NEW ORLEANS — Last week, Gov. Jeff Landry announced that he has selected Susan Bonnett Bourgeois to lead Louisiana Economic Development, the state agency dedicated to creating new workforce opportunities. She replaces Don Pierson.
“Susan is exactly what this department needs to move Louisiana’s economy forward and put us on the playing field with our southern neighbors,” said Landry in a press release. “I look forward to the great work she will do for our state.”
Bourgeois recently completed a one-year term as board chair of GNO Inc., a New Orleans-based nonprofit economic development organization. Prior to that, she was the president and CEO of the Northshore Community Foundation in Covington. She held that role for 16 years.
Bourgeois is president of SBB Consulting, and she’s an interim member of the Covington City Council, although she plans to resign from that position to prepare for her new statewide role.
Bourgeois is also a member of the New Orleans 500, a list of influential leaders published by Biz New Orleans, and was featured on the cover of the first edition in 2022.
Bourgeois said her top goal is to create more opportunities in the state that will prevent young professionals from leaving for greener pastures elsewhere. Much to the chagrin of local economic development officials, Louisiana is the only southern state that is currently losing population from year to year.
To achieve her goal, Bourgeois said in an interview that she plans to collaborate with the Committee of 100 for Economic Development to study best practices in other states and make changes here. Based in Baton Rouge, the committee is a private nonprofit organization whose membership includes CEOs of Louisiana companies and presidents of institutions of higher learning.
“We all know Susan’s leadership acumen and political skill from her time with GNO Inc., and her many years building the Northshore Community Foundation,” said GNO Inc. CEO Michael Hecht in a statement. “Now, at LED, she will be able to apply this ability and experience to the critical task of reinvigorating and potentially restructuring GNO Inc.’s single most important partner in the state. We are incredibly excited at the prospect of working with her on optimizing LED and economic development in Louisiana, to best take advantage of our state’s unique assets, along with rapidly changing global economic opportunities.”
