Alyssa Gautreau keeps up a training schedule that would put most athletes to shame. She’s up before 5 a.m. every day to run University and City Park lakes, a six-mile loop that gives her a weekly average of more than 40 miles. To some people it might seem obsessive; to Gautreau it’s just part of being well-rounded.
Being well-rounded in Gautreau’s book doesn’t just mean regular, heavy exercise. It also means excelling at a challenging career, devoting considerable time and energy to numerous volunteer and civic endeavors, and, above all, keeping a focus on her husband and 4-year-old son.
“I’ve always worked hard at being well-rounded because it’s really important to me,” Gautreau says. “I enjoy my job but I try to do other things as well.”
Still, Gautreau works full time as the CPA/financial manager at Woodlawn Investments, where she manages the Lamar Family and Charles Lamar Family Foundation. She joined the firm five years ago after spending several years doing tax work as a CPA. It was quite a career change, but she was impressed by the positive role the foundation plays in the community and wanted to help it help others.
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It’s a philosophy she carries over into her own volunteer activities. She has been involved with numerous organizations, including Of Moving Color Productions, Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge, the Junior League, Louisiana Art and Science Museum and St. Aloysius, where her son attends pre-K.
Gautreau believes in giving back to the community because she believes in Baton Rouge. A native of Slidell, she went to college and graduate school out of state and then lived in New Orleans for several years. But she made a conscious decision to move to Baton Rouge after getting married because she believes it’s a good place to raise a family.
She’s also optimistic about its future.
“The economy in Baton Rouge is very good and this place has a lot of offer,” she says. “There’s also a lot of untapped potential and I think there’s a lot we can do to make the quality of life here even better.”
Age: 39
What is your best business advice? “I think it’s something Warren Buffett said. He talks about using your own talents and if you have talent and you’ve used it to the best of your ability than you have a good asset and you can feel as though you succeeded.”
Click here for the complete list of 2009's Forty Under 40 winners.
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