2024 Speakers

Milind Balaji

Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Intervision Foods

Milind Balaji is the Vice-President of Global Supply Chain at InterVision foods, a global trader of frozen proteins. Prior to this role, Milind spent 14 years as Director of Global Distribution and Services in Georgia-Pacific’s Packaging and Cellulose division and was responsible for a range of initiatives spanning global procurement of warehousing and terminal services, break-bulk operations, and plant-to-customer optimization, including product quality in the supply chain.

In his current role. Milind's team is tasked with the procurement of multi-modal logistics solutions while helping bring structural change to streamline post-manufacturing operations while always looking to seek, learn and potentially implement disruptive technologies and methods that gain competitive advantage. Keeping the customer experience at the core of all efforts is critical to his mandate at InterVision foods. He has held a range of roles in operations, supply-chain procurement, and strategic planning.

Milind has a degree in Public Policy Analysis and Human Resources from Indiana University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Mercer University.

Kim Boyle

Vice-Managing Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP

As Vice-Managing Partner in Phelps’ New Orleans office, Kim Boyle focuses her labor and employment practice on civil rights, constitutional law, commercial, tort and general litigation issues, helping businesses promote inclusion and avoid discrimination. She frequently speaks on employment-related topics, litigation and issues of procedure, as well as diversity, ethics and professionalism.

Kim has been recognized by many of the leading peer review publications in the country, including recently as one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in U.S. Litigation, an American Lawyer Woman Leader in Law, a New Orleans CityBusiness ICON, and a member of the national Lawyers of Color 2023 Power List. She was also awarded the Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson Trailblazer Award in 2023 for her commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

Active in local, state and national bar associations, Kim served as the first female AfricanAmerican President of the Louisiana State Bar Association as well as the first African-American President of the New Orleans Bar Association. Kim formerly served as Judge Pro Tempore for Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, as well as an Assistant Professor of Law at Loyola University College of Law.

Her commitment to the community is evident in her tireless work with businesses and nonprofits in the community. She currently serves as a board and an executive committee member for GNO, Inc., The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, New Orleans Business Alliance, Touro Hospital, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Dillard University and Tulane University. She also serves as President and Chairman of the Board for the Amistad Research Center.

Ms. Boyle received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1987 and her A.B. from Princeton University in 1984.

Dan R. Brouillette

President and CEO, Edison Electric Institute & former U.S. Secretary of Energy

Dan Brouillette is President and CEO of the Edison Electric Institute, the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. EEI’s members provide electricity for nearly 250 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, EEI’s membership also includes more than 70 international electric companies with operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Brouillette, a distinguished leader in the energy, finance, and automotive sectors, joined EEI as President and CEO-elect on October 1, 2023. Before joining EEI, Brouillette served as President of Sempra Infrastructure (SI), a globally recognized multinational firm specializing in the construction and operation of liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals, pipeline networks, and renewable electricity generation facilities. Under Brouillette’s leadership, SI experienced a period of extraordinary growth and expansion to become one of the world’s leading LNG exporters.

Before Sempra, Brouillette served as the 15th United States Secretary of Energy. Brouillette also served as the Deputy Secretary of Energy from August 2017 to December 2019, making history as the only individual ever confirmed by the U.S. Senate to hold both positions simultaneously.

Marcus V. Brown

Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Entergy Corporation and Chair, Superbowl LIX Committee

Marcus Brown is executive vice president and general counsel of Entergy Corporation, where he oversees the legal, ethics and compliance, corporate communications, federal policy, regulatory and governmental affairs, and corporate security and governance groups. He also provides legal counsel to the chairman and CEO, board of directors and senior management.

Brown helps drive Entergy’s leadership in sustainability and corporate social responsibility by focusing on growth, profitability and societal goals – especially those related to environmental protection, social justice and equity, sustainable development and economic development.

In addition to helping create a program that dramatically increased the pro bono commitment of the company’s lawyers and paralegals, he also helped establish a full time, in-house counsel role dedicated to pro bono legal assistance—a first amongst Fortune 500 companies.

The Financial Times named Brown one of the top in-house general counsels for companies worldwide in 2020. The National Legal Aid and Defender Association presented him with the 2020 Exemplar Award, and organizations like the New Orleans and Louisiana State Bar Associations and United Way of Southeast Louisiana have awarded him their top honors for community service.

Before assuming his current role in 2013, Brown was appointed senior vice president and general counsel in 2012. He previously served as Entergy’s vice president and deputy general counsel, where he was responsible for commercial and general litigation, affiliate rules compliance, bankruptcy, casualty litigation, and consumer law. Prior to joining Entergy in 1995, Brown was an attorney at Stone Pigman law firm.

