A Luncheon Briefing by Michael J. Olivier New Secretary of Economic Development State of Louisiana Friday, August 13, 2004 12:00 Noon - 1:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. networking reception) Plimsoll Club, 30th Floor, WTC (Free validated parking in the WTC Garage)

Michael Olivier was recently appointed as Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.  His appointment has won praise from Louisiana business leaders, who have called him aggressive, experienced and knowledgeable. Olivier’s expertise in recruiting and reputation for deal-closing won him the position in an extensive nationwide search.

Prior to returning to his home state of Louisiana, Olivier served over 17 years as the Executive Director and Chief Executive of the Harrison County Development Commission in the casino and industrial region of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Heavily involved in all aspects of regional economic development he has been recognized locally, regionally and nationally. He won the American Economic Development Council's Distinguished Service Award in 1995, 1996 and 1997 and was twice appointed to the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation by Governor Kirk Fordice and Lt. Governor Amy Tuck. He has been president of the Southern Economic Development Council and a ten year board member and officer of the American Economic Development Council to which he was named a Fellow Member. In 2001, Olivier led the effort to secure the Accredited Economic Development Organization designation for the Development Commission, the first in the State of Mississippi. Business Week named him Mississippi's Economic Developer of the Year in 1999, and in 2002, Southern Business and Development Magazine named him one of the Top 10 economic developers of the decade.