NEW ORLEANS – The Idea Village announced the election of David Barksdale, managing director, Alluvian Capital; Lauren Baum, Made with Code program lead, Google; Pres Kabacoff, executive Chairman of the Board, HRI Properties; Cooper Manning, principal, AJ Capital Partners; Jen Medbery, founder, Kickboard; Matt Schwartz, principal, The Domain Companies; Allen Square, CEO, Square Button; Jose Suquet, president and CEO, Pan American Life; and Marianne Van Meter, founder and managing director of Legacy Capital, to its Board of Directors.
“We are honored to have this group join The Idea Village Board of Directors,” said Patrick Comer, founder and CEO of Lucid and The Idea Village Board vice-Chairman. "Each person brings a unique entrepreneurial perspective to the table ensuring local entrepreneurs benefit greatly from their experience and knowledge.”
The new members join Idea Village Board Chairman John Payne, president and COO, VICI Properties; vice-Chairman Patrick Comer, founder and CEO of Lucid; Margaret Saer Beer, marketing consultant; Kevin Clifford, Chairman and CEO, American Funds; Steve “Sig” Greenebaum, head of global live events, Overwatch League, Blizzard Entertainment; Bill Hines, managing partner of Jones Walker; Chris Laibe, CEO and founder of inFRONT; Merritt Lane, president and CEO, Canal Barge Company, Inc.; Ti Adelaide Martin, co-proprietor of Commander’s Palace; Amith Nagarajan, executive Chairman of rasa.io; Michael J. Siegel, president and director of office leasing, Corporate Realty; Warner Thomas, CEO of Ochsner Health System; Robbert Vorhoff, managing director, global head of healthcare, General Atlantic; and Tim Williamson, president, NOLA Media Group.
“I look forward to working with this dynamic group of people who know that entrepreneurship transforms communities,” The Idea Village co-founder and acting CEO Sally Forman said. “Paired with our new staff, marketing director Ali Carlisle and development director Audrey Voelker, and our impressive accelerator companies, this team of volunteers and professionals enables The Idea Village to help even more people turn their ideas into scalable ventures.”
Founded in 2000, The Idea Village is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New Orleans that provides direct service to high impact entrepreneurs, convenes the ecosystem through New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, and supports initiatives that strengthen our entrepreneurial infrastructure.