He serves as chair of the 2025 Super Bowl Host Committee, chair of the board of directors for Energy Insurance Mutual, on the advisory board of the Tulane Center for Energy Law and the advisory council for the Laborde Energy Law Center at Louisiana State University. He is a frequent lecturer and publisher on topics impacting the utility industry and the legal profession.

Brown earned his Juris Doctor from the Southern University Law Center, where he was a member of the Law Review, and received an MBA from the Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business. He has a bachelor’s degree from Southern University A&M College.

Clifford H. Farrah

Chief Strategy Officer, Accenture Global Corporate Strategy & Growth

Cliff Farrah is the Chief Strategy Officer for Accenture’s Global Corporate Strategy and Growth division where he advises clients on the creation and sustainability of billion-dollar businesses. In his role, Mr. Farrah oversees global division strategy, manages Accenture’s Growth.AI initiative, and leads the division’s North American Comms, Media and Technology practice. Mr. Farrah is the former CEO and founder of The Beacon Group, with over 30 years of experience as a pioneer in the field of growth strategy. He is also the bestselling author of Growing the Top Line, and a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business, where he earned his MBA. He is a competitive sailor and former U.S. national amateur champion, recently crewing for his daughter to win a World Championship while she attended and raced for Tulane. Mr. Farrah’s wife, daughter and son attended Tulane, and they have a home near the school.

Michael A. Fitts

President, Tulane University

Michael A. Fitts is the fifteenth president of Tulane University. Under his leadership, Tulane has become a world-class academic environment that fosters path-breaking interdisciplinary research, innovative teaching, and a holistic student experience.

Since joining Tulane in 2014, President Fitts has overseen the dramatic expansion of Tulane’s research enterprise, with external funding up by 70 percent over the past six years. He has transformed Tulane’s campuses with $1 billion in new construction and upgrades. He is currently spearheading an historic redevelopment of Tulane’s downtown campus to spur innovation, diversify the region’s economy, and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood. President Fitts recognizes that the hallmark of a great university is its ability to build a community of scholars and students from diverse disciplines, backgrounds, and experiences. He has increased financial aid and invested in pipeline programs to make a Tulane education more accessible for all students.

Prior to Tulane, President Fitts served 14 years as dean of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He holds a B.A. from Harvard and a J.D. from Yale.

Todd Fuller

President, Associated Terminals

Todd Fuller is President of Associated Terminals and is a co-owner of Associated Terminals and Turn Services. The companies provide maritime services including stevedoring, logistics, terminal and port operations, towboats, mooring, fleeting and barge related services. He also serves on the board of Associated Terminals Pangaea Logistics.

Todd joined Associated in 1998 as a logistics coordinator. He then served as Logistics Manager, Vice President, and Senior Vice President at Associated Terminals. In 2011, he was named President of the Company and later became an equity partner in the Associated Terminals and Turn Services Group.

Todd graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. He is a board member of the GNO Inc., Big River Coalition and The Next 25. He is a former board member of the World Trade Center of New Orleans.

Paulo Goes

Dean, A. B. Freeman School of Business

Paulo Goes is the Dean of the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. He is positioning the school as a transformation engine for students and the New Orleans / Gulf South region, embracing experiential learning and industry connectivity as defining components of the future of business education. He was previously at the University of Arizona, where he served nearly eight years as Head of Management Information Systems and close to six years as Dean and Halle Chair in Leadership. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Rochester and spent the first part of his academic career at the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Goes served as the Editor-in-Chief of Management Information Systems Quarterly during 2013-2015. He also served as Senior Editor or associate editor of several top tier journals in information systems and business. He has been recognized as a fellow of both the Association for Information Systems and the INFORMS Information Systems Society. In 2022 he received the Presidential Award for Lifelong Service from the INFORMS Information Systems Society

John M. Hairston

President & Chief Executive Officer, President & Chief Executive Officer

John M. Hairston is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Whitney Corporation, the $35 billion parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. Hancock Whitney has earned recommendations as one of America’s strongest, safest financial safest financial institutions from BauerFinancial, Inc. — the nation’s leading independent bank rating and analysis firm — for 138 consecutive quarters.

