

other organizations and causes including Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, the YMCA, and 13th Gate, as well as the LSU Ag Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, and E.J. Ourso College of Business. Terry Bell, Gerry Lane Enterprises’ operations manager, started working for Lane in 1981 and described him as optimistic, persistent, productive and a stickler for a professional dress code.

May 3, 2013 Gerry Lane dies.

“He carried his monthly and yearly goals in his suit pocket, along with a chart that calculated how much money you were making per hour,” Bell says. “That way if you wasted time, you knew what it cost you.” Cedric Patton, who began working with Lane in 1983 and went on to become a business partner, said he was immediately impressed during his first sales meeting that Lane was willing to

share his knowledge with someone just starting out. “Gerry knew that if I was more successful, he would be more successful and that was smart,” Patton says. Patton says he is pleased to see Lane being honored. “He just believed in his heart that the essence of being successful has to do with getting involved in the community you serve in. He was so sincere in that. That wasn’t a marketing approach.”

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Is your company one of the best places to work in the Capital Region? NOMINATION DEADLINE: MAY 6 The Business Report and Society for Human Resource Management are pleased to present the annual Best Places to Work Awards This event is designed to honor the Capital Region’s best employers. Local employers are given the opportunity to participate in a professional program conducted by Best Companies Group on subjects such as Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Training and Development, Work Environment and much more. A detailed survey is provided to participating businesses, and leading companies are recognized in Business Report and honored at an awards event. To register your company for participation and award consideration, please visit:

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COVERSTORY

Hall of Fame

JAMES “PEPPER” RUTLAND

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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FAILURE WAS NOTAN OPTION

one of the biggest supporters of LSU athletics and the largest ticket holder in Tiger Stadium. During summers in high school, Rutland mowed grass for a man named Bob McCracken, who ran an electrical and instrumentation company. After Rutland graduated James “Pepper” Rutland, applying lessons from football to business, from LSU, McCracken hired him full time. Rutland ran the compaovercame adversity while building MMR into a global force among ny’s instrumentation division for industrial contractors. BY EMILY KERN HEBERT several years and was able to acquire some company shares over time. The business grew from very small to about $40 million in revenue a year. Leonard Matthews, the other “M” in MMR, had already retired and McCracken was ready to retire as well. Rutland was interested in purchasing Son, Jeffrey, who died McCracken’s 80% but in 2017. lacked the financial leverage. Instead, McCracken sold MMR to a private equity firm in New York. Rutland stayed on as the CEO and COO of the newly renamed MMR Holding. FAMILY OUTING: Pepper Rutland, shown during his induction The business grew to $500 milinto the LSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction, and wife lion in revenue and 8,000 employConnie are joined by (from left) Jacob, Annaleigh, Jonathan and ees, and the private equity group Kennan Bruser, his daughter, as well as son Michael Rutland with decided to take the company pubClaire Hunt and nephew Leeland Kilpatrick, an MMR shareholder. lic. Rutland says he would never recommend going down that path ames “Pepper” Rutland want to be part of a winning team. to anyone today. “The people astook many of the life lesThere is a strong sense of empect is left out completely,” he sons he learned through ployee accountability, and a delsays. athletics and applied them egation of authority. “We do try The business was expanding too to running his business. That apto run this organization like a fast, there were too many mistakes proach has certainly paid off, as football team,” Rutland says. “I’ll and the company got caught up in MMR, the company he leads, coach the coaches and you coach complicated legal issues with the has become the largest privately the players.” federal government. The owners owned merit shop electrical and Rutland grew up in Baton filed for bankruptcy and returned WILL TO WIN: Pepper Rutland says his drive to succeed comes from his parents, instrumentation contractor in Rouge’s Mid City. His mother to New York, and Rutland wasn’t Bertie Mae Thompson Rutland and Loyes the U.S., with 5,000 employees stayed home while his father left with much. Edward “Rut” Rutland, shown here in 1971. and more than $768 million in worked as a construction superA few of MMR’s previous emrevenue. intendent. He played football at ployees decided they would come Founder, president and CEO of Baton Rouge High School and was Rutland attended LSU on a back and work with Rutland. He MMR, Rutland is being inducted recruited by several universities for football scholarship, becoming a bought 80% of a company named into the Business Hall of Fame his skills on the gridiron. When it leader and team captain. In 1972, Radon and merged it with his and will be honored by Business came time to choose one, Rutland he earned his bachelor’s degree in existing business. In 1991, he Report and Junior Achievement says he was strongly considering construction technology and enfounded MMR Group Inc. at the 2022 Business Awards & the University of Tennessee. gineering as a member of LSU’s Opportunities became available Hall of Fame gala dinner March 9. When he told his parents, his first graduating class in the coninternationally in countries such Under Rutland’s leadership, MMR dad questioned him. Where was struction management program. as Thailand, Venezuela, Saudi continues to grow both regionally he planning to live after college After graduation, he says he found Arabia and Nigeria. “It forced us and nationally with 30 branch ofgraduation? Rutland’s response it difficult to attend football games to do some things we had never fices throughout North and South was Baton Rouge. He had lived in Tiger Stadium. “When you’ve done and take some chances or America. Rutland’s passion for his here all his life and planned to redone something every year since risk. We were willing to do that,” business, sports and giving back to turn after graduation to start a cathe fourth grade, it’s hard when Rutland says. “We did a lot of stuff his community have all been inreer. He quickly saw his father’s it’s over. I can look at the 5-yard that prior to that we probably strumental in his career. point that moving to Tennessee line or the end zone and I can still would have been afraid to do.” At MMR, Rutland says he has wouldn’t help him with his future remember different things hapRutland says his competitive nacreated a culture where employees goals. pening,” he says. Today, MMR is ture would not allow him to give

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COVERSTORY

SURVIVE AND GROW: After MMR Holding went bankrupt, the newly formed MMR Holding Group Inc. had trouble landing work in the Gulf South, so company officials got work in Thailand (left) to keep the company going and then jobs in Venezuela (right) got it growing.

up. “Maybe I learned that from athletics, but failure was not an option,” he says. “We went with clients that we knew, and we felt like we could help them and be successful.” That meant working with companies like Fluor, ExxonMobil and Shell. “The clients, they wanted an American company there for support. It worked for both sides,” Rutland says. MMR had more than recovered when Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in August 2005. Through its relationship with Fluor, MMR was asked initially to help house a dozen people. The helicopter landing pad used by emergency responders was directly across the street from the MMR office building on Airline Highway.

Fluor had a standing contract with the federal government for emergency services. MMR was asked to build morgues, rehab an empty Walmart building into office space for emergency responders, and install trailers with water hookups, sewer treatment and power poles—all areas where it had little to no experience. The Katrina recovery effort became one of the most unique and challenging endeavors MMR has taken on, Rutland says. “It was certainly a test in creativity.” Rutland says he feels like one of the most important aspects of running his business is creating a comfortable and desirable workplace for his employees. “We’re in the people business. We don’t sell a

THROUGH THE YEARS 1950 Born in Baton Rouge

1950

1972 Graduates from LSU as part of the first class of the construction technology program

1960 1968-1972 Attends LSU on a football scholarship, plays outside linebacker and serves as defensive team captain in 1972.

1993 Leads MMR into the global market with its first international project in Venezuela.

1970 1991 Establishes MMR Group in Baton Rouge with 25 employees.

2000 Establishes Southwestern Power Group, a leading force in evolving energy markets.

1980 1995 Opens MMR’s first international office in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.

product—something you can walk out the door with. We sell a service,” he says. “Your people represent you at every part of the process. We’ll either succeed or fail together. When you can transfer that responsibility to a lot of people, you generally do really well.” Thomas Welborn, a retired MMR shareholder who has worked with Rutland since the early days, describes Rutland as an amazing man who takes care of his employees. MMR is one of a few companies that has a health facility on its grounds, he says. Employees have access to healthy meals, fitness classes and a basketball court. “It’s something he does to keep our people healthy, and it’s very much appreciated.” Rutland also feels a strong responsibility to the upcoming generation in his field. As a young professional, he says he was given responsibility and the opportunity to fail. As a sophomore in college, he was sent on a company trip to Canada for a complicated estimating job. It was his first time flying, first time out of the country and first time using a company credit card. Whether it’s navigating new projects in a post-disaster climate or working overseas in an unfamiliar land with language and cultural barriers, “you’ve got to figure it out,” Rutland says. “How do you figure it out? You’ve got to touch the stove and see how hot it is.” A $1 million gift from MMR helped fund the BIM Construction Management Studio and Advanced Materials Lab at the

LSU College of Engineering. It includes a virtual reality environment where students can build models that allow them to see all layers of the design. “He (Rutland) has built a culture that I’m not sure many places have,” says Jeramiah Blum, a current shareholder and board member. “Even though he’s the CEO, he will engage anyone who’s there and give them 100 percent of his attention and knowledge. No matter what’s going on in his life, he will make you feel like you’re the most important person in the room.”

2011 Co-founds Miracle League at Cypress Mounds, a nonprofit that gives children with disabilities the opportunity to play baseball

2021 MMR celebrates 30 years as a leader in the electrical and instrumentation industry.

1990

2005 Secures Hurricane Katrina recovery contract with Fluor/FEMA.

2000 2015 Opens MMR Craft Training Center, offering employees advanced training and certification.

“I’ve seen Pepper build MMR from a $20 million revenue company to near a billion-dollar company on two different occasions. Very, very few people have ever accomplished that.” RONNIE POLITO, longtime friend

2010 2018 Elected to the LSU College of Engineering Hall of Distinction.

2020

2020 Named topperforming electrical contractor in the nation by Associated Builders and Contractors.

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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COVERSTORY

A Businessperson of the Year

Judi Terzotis, president and publisher of The Advocate, The Times-Picayune and nola.com.

COLLIN RICHIE

JUDI TERZOTIS

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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s they scroll headlines and sip their morning coffee, most newspaper readers have no idea what it takes to make a daily paper financially viable. The last two decades are fraught with nationwide closures and cutbacks, as newspapers figure out how to master growth in the digital space. It’s against this thorny backdrop that Judi Terzotis, president and publisher of The Advocate, The Times-Picayune and nola. com, mines rich opportunities. She has led privately owned Georges Media to an 80% year-over-year digital subscription growth across

potential subscribers by targeting those who consume more news and are likely to opt in, and also by tailoring offers to flyby readers who might come to the site for particular topics like LSU sports, Louisiana politics or crime. “So instead of a one-size-fitsall offer, we speak to you specifically. Let’s say you’re just a rabid LSU fan. We’re going to talk to you with LSU language and then showcase our writers who are topic experts. And then we appeal to you to support local journalism,” Terzotis says. “Taking that kind of sophisticated approach has really allowed us to move the needle really, really quickly,” Once onboarded, subscribers can toggle through the company’s four coverage areas, Baton Rouge, Acadiana, Lake Charles and New Orleans, and peruse Gambit Weekly, which, like The Advocate, The TimesPicayune and nola.com, is owned by Georges Media. Terzotis has also embraced pursuing opportunities in new arenas. Owner John Georges pushed the company to create an original online show highlighting the history and energy surrounding Carnival in 2021, when in-person celebrations were shuttered. The company produced a threepart online series called Mardi Gras for All, Y’all, that reached 1.5 million viewers in 105 countries and won three Telly awards. The company recently wrapped a 2022 show of the same name, hosted by Cooper Manning and sponsored by Caesars Sportsbook among others. “It’s really opened up another line of business where we’ve created a video department and we’ll be producing more shows,” Terzotis says. “It was outside of our comfort zone and I’m so proud of what the team put together.” Indeed, taking the long view is the company’s MO. For example, now that Louisiana is home to

A REAL PAGE TURNER With fresh ideas and a hyperlocal focus, Judi Terzotis is bucking the media landscape trend and leading ‘The Advocate’ to growth. BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON

WHAT SHOULD BE THE FUTURE VISION FOR BATON ROUGE?

