NEW ORLEANS – Producers of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, scheduled for March 23-27 at various sites, announced its lineup of headline speakers. The list includes:
- Stuart Haselden – Co-CEO, Away
- Walter Robb – Former Co-CEO, Whole Foods
- Jon Najarian – Co-Founder, Najarian Family Office; contributor to CNBC’s “Fast Money”
- Desiree Rogers – CEO, Black Opal Beauty
- Verne Harnish – Founder, Entrepreneurs’ Organization
- Mathew Knowles – CEO, Music World Entertainment
- Cindy Eckert – Founder, The Pink Ceiling/Pinkubator
- Irwin Simon – Chairman & CEO, Aphria
- Sidney Torres – Founder, IV Capital
Now in its 12th year, NOEW is co-produced by the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and the Idea Village.
Tulane’s Rob Lalka said this year’s gathering comes at a time when New Orleans-based entrepreneurs are experiencing unprecedented success.
“Companies here are growing, raising capital and hiring more people,” said Lalka. “In the decade after Katrina, you could count on one hand the number who raised tens of millions of dollars. In the last 12 months, we’ve seen those results from construction payment company Levelset; nanotechnology startup Advano; and Ready Responders, a new venture that provides urgent care on demand.”
Lalka said the goal now is to show the city’s entrepreneurs what even greater success looks like.
“We are trying to show what people have achieved on a national and global scale,” he said. “The speakers we’re bringing are ones who have achieved greatness. These are serial entrepreneurs who have started many companies, raised a bunch of venture capital and brought many companies public. We’re bringing in a woman [Cindy Eckert] who sold her company — essentially the female Viagra — for a billion dollars.”
The event begins with three days of community-organized, citywide events. The NOEW Summit will follow at the Ace Hotel in downtown New Orleans.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. returns for its third year as a presenting sponsor of NOEW. NOEW events are free and open to the public. To learn about NOEW’s 2020 schedule, visit www.NOEW.org.