Steve Idoux

President Partner, Locton

Steve joined in 2007 as Vice President and became a Partner in 2019. In 2021, he was promoted to President of Lockton’s Dallas offices and began leading the Dunning series in 2023. He focuses on expanding the firm’s benefits expertise through hands-on mentoring and sharing of best practices, ultimately strengthening the support provided to clients. Prior to joining Lockton Dunning, Steve served in a sales and account management role at Cigna. He is a recognized thought leader in employee benefits and possesses extensive experience aligning various types of health and welfare plans with corporate business objectives. Over the course of his career, Steve has helped his clients save hundreds of millions of dollars in all areas of human resources including employee benefits, compensation, technology, and operations.

David W. Kearney

Chief Executive Officer, Precision Terminal Logistics, LLC  & The Kearney Companies, Inc.

David is currently the Chief Executive Office of Precision Terminal Logistics, LLC (PTL), a third-party logistics provider that purchased The Kearney Companies in 2022. Precision Terminal Logistics currently employees over 200 employees and operates 21 rail-served transload terminals in 15 states. PTL provides customers with an array of material handling service capabilities including the safe and efficient transloading of various commodity cargos that include liquid bulk products, dry bulk products, and dimensional cargo from rail and truck. PTL also operates a large-scale mining operation in Bloomfield, MO and has high-volume commodity warehousing operations in The Ports of New Orleans, LA and Savannah, GA through its wholly owned subsidiary, The Kearney Companies. PTL was formed in September 2019 by Anacostia Rail Holdings Company and Brown Brothers Harriman Capital Partners Opportunities Fund, L.P. (www.precisiontl.com)

David is a native of New Orleans and has lived previously in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles where he worked for two of the world’s largest container shipping lines (Maersk Line and APL/NOL Group). David attended Southern Methodist University (Class of 1996) where he earned a BBA in General Business. While attending SMU, David participated in the university’s international Studies program in Copenhagen, Denmark and worked abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a South American based shipping agency. In 2008, David earned his master’s degree (EMBA) from Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business – Executive MBA Program.

David has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Center of New Orleans (WTC). David currently serves on the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Board of Trade (NOBOT) and is a part of the NOBOT Rail User Group Committee. David also served on the Board of directors of Tulane University - Association of Business Alumni (TABA). David has been active on the TABA Forum Committee since 2012. David is married with two children and currently resides in New Orleans, LA.

D. Shane Loper

President, Hancock Whitney Bank and Chief Operating Officer, Hancock Whitney Corporation

Shane Loper is President of Hancock Whitney Bank and Chief Operating Officer of Hancock Whitney Corporation, which is the $36 billion parent company.

The largest bank headquartered in Mississippi, Hancock Whitney has earned recommendations as one of America’s strongest, safest financial institutions from BauerFinancial, Inc.—the nation’s leading independent bank rating and analysis firm—for 138 consecutive quarters.

Matthew Mancheski

Chief Financial Officer, T. Parker Host

Matt joined HOST in 2020 as Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to HOST, Matthew spent over a decade in healthcare finance before joining Tidewater Marine, where he served as Vice President for almost 12 years. In this role, he was responsible for FP&A, strategic planning, information technology, corporate development and investor relations. Additionally, he was responsible for overall leadership of the Americas and Africa & Europe business units, for which he spent time living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of New Orleans and an MBA from Tulane University.

Todd Marshall

Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Pool Corporation

Todd Marshall is currently the Vice President & Chief Information Officer at Pool Corporation, the world’s largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and related backyard products, with over 410 locations in North America and Europe. Todd studied Computer Networking at Delgado Community College. He spent three years working with Dockside Software at the Port of New Orleans. Todd then joined Transocean Terminal Operators as a Server Administrator. He spent five years with Transocean, which became P&O Ports Louisiana, before joining Pool Corporation in 2003. Todd has extensive experience in many aspects of IT and IT Infrastructure, strategy, server, user and storage virtualization, backup and recovery, change management, server scaling and management, enterprise storage, enterprise networking, digital transformation, ERP Imagineering and team building.

Janine M. Mansour

Director of Trade Development, Port of New Orleans

Janine M. Mansour has been on the commercial team at the Port of New Orleans since 2010 and currently serves as the Director of Trade Development. In her role, she works with the Port’s key shipper, ocean carrier, inland transportation and logistics clients to provide client support, supply chain solutions and drive business growth across the Port’s cargo and rail business lines. She serves as a Board member on the Louisiana District Export Council and is an active participant in many industry associations including the International Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of New Orleans, the American Cotton Shipping Association and the American Metals and Supply Chain Institute.

Janine attended Rice University, where she ran division-I cross-country and track and graduated with a B.A. in both Psychology and Policy Studies. She received her MBA with a concentration in Management from Tulane University in 2014. Through Tulane, Janine received the Allen R. Vorholt Fellowship for outstanding leadership and scholarship. Janine is a native New Orleanian, speaks Mandarin and she and her husband, Aubrey, reside in Houston with their three children.

