Jacqui Vines
2001 Influential Women in Business winner, 2003 Businessperson of the Year
Hometown: Norwalk, Conn.
Then: General manager, Cox Communications Baton Rouge
Now: Regional vice president and general manager, Cox Communications Greater Louisiana
Cox Communications has undergone some major changes since Jacqui Vines took over in 2000. Under her direction, the company launched telephone service and expanded its video and Internet products. Cox also merged its Baton Rouge and Acadiana areas into one region, which Vines oversees as regional vice president and general manager. She says one of her greatest accomplishments was seeing LSU’s Cox Communications Center for Student Athletes come to fruition in 2003. Vines has also remained active in the community, participating on executive boards of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and Blueprint Louisiana. View photo »

Cecil “Buzzy” Thibodeaux
1994 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: New Orleans
Then: President, Junior Achievement of Greater Baton Rouge
Now: Head, Junior Achievement Southern U.S. region
Cecil “Buzzy” Thibodeaux has been working for Junior Achievement for more than two decades. He has worn a lot of hats during that time. When he was named a Forty Under 40 winner in 1994, he was president of the organization’s operations in Greater Baton Rouge. In 1997, he moved to Junior Achievement’s headquarters as vice president of field marketing. Thibodeaux was later promoted to senior vice president of all marketing and communications efforts. He now oversees all of the organizations in Junior Achievement’s Southern region and volunteers as an adviser to the LSU Academic Center for Student Athletes. View photo »

Piyush “Bobby” Jindal
1997 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Baton Rouge
Then: Secretary, Department of Health and Hospitals
Now: U.S. Representative, First District of Louisiana and gubernatorial candidate
After leading an overhaul of Louisiana’s Medicaid program in 1997 that turned a $400 million deficit into a surplus of more than $220 million, then-Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Piyush “Bobby” Jindal set his sights on reforming the Medicare system. In 2001, after two years running the UL System, President Bush appointed Jindal assistant secretary of planning and evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He resigned two years later to make a bid for governor. Though he lost to Kathleen Blanco, Jindal remained in politics, becoming a U.S. representative. Jindal is currently making a second, front-runner attempt at becoming governor. View photo »

Sharon Weston (Broome)
1994 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Chicago
Then: State representative District 29
Now: State senator, District 15
Thirteen years ago, Sharon Broome, then Sharon Weston, said she saw her involvement in politics as a calling. Since being named a Forty Under 40 winner in 1994, that calling has led her to move from the state House of Representatives to the state Senate. And in 2005, she started her own company, Sharon Broome Communications, where she works training businesses on communication techniques and giving keynote speeches to business leaders. The company took a back seat for several months after Hurricane Katrina because Broome worked as a state legislator to help the state’s recovery effort. She also found time to marry Marvin Broome and become the mother of his two children and a grandmother. Next, Broome will focus on running for re-election in the fall. View photo »

Bill Borne
1990 Entrepreneur of the Year, 1995 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Vacherie
Then: Chief executive officer, Amedisys
Now: Chief executive officer, Amedisys
When Bill Borne last appeared on the cover of Business Report, he was on the verge of taking Amedisys public. Since then, the company has grown into a home health care juggernaut. Borne was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005 by Forbes magazine. Amedisys acquired six locations in the Chicago area in April and has begun offering hospice and disease management services. Borne stays busy by continuing to uncover ways to expand Amedisys’ offerings. View photo »

Melvin “Kip” Holden
1985 New Breed winner
Hometown: New Orleans
Then: Trial attorney, Metro Council member
Now: Mayor-president, East Baton Rouge Parish
What hasn’t Melvin “Kip” Holden been up to in the past 22 years? When he was named one of Baton Rouge’s New Breed in 1985, Holden was an attorney who had just been elected to the Metro Council. Since then, he has served in the state House of Representatives and Senate, taught at Southern University Law School and was elected mayor-president of Baton Rouge in 2005. During Hurricane Katrina, Holden saw more than 200,000 evacuees from South Louisiana move to Baton Rouge in less than two weeks. View photo »

Robert Mann
1997 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Beaumont, Texas
Then: Author and political aide
Now: LSU professor and fellow in the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs
There has been little downtime for Robert Mann since he was chosen as a Forty Under 40 winner in 1997. After finishing his tenure as a political aide for U.S. Sen. John Breaux, Mann went to work for Gov. Kathleen Blanco as her communications director. In 2006, Mann was named the LSU Manship chair in Mass Communication and senior fellow in the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs. He teaches advanced courses on political communication. But somehow he also found time to spend with his 8-year-old twins and to publish several books, including one scheduled for release later this year. View photo »

