Baton Rouge, LA; Feb. 25, 2021-Today at its membership meeting in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) formally announced its officers and Board of Directors for 2021, along with the members of the 2021 LABI Emerging Leaders Council, a group of distinguished entrepreneurs and young professionals.
“With so many challenges confronting Louisiana’s job creators and working families this year, I look forward to working with this outstanding group of business leaders to bring bold and innovative solutions to the State Capital,” said LABI President & CEO Stephen Waguespack. “If you look on our board, you’ll see 100 members who represent every region of the state and every sector of businesses and industry. I know that their voices will help move Louisiana forward and advance the cause of free enterprise.”
Trey Baugh, Chief Financial Officer of D&J Construction Company, LLC will serve as the chair of LABI for 2021. He replaces Tom O’Neal of O’Nealgas, Inc. who becomes the immediate past chair. Christel C. Slaughter, CEO, SSA Consultants will serve as the board’s vice chair. Jude Melville, President, b1BANK and Jason DeCuir, Partner, Advantous Consulting, LLC will serve as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively, rounding out the slate of 2021 LABI Officers. Returning as chair of the Emerging Leaders Council is Meagan Shields.
Here are the 10 new LABI Board of Directors:
Blake Chatelain, President & CEO, Red River Bank (Alexandria)
Lauren Gibbs, Gibbs Construction, LLC (Harahan)
Matthew Mann, Partner, Porteous, Hainkel & Johnson (Baton Rouge)
Quentin Messer, President & CEO, New Orleans Business Alliance (New Orleans)
Frank Neuner, Managing Partner, NeunerPate (Lafayette)
Ajay Patel, Owner, Abnar, Inc. dba McDonalds (Jennings)
Edgardo Tenreiro, President & CEO, Baton Rouge General (Baton Rouge)
Amy Thibodeaux, President & CEO, Acadia Parish Chamber (Crowley)
Dr. Steve Udvarhelyi, President & CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
Michael Uffman, CFO, Marucci Sports, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Here are the 27 leaders re-nominated:
Scott Ballard, Founder, Ballard Brands (Covington)
Emile Cordaro, Government Affairs, American Electric Power (Shreveport)
Kim Cusimano, Manager, Government & Public Affairs North American Operations, Sasol Chemicals LLC (Westlake)
Jason DeCuir, Partner, Advantous Consulting, LLC (Baton Rouge)
John Doggett, Chief Administrative Officer, Crest Operations, LLC (Alexandria)
John Donahue, President & CEO, DonahueFavret Contractors, Inc. (Mandeville)
Michael Eason, Sr., Vice President, Michael Eason-Merrill Lynch (Lake Charles)
Meryl Kennedy Farr, President, Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC (Mer Rouge)
Art Favre, President, Performance Contractors (Baton Rouge)
William Fenstermaker, Chairman/CEO, Fensteraker (Lafayette)
Wayne J. Fontana, Attorney, Roedel, Parsons, Blache, Fontana, Balhoff & McCollister (New Orleans)
William Fontenot, President & CEO, Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC (Pineville)
David Gaines, CEO System Retail Svcs & VP of Public Affairs, Ochsner Health (New Orleans)
Lane Grigsby, Chairman Emeritus, Cajun Industries, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Richard Guillory, Vice President of Operations-South Central Group, Cintas Corporation (Lafayette)
Bryan Hanks, President, Beta Land Services, LLC (Lafayette)
Patrick Mockler, President, Beta Land Services, LLC (Lafayette)
Jessica Monroe, Director of State Government Affairs, Johnson & Johnson HCS (Baton Rouge)
Tom O’Neal, President, O’Nealgas, Inc. (Choudrant)
John Overton, Owner & CFO, TurnKey Solutions (Baton Rouge)
Scott Poole, Chief Operating Officer, MARTCO LLC (Alexandria)
E. Fredrick Preis, Jr., Senior Partner, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP (New Orleans)
Wynn Radford, State & Federal Affairs, Communications & External Affairs, BP America, Inc. (Washington, D.C.)