Chris Ralston

Partner, Phelps Dunbar LLP

Chris Ralston is a Partner in the New Orleans office of Phelps Dunbar. He regularly appears in state and federal courts and frequently litigates breach of contract disputes and enforcement of licensing, non-competition, and distributor agreements. He has tried antitrust, tax, securities fraud, federal qui tam/False Claims Act cases, large real estate suits and a variety of commercial disputes. A substantial segment of his practice includes appellate representation. He has successfully handled appeals at each of the five Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Tenth and the Federal Circuits.

In addition to his legal practice, Chris is an active member of many professional associations and nonprofit organizations. He is a past president of the New Orleans Bar Association and currently serves on its Board of Directors and as current Inn of Court President. He is also past board chair of the Pro Bono Project. He currently serves on the National Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association and is a past national board Chairman. He serves as the Chair of the Louisiana Chapter of the ADA, is a past president of the Louisiana Bar Foundation, and an officer of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. He is also the immediate past president of the Tulane Alumni Association. He earned his law degree in 1999 from Tulane Law School and his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary. After law school, he served as a judicial law clerk to U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon.

Chris is recognized by many peer review publications including Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Louisiana Super Lawyers, New Orleans Magazine, The Best Lawyers in America and Marquis Who's Who in America, for Excellence in Law.

Michael J. Sawaya

President & CEO, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Michael J. Sawaya is Convention Center President of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC). A 46-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Mr. Sawaya came to New Orleans in 2018 from San Antonio, TX, where he served as Executive Director of the Convention and Sports Facilities Department for the City of San Antonio for 15 years. During his tenure in San Antonio, he led the 2016 expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center – the largest single capital improvement project in the city’s 300-year history. Additionally, he served as Interim Aviation Department Director for the San Antonio International Airport.

Before joining the City of San Antonio, he served as General Manager of the Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis, IN, the Omni San Antonio Hotel, and 11 other hotels around the country over a 20-year career as a Hotel GM. Mr. Sawaya has been in his current role as Convention Center President since February 2018. Shortly after his arrival, Mr. Sawaya embarked on an ambitious visionary plan entitled “the Decade of Delivery” that includes a $557M five-year capital improvement plan – the largest in the facility’s 38-year history that will transform and modernize the NOENMCC to compete more effectively in the future. In addition, he is spearheading the development of a mixed-use entertainment, specialty retail, and residential neighborhood that will create a diverse, dynamic, and sustainable district that will attract both visitors and locals alike.

In 2021, the NOENMCC was recognized as one of the Top Workplaces in the U.S. – the only convention center to receive this honor nationally. In 2022, the LA Department of Environmental Quality awarded the NOENMCC with its Environmental Leadership Award, recognizing businesses that promote a cleaner and better environment for Louisiana that go above and beyond regulatory requirements.

Under Mr. Sawaya’s leadership, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) has achieved its first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification in 2022, a major milestone in its ongoing commitment to sustainability.

This official certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) makes the NOENMCC the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana, the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance and the first convention center in the world to be awarded initial certification under AnchorLEED v4.1 O+M.

Mr. Sawaya is a Board Member of the Greater New Orleans Chamber of Commerce and was selected in 2018 as one of Biz Magazine’s People of the Year. Mr. Sawaya was honored as a CityBusiness Power 25 top influencer in New Orleans Hospitality for 2021 and as a CityBusiness Tourism Newsmaker in 2022. He was named to the 2023 “New Orleans 500” list for Biz New Orleans Magazine.

Christopher J. Williams

President, Tulane Association of Business Alumni

Chris currently serves as Vice President and Producer for Lockton Companies, based in their New Orleans office. In his current role, Chris partners with organizations as a strategic adviser in the areas of health insurance, risk management, and retirement. Most notably, Chris helps companies control the cost of healthcare, while bringing new ideas to help improve the impact of the employee benefits program, increase employee engagement, and enhance bottom line results.

Prior to joining Lockton, Chris spent nearly a decade at Barriere Construction Co. LLC, where he last served as Director of Administration and Employee Development. In that role, he oversaw many administrative functions, including human resources, benefits and wellness, workforce development, and marketing and communications. Chris served on the company’s Senior Executive Committee and Executive Committee and played an integral role as a strategic decision-maker for the business.

Chris holds an MBA from the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Georgia. In addition to his current position as President of the Tulane Association of Business Alumni, he is an active board member of the Fore!Kids Foundation and other various non-profit organizations in the greater New Orleans area.