Mary L. Landrieu
1994 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
Then: State treasurer
Now: U.S. Senator
Three years after being chosen as a Forty Under 40 winner in 1994, Mary L. Landrieu became the first woman from Louisiana to serve in the U.S. Senate. Landrieu was re-elected in 2002, and she has become the state’s senior senator. She currently serves on the Senate Appropriations, Energy and Natural Resources and Small Business committees. Landrieu has earned a reputation as a tough negotiator who once threatened to punch in the nose anyone who criticized the Hurricane Katrina first-responders. View photo »

Jay Augustine
2002 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: New Orleans
Then: Staff counsel to the Louisiana Democratic Party and election law counsel to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu
Now: Partner; Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz
After taking leave from Adams & Reese to serve as staff counsel to the Louisiana Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign in 2002, Jay Augustine broadened his influence as a prominent local attorney. He served as executive vice president of Young Democrats of America from 2003 to 2005. In addition to becoming an adjunct professor at the Southern University Law Center, Augustine worked with the National Democratic Party as a speaker. He traveled across the country for speaking engagements and also participated in forums in England and Italy. In 2006, Augustine was elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. But he says his proudest accomplishment was becoming the father of his daughter, Jillian, in 2004. View photo »

Thomas H. Turner Jr.
1994 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Baton Rouge
Then: Executive vice president/Turner Industries Ltd.
Now: Vice chairman and chief operating officer, Turner Industries Group
Thomas H. Turner Jr. has played many roles since joining the company his father founded in 1961. When he was named a Forty Under 40 winner in 1994, he was working as executive vice president. In 2000, he made the move to president of Specialty Welding Services. At the same time, he worked as president of Turner Staffing, Turner Professional Services, Turner Industrial Technical, Turner Industrial Services and Turner Industries Holding Company. Most recently, he has served as the company’s vice chairman and chief operating officer. Turner also finds time to chair the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and participate on the Louisiana Right-to-Work Committee. View photo »

John Michael Guidry
1994 Forty Under 40 winner
Then: State senator, District 14
Now: First Circuit Court of Appeals judge
Since being chosen as a Forty 40 Under 40 winner in 1994, John Michael Guidry continued his lifelong goal of having “a part in shaping public policy.” In 1997, Guidry moved from the legislative to the judicial branch of the government after winning a seat in the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Guidry was elected to a second term in 2002, while teaching appellate advocacy and legal writing classes at Southern University Law Center. He says he also makes it a point to speak to youth groups and classes to remain active in the community. View photo »

Percy “Master P” Miller
1999 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: New Orleans
Then: Owner, No Limit Records
Now: Owner, The New No Limit Records
Though Percy “Master P” Miller celebrated a few years of success in Baton Rouge, he left the city in 2002 when profits for his No Limit Records label decreased. Miller left a number of unpaid loans and lawsuits for failing to pay his bills in the wake of his departure. He was later convicted of failing to pay taxes on $2.3 million in profits he received from Baton Rouge-based Bout It Inc. No Limit Records filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and underwent a reorganization period, emerging as The New No Limit Records. Miller also made an appearance on Dancing With the Stars and tried out for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, playing in a few preseason games. View photo »

Willard Keith Bates
1997 Forty Under 40 winner
Hometown: Baton Rouge
Then: Baton Rouge Police Department detective
Now: Administrative assistant and spokesman for Sheriff Greg Phares
After earning respect for his ability to track down murderers and put them behind bars, Willard Keith Bates decided it was time to take a little break and retire from his post as chief of staff at the Baton Rouge Police Department. His break proved to be a little one indeed, lasting only a few months before he went back to work for Sheriff Greg Phares. Bates now serves as Phares’ spokesman and administrative assistant. Bates says his goal is to continue contributing to public safety until he no longer feels “the drive.” At that point, he will retire on a more permanent basis. But Bates says he doesn’t see that happening any time soon. View photo »

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
1997 Influential Women in Business winner
Hometown: New Iberia
Then: Lieutenant governor
Now: Governor
Kathleen Babineaux Blanco’s time as Louisiana’s first female governor has not been an easy one. A little over a year after Blanco made the move from lieutenant governor to governor, hurricanes Katrina and Rita laid waste to much of coastal Louisiana. The storms forced her to oversee the state’s recovery efforts in the wake of the worst national disaster in U.S. history. To date, she has secured $4.2 billion in federal recovery funding and continues to pursue further federal aid. Her efforts to encourage the return of residents who evacuated out-of-state prior to the storms have drawn fire from critics, and in March she announced she would not seek re-election. View photo »