What a difference $65 billion makes.
That was the takeaway from a keynote presentation by Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois and Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May at the Tulane Business Forum on Friday. The LED chief argued that a series of major investments portend a new era of economic swagger for the state.
Before a crowd of about 500 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Bourgeois pointed to the last 21 months of outside investment in Louisiana, led by the $10 billion Meta data center in north Louisiana and the nearly $6 billion Hyundai steel plant near Baton Rouge, and said it’s time for Louisianans to believe in the state’s prospects again.
“We’ve been working hard to change the narrative,” Bourgeois said. “There’s been this feeling that we’re not good enough. We want to change that.”
Bourgeois said 58 announced projects could lead to 70,000 new jobs and lend credibility to the state in the eyes of future investors.
Other big investments announced or expanded since Bourgeois took on the role of the state’s biggest business booster in 2024 include LNG projects from Woodside Energy and Venture Global, plus the CF Industries “blue ammonia” plant in Ascension Parish. This week, Louisiana-based electrical contractor MMR announced a $55 million expansion of its manufacturing capabilities in Lafayette Parish.
“We’re leveraging the state’s existing strengths in energy with new twists,” Bourgeois said.
Bourgeois said the Meta data center is creating opportunities for existing businesses, like Monroe-based wholesaler Robertson Produce, which just landed a large contract to help feed hundreds of construction workers.
Experts talk coffee, AI and music business
The comments from Bourgeois and May were part of a half-day business forum organized by the Tulane Association of Business Alumni that’s been an annual tradition for most of the last half century.
Panels jumped from subject to subject as the lawyers, engineers and accountants in attendance earned continuing education credits in between networking opportunities and a lunch.
Earlier in the day, three coffee industry insiders talked about how the Trump Administration’s tariffs are making it more difficult and expensive but businesses are adapting.
Ryan McKinnon of Westfeldt Brothers, the New Orleans-based coffee importer, said that one side effect of the import taxes is buyers are sourcing coffee beans from countries with lower tariffs — like Mexico and Honduras — and moving away from places like Brazil, which has a higher tax.
“There will be some differences in taste profile, but you can get some that are very close,” McKinnon said.
Tulane University President Michael Fitts used a portion of his time to promote his school’s vision to expand its downtown campus, centered around the hoped-for redevelopment of the former Charity Hospital building, which has moldered since Hurricane Katrina.
Fitts envisions a thriving downtown neighborhood, propelled by Tulane biomedical research and the companies it spawns, as the catalyst for a revival of New Orleans’ struggling economy.
Later in the morning, Phelps Dunbar attorney Christopher Ralston participated in a presentation about how artificial intelligence can help law firms perform data discovery and other tasks.
He said it’s essential that humans are monitoring the machines through every step of the process.