“I’m hopeful that with a lot of important organizations coming together we can focus on keeping our best and brightest here. I worry about folks who are right out of college or at the beginning of their career leaving the state and escalating that talent drain. I’m bullish to see what BRAC and other organizations will do to try to turn that tide. And transportation, it continues to be something that we have to solve.”

its platforms since launching a new strategy in 2018. Terzotis, quick to share credit with her crack digital team, says that it comes down to covering what matters most to the average Joe. “I think it’s about being hyperfocused on local, and being relevant to readers,” Terzotis says. “You’re staying away from commodity news, and making sure that you’re connecting the dots about what people really care about, what they’re talking about, not just what you feel like they should be thinking about.” Under Terzotis’ leadership, the company spent a year researching how newspapers, including The Boston Globe as well as peer market publications, had successfully gained, and kept, digital subscribers. Terzotis created an internal team of developers and analytics experts who constantly seek new opportunities to onboard users. The company deploys a propensity-based model, using data analytics to rope in

legalized sports betting, Terzotis has forged ventures with corporate sponsors like Harrah’s and Caesars Sportsbook to support increased sports betting content including live shows that integrate viewers’ questions, stories on different aspects of the quickly changing world of sports betting and sponsored content. Despite the challenges and cutbacks that have defined local journalism nationwide, Terzotis is clear that she’s leading an organization intent on growing business, not shrinking it. “We’re a growth company,” she says. “So my goal is to put more journalists on the ground telling Louisiana stories. The form those stories take, we’ll continue to learn as we go. But that’s my commitment.” Under her leadership, the company created a $.1.5 million statewide investigative journalism program, thanks in part to a $1 million grant from the Ford Foundation. The effort has allowed the media outlets to double their investigative team and provide coverage of statewide stories on topics like business, crime and the environment. The unit’s work has been extensive, and includes topics like LSU’s Title IX problems, nursing home owner Bob Dean’s failures to keep residents safe during Hurricane Ida and a deep dive into the rise in carjackings in New Orleans. Terzotis’ personal motto, “feet in, or feet out,” speaks to the level of commitment she expects from herself and those around her. If you have one foot out the door, she believes, it’s time to get both feet out, because it signals a misalignment between an organization and an individual. “There have been times when people have come into my office throughout the course of my career and said, ‘I just don’t have two feet in,’ and I’m like, ‘How can I help you find the right place where you can get two feet in,’” Terzotis says. “I’m big about passion and loving what you’re doing.”

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COVERSTORY

lance up around Baton Rouge and some of the most recognizable rooflines you will see are the work of Roofing Solutions, the Prairieville-based company founded in 2004 by then-21-yearold Tupac de la Cruz. Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital, the LSU Pete Maravich Assembly Center (and numer-

de la Cruz bought out his partner and brought in his brother, Lautaro de la Cruz, to serve as CEO while he focused on operations. The two were intent on growth. Today, Roofing Solutions is one of the top 50 largest roofing contractors in the U.S., with 2021 revenue topping $71 million. The company currently has six offices, including one in Costa Rica, a full-time administrative staff of about 50-60 and a team of between 400 to 500 subcontractors. “Over a period of a few years, we expanded into new markets and new systems and bigger scale work,” de la Cruz says. “It’s just never stopped since then.” In 2012, the company opened an office in New Orleans, followed by an office in Jackson, Mississippi, and a shared service center in Costa Rica the following year. Sites in Denver and Phoenix followed soon after, penetrating construction markets that are so large that even a small piece of the pie yields significant business, de la Cruz says. The last few years have brought a succession of accolades. Engineering News-Record named de la Cruz to its 2022 Top 20 under 40 list of standout young professionals in the construction industry in Texas and Louisiana. Since 2015, the company has been on Business Report’s list of the top 100 private companies. But de la Cruz hasn’t just focused on volume. His intention has been to create systemic improvements both in the way his company serves its customers and in the way the U.S. roofing industry functions. For example, as a member of the board of directors for the National Roofing Contractors Association, de la Cruz led the effort to translate the organization’s technical and educational

BUILDING FROM THE TOP DOWN Tupac de la Cruz, determined to be a success when he left Costa Rica at age 16, has built Roofing Solutions into one of the nation’s largest commercial roofing companies. BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON

WHAT SHOULD BE THE FUTURE VISION FOR BATON ROUGE?

“I hope Baton Rouge continues to thrive economically. I’ve seen some of the most successful construction companies in town do well and I want all industries, like ours, to grow. I hope (improving the) infrastructure continues to be one of the main triggers of the economy.”

ous other LSU buildings), the IBM building, and Amazon warehouses in Port Allen, Lafayette, Shreveport and Pearl River are just a fraction of the commercial roofing jobs the company has performed, a sliver of a portfolio that includes large-scale projects in nine states and 75 cities. As a young man growing up in Costa Rica, de la Cruz knew that one day he would go into business. What sort of business, though, wasn’t yet apparent. At age 16, he left Costa Rica for Baton Rouge to pursue an undergraduate degree in business at LSU, interning at CitiBank and Disney World along the way. In the second semester of his senior year, he had a chance job offer with a residential roofing company. It was an opportunity to continue working in the U.S., so he took it. Very quickly the job grew into a partnership, and, in 2004, de la Cruz co-founded a new commercial roofing division for the company, Roofing Solutions, to leverage resources and diversify services. The commercial roofing side of the industry grew fast. By 2008,

content into Spanish, making it easier for Spanish-speakers, who make up much of the roofing industry, to access materials that help business owners and workers do their jobs better. “There’s been a big push to bring the Hispanic contractors into the NRCA so that we can support them and make them more sophisticated contractors,” de la Cruz says. “And if we want to grow membership, we have to be able to show them in their language, which is my language, how do you run a roofing business?” Roofing Solutions has also adapted leading-edge technology to serve its customers with a higher level of excellence, de la Cruz says. It’s one of the first roofing contractors in the U.S. to complete all shop drawings using 3D building information modeling or BIM. “Through modeling we’ve been able to reduce expenses for owners, and we can see issues ahead of time,” de la Cruz says. “We can help mechanical contractors lay out their equipment without interfering with the roof. “That’s given us a tremendous capability,” he continues, “because now we’re selling those services to other companies throughout the country.” While the construction industry has a history of gender inequity, women comprise two-thirds of the company’s management. Roofing Solutions is also known for investing in employee education and training to help them perform at the highest possible level. A tuition reimbursement program encourages employees to pursue advanced degrees. In addition, 90% of employees are certified in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” “Tupac has a broader vision for you, one that you might not even see for yourself,” says preconstruction manager Ileana Romero, a 13-year employee. “If he believes you have the skills, he’ll make sure you believe it, too.”

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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Young Businessperson of the Year

Tupac de la Cruz, founder and chief operating officer of Prairieville-based Roofing Solutions.

COLLIN RICHIE

TUPAC DE LA CRUZ

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COVERSTORY

Company of the Year

Jude Melville, president and CEO, fronts the b1BANK Baton Rouge management team: (back row, from left) Mike Nizzo, regional president-capital area; Yvonne Terrance, business development officer and banking center manager; Will Campbell, director of b1FOUNDATION; (front row, from left) Jamee Lemmler, business development officer and banking center manager; Lacey White, banking center manager; Laura Bourgeois, vice president-business development officer and banking center manager; Kristine Hughes, vice president-capital retail coordinator; and Stephanie Parker Adams, vice president-business development officer and banking center manager. 46

COLLIN RICHIE

(100 or more employees)

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n just 16 years, what began as a homegrown community bank supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses has grown into a publicly traded company with $4.4 billion in assets, 700 employees and a sizable footprint across Louisiana and Texas. The rise of b1BANK is the result of careful relationship banking coupled with leading-edge technology and targeted growth strategies, says President and CEO Jude Melville.

The deal was announced in January 2020 but completed virtually over the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, which created a host of challenges that Melville says his team was able to overcome and serve customers with as little interruption as possible. “Now we’re a stronger, more diverse, more profitable and more impactful company than we were before,” Melville says. “And that’s really the goal for any merger.” Being strategic about the right opportunities exists alongside an organic growth strategy that is built on providing staff with the resources needed to serve clients well, Melville says. The bank’s commitb1BANK, now led by Jude Melville, has quickly grown ment to service was on full display during the from a homegrown community bank to a publicly traded multistate institution with $4.4 billion in assets. early days of the pandemic, winning over BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON new clients and proFour acquisitions have been viding peace of mind to existing completed since 2015, with a fifth ones. The bank executed more now underway to acquire investthan 4,700 Paycheck Protection WHAT SHOULD BE ment advisers Smith Shellnut Program loans to small busiTHE FUTURE VISION Wilson LLC. It is the only comnesses while also participating in FOR BATON ROUGE? munity bank to operate in the the federal Main Street Lending seven largest metropolitan statisProgram. It was among the most “I have a very strong tical areas in Louisiana, Melville active local banks to support cusexecutive management says, and has also jumped state tomers during the pandemic, isteam, but about half lines to expand in the Dallas and suing more loans relative to its of them do not live in Houston markets thanks to the assets than any other bank in the Baton Rouge. I’ve had 2021 acquisition of Texas Citizens region, Melville says. to grow open to the Bank. “It was just a matter of decididea that in order to get In 2020, b1BANK acquired ing that we were going to roll up Houma-based Pedestal Bank, a our sleeves and work until we got the best talent, some of deal that represents one of the it done,” he says. “You had a lot them might have to be largest community bank-on-comof our folks all over the state who long distance. I think munity bank mergers to date in were working 18- and 20-hour we need to seek to be a Louisiana, Melville says. days and over weekends to get place where professionals “It was a case of us merging everybody processed as soon as choose to move to find with a bank that was much bigthey could.” jobs, and that means ger not in terms of assets but in Existing clients were a priority, terms of number of clients and but about 15% of borrowers were focusing on basics like locations, so the integration was new clients, Melville says. trash and litter and especially complex,” Melville The bank invested in new softcelebrating why we’re a says. “It gave us depth in our ware to increase efficiencies, part special place and what markets because we were everyof a larger commitment to keep we’re proud of.” where that Pedestal was, but they integrating new technologies to had more size in those markets.” stay competitive.

BANKING ON THE FUTURE

Creating a topnotch workplace culture is also a priority, Melville says. The institution has been recognized by American Banker Magazine as a best place to work among banks across the country. “It’s the one [recognition] that I’m proudest of because it’s the one that our employees make happen,” Melville says. “There’s a high level of engagement and high level of positivity.” Empowering leaders at the local level, providing continuing education and being clear about the company’s service-focused values are all part of what makes it a great place to work, Melville says, adding that he and his executive leadership prioritize listening to on-the-ground teams and removing impediments so that they can do their jobs better. “I spend more of my time thinking about employee issues and visiting with employees than I do clients,” Melville says. “I figure if we take care of our employees, then they’ll take care of the clients.” Giving back is a big part of b1BANK’s character, Melville says. Its b1COMMUNITY program enables employees to take a paid day off to volunteer with a charity of their choice. The program yielded 5,000 hours served in 2021. The bank’s b1FOUNDATION provides financial support to community needs, including disaster relief, while also promoting economic literacy and economic development. Through its virtual incubator, the foundation counseled nearly 100 clients and provided access to more than $11 million in capital last year. The bank also recently participated in Project REACH, a program in which minority-owned banks can gain improved access to capital through banking partnerships. The bank partnered with five minority banks in 2021 and hopes to partner with 10 in 2022, Melville says.

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COVERSTORY

hen he graduated from high school in 1991, Genesis 360 founder Craig Stevens had one goal in mind: to get out of poverty. The Opelousas native saw entering the military as his best shot at a new beginning, so he

manager brought about a move to Baton Rouge. Soon after, Stevens was promoted again, this time to director of operations overseeing 105 Circle K stores. That wasn’t enough. Hungry to try his hand at entrepreneurship, Stevens founded a parking lot striping company on the side in 2011. One of his accounts, Siegen Plaza Shopping Center, liked his work enough to ask for additional maintenance services, which Stevens provided. When the request for full-blown construction projects came next, Stevens says a lightbulb went off. “I said, ‘you know, if I get my construction license, I can really position the company to be that one-stop shop for maintenance and construction,’” he says. “So I got my commercial and residential contractor’s license.” He left Circle K in 2014 to focus on Genesis 360 full time and landed construction services projects in Oklahoma and Texas. Stevens saw shopping centers with out-of-state landlords as a niche market, and he pursued opportunities with large national property owners who owned multiple sites. “I did a lot of cold calling and we just kept scaling in that market,” Stevens says. Next came the certifications that would position the company for federal contracts. The first federal contract earned the company a mere $68 but Stevens knew that if he kept performing, larger ones would follow. Indeed, he landed a $3.5 million contract with the Army Corps of Engineers to build a floodwall in Baton Rouge, as well as additional contracts in states including New York, Virginia and Colorado. Earlier this year, the company was awarded a $16 million, fiveyear contract from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to maintain its 300-acre campus

SEIZING HIS OPPORTUNITY After using the military and a stint at Circle K to lift himself out of poverty, Craig Stevens has built Genesis 360 into a fast-growing construction and maintenance force. BY MAGGIE HEYN RICHARDSON

WHAT SHOULD BE THE FUTURE VISION FOR BATON ROUGE?

