Biz Talks

Walt Leger III, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination sales and marketing organization for New Orleans, drops by to talk about the highlights and challenges of 2023 and what lies ahead for one of the city’s top industries, including the work that’s being done to prepare for the Super Bowl.

This year’s New Orleans Entrepreneur Week will feature more than 100 sessions and special events featuring business leaders and experts in entrepreneurship, innovation and tech. And … it’s free! Liz Maxwell, director of communications and strategic initiatives at the Idea Village (the event’s producer), gives an overview and shares insider tips to get the most out of the event.

The Super Bowl is a year away, but in many ways it’s like the fourth quarter for the host committee, which has been preparing for this event for years. Entergy executive Marcus Brown, who is the chair of the New Orleans Super Bowl LIX Host Committee, shares the team's to-do list and priorities as the city prepares to put its best foot forward on the global stage.

Famed chef, author and entrepreneur Alon Shaya chats with us this week to share the impetus behind creating his own company, Pomegranate Hospitality, and how he is working to create a more positive, supportive working culture. He also shares the details on his latest ventures, including an upcoming expansion into Las Vegas.

This week, Joseph Toomy talks about efforts to increase cooperation between south Louisiana's five ports, the Port of New Orleans’ plans to build a new container terminal in St. Bernard Parish, the rebound of the city’s cruise ship industry and more. Toomy is chairman of the board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. He’s also a veteran lawmaker who represented Dist. 85 in the Louisiana State Legislature from 1984 until 2008. 

How do we go about making the much-needed change in how we view and talk about New Orleans and why is now the perfect time to start? Both of these questions are answered in the second part of this conversation with New Orleans native Frank Rabalais. 

Listen to part 1 here.

Last October, BizNewOrleans.com featured an opinion piece by New Orleans native Frank Rabalais that hit back at the all-too-common negative attitude regarding life in the city. It quickly became one of our most popular reads.

In a conversation so involved we split it into two episodes, Rabalais expounds on his views that the evidence overwhelming shows that New Orleanians have plenty to be proud of. It's time, he argues, that we start seeing the full picture.  

This week, Biz New Orleans Editor Kim Singletary talks about the greater New Orleans executives who made the biggest impact in 2023, and she reveals who earned the distinction of CEO of the Year.

Leaders at LWCC, the state's largest workers comp insurance provider, have spent the past four years rediscovering their company’s purpose — and it is paying off.

On this week’s episode, LWCC Chief Strategy Officer Seth Irby and business consultant Lauren Hatcher share what they’ve done, how they did it, and the amazing results they’re seeing.