Jennifer Ries, President, Atmos Energy (Baton Rouge)
Tim Stine, Chief Financial Officer, Stine Lumber Company (Sulphur)
Stephen Toups, President, Turner Industries Group, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Joseph Zanco, President & CEO, St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank (Opelousas)
Other current members of the LABI Board of Directors include:
Robert Angelico, President and Managing Partner, Liskow & Lewis (New Orleans)
Joe Arroyo, President, Fire Extinguisher & Supply Company, Inc. (New Orleans)
James A. Babst, Attorney, Wegmann & Babst, LLC (New Orleans)
Bobby Barousse, Chief Financial Officer, Elmer Candy Corporation (Ponchatoula)
Bob Barton, Managing Partner, Taylor Porter (Baton Rouge)
Terry Baugh, Chief Financial Officer, D & J Construction Company, LLC (West Monroe)
Andree Begneaud, Owner, Begneaud Manufacturing, Inc. (Lafayette)
Jill Benoit, Regional Manager Government Affairs, LafargeHolcim U.S. (Metairie)
Robert S. Boh, President, Boh Brothers Construction Company, LLC (New Orleans)
Ayres Bradford, Business Development Director, Lincoln Builders, Inc. (Ruston)
J. H. Campbell, Jr., Manager, Client Consulting Services, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Kim Carver, Vice President of Government Relations, Gulf Coast Bank & Trust (New Orleans)
Tom Cox, President, Golfballs.com, Inc. (Lafayette)
Nicole Daigle, State Government Affairs, BASF Corporation (Geismar)
Eric Danos, Owner Executive, Danos, LLC (Gray)
Lavelle Edmondson, Manager, State Government Affairs, Marathon Petroleum Company, LP (Texas City, Texas)
Ronald Evans, Owner, International Packaging Company, LLC (Gretna)
Tommy Faucheux, Southeast U.S. State Government Affairs Leader, Dow Inc. (Plaquemine)
Cassie Felder, Managing Attorney, Swamp Dragon, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Courtney A. Fenet, Jr., VP & Special Assistant to CEO and President, R. E. Heidt Construction Company, LLC (Sulphur)
John J. Finan, Jr., President/CEO. Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, Inc (Baton Rouge)
Felicia Frederick, State Government Affairs Manager, Chevron U.S.A., Inc. (New Orleans)
Ryan Girouard, Senior Vice President – Middle Market Banking, Hancock Whitney (Baton Rouge)
George H. Guidry, Jr., Regional Manager, State Government Affairs, Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Jay Guillot, Senior Vice President, Hunt, Guillot & Associates LLC (Ruston)
Mike Hall, Controller, Nucor Steel Louisiana LLC (Convent)
Chris Haskew, Louisiana Market President, Capital One Bank Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
David Huval, Professional Civil Engineer, CEC, Inc. (Lafayette)
Bryan Jones, Gulf Coast Deputy Office Leader, HNTB Corporation (Baton Rouge)
Steve M. Jordan, CEO, Central Crude, Inc. (Lake Charles)
Christopher M. Kinsey, CEO, Kinsey Interests, Inc. (Shreveport)
Raymond Lasseigne, President, TMR Exploration, Inc. (Bossier City)
Jamey LeBlanc, Senior Director – Strategic Support, Community Coffee Company, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Melissa Mann, Senior Director of Government Affairs, Central Region, Lumen (Monroe)
Jude Melville, President, b1BANK (Baton Rouge)
Danny Montelaro, South Louisiana Area President, Regions Bank (Baton Rouge)
Jody Montelaro, VP – LA Governmental Affairs & Regulatory Affairs, Entergy Corporation (Baton Rouge)
Spencer Murphy, General Counsel, Canal Barge Company, Inc. (New Orleans)
Jennifer Neil, General Counsel, Pool Corporation (Covington)
Michael Nicaud, VP & Associate General Counsel, Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (Covington)
Reldon Owens, Director of External Relations, Diamond B Construction LLC and Affiliated Companies (Alexandria)
Frederick B. Palmer, State Government Relations Manager – Southeast U.S., Shell Oil Company (New Orleans)
Sonia Pérez, President Southeast States, AT&T Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
Todd Perry, Principal/Senior Geologist, PPM Consultants (Monroe)
Arthur Price, President, Badger Oil Corporation (Lafayette)
Kenneth L. Ross, Managing Partner, Seale & Ross (Hammond)
Phillip Rozeman, President, Willis-Knighton Cardiology (Shreveport)
Meagan Shields – Emerging Leaders Council Chair (ex offico) (Baton Rouge)
Nathalie Simon, Special Counsel to CEO, Laitram, LLC (Harahan)
Christel C. Slaughter, CEO, SSA Consultants, Inc. (Baton Rouge)