“How do we attract and keep talent in Louisiana? When I go out of state, it’s easier for me to recruit. My wife graduated as an educator from LSU, and a large portion of her classmates went to Texas and other states to teach. It’s not always about pay, but also quality of life. That’s the biggest challenge from a business perspective, finding and retaining talent.”

enlisted in the Air Force, serving active duty until 1997 followed by a 19-year stint in the Air Force Reserve. Along the way, Stevens earned an undergraduate degree in IT, became an officer and saw the world through international deployments. But it was working the graveyard shift at a Circle K convenience store that set him on a course that would dramatically change his life. Unbeknownst to him, it was the first step in founding Baton Rouge-based Genesis 360, now a multimillion-dollar, full-service maintenance and construction company with a 51-person staff spread across the country. In the mid-1990s, Stevens had sought work as a late-night cashier to make extra money while serving at Barksdale Air Force Base in northwest Louisiana. Grit and determination helped him work his way up to assistant manager. With a young family to support at the time, he transitioned from active duty to Air Force Reserve, and also became a Circle K store manager. A subsequent promotion to district

and military base. In 2020, Genesis 360’s revenue doubled, and in 2021 it increased another 30%. Stevens says he wants to be the “Amazon” of construction and maintenance businesses, providing a range of seamless services to clients nationwide. The company currently provides four disciplines: construction, project management, grounds maintenance, and its newest growth area, IT services related to cybersecurity and managed services. Stevens sees IT as having the potential to bring in high-dollar contracts as well as sustained revenue. While federal contracts are the company’s bread and butter, Stevens says he’s also focused on expanding business in Baton Rouge. The firm has provided services to the Knock Knock Children’s Museum, the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, various banks, LABI and the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, among others. Stevens’ goal is for Genesis 360 to become a billion-dollar company in 10 years, through expansion of both public and private projects. But scaling for the sake of profit alone isn’t what motivates Stevens, who says he hopes to use his platform as a successful business owner to work on social issues including alleviating childhood hunger, addressing human trafficking and lowering the divorce rate, which he sees as fundamental to creating stable families. At the heart of Genesis 360 is a determination to serve customers through excellence and hard work and to inspire others who might have also come from challenging backgrounds to keep going. “I came from a really poor environment,” Stevens says. “No matter where you are in your life, or where you came from, there’s opportunity.”

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Company of the Year (Fewer than 100 employees)

GENESIS 360

COLLIN RICHIE

Craig Stevens, owner and president of Genesis 360, a full-service maintenance and construction company.

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LISTMAKERS

Woman-owned businesses

UPCOMING LISTS:

APRIL

Multiple health care lists

Ranked by local revenue and employees COMPANY ADDRESS PREV. RANK PHONE | WEBSITE

Lipsey's LLC 7277 Exchequer Drive, P.O. Box 83280, Baton Rouge 70809 225-755-1333 | 800-666-1333 | lipseys.com Brian Harris Automotive Group 11955 Airline Highway, Baton Rouge 70817 2257541200 | brianharrisautogroup.com Brown Eagle 7808 Airline Highway, Baton Rouge 70815 225-769-1111 | browneagle.com Franklin Press Inc. dba Franklin Data Empowered Direct Mail 1391 Highland Road, Baton Rouge 70802 225-387-0504 | gofranklingo.com Gainey's Concrete Products LLC 28021 Coker-Vail Road, Holden 70744 225-567-2700 | gaineysconcrete.com Emery Equipment Sales & Rentals Inc. 12181 Airline Highway, Baton Rouge 70817 225-753-0541 | 888-654-3125 | emeryequipment.com Savard Labor & Marine Inc. 1772 Wooddale Blvd., Baton Rouge 70806 225-930-0685 | 844-472-8273 | savardgroup.net Quaternary Resource Investigations LLC 13588 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge 70819 225-292-1400 | 800-889-5378 | qri.com Corporate Interiors of Baton Rouge LLC dba CI Group 7150 Jefferson Hwy, Suite 530, Baton Rouge 70806 225-963-9400 | www.the-cigroup.com Hospice 2012 LLC dba Bridgeway Healthcare & Hospice 13702 Coursey Blvd., Bldg. 5B, Baton Rouge 70817 225-753-1495 | bridgewayhospice.net Arnold & Associates Interiors Inc. 3707 Government St., Baton Rouge 70806 225-343-2702 | arnold-associates.net Baton Rouge Press Inc. 2621 East Perdue Drive, Baton Rouge 70814 225-275-8429 | brpress.com BBR Creative Inc. 804 Main St., Baton Rouge 70802 225-215-0974 | bbrcreative.com Varsity Sports LLC 2055 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 70808 225-383-8913 | varsityrunning.com 3south LLC 3175 Conway Drive, Baton Rouge 70809 225-571-9539 | 3southcompanies.com Civil Design & Construction Inc. P.O. Box 857, Port Allen 70767 225-765-1802 | cdcbr.com Fireside Antiques Inc. 14007 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 70810 225-752-9565 | firesideantiques.com Octagon Media 4626 Sherwood Commons Blvd., Baton Rouge 70816 225-663-6878 | octagonmedia8.com Advanced Imaging Solutions Inc. 9151 Interline Ave., Baton Rouge 70809 225-216-1999 | advancedimagingsolutions.com Brew Agency 16169 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge 70810 225-802-7059 | think-brew.com

WOMAN-OWNED PERCENTAGE/ CERTIFICATION OWNERS

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE

LOCAL REVENUE EMPLOYEES

YEAR EST. LOCALLY MARKET AREA

Laurie Lipsey Aronson Chairwoman and CEO

$836.4 million 140

1953 National

Wholesale distributor of firearms

70%/None Laurie Lipsey Aronson

Richard J. Martorana Platform manager

$208.425 million 200

1984 Louisiana

Automobile sales, parts, service

100%/None Millie Harris

Lela Mae Wilkes Owner/CEO

$18 million 200

1968 Greater Baton Rouge

Integrated site logistics services to manufacturing facilities; third-party warehousing and fulfillment

100%/WBE Lela Mae Wilkes

Ernest Seals President

$13.21 million 85

1922 National

Direct mail and printing

Lisa G. Roache CEO

$13 million 85

1981 Louisiana, Gulf Coast, Texas, Arkansas

Kelly Emery President and owner

$12.5 million 26

1966 Southern Louisiana

Concrete products manufacturing and specialty contractor for sewer treatment systems Full line dealership: Bobcat MX, loaders, tractors, mowers, UVs; Bandit Forestry, JLG, Felling & Belshe trailers

Jill M. Savard CEO

$10 million 400

1998 U.S. and Puerto Rico

Skilled and unskilled labor supply

100%/WBE Jill Savard

Fonda Lindfors New CEO

$9.459 million 24

1986 National

Environmental consulting, geophysical assessments, environmental remediation, emergency response and construction

100%/WBE, DBE Fonda Lindfors New

Melony Breaux Fields Managing partner

$7.5 million 7

2016 National

Furniture for corporate, education, health care and government facilities

51%/None Melony Fields, Drew Marshall

Dana Smith McBride CEO

$7.217 million DNR

2012 Baton Rouge, Plaquemine, and Lafayette

Hospice agency

100%/None Dana Smith-McBride

DeLisa Dorsey Arnold Owner and president

$3.592 million 9

1989 Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida

Patricia C. Prather Owner and president

$3.544 million 25

1984 National

Emily Burke VP of account service

$3.4 million 3

Jenni Peters Owner

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

51%/WBE Julie Crifasi, Estelle Holliday, Thomas Holliday, Craig Chumney and Ernest Seals 51%/WBE, DBE Lisa Roache, Greg Roache, Lee Foster, Larry Powell 100%/None Kelly Emery

100%/None Patricia C. Prather

1997 Statewide

Interior design firm specializing in contract office and institutional furniture, window roller shades, architectural signage Commercial web offset coldest and UV printer with graphics, mailing, inserting bindery and delivery services Multi-channel campaigns; strategic marketing and account support; brand and message development; email marketing

$3.143 million 36

2000 Louisiana

Retail specialty: running, fitness and lifestyle

100%/None Jenni Peters

Charlotte Johnston Partner

$3 million 2

2011 Continental U.S.

First responder, homeland security and emergency response supplies

100%/WBE, DBE Charlotte Johnston

Karla E. Weston President

$2.1 million 20

2005 Louisiana

Civil engineering and land surveying consulting firm

100%/WBE Karla Weston

Laura Roland Co-owner

$1.9 million 12

1982 International

European antique furniture, lighting, mirrors and accessories

100%/None Susan and Laura Roland

Maranda White Principal/owner

$1.661 million 10

2012 Gulf South

Full-service advertising agency and marketing firm

100%/WBE, MBE, DBE Maranda White

Kathryn Smith, Lynne Smith Owners

$1.5 million 18

1998 Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Texas

Document and microfilm scanning services and systems for medical, manufacturing, financial, education

51%/None Kathryn Smith, Lynne Smith

Marie Powell CEO

$1.42 million 14

2010 National

Advertising agency

100%/WBE Marie Powell

DBA-doing business as DNR-did not respond NR-not ranked WBE-woman-owned business enterprise designation available via the Women Business Enterprise Council of the South MBE-minority-owned business enterprise designation available via the La. Minority Supplier Development Council DBE-disadvantaged business enterprise designation from La.'s Unified Certification Program To be featured in Business Report's Listmakers woman-owned businesses list, 50 percent or more of a company's owners must be women, it must have at least one office in the nine-parish Capital Region and respond to requests for information. The Business Report presumes the provided information is accurate. Information about all 61 firms that responded will be available to subscribers on our website. To be considered for next year's list, please contact Alaine Keisling at research@businessreport.com. Published in the March issue.

100%/WBE DeLisa Arnold

100%/WBE Cherie J. Hebert

Researched by Alaine Keisling

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NEWS RESTAURANTS

Where everybody knows its name

The iconic Juban’s has new ownership and while the name—and the Hallelujah Crab—will remain, there will be changes at the restaurant. BY JULIA-CLAIRE EVANS THE FIRST THING people ask Peter Sclafani about the reopening of Juban’s is always, “are you changing the name?” The answer is no; the iconic restaurant that became a staple of the Baton Rouge fine-dining scene about 40 years ago will not change its name, nor a number of other aspects that make the restaurant stand out. “Why would we change the name?” Sclafani asks. “Juban’s is an iconic brand.” But after asking about a potential name change and whether we’re keeping the Hallelujah Crab, “then they tell me, ‘you know, I proposed to my wife at Juban’s,’ or, ‘my parents did this here.’ It’s such an important restaurant. There’s so many memories.” Many parts of the restaurant, however, are changing, leaving Sclafani and the other two members of Making Raving Fans Hospitality Group, Michael Boudreaux and Kiva Guidroz, to figure out how to reimagine the establishment in a way that preserves the old but embraces the new. Making Raving Fans, which assumed operations of Juban’s during summer 2021, is working hard to honor the restaurant’s legacy while at the same time changing things up a bit, Sclafani says. Older clients will still be able to come in and enjoy their menu favorites like the Hallelujah Crab, Redfish Adrian and the gumbo, dishes synonymous with the Juban’s name. “Even if a menu item is dated, it’s still good, Boudreaux says. And at the heart of the restaurant, the Atrium bar will await customers when doors reopen,

currently planned for April. Overall, the group hopes to bring Juban’s into the future while also maintaining the qualities that made the restaurant a Baton Rouge institution. “We don’t want people to say, ‘I loved Juban’s, but it’s so different now,’” Sclafani says. EMBRACING THE NEW Catering to previous customers is important for the group, but so is bringing in new faces. Some restaurants find a model that works for them and continue to do it, Sclafani says, comparing it to a “secret sauce.” Restaurants begin to maintain a certain group of clientele, but as the restaurant ages so does its customers. “Eventually, some of those people don’t go out to restaurants,” Sclafani says. “It changes, and you’ve got to come back and do something to appeal to the younger generation.” There are a few ways the group hopes to accomplish this. The first is to make the restaurant a tad less formal. “We talked about what fine dining looks like today,” Sclafani says. “We don’t want it to be stuffy. It should be fun.” When dealing with the sort of fine dining Juban’s provides, there’s a certain quality element expected, Sclafani says, and diners will still get quality service and food. But he also wants patrons to feel comfortable whether dressed in a sport coat or jeans and a shirt. “You can have fine dining and great service, but it’s fun,” says Hunter Territo, president and creative director of Xdesign, the firm working to redesign the Juban’s space along with DNA Workshop.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: Leading the reimagining of Juban’s are (from right) Jeremy McKnight, general manager, Chris Motto, chef de cuisine, Peter Sclafani and Michael Boudreaux, partners in Making Raving Fans Hospitality Group, and Frederick Terluin, MRFHG corporate chef. Renovations on Juban’s continue but the iconic restaurant is scheduled to reopen in April.

