Susan B. Bourgeois

I, I, I don't think we're, I don't think we're finished.

Um, uh, Susan Bourgeois's still doing a fan- fantastic job for economic development, and I think when I get to Washington, uh, the continued relationships that we can build can continue to bring some significant, uh, investment back into Louisiana.

I think, I don't think we're at the end of this.

I think we've got, um, several more opportunities.

Well, you should be, because we have a very exciting guest today.

Secretary Susan Bourgeois is here with us.

She is Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development.

She's leading Louisiana right now through an historic period of growth, investment, and opportunity.

Yeah

... and I, and I, I really think there's this whole of government approach that Susan Bourgeois is pushing, a, a whole of state approach.

And our relationship with, with G- even at GNO Inc, we don't really think of ourselves as, as, as, as, like, singularly a New Orleans regional organization.

We see it as our mission to promote the whole state.

Well, one of Katie Anna, one of eight regional economic development organizations in our state, you know, they say that all politics are local.

And I think in a lot of ways, even with the wonderful job that Susan Bourgeois and her team do at Louisiana Economic Development, economic development is really local in a lot of ways, right? And you're managing that for I think a ten parish area.

Nine parish area around Lafayette, the Acadiana region.

Tell us more about the organization.

on behalf of one Acadiana, what would be your message to Louisiana in business and industry community?

Well, I will tell you my number one message right now is I sing the praises of our Louisiana economic development.

Susan Bourgeois has been phenomenal.

Her entire team has been phenomenal.

And so we got passed by.

Then in the 80s, we screwed up again because instead of going after automotive, our governor preferred to ride around Louisiana on his Harley, right? So we weren't going and visiting Mr.

Toyota.

We missed out.

Those are the two things.

And the third thing that makes it all work is our leadership.

This governor is the most aggressive economic development governor I've ever worked with.

I've worked with governors going back to Catherine Blanco.