Robert Burgess
President & CEO, Eatel & Sunshine Pages
Under Robert Burgess’ leadership, EATEL is bringing fiber optics to Ascension and parts of Livingston parishes. A strong advocate for education, he serves on the boards of River Parishes Community College Foundation and Education’s Next Horizon, as well as the Business Roundtable at Baton Rouge Community College. He’s also involved in Blueprint Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and St. Elizabeth Hospital, the Committee of 100, the Louisiana Committee for Economic Development and the Council for a Better Louisiana Advisory Board.
Steve Carter
Representative, District 68
Steve Carter led the charge for school board reform legislation in the past session, which although heavily supported by good government groups, didn’t fly. He did win the Chamber Southwest Louisiana Legis-Gator of the Year Award for his effort, though. Under the freshman legislator’s leadership, the Capitol Region Legislative Delegation has reached a new level of cooperation and has for the first time met with shareholders to hear their concerns.
John Davies
President & CEO, Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Since John Davies took the helm of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation in 1988, its assets have grown from $3 million to $568 million. So has its political clout. The foundation is the muscle behind a number of pivotal projects in the region, including the Super-Region Committee, the 10/12 corridor, downtown and inner-city revitalization and hurricane recovery efforts.
Teri Fontenot
President & CEO, ?Woman’s Hospital
Since 1996, Teri Fontenot has served at the helm of the largest independently owned women’s hospital in the country. Woman’s Hospital consistently achieves net margins that are considerably higher than national industry standards. Her influence reaches beyond Baton Rouge—she has, at various times, served on the American Hospital Association board, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and a National Institutes of Health advisory committee.
Lane Grigsby
Chairman, Cajun Industries
He’s a self-made man whose company now runs itself, giving him plenty of time—and financial resources—to become a serious influence in Capital Region politics. If there’s a mayoral or Metro Council election in Baton Rouge, or a legislative race within 150 miles of the city, chances are Lane Grigsby is involved somehow.
Mike Grimmer
Livingston Parish President
Mike Grimmer is the top politician in what continues to be one of the fastest-growing parishes in Louisiana, despite an economic slowdown in commercial and residential development. He’s worked behind the scenes to attract big projects like Bass Pro, Juban Crossing and Sam’s Club. With his coaxing, two hospitals will open their doors there next year, laying the groundwork for even more anticipated growth.
Matt McKay
Chairman, Baton Rouge Area Chamber
Matt McKay is chairman, president & CEO of All Star Automotive Group after buying out his partner, John Noland, in 2008. His firm was founded in 1987 and has 10 locations and annual sales of $450 million. As if that weren’t enough, he is a top dog in two of Baton Rouge’s most powerful entities, serving as chairman of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and vice chairman of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. He has also been instrumental in forming the Southeast Super-Region Committee.
Walter Monsour
President & CEO, East Baton Rouge Parish Redevelopment Authority
Walter Monsour may no longer have an office in Baton Rouge City Hall, but he still holds some serious sway. His influence is felt in the Loop project, and he’s hit the road to hawk the proposed $901 million bond issue, among others. The two-time chief administrative officer remains on board as a special adviser to the mayor, while also deciding the fate of blighted properties in the community in his new job.
Peter Newkirk
Director, Baton Rouge Department of Public Works
Regardless of how you feel about roads, sewer, drainage, traffic signals, the state of public buildings and beautification in Baton Rouge, you have to agree that the man who oversees it all wields an enormous amount of influence in the city. Peter Newkirk is a 24-year veteran who worked his way up the department ladder.
Buddy Roemer
CEO, Business First Bank
At various times in his life, Buddy Roemer has been a businessman, farmer and now banker, but he is best known along the corridor for his political career. The Harvard University business school graduate spent four terms in congress and in 1988 beat out Edwin Edwards for governor. His reform-minded administration is remembered for strengthening environmental enforcement and campaign finance laws, and increased teacher pay. These days, he is the president and CEO of Business First Bank and an advocate for the 10/12 corridor.
Roland Toups
Chairman & CEO, ?Turner Industries
Quiet and unassuming, you’d never know Roland Toups is at the helm of a $1.7 billion industrial services firm—or considered one of the most influential people in Louisiana. The Air Force veteran currently serves on the Board of Regents, but is a former chair of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. He’s also been inducted into LSU’s Construction Management Hall of Fame and the Academy of Distinguished Engineering Alumni at Georgia Tech.
Mike Wampold III
Chairman & CEO, ?Wampold Companies
He founded Wampold Companies in 1981 and has been putting up brick and mortar ever since. He owns a sizable chunk of Baton Rouge’s downtown office space, including Chase North Tower, City Plaza and the newly built II City Plaza. In the past year, he’s also opened the doors to The Crescent at University Lake, an upscale condominium complex on Stanford Avenue across from LSU. And he’s still going ahead with plans to turn a partially completed Jimmy Swaggart Ministries dormitory on Bluebonnet Boulevard into a Marriott Renaissance Hotel.
