About Us

Founder and Co-Chairman of University of New Orleans Finance and Economics Advisory Council. Member of Tulane University Freeman Business School Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship. Founder and Chairman, Institute for Business Finance & Management and GreatPublicSpeakers.com. Professional Trainer for Premier Fast Trac Entrepreneurship Programs through University of New Orleans Small Business Development Center. Panelist and Judge of Graduate and Undergraduate Business Plans and Judge for Oral Examinations of MBA Candidates, UNO Department of Management. Judge of Tulane University’s annual Business Plan Competition. Participant in Curriculum Review Panel for UNO College of Business Economics and Finance Department. Member of the HR Management Association of New Orleans, Marine Support Group, American Society for Training & Development, New Orleans Council of Business Economists, St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business. Lecturer and Instructor for business organizations, educational institutions, university classes, and others. Recipient of certificates, awards, and citations from business, civic, community and political entities.

Former Chairman of the New Orleans Institute for Management Studies, international educational institute for member companies with annual revenues of $500 million and up, 1997-2003. Member of the Board of Directors and Managing Committee of the University of New Orleans National Alumni Association, 1993-98. Board Member of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU, Baton Rouge, representing Louisiana banks, 1986-89. Executive-Committee Member of the Venture Network, a capital formation and business-finance group, 1994-98. Board Chairman, President, member, French Quarter Business Association, 1995-2001. French Quarter Improvement District Steering Committee, 2001. Member, Louisiana Bankers Association, 1976-89; Chairman or member of the Federal Affairs, Political Action, and Bank Lending Committees, 1983-89; regional representative to Louisiana Young Bankers for New Orleans area institutions, 1976-79. Member of the Executive Advisory Committee for the New Orleans Public Schools, 1990-91; composed major portion of grant proposal to Carnegie Foundation and other philanthropic organizations.

Member of the Grant Proposal Committee of the New Orleans Center for the Education of Adults (NOCEA), a program of the New Orleans Public Schools (NOPS), 1997-98. Member of the NOPS Find Work (Adult Education) Sub-committee, joint program with the State of Louisiana Department of Social Services, 1994-97. Volunteer and paid consultant to the New Orleans Public Schools, 1976-98.

Board Chairman of the Volunteers of America in New Orleans, 1988-90; board member, 1984-91. Served eight years on the Board in various capacities including as Corporate Secretary and Treasurer, Chairman of Audit and Finance Committee, Board Executive Committee, Delegate to National Conventions, various committee memberships, all related to maintenance of non-profit legal and tax status, organizational structure and management, development and maintenance of client services, and overall corporate direction. In the period, the corporation’s revenues grew from $2 million annually to over $14 million. Funding sources included organized fund-raising activities, private and corporate donations, bequests, planned giving programs, grants, and civic organizations.

Vice-Chairman and Director of the VOA National Housing Corporation, 1988-91. Named to the Board at inception of corporate structure. This corporation owned and managed over $250 million in housing and new development projects around the country, with emphasis on providing shelter to the needy and senior citizens. Funding sources included private and corporate donations, corporate joint-ventures, state and federal subsidies, Housing and Urban Development grants and loans, bequests, planned giving programs, grants, and philanthropic organizations.
Founder and Charter-President of the New Orleans East Business Association, 1974; various officer and director positions, 1974-78. Board member of the Chamber of Commerce New Orleans, East New Orleans Council, 1983-84; member, Greater Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce, Van Nuys, California, 1990-91. Judge for New Orleans Public Schools’ Annual State-sponsored Regional Social Studies Competition, 1978-92.

B.S., Finance, 1976, University of New Orleans, emphasis on finance, accounting, business law, economics, and management. Diploma, 1981, Graduate School of Banking, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Certified Credit and Financial Analyst, Dun & Bradstreet. Completed 350+ hours of intense management development program, at the Institute for Management Studies. Extensive finance, management, and entrepreneurial experience in various industries, including professional business consulting, problem analysis and resolution; forensic financial investigation and analysis; litigation support and expert testimony; commercial and corporate banking; venture capital placements, real estate acquisition, development, construction, and management; and manufacturing, wholesale, e-commerce and retail businesses. Professional training and educational attainment in business planning, commercial and corporate finance, commercial banking, bank management, business management, seminar production and presentations, insurance, and real estate.

1989 – Present Principal and Senior Consultant, Banking and Business Consultants, providing expert testimony, advice, counsel, representation, and other services to business entities, principals, attorneys, professionals, educational institutions, and governmental agencies in the areas of strategic and business planning, organizational structure, management, and commercial finance; entrepreneurship, business management, debt and capital placements; funding proposals; financial feasibility assessment; banking practices; contract negotiations and preparation; settlement negotiations; capital and venture-capital generation; and financing sources and alternatives. Director of Business Development Workshops, UNO College of Business Administration’s Global Entrepreneurship Initiative. Court-qualified Expert in Banking and Finance and Expert in Business Valuations. Adjunct Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship, University of New Orleans Department of Finance & Economics and Department of Management teaching Liquidity and Cash Management and Entrepreneurship and Business Planning to university seniors, graduate students, and MBA candidates, and Personal Finance and Entrepreneurship to undergraduates. Also teach Money and banking and Small Business Finance at the International Summer School in Innsbruck, Austria. Organizer and Chairman, Institute for Business Finance & Management, New Orleans, lecturer, instructor, and professional trainer in business, finance, and entrepreneurship. Chairman (1997-2004), New Orleans Institute for Management Studies, produced executive education seminars for 50 Fortune 500 companies in a 4-state area.

1982 – 1989 Chairman and President, First Eastern Bank & Trust Company, New Orleans. Founded commercial bank; generated initial capital, organized board of directors. Served as Chief Executive Officer with oversight of credit and lending functions, loan review, debt restructurings, marketing, business development, strategic planning, inter-bank liaisons, sales, and purchases of credit assets. Provided overall senior executive management. Handled all corporate communications and dealings with federal and state regulatory agencies, attorneys, accountants, consultants, and professional service providers.

1981 – 1982 Marketing Director, Tecon Management Corporation, Dallas TX, land planners and developers. Responsibilities included participation on senior-management committees, sales, and marketing management, formation of sales and marketing staffs, divisional management of personnel in projections and budgeting, development and issuance of land covenants and architectural guidelines, contract negotiations, land planning, legal and advertising matters. Handled corporate communications and negotiations with governmental and civic leaders, attorneys, and consultants. Established and managed marketing efforts culminating in $250 million in sales contracts.

1968 – 1981 Senior- and middle-management positions with the Bank of New Orleans, a $650 million commercial bank, with emphasis on commercial and correspondent lending, financial analysis of banks and bank holding companies, inter-bank assets sales and purchases, business development, and marketing. The most senior position held was Senior Vice President and Manager of the Correspondent Banking Department, liaison with U. S. financial institutions.