“I don’t think anyone would have used the word fun or rowdy to describe Juban’s before.” The same is true for the menu, Sclafani says, and they’re working on a balance of both fancy and simple items. Not everyone is used to fine dining, he says, and they want to make the menu accessible. He uses dessert as an example, saying one item may have a fancy name but it’ll be a piece of chocolate cake—an elevated version, but the taste will be familiar. Physical changes will account for a large part of what’s new about of the restaurant. When talking to XDesign and DNA Workshop, Sclafani made sure they knew this wasn’t going to just be a fresh coat of paint. It’s not just a renovation of the inside of the restaurant, after all, but a reimagining of the Juban’s concept and each of its rooms, he says. The outdoor dining space in front of Juban’s is tripling in size and connecting to the Hallelujah room inside, where a new bar has been constructed. The Atrium bar is such a big deal, Sclafani says, and they decided to do another in a separate

room. While the Atrium is more light and airy, the Hallelujah will be more “dark and sexy,” he says. The graphic wallpaper and gold light fixtures will remind some diners of SoLou, another of Making Raving Fans’ restaurant concepts. There was another room in the restaurant that was really only used for private parties, Sclafani says, and was pretty basic. But DNA came in and promised to make it the best room in the building. “Now it’s our favorite room,” he says. Another room will be designed like a speakeasy lounge, with a bookcase on the door and bookshelves lining the walls. In addition, a wall was knocked out and a bar was added in the restaurant’s front banquet room. “If you went to Juban’s for a Friday luncheon and someone wants to go to dinner, it won’t feel like you were just there,” Territo says. The banquet space can be self-contained, and it’s a subtle change that will end up being a big change.” It’s important to know the

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COLLIN RICHIE

restaurant’s history to be able to reinvent some things, Boudreaux says. “We had some rooms we felt needed more excitement and we had the opportunity to do that,” he says. “You just have to keep reinventing yourself.” BRIDGING THE GAP In order to have a restaurant space that markets to both the old and the new, the restaurant has to have something for everyone. “There’s still that soul of the Atrium bar, but making everything around that new will bridge the gap,” Territo says. “We want everyone who loved Juban’s as their place to still feel that.” Another important aspect is that each room offers a different experience, something Boudreaux compares to a boutique hotel. It makes the restaurant flexible and universally appealing, he says. Having a chef like Chris Motto, who is a former Hell’s Kitchen contestant and 225 magazine’s Best Chef of 2021, is key to this, Sclafani says. When each room is like its own version of a mini

restaurant, you need someone with the experience, knowledge and temperament to be able to cater to all of them. All three members of Making Raving Fans have extensive restaurant experience: Sclafani with Ruffino’s and Phil’s Oyster Bar; Guidroz with Portobello’s Grill: and Michael Boudreaux at Juban’s. While all have fine-dining experience, this will be the first fine-dining concept for the group. A person new to the Baton Rouge restaurant scene couldn’t reopen Juban’s, Sclafani says. There will be times when Juban’s has nine rooms, nine menus, people eating at the bar and an a la carte happening—and he believes it takes special people to pull that off. “You can’t start there,” he says. “You have to build to it. We’re not scared. We’ve done it. We know the rules and systems that have to be in place.” “We’ve known each other for so long and we like having fun together,” Boudreaux says. “It’s a good group to be with.”

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NEWS

INDUSTRY

Seeking net-zero

Gov. John Bel Edwards wants to put Louisiana on a path to “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions—adding no more to the atmosphere than is taken away— by 2050. The pledge puts the state in line with the international Paris Agreement, the federal government, 25 other states and hundreds of private-sector companies. His goal might be forgotten when Edwards is out of office in two years. But the transition away from heavy reliance on fossil fuels, though fraught with controversy, is starting to happen whether we like it or not. If the trend continues, Louisiana can either be part of the movement, and profit from it, or get left behind. In a state where the oil-and-gas and petrochemical sectors are critically important, but diversifying the economy

is desperately needed, the stakes could hardly be higher. HEAVY LIFTING Paul LaBonne, who manages Mississippi River pipeline operations for Air Liquide, also spoke at GBRIA’s gathering. He says his company is looking to replace internal combustion engines with electric ones and add solar power capability to its sites. “We’re really focused on sustainability,” he says, expressing a sentiment increasingly common in the corporate world. ExxonMobil has lobbied against emissions regulation and been accused by lawmakers, shareholders and the general public of hiding its own research tying oil to global warming. But in January, the energy giant announced its intention to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas

“This is a new frontier. This is a transition that will take decades to move through.” R

DON PIERSON, LED secretary

D AI

WHEN BATON ROUGE celebrity economist Loren Scott gave the keynote address at February’s annual meeting of the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, he not only offered his predictions about where oil and natural gas prices are headed but also treated the crowd to his thoughts on climate change. Scott basically argued against the scientific assertion that industrial activity contributes to global warming, and that taking such misplaced concerns seriously will threaten Louisiana’s economy and our quality of life. “We are going to totally change the way we live in this country,” Scott said. “We’re gonna visit poverty on people like you’ve never seen before because we think there are computers out there that can forecast the weather 30 years in the future.” Set aside for a moment that climate, which deals with longterm atmospheric conditions, and weather, which describes shortterm variations, are different concepts—left unsaid in Scott’s remarks was the fact that much of his GBRIA audience, either directly or through contracts, works for companies that at least claim to take man-made climate change very seriously.

ISTOCK

Gov. John Bel Edwards has Louisiana on a path to “netzero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but industry officials worry change is happening too fast. BY DAVID JACOBS

emissions for its operated assets by 2050. Amazon, Ford and Unilever among others have made similar pledges. However, nonprofit organizations NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch argue in a recent analysis that the climate pledges of 25 of the world’s largest corporations commit only to reducing their emissions by 40% on average, not 100% as suggested by their net-zero and carbon-neutral claims. Environmentalists similarly question Louisiana’s commitment to its stated goals. Meanwhile, industry leaders, including some who participated in the task force that created Louisiana’s climate action plan, worry about moving too fast and heavy-handed regulation. The plan, released at the end of January, rests largely on three pillars: renewable electricity generation, industrial electrification, and industrial fuel switching to lowand no-carbon hydrogen. In Louisiana, industrial greenhouse gas emissions represent 66% of the total, according to the task force’s report, which means the industrial sector would have to do much of the heavy lifting to get the state to net-zero. Though he voted to approve the plan, Louisiana Chemical Association President Greg Bowser says certain provisions could threaten some of the state’s largest employers. For example, he argues that enforcing a net-zero industry standard as the plan proposes rather than relying on a market-based approach would simply push emitters into other states with looser regulations. Under that scenario, Louisiana would lose the jobs and the planet would lose the hoped-for benefits. Bowser says the chemical industry already is a leader in sustainability, cutting emissions by 75% over 30 years while increasing production in the state. “Imposing abrupt and burdensome demands for renewable energy could result in less electricity being available across the state, impacting our everyday lives and ability to meet basic needs,” he says. “Louisiana’s market should determine just how low companies’ emission thresholds should be, not state regulations.”

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DON KADAIR

A NEW FRONTIER ALTERNATIVE VIEW: In October, global industrial Economist Loren Scott gas company Air Products anargues that industry is not nounced plans for a multibillion a significant contributor dollar “clean energy” complex to climate change and in Ascension Parish. The facility also suggests that putting the regulatory clamps on would produce 750 million stanthe oil and gas industry dard cubic feet per day of “blue” with threaten Louisiana’s hydrogen, utilizing traditional economy. hydrocarbons like natural gas as a feedstock, while carbon dioxide generated at the facility will be captured, compressed and sequestered a mile underground at sites east of the plant, the company says. But experts have raised questions about how “green” blue hydrogen really is, pointing to a study out of Cornell University is a transition that will take dethat suggests blue hydrogen procades to move through.” duction might produce more Oil and natural gas are “figreenhouse gas emissions than nite resources” that will be used burning natural gas. Louisiana “for centuries to come” as feedEconomic Development countstocks for plastics and advanced ers with a report by Princeton chemicals that go into everyUniversity’s NetZero America that thing from home furnishings to identifies hydrogen and carbon Pierson says. But capture and sequestration as viaIssue Date: March 2022 Ad proofsmartphones, #2 major automakers like General ble tools forbydecarbonization. • Please respond e-mail or fax with your approval or minor as revisions. • AD WILL RUN IS unless approval or final revisions are received withinand 24 hours Motors Ford put more em“This is aASnew frontier,” LED from receipt of this proof. A shorter timeframe will apply for phasis tight deadlines. on electric vehicles, the Secretary Don Pierson says. “This • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

demand for refined fuels will decline, he says. And thanks to automation, the oil and chemical sectors even in good times don’t employ as many people as before. But the skills developed in Louisiana’s traditional industries can cross over. An offshore wind farm has a lot in common with an oil-drilling platform, for example. “The requisite skill sets exist in

the companies in Louisiana to take a leadership role,” Pierson says. The transition might play a role in shaping the next generation of industry leaders. Polls show millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z (born after 1996) are more concerned about global warming than their parents and grandparents. Can the oil-and-gas and petrochemical industries, which like many others are facing workforce challenges, attract talented young professionals who want to tackle the climate challenge? Cornerstone Chemical Chief Operating Officer Tom Yura, who chairs GBRIA’s board, recalls a recent conversation about wind energy and noted that someone has to build and maintain the wind turbines. “Making [young professionals] part of the solutions will get the next generation of supporters and workers and drivers, as opposed to the next generation of protesters,” Yura says.

