It’s a challenge to look back at an entire year of business in Southeast Louisiana and come up with a small group of standouts given the fact that, once again, this has been a year where almost all industries have seen tremendous growth. There are some, however, that have emerged as clear leaders in their fields. For our fourth-annual class of Biz New Orleans Business People of the Year, 13 is indeed a lucky number, but it’s much more than luck that has brought them this far.
Within these pages we celebrate leaders that are safeguarding and growing our cherished institutions, like the 166-year-old New Orleans City Park and the annual Sugar Bowl — first played in 1935. We also honor home-grown companies that continue to reach beyond our borders and into the national scene, grabbing honors like “Top Architectural Firm in the Country” and “First New Orleans Tech Company to hit the $100 Million mark.”
While the region as a whole continues to prosper, that prosperity has been a lot slower to reach some in our community. Thankfully, there are some that have made it their mission to help spread the wealth and opportunity to all, and we are proud that almost half our class this year are devoted to just that — expanding support for female entrepreneurs, continuing to strengthen the only historically black and Catholic university in the country, and reaching into neighborhoods like New Orleans East to bring new opportunity and growth.
Finally, we honor the clear man of the hour, the person responsible for delivering the region the airport it deserves. One can’t help but feel proud to have such a welcome mat greeting visitors to our fine city and welcoming us all back home again.
Here’s to this year’s “Transformative Thirteen,” and to a very prosperous and exciting 2020