Dana Stumpf, Chief Executive Officer, Durr Heavy Construction, LLC (Harahan)
Kelli Bondy Troutman, VP, Director of Communications & Community Relations, LUBA Workers’ Comp (Baton Rouge)
Shawn Usher, Founder, Sparkhound, Inc. (Baton Rouge)
Rusty Vincent, Secretary Treasurer, Century Group, Inc. (Sulphur)
Stephen Waguespack – ex officio, President & CEO, LABI
Kristin Wall, President/CEO, Louisiana Workers Compensation Corporation (Baton Rouge)
Robert Webb, Jr., President, Louisiana CAT (Reserve)
Peter Wilson, President & CEO, Barriere Construction Company, LLC (Metairie)
William Windham, CEO, Windham, LLC (Bossier City)
Robert Yarborough, Chief Executive Officer, Manda Fine Meats (Baton Rouge)
Angela Zeringue, Polyolefins Plant Manager, ExxonMobil Chemical Company (Baton Rouge)
The 19 new members of the 2021 LABI Emerging Leaders Council include:
Ian Byram, Geologist, Heritage Energy Company (Shreveport)
Kyle Cook, Partner, Hannis T. Bourgeois, LLP (Baton Rouge)
Ryan Cross, Senior Director, Governmental Affairs, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System (Baton Rouge)
Patrick Derbes, Account Executive, CMA Technology Solutions (Baton Rouge)
Peyton Farr, Producer, Thomas & Farr Agency (Monroe)
Whitney LaNasa, Managing Director, Stonehenge Capital (Baton Rouge)
Mallory LeBlanc, Safety Section Supervisor, ExxonMobil (Baton Rouge)
Phillip LeBlanc, Business Development, Durr Heavy Construction (Harahan)
Laura Lyles, President, Natchitoches Area Chamber (Natchitoches)
Wes Martin, EVP and Chief Lending Officer, Bank of Oak Ridge (Monroe)
Coulter McMahen, Attorney, Taylor Porter (Baton Rouge)
Cody Saucier, Consultant, SSA Consultants (Baton Rouge)
Michael Victorian, Associate, Labor/Employment and Litigation, Phelps Dunbar, LLP (Baton Rouge)
Rawley Webber, Engineering Market Leader, Fenstermaker (Baton Rouge)
Marcus Williams, Program Director, Architect, CSRS, Inc. (Baton Rouge)
Matthew Wilson, Director, Marketing, Communications, Government Affairs, Barriere Construction Company (Metairie)
TJ Woodard, Pharmacist/Owner, Prescriptions to Geaux (Baton Rouge)
Jiten Zaveri, President, Prosperity Hospitality Management (Lake Charles)
Josh Zumo, Senior Project Manager, Cajun Industries, LLC (Baton Rouge)
Other current members of the LABI Emerging Leaders Council include:
Matt Adams, Regional Director, External Affairs, AT&T Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
Albert Alexander, Senior Associate, Bluehenge Capital Partners (Baton Rouge)
Cody Bauman, Project Engineer, Drax Biomass (West Monroe)
Anita Begnaud, CEO, Downtown Development Authority (Lafayette)
Hunter Chauvin, Partner, Liskow & Lewis (Lafayette)
Carroll Devillier, Jr., Partner, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP (Baton Rouge)
Arthur Dupre, President, ACE Scholarships Louisiana (Metairie)
Eric Engemann, President, Cristo Rey Franciscan High School (Baton Rouge)
Marshall Ferrell, President, Construction Safety Products (Shreveport)
Lance Glaser, Strategic Procurement Manager, Performance Contractors, Inc. (Baton Rouge)
Chelsea Harris, Economic Development Marketing Strategist, Entergy Corporation (Baton Rouge)
Canaan Heard, CEO, Protac LLC and Protac Foundation (New Orleans)
Ron Hemelt, Investment Banker, Evangeline Securities (New Orleans)
Trent Hill, Digital Marketing Strategist, Gatorworks (Baton Rouge)
Jessica Judice, General Manager, Cintas Corporation (Lake Charles)
Justin Landry, Real Estate Development, Stirling Properties (Covington)
Julie Laperouse, Director, Emergent Method (Baton Rouge)
Mike Nizzo, Market President for East Baton Rouge, b1BANK (Baton Rouge)
Nial Patel, Vice President, Cornerstone Government Affairs (Baton Rouge)
Amy Canik Province, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, Regions Bank (Baton Rouge)
Trenton Rives, Project Manager, Hunt, Guillot & Associates LLC (Baton Rouge)
Micah Schilling, Business Development, Pactec, Inc. (Clinton)
Meagan Shields (Baton Rouge)
Jeremy Stine, Marketing Director, Stine Lumber Company (Sulphur)
Bo Thornhill, Director of Loss Control, Stupp Corporation (Baton Rouge)
Allyce Trapp, Director of Governmental Affairs, Home Builders Association of Greater Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge)
Trey Williams, Managing Partner – Owner, JRE Private Equity Group (Baton Rouge)
Robert Williamson, SVP Market President, JD Bank (Lake Charles)