Congratulations to Pepper Rutland, LSU CM Alumni Class of 1972, on your lifetime achievement award as Hall of Fame Laureate. Signed: “The Bert S. Turner Department of Construction Management ”

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NEWS

BANKING

Avoiding pandemonium With digital attacks on the rise, local banks are ramping up cybersecurity investments. THOUGH CYBER ATTACKS on businesses and government entities have been making news for years, recent breaches involving banks across the country have focused even greater attention on cybersecurity and forced financial institutions to spend more on safeguards, according to local security companies. Part of this is due to the fact that when a financial institution gets hit, it can affect every level of the industry: the businesses— both large and small—that the banks lend to, personal checking accounts, and even employees. There’s a heightened sense of security across all types of infrastructure, says Jeff Moulton, president and CEO of cybersecurity research and services company Stephenson Technologies Corporation, but a security breach in the finance industry has the ability to cause pandemonium. All banks are vulnerable, though attackers generally focus more on larger ones because they have more assets and information, says Mitchell Bearry, information security analyst at Trace Security. It’s easier for security breaches to get lost in the busy daily activities at larger banks. However, smaller banks have less security and are easier to exploit. All banks have a direct tie to money, Bearry says, and therefore are also vulnerable to identity theft attacks. So, how are banks attacked? Much of it has to do with a social aspect, Moulton says. An attacker can impersonate a bank or credit union’s CEO and tell the chief operating officer to make a payment. If that person doesn’t check that action with a third source, they could unknowingly send millions to the attacker. 56

ISTOCK

BY JULIA-CLAIRE EVANS

Many bank employees’ information can be found online, like emails and phone numbers, and it’s easy to look up job titles, Bearry says. Automated attacks are less likely to have a human operating them at all times, Moulton says, and involve a program that searches for a vulnerability in a bank’s security, latches on to it, waits until someone logs in, and then is able to access an account’s money. All banks are subject to federal regulations and have a set of standards they are required to follow. “When all banks and credit unions follow those same standards you can find that information online and attackers can figure out where the weaknesses are,” Bearry says. “Smaller banks want to do the bare minimum, and the attackers know what’s in place and how to get around it.” And, of course, smaller banks will have less of a budget to spend on security solutions, Bearry says. The smaller ones might not have IT or security at all, or may outsource security measures to a third party who can’t be on-site at all times. But while larger banks have larger budgets, they also have more areas to attack, says Keith Mansfield, executive vice president and chief operations officer at b1BANK. They have more

employees and more systems they’re trying to protect. Now, banks and credit unions— even the smaller community banks—are having to spend more to keep up with the technology from attackers. Trace Security has seen a 12.4% increase since 2015 in what its financial institution customers spend on cybersecurity, says Marissa Adams, marketing manager. That doesn’t include things like hardware and software, she says, but they’re definitely spending more on that as well. The company is seeing more interest from banks in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans. Banks are upgrading firewalls, detection systems and buying new antivirus technology, Bearry says. They’re bringing in companies like Trace to test those controls to make sure they’re better and to make sure the changes were cost effective. Stephenson does much of the same, auditing the financial organizations to make sure their practices are up to par. There’s more investment in everything, Adams says, especially in employee training with the human factor being such a vulnerability. Education is an emphasis at Investar Bank. Educating employees and customers on the latest indicators of fraud and scams is a valuable tool and key deterrent to

the bad guys, says President and CEO John D’Angelo. Banks are also spending more on insurance, Moulton says, including insurance against theft and restoration insurance. Some have recall protocols in place so that whatever money is stolen can be brought back, he says, but it’s not always successful. “Getting whacked is bad but going through a recovery process has a high cost,” he says. The institutions are also trying to ensure they have simple-but-effective procedures in place, Moulton says, like two-factor authentications and RSA tokens, which are small devices that provide a six-digit number that changes every minute. Employees use that number along with a password to log onto devices. Investar makes sure its security is continuously renewed and performs security product comparisons on existing infrastructure to identify if any new releases would improve security, D’Angelo says. He believes cybersecurity will continue to evolve and rely on artificial intelligence, or AI, in the future to help sniff out and block malicious attempts in real time. “This staff augmentation through technology will help to expand a financial institution’s security controls exponentially,” he says, “in comparison to just throwing bodies at the problem.” Mansfield says b1BANK uses

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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third parties to test its systems. “We don’t just rely on internal employees,” he says. “The thirdparty companies prove to us that our controls are good.” The good news is that even though banks have to spend more to keep up with cybersecurity, they can afford it, Moulton says. For community banks, it might cost more, but they can hire a company like Stephenson to come in and do an audit. A lot of smaller banks do that, he says, because they can’t afford the level of security that bigger banks can. New banking laws will go into effect this spring that require all U.S. banking organizations to report “any significant computer security incident” to federal regulators within 36 hours of the incident. What they have to report keeps expanding, Bearry says, which can be good from a security standpoint and for transparency reasons, On the other hand, reporting breaches can damage an institution’s reputation. In Louisiana, banks are beefing up their cybersecurity investments, though it appears there have not been many breaches.

In fact, none has been breached directly that Bearry knows of, though some may have been involved in larger software company hacks, he says. Moulton says the financial sector in Louisiana is great at sharing information, and if someone sees a security threat in one parish it is immediately known in others. In the future, spending on cybersecurity across all infrastructures including banking will only increase. “This isn’t going anywhere and it isn’t new,” Bearry says. “It’s here to stay and everyone needs to be aware. Your weakest link is the human factor, which could allow for everything to be taken down.” Banks also must continually be on their toes when it comes to updating cybersecurity. “You’re always chasing a moving target, to an extent,” b1BANK’s Mansfield says. “You can’t rest on your laurels and end up getting caught.” The minute a vulnerability is detected, you have to rectify it immediately, Mansfield says, because it’s likely someone is already trying to exploit your institution.

Congratulations

Pepper Rutland LIFE TI M E ACHI EVEM ENT AWARD Baton Rouge Business Hall of Fame

“Very few have built the level of loyalty and commitment to excellence that you have achieved at MMR Group. Your drive to excel is evident in everything you do.” Clayton Babcock Babcock Consulting Group, LLC

Congratulations to Genesis 360 and Craig Stevens from all of us at The Cottonport Bank

“This isn’t going anywhere and it isn’t new. It’s here to stay and everyone needs to be aware. Your weakest link is the human factor, which could allow for everything to be taken down.” MITCHELL BEARRY, information security analyst, Trace Security

DON KADAIR

6500 Corporate Blvd (225) 231-6606

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“Next to Exellence is THE APPRECIATION of it.” — WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY

CONGRATULATIONS TO

b1BANK

Honored as the 2022 Baton Rouge Business Award’s Company of the Year with 100 or more employees

Fenimore Kay Harrison is proud to celebrate b1BANK’s commitment to excellence. Their team is an integral part of the Gulf South banking community and very deserving of this honor.

#1 IN USA FOR BANK MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS* (2020, 2021)

#1 LAW FIRM NATIONALLY FOR P&A TRANSACTIONS* Since 2015

FKHPARTNERS.COM

4X RECIPIENT OF THE FIVE* STAR AWARD BY IBAT (2016, 2019, 2020, 2021) *Based on S&P Global Ratings

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VIEWPOINT

MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

Election endorsements for March 26 races

ROLFE MCCOLLISTER JR. THERE WILL BE a special election March 26 to elect a district judge, state representative and member of the Metro Council. There are a number of qualified candidates seeking these offices and I commend each for offering to serve. I had the pleasure of interviewing the three judicial candidates. All are impressive and sincere in their desire to serve. I got questionnaires from all of the other candidates, researched them online and talked to people in our community for feedback. Making a decision can be hard. I look at it as if I was selecting someone for a job and try to determine who is best prepared to step in and do that job and enhance the team. I encourage you to research the candidates and cast an informed vote on March 26 (or early vote beginning on March 12). As part of that process, here are my recommendations: 19TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTS, DIV. E: BRAD MYERS Brad Myers is one of the three attorneys seeking this open spot on the bench with the retirement of Judge Bill Morvant. Morvant

REFLECTIONS

TRANSFORMATION IN 2022 This feature is a tribute in honor of Business Report founders, Rolfe McCollister Sr. & Rolfe McCollister Jr.

leaves big shoes to fill. Who knows if this court will handle a criminal docket or continue with civil cases—so one must be prepared. Myers began working for judges, then served as an assistant U.S. attorney in federal court prosecuting some major criminal cases. He moved over to private practice with Kean Miller, gaining vast experience in civil cases. Myers has practiced for decades in city, state and federal courtrooms and is a seasoned attorney with the utmost integrity. He has the intellect and temperament to step in day one to serve as judge. After a successful legal career, he is interested in giving back to his community as a judge. I commend him on that and believe he would be a great asset to the judiciary and raise the bar. LOUISIANA HOUSE, DISTRICT 101: VANESSA LAFLEUR Vanessa LaFleur is a fresh face in politics. A longtime resident of District 101, she graduated from Baton Rouge Magnet High School, Southern University and Southern Law Center. This attorney’s experience in numerous roles can benefit the Legislature and District 101. Those roles include director of the tax policy services division, former director of the audit protest bureau for the Louisiana Department of Revenue, general counsel for the Louisiana Tax Commission and director of the legal division for the Louisiana Public Service Commission. She also served as a member of the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. LaFleur has been involved in community service, leading on boards and receiving awards for her accomplishments. She wants

to get results for children, young adults and families. LaFleur is qualified, ready and would be a strong addition to the state House of Representatives. METRO COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5: DARRYL HURST Interim District 5 Councilman Darryl Hurst believes he has been called as a servant-leader to help the community he calls home. He is a graduate of Southern Lab and Southern University with a degree in marketing. He began his career at AT&T and became a small business owner by opening his own franchise. Our Metro Council can benefit from more business experience by those who create jobs, balance a budget and make payroll. Because of what sports did for him, Hurst was inspired to create a nonprofit to serve the needs of inner-city young people. Elite Sports has served more than 1,500 youth. Hurst also believes in public-private partnerships to provide opportunities for youth as well as working with faith-based entities. As one who puts “families first,” he believes restoring family values is a core piece of community revitalization. His energy, experience and fresh perspective will be a welcome addition to the Metro Council. (Editor’s note: These endorsements are solely those of the author. Business Report does not make political endorsements.) TFA RECRUITS YOUNG TALENT We are often lamenting the loss of bright, young college grads to other states. But what if we found an organization that would recruit

IT IS ALWAYS good to look at resolutions a few months into a new year to see if long-lasting change is taking place in one’s life. Let’s review the difference between resolutions and transformation. Resolutions happen when a new year rolls around, they usually fissile out, grind with self-discipline and seek to have the power of the outer man change the inside. Transformation however is a desire for change over a lifetime. It is empowered by God’s life inside a person and works its way out into the whole being. Notice in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 the call to freedom from being self-resolute to a transforming power of the

for Baton Rouge and bring in the best and brightest from top colleges across America to live and work here? There is one: Teach for America. Each year the organization recruits 25 or more new graduates to our region to teach. We currently have over 300 TFA corps members or alumni in our area. What an asset. As a 2011 nola.com article said, “one of Teach for America’s overarching goals is not to be just a provider of teachers but of future leaders. The idea is to catch college graduates who might have become naval commanders or Goldman Sachs executives, give them a transformative classroom experience, and send them out to enact the reforms necessary to improve public education.” We have many alums that head major foundations, successful nonprofits and create innovative schools like THRIVE Academy. Our community benefits from their passion, intelligence, creativity, dedication and energy. They are a huge asset in our community—for students, our workforce and future. TFA is a proven winner and we should invest. Call them at 225381-8163 and help bring more of the best and brightest to Baton Rouge. It’s a wise investment with proven returns. CONGRATULATIONS! Once again, we have an inspiring group of honorees and laureates for the 2022 Baton Rouge Business Awards & Hall of Fame. I want to extend my congratulations to each and thank them for all they do for our city and state. Well done.

Spirit within that makes one more into the image of Jesus. It reads, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” The Spirit of God and the glory of God are the power of God. When we behold them, we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory for a lifetime. —Jeff Mitchell, Retired COL and Army Chaplain

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CONGRATULATIONS! Proview Wealth Management would like to congratulate Pepper Rutland founder, president & CEO, MMR Group on a well-deserved honor and achievement!

