John Schneider
Located in Baton Rouge, John works as the current President and CEO of the Vision City Development Group where he utilizes a real estate development strategy for the purposes of revitalizing, energizing, stabilizing and synergizing key local communities in the city. He is Chairman of Springboard, an organization with the mission of establishing a collaborative partnership between various non-profit and for-profit entities. On LinkedIn.
Jolie Bensen
Fashion startup extraordinaire had a simple idea– to make quality, southern-inspired clothes in the US. Along with Co-founder Sarah Elizabeth Dewey, the brand Jolie and Elizabeth was born. Prior to the launch of the company, both girls worked in fashion in New York. Jolie worked at Four Point Five and BcBG Max Azria Group for years. On LinkedIn.
Jonathan Brown
Jonathan is part of the Crescent Unmanned Systems team, working as the Director of Business Development, which builds small multi-rotor and fixed wing Unmanned Aerial Systems for law enforcement applications as well as civilian aerial photography and videography. Since then, the company has been added to the South Coast Angel Fund’s portfolio. @CrescentUAV on Twitter. On LinkedIn.
Keith Hanson
Keith is Twin Engine Labsʼ co-founder, a Ruby on Rails developer, and server administrator. Together with Ken Hanson, the other co-founder, they are making magic happen in Shreveport and putting Louisiana on the map. Additionally, Keith has worked for over seven years as a developer at various companies where he was able to show off his skills. Keith on LinkedIn.
Ken Hanson
Ken Hanson is Twin Engine Labsʼ co-founder and design engineer extraordinaire. Together with Keith Hanson, the other co-founder, they are making magic happen in Shreveport and putting Louisiana on the map. Like twin brother Keith, Ken has worked for years as a lead in various tech companies and working as a developer. Ken on LinkedIn. Ken on Twitter.
Kenneth Purcell
Kenneth is the founder and CEO of iSeatz, a company providing integrated transaction and booking engines to travel providers worldwide. Their customer lists includes Air Canada, Amtrak, CitiBank, Delta Air Lines, KLM, MasterCard and Northwest Airlines. iSeatz continues to grow and prosper with a team of over 50 employees. Outside of his day job, Ken is a mentor for Launch Pad Ignition and blogs on the iSeatz website. On LinkedIn.
Kerry Kirby
Kerry is the CEO of 365 Connect, a New Orleans based company he founded in 2003. 365 Connect has since developed and deployed one of the most interactive and robust Internet platforms in the multifamily housing industry. Kerry is a contributor and wrote the foreword to Real Estate v2.0: A Professional’s Guide to Dynamic Websites, Blogs, and Podcasts, has been featured on Sustainable 1000 Radio and is a frequent contributor on the Multifamily Conference Series Webcast Program. On Twitter.
Kevin Langley
Kevin is the current Chairman Global Board at the Entrepreneurs’ Association, a global business network of 8,000+ business owners in 122 chapters and 35 countries. He is also the Co-owner of Ellis Construction in Baton Rouge. On LinkedIn.
Kyle Monti
Kyle is a Co-founder of DEKKA Technologies, a local R&D firm specializing in manufactured products and software development. The company’s goal is to bring tech-based businesses to New Orleans. Before founding DEKKA, he was a member and manager at lean product development group Kitsch. On LinkedIn.
Laurie Azzano
Laurie currently works at The Receivables Exchange and Cosmo PR based in San Francisco, which she co-founded with Michael Azzano. She has worked in public relations for over fifteen years and says it still gets her excited in the morning to go to work everyday. At TRE, Laurie has served as Head of Corporate Communications, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Head of Marketing, and Senior Vice President of the company (not all at once). On Twitter. On LinkedIn.
Leslie Jacobs
Leslie Jacobs was an executive in the insurance industry for over twenty years and in her spare time, was heavily involved in public education. She began as a business partner to an elementary school, served as an elected member of the New Orleans School Board, and served a twelve year government appointed position on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). Today she runs Educate, Now! a non-profit focused on education reform. Outside of education, she focuses her passion on start-ups through the New Orleans Startup Fund, which she helped create and fund as the driving force, as a board member of the Idea Village and GNO, Inc., through private angel investing, and through the creation and support of 504ward. On LinkedIn.
- Launch Pad is the premier co-working space in New Orleans with a variety of options to meet your workspace needs. Visit them in the IP Building and check out the great environment!
- Louisiana Technology Park is a premier business incubator based in Baton Rouge that helps startups grow. Don’t forget to follow @latechpark on twitter.
- New Orleans BioInnovation Center is home to an expert team in the science, technology, law, and business fields who offer unparalleled services for commercializing today’s leading research and innovative ideas.
- Eiffel Society is an amazing special events venue and reception hall where our event will take place. Follow them on twitter @EiffelSociety.
- BioDistrict New Orleans is focused on the development of a biosciences industry in New Orleans. Learn more here.