The Times-Picayune | Nola.com’s Post

Louis David was named CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance in January, nine months after he moved into the job on an interim basis following the sudden resignation of his predecessor, Norman Barnum. The nature of Barnum's departure was disputed, though some senior staff and board members of the agency felt he was forced out because of his complaints about lack of support from city officials and their failure to understand its mission. Indeed, the role of an outfit like the New Orleans Business Alliance, which has been around since 2010, is part art, part science. In the New Orleans context, its role is further muddled by the fact that there is a plethora of individual parish agencies like it, such as St. Tammany Corp., St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, as well as a strong regional agency, GNO Inc., and a state-level agency, Louisiana Economic Development. Do they cooperate? Sure. Do they compete to attract companies, federal funding programs, private sector investment backers? You betcha. David has been with the agency for nine years, mostly as its director in charge of encouraging companies to invest in the city. Previously, the Tulane University MBA graduate was an account man at iSeatz, a New Orleans-based travel tech company. He is also a reformed journalist, having worked for KATC-TV in his native Lafayette for five years after earning his journalism degree from LSU. In this week's Talking Business, David discusses the upcoming Super Bowl and its impact on small businesses and how his agency differentiates itself from other economic development agencies.