BRAD SMITH

MANAGING PARTNER 225.757.5936 | proviewwm.com 8675 Bluebonnet Blvd., Ste.B Baton Rouge, LA 70810

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN) Member SIPC. Proview Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. CAR-0222-02704

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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VIEWPOINT

RANDOM THOUGHTS

Extracting knowledge and research

JR BALL CLEARLY WILLIAM F. Tate IV, the semi-new president of LSU, is not from here. We know this because Tate, in the 10 months since arriving at the flagship campus, keeps saying stuff that makes way too much sense. What he’s saying—imploring, really—is for Louisiana to be more like Apple and think different. His assertion is this state’s economic future is inextricably linked to our commitment to knowledge, research and technology. For the remedial among us, knowledge leads to research. Research leads to discovery. Discovery leads to new technologies. New technologies lead to new businesses. All that leads to more knowledge and … well, the circle starts over again but on a higher plane. It’s a circle of economic life song that Tate keeps singing whenever he’s outside those inspiring stucco halls shaded by stately oaks and broad magnolias. And he’s right. Here’s the problem—and it’s a big one: The Tiger king is preaching aspiration in a state that embraces a more “Hakuna Matata” way of life. “Why do today what can be put off until tomorrow,” is our siren song. Life is good if there’s a pickup truck, two shotguns, a sack of crawfish, a winning football team and a profanity-filled Mardi Gras parade. Everything else—except the case of cold ones—is lagniappe. And the only discovery we’re

looking to make is why in the hell did that recruit in the cringe-worthy Brian Kelly dance video sign with Ala-freakin’-bama? Such is life in a banana republic suffering from the natural resource curse. Louisiana’s economy has been rooted in extraction since becoming a state in 1812. Agriculture, timber and seafood were our calling cards until the early 1900s when this state sold its soul to the greatest extraction resource of all—oil and gas. Sucking oil and gas out of the ground and then refining it isn’t the cause of the curse. Those things, and the tremendous wealth it produces, merely facilitate the actual problem—the hubris and corruption of government leaders and an absolute lack of vision. It’s why this state has never given a damn about education. Who needs top-shelf knowledge when there’s plenty to go around living large off Mother Earth? Why cure cancer when there’s billions to be made facilitating it? Diversify the economy? What’s up with that? Laissez les bons temps rouler. Yet while the good times and low taxes were rolling, few bothered to give a damn as shakedowns, bad schools and a disastrous state fiscal policy caused most of the oil and gas companies to flee New Orleans for Houston, taking a big chunk of the revenue produced in this state and most of the high-paying executive jobs with them. It didn’t have to be this way. Louisiana could have been more like Texas, investing money made from its abundant resources on schools, public health and economic diversification. Louisiana clung to state

government centralization. Texas decentralized, giving power to local governments. That’s why Texas is Texas and Louisiana is … well … a state that relies on federal government handouts for survival. If that’s not depressing enough, a changing climate and evolving global views on energy production casts a shadow on the long-term future of oil and gas extraction. Given this reality, it would be wise for all of us to give Tate a listen. LSU’s president is calling for Louisiana to get serious about diversification by taking advantage of its long-ignored academic and research institutions. This isn’t some plea for a boost in general fund spending, but targeted investments in research that leads to economic growth. Tate, during a panel discussion hosted by The Advocate, said higher education research has a $600 billion impact on the national economy. LSU’s annual impact from research is roughly $6 billion. That sounds great but dig a little deeper and it turns out LSU is falling behind most of its SEC brethren in research investments. Tate suggests there are five areas for targeted spending: agriculture and biotechnology, cybersecurity, ocean and coastal science, carbon capture technology and cancer research. It’s an attainable vision. The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is already doing cutting-edge research while attracting some of this country’s brightest medical minds. If leaders were to treat it with the same reverence as a chemical plant, then its economic impact in a world driven by research and

Life is good if there’s a pickup truck, two shotguns, a sack of crawfish, a winning football team and a profanity-filled Mardi Gras parade. Everything else—except the case of cold ones—is lagniappe.

technology could be huge. Not only by what Pennington might achieve, but also by the spinoff facilities it undoubtedly would spawn as well as the companies that would certainly relocate here to commercialize its discoveries more efficiently. Similar possibilities exist, though perhaps not on the same scale in the short term, in cybersecurity where groundbreaking national security work is already taking place at Stephenson Technologies Corporation at the Water Campus. This isn’t about chasing after some fantasy like this state did with Silicon Bayou in the late 1990s. These are entities that are already here and doing work that’s attracting international attention. These are the types of facilities that attract the young, educated workers we’re so desperate to land. Louisiana’s economy is struggling. Wonks can spin the numbers however they want, but there’s no denying reality. The sun is setting on our extraction economy. No doubt, oil and gas—as well as timber and agriculture— will remain critical for decades to come, but if this state doesn’t get into the knowledge and research sectors then we’ll forever remain as one of this nation’s worst state economies. We can’t repeat the GSRI mistake. That was to be our Research Triangle some 50 years ago. The Raleigh-Durham campus even sent scores of its brightest minds here to get the complex up and running. So, what happened? Politicians got involved. They whined about funding. Complained it was concentrated in Baton Rouge. Demanded it be spread across the state. In short, they killed it before it even had a chance. All that remains is an old GSRI street sign, stolen before it could be converted to a renamed Innovation Drive. We screwed up that golden opportunity. Will we do it again?

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Title Attorney Gulf Coast Title, Inc. CORINNE HAS helped countless homebuyers purchase the home of their dreams. She is a Louisiana native and has enjoyed being involved in our community for the past 10 years. Corinne is an affiliate member of the GBRAR, BR Real Producers, Women’s Council of Realtors, and The BR City Club. At Gulf Coast Title, Corinne and her team go above and beyond to ensure everything is in order for the best closing experience possible. Come close with Corinne! Call her at 225-295-8222.

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Corinne Schwartzberg

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CHARLES BLAIZE has a heart for the Baton Rouge community and brings his background in mineral rights and many years’ experience in oil and gas leasing to the title industry. Charles is an affiliate of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, Home Builders Association affiliate and a Preferred Partner of Baton Rouge Real Producers. Charles has built his real estate practice one closing at a time and expects another year of growth. MFB Title Solutions is a title company, backed by a full-service law firm.

CHARLES BLAIZE

MANAGING PARTNER, CLOSING ATTORNEY MFB FIRM, MFB TITLE SOLUTIONS

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The real estate industry is constantly evolving. These professionals will help you navigate the ins and outs of the Real Estate Industry.

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BRETT IS a member of the American Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association, and Baton Rouge Bar Association. He was voted rising star in 2019 by the American Institute of Legal Advocates. He is a member of the City Club and an affiliate of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors. He started with Mayhall Fondren Blaize, MFB Title Solutions in March of 2021. When Brett closes a deal, he provides reliable services and transparent communications throughout the entire closing experience, give him a call!

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BRETT BAJON

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY MFB FIRM, MFB TITLE SOLUTIONS

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RESOURCES in REAL ESTATE

Katherine Coghlan Realtor, GRI, ABR, SRS SFR Burns & Co., Inc. WORKING WITH Burns & Co for 13 years, Katherine has consistently been a top producer in the Baton Rouge area. Her passion for real estate is exemplified by the dedication, service and results she provides to her clients. She’s known for a calming patience that helps build long lasting client relationships combined with a tenacious work ethic. In a complex, changing market, it’s critical to have a realtor like Katherine, who is both knowledgeable and attentive, on your side. (225) 610-6069 katherinecoghlan@burnsandco.com

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Realtor, CRS Latter & Blum ASHLEY IS a consistent Top Producer celebrating her 15th year as a Realtor. She prides herself in her attention to detail to get her clients great Results! Providing excellent service is her top priority. She has experience with all price ranges and types of homes. She excels as a negotiator and marketer and has a passion for helping her clients envision how to make a property meet their dreams. Ashley is also an elected director for the GBR Assn of REALTORS® and serves on the RIsk Management committee. She is a Baton Rouge native, Episcopal and LSU graduate and a second generation Realtor. 225-324-3661

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Ashley LaBorde Vuci

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Realtor Pennant Real Estate I TRULY love what I do and love helping people. It gives me great pleasure to complete a transaction with the highest integrity while delivering exceptional customer service to earn your trust for many years to come. My attention to detail is second to none and my personality allows me to easily connect with clients making the buying/selling process as stress-free as possible. Whether you are a first-time buyer, a seasoned investor, or are selling your property, I have the resources, equipment, knowledge, and experience to assist you with all your real estate needs. Connect with me at 225202-0084 vennenrealestate@gmail.com.

Realtor Latter & Blum JODIE IS a professional real estate consultant. Born and raised in the Baton Rouge area, she has been a Realtor since 2005, received the Rookie of the Year Award in 2006 and has been a Top-Producer since. Determination and attention to detail help Jodie provide first-class service with the utmost integrity. She is committed to putting her clients’ satisfaction above all else. While she is a relocation specialist, she has expertise in new construction as well. 225.769.1500, 7414 Perkins Rd., #200, Baton Rouge, LA 70808. Please contact Jodie at (225) 975-1838.

Sharon Vennen

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Jodie B. Strain

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Broker/CEO Ambassador Mortgage, LLC AS CEO of Ambassador Mortgage, Darlene Reese endeavors to educate homebuyers about all of the options and programs available to them through the homebuying process. Closing deals is important but she finds the most fullfilment in knowing that her clients are well educated and positioned to make informed decisions as it relates to lending. “For me this isn’t a career or a job…its a calling, its ministry…it feels great to help others! She exclaims. Ambassador mortgage is celebrating 10 years of success in 2022! Currently licenced in LA, GA, TX, AL and TN, Contact 225-341-3551

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Darlene H. Reese

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Realtor Latter & Blum Lake Sherwood CAROLYN BELIEVES every buyer and seller is unique and deserves a reliable, ethical, and knowledgeable agent that will work for their best interest. Buyers and sellers need all the resources available to eliminate as much anxiety as possible and maximize the time and effort in making this major commitment whether moving across the street or across the United States. Latter & Blum is #19 in sales volume for 2021 in the United States. CSpicer@LatterBlum.com.

Carolyn Spicer

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Joy Russell

Realtor Consultant Keller Williams Realty First Choice JOY RUSSELL has been the #1 Individual Realtor for her market center for the past 7 years. She has been recognized for highest Gross Closed Income, Sales Volume, and most units closed. Licensed for over 17 years, Joy is currently in the top 1/2 of 1% of all Realtors in the USA. Joy also represented Baton Rouge on HGTV’s “House Hunters” twice. Joy has a passion for helping individuals realize their dreams and will work hard on their behalf no matter what. When it Comes to Real Estate...”Bring Joy to Your World!” Connect with Joy at 225-603-3559.

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RESOURCES IN REAL ESTATE

Brett A. Sanchez

Associate – Multifamily Sales Elifin Realty BRETT SANCHEZ is an up and coming commercial real estate agent with Elifin Realty. Brett specializes in sales of multifamily properties in Orleans Parish. Beginning in June 2021, Brett has trained directly under Mathew Laborde and Mark Segalla. He has since acquired an abundance of knowledge about multifamily properties. Upon graduating from LSU in December 2021, Brett became a full time agent with Elifin, and has demonstrated his value quickly. He believes his warm personality and his determination will carry him far in this field.

Clonise Stewart Realtor Keller Williams Red Stick Partners MAKING BOSS MOVES is what she does! An expert at helping buyers and sellers with smooth, quick closing transactions, Clonise leads the local real estate industry as a multi-million producer ranking in the top 1% of the GBR Association of Realtors, and as a Keller Williams Red Stick Partners top agent. She’s a proud Certified Residential Specialist serving clients with honesty and integrity. She goes above and beyond for clients, puts her heart into everything she does, and lives up to her slogan for the past 22 years, “Everything I Touch Turns To SOLD!!!” clonisestewart@kw.com 225-776-3166.

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

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Owner/Broker Regency Real Estate, L.L.C. LOCALLY OWNED and operated, Regency Real Estate, L.L.C. serves the Baton Rouge and surrounding areas with pride. Highly proficient in both commercial and residential real estate, Regency is synonymous with efficiency and professionalism. We offer extensive experience and expertise of current market trends and dynamics. We work hard for our clients’ interests by providing the highest level of ethical representation. Please contact us for all of your real estate needs at (225) 761-5164, Cheri@regencyrealestatellc.com.

Cheri Smith-Harrison

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Issue Date: MARCH 2022 Ad proof #1

REALTOR RE/MAX Professional MARCY IS a Baton Rouge native, a SJA & LSU grad with a passion for helping people. Besides being involved with numerous community organizations, she has built a strong following of loyal repeat clientele. Her attention to detail, market knowledge, professionalism and a sincere love for those she works for is what makes her stand out to her clients. Always doing what is best for them, her record speaks for itself! Give her a call today! 225.439.4139 Marcy.Maurer@remax.net

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Marcy Maurer

Issue Date: March 2022 Ad proof #1

Broker Associate Re/Max Professional DONNA BRINGS over 20 years of experience to every real estate transaction; whether working with a first time homebuyer or experienced client. She enjoys every aspect of the business and handles each client as if they were her only one, spending as much time as each one needs, guiding them through the process. In her spare time, she enjoys spending it with her three perfect grandchildren, traveling with her husband and meeting new interesting people. 225-281-8428 or donnawolff@ cox.net

Donna W. Wolff

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Issue Date: MARCH 2022 Ad proof #1

Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS

Ryn Jones

Real Estate Agent RE/MAX Professional RYN’S BACKGROUND as a business owner and in TV & pharmaceutical sales provides skills/experiences benefitting her clients. She has received the RE/MAX Louisiana Platinum Club Award for the past 3 years, was named in the RE/MAX Hall of Fame & received the 2019 GBRAR Most Cooperative REALTOR award. Each opportunity is a blessing & partnership. She goes the extra mile to help clients accomplish their goals....there is often pine straw or staging items in her car! Ryn is auto corrected to “Run” & that’s pretty accurate! (225) 936-4906 Ryn.R.Jones@gmail.com

Issue Date: March 2021 Ad proof #2

Realtor Re/Max Professional SINCE BUYING or selling a home is a major life decision, it’s important to me to help someone find a home that is truly the right fit. Using my expertise of the local market since 1997, I strive to give my clients the best possible experience from start to finish. The Greater Baton Rouge area is still experiencing growth and sales continue to climb. It’s an exciting time in real estate and I consider myself fortunate to be able to practice a profession that makes such a difference in my clients’ lives. Connect with Patricia at Podom@remax.net.

