Entrepreneurs in Louisiana have the opportunity to meet and listen to speeches by significant business people from around the state on Nov. 17 at the 13th annual Louisiana Looking Up event.
The E. J. Ourso College of Business and Flores MBA Alumni Association will host the event in the rotunda of the Business Education Complex.
Since 2004, the event has been held every year and has featured those who have made significant achievements in entrepreneurship across Louisiana. This year, the event will feature five speakers: Melissa Campesi, chief executive officer of LCTA Workers’ Comp; Mo Vij, founder and CEO of General Informatics; Takeisha Charles Davis, president and CEO of New Orleans East Hospital; Byron C. Clayton, president and CEO of NexusLA; and keynote speaker Tim Barfield, president of CSRS, Inc. The emcee for this year’s event is Graham Ulkins, reporter and morning show anchor for WAFB.
Ulkins is a graduate of the University’s Manship School of Mass Communication and an alumnus of Baton Rouge Magnet High School. At WAFB, he serves as a reporter and covers the health beat.
Barfield presides over the Louisiana-based design and management firm, CSRS, Inc. His career brought him to CSRS, Inc. after previously working for Louisiana as the Department of Revenue secretary. He also served as a senior executive at The Shaw Group Inc., president of Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, Inc. and chief development officer of Amedisys Inc.
The one-day event begins with registration at 1 p.m. The speeches will take place from 1:30-4:30 p.m., with a reception immediately following. Costs for admission are $50 for the general public, $25 for Flores MBA Alumni Association members and $10 for University’s Flores MBA Program students.
Sponsors for this year’s event include Entergy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, ExxonMobil, Juengling & Associates, Louisiana Commerce & Trade Association, New Orleans East Hospital, Whitney Bank, Baton Rouge Business Report, BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc., Alice Miller, Kean Miller, LUBA Workers’ Comp, Shalan Randolph, Sheila Pounders, Spradley & Spradley, Young & Associates, Geaux Vineyards, L’Auberge Casino & Hotel and Mockler Beverage.
The funds raised at the event will benefit the education of the Flores MBA students.
According to its website, the University’s Flores MBA Program aims “to remain competitive in the national and regional markets, while fostering learning, leadership, and networking in a global business environment.” The program is nationally recognized by publications like Forbes and U.S. News & World Report.
The Flores MBA Alumni Association is made up of graduates who aim to “mentor the LSU Flores MBA Program’s students, fund strategically imperative curricula, and connect alumni to the college and the students.”