LABI president announces retirement, plans for finding replacement

Published Jul 12, 2012 at 3:00 pm (Updated Jul 12, 2012)

Dan Juneau, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry since 1989, has announced to LABI's board of directors he will retire at the end of 2013.

The nearly 18-month lead time will enable the powerful business organization to conduct a national search for his replacement and get the new president up to speed for the 2014 election cycle, says Bridgette Nieland, LABI vice president of communications.

Prior to Juneau's retirement, however, several other high-profile personnel changes are scheduled to take place. Ginger Sawyer, vice president of political action, will retire at the end of this year, though she will stay on as LABI's energy council director. Sawyer will be replaced in January by Brian Landry, who currently serves as director of LABI's small business council.

Nieland, meanwhile, will become vice president for workforce development and research. She will be replaced as vice president of communications by Kristi Barnett Williams, who until recently handled public relations for BREC.

The executive level restructuring comes as LABI prepares to launch a major new technology initiative in September that will let LABI "provide much more timely issue information to the members," Nieland says. As a practical matter, that means LABI will be using social media sites like Twitter, posting more video clips and podcasts, and using more interactive media to communicate with members and keep them informed of issues of interest.

"Right now, we do action alerts and weekly Web chats," says Nieland. "This will allow us to interact with our members on more of a daily basis, if they choose, and bring them much more timely information. We all have iPads now, so we'll be able to sit in committee meetings and chat about what is going on."