Patricia Odom

Issue Date: March 2022 Ad proof #2

Realtor Re/Max Professional HAPPI HOFFER has been helping Buyers and Sellers in the Greater Baton Rouge Area for over 16 years. She serves each of her clients in the utmost professional and personable manner. As a wife, mother of three daughters and successful businesswoman, Happi brings both her expertise and understanding to the table. With valuable market knowledge, clear communication, and sharp negotiation skills, she strives to attain only the best for her clients. Call Happi today! 225.921.0094 happihoffer@ remax.net

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Happi Hoffer

Issue Date: March 202 Ad proof #1

Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS

Issue Date: March 2021 Ad proof #2

Issue Date: March 2022 Ad proof #2

RESOURCES IN REAL ESTATE

Joanie Montelaro Realtor, PSA Re/Max Professional EARNING THE GBRAR Kyle M. Jackson Rising Star of the Year Award, a top 6% ranking among BR area realtors, and Business Report’s Influential Women in Business Award, Joanie leverages 25+ years of banking experience to go above and beyond in serving clients. Keen negotiation and communication skills and extensive market knowledge ensure a positive experience. A Baton Rouge native, she specializes in many areas of real estate, handling first time homebuyers, newcomers to the community and luxury properties. Contact joaniemontelaro@gmail.com or (225) 588-5925.

Robyn Holifield Eunice REALTOR SUPREME-REALTORS PUTTING MY clients first means being accessible, a good listener, and an effective communicator. My approach requires me to continually improve my skills and business methods. As a professional, I employ integrity, indepth community and a plethora of market knowledge. My professional network partnered with my negotiating skills are an asset! I am honored to serve on both the GBRAR and Louisiana Realtors Board to assist in maintaining high standards in my profession. Please contact Robyn at Robyn@SupremeRealtors.com, C: 225-413-5381, or O: 225-267-7447.

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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YOUR BUSINESS

COMPANY NEWS

COMPANY NEWS Guy Faulstich, owner of Bumble Lane Beauty Bar in Perkins Rowe, is partnering with local business professsionals Joanne Flower and Raymond Charrier to bring a high-end liquidation merchandise store to Ascension Parish. End of the Lane Prairieville will sell liquidation items from national retailers. Items will include home goods/ decor, party supplies, clothing, bath and body products. The store, 17540 Airline Highway, Suite H, in Prairieville, will be open only on Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Guarantee Restoration Services has joined CORE Group, North America’s fastest-growing contractor network. Membership offers property restoration contractors that have met CORE’s rigorous credentialing standards the ability to be a part of a premier service offering and to align themselves with an organization that believes in operating with the highest standards of craftsmanship, quality, and integrity. Since 1974, Guarantee Restoration Services has provided property damage restoration and reconstruction services for homes and businesses after a natural disaster or other property damage. Maverick Coaching Solutions has partnered with Genos International to offer organizations emotional intelligence assessments and development programs. Genos International partners help professionals apply core emotional intelligence skills that enhance their self-awareness, empathy, leadership and resilience. Organizations around the globe use Genos International assessment programs to improve leadership development, employee engagement, sales performance, customer service and more. AWARDS HONORS Craig Colten, professor emeritus of geography at LSU, has received the 2022 American Association of Geographers Gilbert White Distinguished Public Service Honors award. Colten, a senior adviser at The Water Institute, was honored for

his contributions as a government employee during his early career and as an academic. For example, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as the public sought to understand the shocking devastation of one of America’s iconic cities, he spoke through media appearances and newspaper essays on the importance of historical geography in understanding people and places.

shareholders. Regions was specifically recognized in the 2022 JUST 100 list for its treatment of customers, particularly in relation to transparency of customer communications and the bank’s array of financial products and services. Regions also got high marks for community development and support, governance, and accountability to stakeholders. In addition, it tied for first place—

Beth Courtney will be honored by Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting as a 2022 Louisiana Legends inductee. Courtney retired as president and CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting in January 2022 after 45 years of distinguished leadership in public media. She joins six others previously announced as 2022 Louisiana Legends: Arthur Favre, Saundra Yancy McGuire, Stephen McGuire, Paul Mainieri, Valsin Marmillion and Thomas Whitehead.

not just in the banking industry, but overall—in ethical leadership.

Regions Bank has been named one of America’s Most JUST Companies by JUST Capital and media partner CNBC. This makes the second year in row Regions has been recognized by JUST for its commitment to serving associates, customers, communities, the environment and Regions Bank

Robert Rieger Jr. is being recognized by the Women’s Public Leadership Network as the 2022 recipient of the WPLN Daniel Anthony Award. The award is named for Susan B. Anthony’s father, who was an ardent supporter of her efforts, and is meant to celebrate a man who has given critical support to a female public leader or leaders. Rieger is a partner at the law firm Adams and Reese in Baton Rouge. St. James Place has been honored by the American College of Health Care Administrators with the 2022 Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award. The award is a recognition of distinction, using data-driven criteria to objectively identify high-performing skilled

nursing facilities and the leaders who help them excel. Only 3% of facilities nationwide qualify. The leadership award will be presented March 22 in New Orleans during the annual ACHCA convocation and exposition. Two LSU faculty members have been elected to the newest class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows. Zakiya Wilson-Kennedy and Samuel Bentley are among those to receive this distinct honor within the scientific community this year. WilsonKennedy is an associate professor of research in chemistry education and the assistant dean for diversity and inclusion within the LSU College of Science. Bentley serves as vice president of the LSU Office of Research & Economic Development and is the Billy and Ann Harrison chair in sedimentary geology. APPOINTMENTS MEMBERSHIPS The 2022 Leadership Baton Rouge class comprises the following members: Kelsey Amato, Performance Contractors Inc.; Bukky Awoyemi, BASF Corporation; Steven Ceulemans, Baton Rouge Health District; Christopher Csonka, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; Patrick Derbes, CMA Technology Solutions; Jannean Dixon, Cornerstone Educational Consulting; Dianne Nodier Eysink, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana; Erin Fulbright, Sickle Cell Association of South Louisiana; Tyler Gamble, Community Coffee Company; George Gillam, The Steadfast Foundation; Erin Harnsongkram, Baton Rouge General Foundation; Kendra Hendricks, Capital Region Planning Commission; Landon Hester, Center for Planning Excellence; RaHarold Lawson, BREC; Connor LeBlanc, General Informatics; Tyler Litt, New Schools for Baton Rouge; Meagan Molter Loupe, Office of Congressman Garrett Graves; Michelle Mahaffey LeJeune, Baton Rouge Area Chamber; Justin Marocco, Jones Walker; Molly Mayeux, Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School; Weslee Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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YOUR BUSINESS

COMPANY NEWS

Meador, Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation; Chelsea Morgan, American Heart Association; Tré Nelson, Ochsner Health; Bryan O’Conner, LEMOINE; Melissa O’Banion, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center; Jessica O’Connor, LSU Foundation; Jonathan Percle, Emergent Method; Ryan Sinitiere, Feigley Communications; Brandon Smith, Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance; Erin Smith, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana; Tinicia Turner, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University; Shea Vela-Vick, LSU; Grace Weber, Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services; Laura Wilkinson, Woman’s Hospital; Retired Sgt. 1st Class Larry Williams, Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs; Dwana Williams, Capital Area Transit System; and Lt. Kimberly Williams, East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Cambre

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Graham

Majors

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Krieg 66

Nine area physicians are serving on the North Oaks Medical Center Medical Executive Committee for 2022. These officers were selected by their peers to serve as liaisons between the North Oaks Medical staff and North Oaks Health System board of commissioners. Emergency medicine physician Dr. Brandon Cambre, who was chief of staffelect in 2021, will serve as chief of staff. Pulmonologist Dr. Justin Fowlkes, who was last year’s department of medicine chair, is serving as chief of staff-elect. Members-at-large are urologist Dr. Stephen Graham and endocrinologist Dr. Corey Majors. Family medicine physician Dr. Scott Picou is family practice chair. Hospitalist Dr. Rainier Batiste is medicine department chair. Obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Kimberly Guillory is obstetrics and gynecology and pediatrics chair. Trauma surgeon Dr. Michael Fahr is surgery department chair. Emergency medicine physician Dr. John Krieg has been reappointed as emergency department chair after fulfilling the role last year and that of vice chair in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Ronnie Johnson of McGlinchey Stafford has been named to the board of directors of State Law Resources. SLR is an international network of independent law firms. Board members are chosen based on their years of experience in government relations and administrative and regulatory law. Only one firm from each state or jurisdiction may be a member, and McGlinchey will serve as the member firm for Louisiana. Baton Rouge Water Company Chair and CEO Patrick Kerr has been selected as the next president-elect of the Kerr American Water Works Association board of directors. His term as president-elect will begin in June of this year at the conclusion of AWWA’s annual conference and exposition. His term as president begins in June 2023.

Camille Manning-Broome, president and CEO of the Center for Planning Excellence, has been appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards to the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission. The commission oversees and is responsible for maintaining the longevity, stability and quality of the water in the region. Manning-Broome was nominated to serve on the CAGWCC by the Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Company and brings with her expertise in environmental science and management, city planning and government policy. Kayla Broome McKenzie was elected president of SDA Baton Rouge during its 2021 virtual annual meeting. McKenzie She is office manager at RHH Architects. She studied computer-aided design engineering at Jones College in Ellisville, Mississippi. Her fellow officers are Elizabeth CarterThibodeaux, Frost-Barber Inc., vice president; Tonya Busch, Gasaway Gasaway Bankston Architects, Hammond, secretary; Katharine Simon, Crump Wilson Architects, treasurer; Elizabeth Harris, Tipton Associates, past president; and Robin Rayburn, Cockfield Jackson Architects, director-at-large. Jenee Olivier has joined the board of Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area. Olivier brings a wealth of human reOlivier source experience to the agency. She has provided HR management for such companies as Target and Community Coffee and has been human resources director/safety coordinator for Sigma Engineering & Contractors since 2008. Three area physicians are serving on the North Oaks Rehabilitation Hospital Medical Executive Committee for 2022. These officers were appointed by their peers and will serve as liaisons between the medical staff and the North Oaks

Rehabilitation Hospital board of managers.

Pathak

Valdes

Zacharia

Serving as chief of staff is physiatrist Dr. Rishi Pathak. Members-at-large include family medicine physician Dr. H.A. “Rowdy” Valdes and internal medicine physician Dr. Susan Zacharia. Executive committee members elected to Visit Baton Rouge’s board of directors include Claude Reynaud, chair, representing Preserve Louisiana; Mary Stein, vice chair, representing the Metropolitan Council; Gary Jupiter, secretary/treasurer, representing the Baton Rouge Lodging Association; and Scott Michelet, immediate past chairman, representing the Baton Rouge Lodging Association. The board also voted in favor of hiring Young Strategies Inc. and Rudloff Solutions Inc. to handle the search process for Visit Baton Rouge’s new president and CEO. Paul Arrigo, current president and CEO, announced he will retire later this year. Mickey Robertson will serve as board president for the Growth Coalition in 2022. Robertson is president of MR Robertson Engineering & Surveying, which he has owned since 2009. He comes to the board as a dually licensed civil engineer and land surveyor. Additional executive committee members are Larry Bankston, executive director; Rusty Golden, vice president; David Guillory, treasurer; and Justin Langlois, secretary.

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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CONGRATULATIONS, JUDI

JUDI TERZOTIS, PUBLISHER – THE BUSINESS REPORT’S BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR –

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JPMorgan Chase is proud to congratulate James "Pepper" Rutland of MMR Group, Inc. on being inducted into the Baton Rouge Business Awards & Hall of Fame. We applaud all of this year’s honorees!

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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YOUR BUSINESS

CHARLES LAWSON Postlethwaite & Netterville

MOVING UP

TIM MCCARTHY Postlethwaite & Netterville

LISA PHILLIPS Regions Bank

ACCOUNTING Charles Lawson has joined Postlethwaite & Netterville in the firm’s newly created director of governmental consulting services role. Lawson brings exceptional management and leadership skills from a distinguished career as a senior executive in the federal government and private sector. He is an Excellence in Government fellow and a 2020 recipient of Profiles in Diversity Journal’s inaugural Black Leaders Worth Watching Award. Tim McCarthy has joined Postlethwaite & Netterville in the newly created role of tax operations director. McCarthy brings more than 30 years of experience in numerous industries including executive roles in accounting and human resources. McCarthy will provide both practice and

TRACY BENNETT Emergent Method

COREY WARD Emergent Method

administrative leadership to P&N’s tax department and support the service line’s culture of quality, innovation, and excellence. BANKING & FINANCE Lisa Phillips of Regions Bank has been elevated to consumer banking executive for the company’s realigned ArkansasLouisiana territory. Phillips and her teams will lead approximately 145 branches in the two states as well as locations in Springfield, Missouri, and Texarkana, Texas. Phillips, a 25-year financial services veteran, is relocating to Little Rock from the Tampa Bay area of Florida, where she served as a consumer banking manager with Regions for the last 15 years. She is a five-time Regions Chairman’s Club Award recipient, an honor recognizing top bank performers.

LUISA CANTILLO Emergent Method

MEAGAN COLLMAN Emergent Method

KAYLEE JONES Emergent Method

CORRIE HALE Emergent Method

DOREEN BRASSEAUX Sequitur Consulting

COMMUNICATIONS as principal consultant afSeveral staff members were ter serving as president and promoted by Emergent Method, CEO of the American Council including Tracy Bennett to manof Engineering Companies of aging director. Bennett is a highly Louisiana. Brasseaux provides skilled project management prostrategic planning, policy developfessional with more than a decade ment, governmental relations, and of experience leading large-scale stakeholder engagement services programs and projects for clients. for private and public clients. She Bennett not only leads Emergent served 30 years in various state Method’s North Carolina opergovernment leadership positions, ations, but she plays an integral retiring in 2017 from LSU as assisrole in managing and growing tant vice president for university the firm’s disaster recovery and relations. grants management service offerFranklin Associates has restrucings. Additionally, Corey Ward has tured two practices within the been promoted to manager, Luisa organization—advisory services Cantillo, Meagan Collman and and disaster recovery—leading to Kaylee Jones have been promoted several promotions. Johnathan to senior consultant, and Corrie Hill was promoted to advisory serHale has been named a senior Issue Date: March 2022 Ad proofvices #3 practice lead, James Taylor associate. was promoted to senior project • Please respond by e-mail or fax with your approval or minor revisions. Doreen hasor final revisions are received • AD WILL RUN Brasseaux AS IS unless approval within 24 hours manager, Andrew Santee was profrom receipt of this proof. A shorter timeframe will apply for tight deadlines. joined Sequitur Consulting moted to project manager, and • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees. Carefully check this ad for: CORRECT ADDRESS • CORRECT PHONE NUMBER • ANY TYPOS This ad design © Louisiana Business, Inc. 2022. All rights reserved. Phone 225-928-1700 • Fax 225-926-1329

"We Salute Our Leader for his Vision and Direction"

louisiana the right ingredients for complex cases in

Since 1969, Keogh Cox has proudly served businesses, insurers, government agencies and individuals in the Baton Rouge community and beyond.

We are proud to announce that Gerry Lane, Founder of Gerry Lane Enterprises, has been named a Baton Rouge Business Report 2022 Hall of Fame Laureate. Thank you Baton Rouge for your support! Keogh, Cox & Wilson, Ltd.

•

701 Main Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802

•

225.383.3796

keoghcox.com Andrew Blanchfield, Managing Partner | LSBA Filing #: LA-22-12794

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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YOUR BUSINESS

JOHNATHAN HILL Franklin Associates

MOVING UP

JAMES TAYLOR Franklin Associates

ANDREW SANTEE Franklin Associates

Tran Doan was promoted to project coordinator. EDUCATION Kenneth Campbell, a local education leader with decades of experience creating education opportunities for all children, has been named the next CEO of New Schools for Baton Rouge. Campbell most recently served as executive director for IDEA Public Schools Southern Louisiana. Prior to his work at IDEA Public Schools, Campbell was president of Black Alliance for Educational Options and worked as director of charter schools for the Louisiana Department of Education. Kimberly Lewis, who most recently served as secretary of revenue in the Louisiana Department of Revenue, will serve as executive vice president and chief

TRAN DOAN Franklin Associates

KENNETH CAMPBELL New Schools for Baton Rouge

administrative officer for LSU. Lewis will focus on executive-level planning, implementation and assessment of financial and administrative strategies, as well as policies and procedures. She will work closely with senior leadership across all of LSU’s campuses, serving as chief adviser to the president and the LSU Board of Supervisors on all fiscal and administrative matters. HEALTH CARE Woman’s Hospital recently welcomed four new directors to its leadership team. Bryan Baucom has joined the team as executive director of IS care delivery. Having previously served as the program, implementation and data director at Convergence Group, Baucom has more than a decade of experience in IS

BRYAN BAUCOM Woman’s Hospital

JENNIFER LEVY Woman’s Hospital

ALICIA PLUMER Woman’s Hospital

leadership. Jennifer Levy returns to Woman’s as executive director of physician practice management. Levy served as a nurse manager at Woman’s from 2017 to 2020 before moving to Open Health Care Clinic as director of nursing. Alicia Plumer has been promoted to clinical director of perioperative services. Plumer has 18 years of nursing experience with a background in critical care and perioperative service. Tonya Songy has been promoted to director of tumor registry. She has served as manager of health information management and cancer registry at Woman’s for the past 17 years. Andrew Durdin has been named director of physician practice management at Lane Regional Medical Center. He will oversee the day-to-day functions of Lane Dermatology, Lane Family

TONYA SONGY Woman’s Hospital

ANDREW DURDIN Lane Regional Medical Center

Practice, Lane Gastroenterology, Lane OB/GYN, Lane Pediatrics, Lane Surgery Group and FastLane After-Hours Urgent Care Clinic. Durdin was most recently administrator for Anesthesiology Group Associates in Baton Rouge. Two experienced professionals are joining the leadership team of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Angela Hammett has been named director of navigation and support services. Mandy Shipp will serve as director of clinical research. Both administrators will oversee teams working on behalf of all eight centers across southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. HOSPITALITY Veteran franchise development executive Richard Leveille will lead franchise sales and

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BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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ANGELA HAMMETT Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

MANDY SHIPP Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

RICHARD LEVEILLE Small Sliders

real estate efforts for the franchise Small Sliders. The cheeseburger slider drive-thru concept backed by Walk-On’s founder Brandon Landry and former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees opened its second location in Baton Rouge in December. Leveille most recently served as chief development officer of Twist Brands, where he was instrumental in ensuring the brand’s success through the COVID-19 pandemic.

GREG BAUER Great River Industries

BRAD BOUDREAUX Phelps

construction and maintenance for the past three and a half years.

LAW Partner Brad Boudreaux is joining Phelps’ team of experienced construction lawyers to help clients manage conflicts quickly and economically. Boudreaux adds to the firm’s ability to help companies keep projects moving while managing evolving supply chain, workforce and sustainability issues. He will work out of the firm’s ENGINEERING & Baton Rouge office. CONSTRUCTION Phelps has named five new eqGreg Bauer has been prouity partners to the firm, including moted to president of Great River Madison DeWitt of Baton Rouge. Industries, one of the leading DeWitt advises public and prifull-service industrial contractors vate companies on commercial inIssue the Gulf Coast region. Bauer has contracts, financing, franchising, Date: March 2022 Ad proof #2 worked in the construction • Please respond by e-mail or fax with yourindusapproval or minormergers revisions. and acquisitions, and exit • AD WILL RUN ASthan IS unless final revisions within 24Clients hours try for more 18approval yearsorand has are received strategies. value her candid from receipt of this proof. A shorter timeframe will apply for tight deadlines. served as GRI’s vice president of and practical advice. • Additional revisions must be requested and may be subject to production fees.

MADISON DEWITT Phelps

JANE DUNN Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana

GWEN PALAGI Baton Rouge Gallery

NONPROFITS Jane Dunn has joined the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana as the nonprofit policy research organization’s new development director. Dunn has nearly 20 years of fundraising experience in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. She has held development roles at Catholic High School, Baton Rouge General Foundation, Paul M. Hebert LSU Law Center and Lighthouse Louisiana. Dunn has expertise in management, budgeting and grant writing. Gwen Palagi has joined the team at Baton Rouge Gallery as its new development director. From rescuing birds of prey in Montana to managing a community radio station on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, Palagi has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience. Prior to joining BRG, she was

TREASURE WHITE Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area

HARRIETT POOLER Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area

membership manager at WRKF, Baton Rouge Public Radio. Two new staff members, Treasure White and Harriett Pooler, have joined Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area. White will serve as director of respite, overseeing Charlie’s Place Activity and Respite Center locations in Baton Rouge and Gonzales. She is a provisional licensed professional counselor with a passion to serve individuals with memory impairments and their loved ones. She has 14-plus years of experience in geriatric therapy and care in home-based programs and residential long-term care facilities. Pooler joins the staff as development officer, responsible for coordinating the annual Walk to Remember and the volunteer program, among other duties. She is a professional fundraiser with 20 years of experience.

BREN Louisia Dev

“The difference between men is in energy, in the strong will, in the settled purpose and in the invincible determination.”

—Vince Lombardi

Congratulations Pepper on this welldeserved recognition of your legacy of invincible determination, hard work, leadership, and success. DAVID S. GUNN AND TAMI T. YORK

Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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Issue Date: March 2022 Ad proof #2

YOUR BUSINESS

FLASHBACK

THE YEAR: 2001 In this 2001 cover story, Business Report dives into community revitalization efforts and the nine community development corporations, or CDCs, operating in East Baton Rouge Parish as of late 2001, nearly all of which were located in north Baton Rouge. CDCs such as Zion City, Scotlandville, Melrose East and Old South Baton Rouge worked to increase home ownership within their neighborhood boundaries, which was expected to then attract commercial businesses. The article points to legal and financial inequities as well as the city’s poor race relations as the largest hurdles blocking neighborhood revitalization in Baton Rouge.

Maddox & Associates congratulates

PEPPER RUTLAND on being a 2022 Baton Rouge Business Hall of Fame Laureate!

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“WHILE NEIGHBORHOOD revitalization has made inroads in Baton Rouge, [Perry Franklin, Mid City Redevelopment Alliance executive director,] said the question now is how to take it to the next level. Franklin compared the struggle to revitalize Baton Rouge’s inner city to ‘turning a ship around,’ and said it won’t happen without strong public support. He admonished the city to let go of ‘old myths’ about urban neighborhoods. The practice of dividing neighborhoods along economic, racial and ethnic lines should end, Franklin said. ‘What we’re trying to do is reverse 40 years of deterioration, not only in structures but also in people’s minds. It’s much deeper than just building a house.’” —From the November 6, 2001, issue of Business Report

+ ALSO FROM THAT ISSUE ...

COMING SOON APRIL 2022 Trends in Healthcare List: Hospitals, Specialty Hospitals, After Hours Clinics, Outpatient PT, Physicians Groups Special Advertising Section: What’s New in Healthcare

BACK TO SCHOOL: Roemer Development sets plans in motion for an LSU-linked retirement community. GROWING PAINS: An Entergy proposal to place new turbines at old plants could hurt independent competition. ISTOCK

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING IN THESE ISSUES, CONTACT Kelly Lewis at 421-8154 | klewis@businessreport.com Daily-Report.com | BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022

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PASSION

SPORTS WITH HIS CHILDREN

David DiVincenti OWNER, DIVINCENTI BROKERAGE

“My son’s been playing tackle football since third grade, while my second oldest, my daughter, cheers. I have a 5-year-old and a set of twins that are 4, who all do dance together. My dad was a kicker and punter, so it’s interesting watching my son follow in those footsteps.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLLIN RICHIE

BUSINESS REPORT, March 2022 | BusinessReport.com

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