Forty Under 40 Class of 2023

Honoring the Capital Region’s brightest young
leaders, innovators and business professionals.

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Ross Armstrong

This entrepreneur heads a creative agency with a vision to “maximize moments.” He’s led his team to achieve major industry accolades: two 2024 American...

Logan C. Austin

Today, one Birmingham hospital can deliver an additional 1,400 babies per year—and provide better care to mothers close to home—thanks to a transformation of...

Bliss Kelley Bernard

This executive has been recognized not once, but twice for her dedication to the engineering profession and contributions to the field: In 2021 with...

Dante Bidwell

When more than $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds and more than $20 million in federal funding to develop more than 1,000...

Danielle Brown

Brown created an influencer campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics that spurred a record-breaking 850 million viewers tuning into Olympic content on Youtube 2....

Laurel Burgos

When Louisiana’s first perinatal mental health unit opened in 2024, it was Burgos who oversaw strategies for communications, public relations, events and marketing. It...

Jared Causey

Causey was one of the leaders behind the successful merger and integration of two companies, Repcon and Turnaround Welding Services, into one organization. He...

Meagan Collman Wick

Wick led the outreach and communication efforts for a $1.07 billion federally funded assistance program that helped Louisiana homeowners recover from disaster events in...

Zach Corbin

When Raising Cane’s expanded across five countries in the Middle East and entered markets in Alaska and Hawaii, it was Corbin who led the...

Lauren Darden

More than 115 families annually in the Gardere community now have access to quality education. That’s thanks to a high-tuition assistance program Darden successfully...

Madison DeWitt

This attorney is on the front lines of the energy transition. To date, DeWitt has negotiated service and supply contracts totaling $350 million to...

Chelsea Harris Dufrene

Dufrene leads LED FastStart, the state’s award-winning workforce development solution for companies relocating and expanding in Louisiana. She says the state is at a...

Peyton Finical

If you’ve spotted a Sasquatch around town—safely plastered on the side of a truck—then you’re familiar with Finical’s entrepreneurial vision. He created the trash...

Derek W. Foret

As a CPA, Foret does much more than just crunch numbers. He is a partner and trusted adviser whose responsibilities include planning, consulting, financial...

Dr. Brandon Gaynor

Gaynor specializes in adult neurosurgery and has a strong clinical interest in minimally invasive spine surgery, brain tumors and neurosurgical trauma. He is also...

Steven T. Gottfried

Via the company he founded, Gottfried is providing a healthier, daily bread to local neighborhood groceries and markets for convenient access no matter where...

Morgan Hilliard

Throughout her professional career, Hilliard has raised more than $800,000 for local nonprofit organizations. Today, she leads the foundation that helps sustain and advance...

David Hou

This MIT graduate interned in Los Angeles and Houston and even entertained job offers in New York City but ultimately decided to make Baton...

Ben Jumonville

Jumonville has helped lead the firm’s efforts to assist clients navigating the Corporate Transparency Act, a new federal law this year impacting millions of...

Hunter Kinchen

This year, Kinchen was ranked No. 1 on Business Insurance America’s 5-Star Brokerage list. He consulted with more than 100 employers in the Capital...

Dorothy Kemp

With the help of Kemp, LSU athletics achieved a record-breaking graduation success rate of 92% in 2022, with 12 sports earning perfect scores of...

Adam Landry

Landry became a top executive in August 2023 after serving as tank operations manager for the company. He’s experienced the front lines of the...

Myles Laroux

Laroux became an equity partner at this firm in January 2024 and has helped grow its assets under management from $50 million to $500...

Patricia Lemoine

Lemoine launched the Investor Collective, a network of men dedicated to ensuring access to state-of-the-art treatment and essential support services for cancer patients and...

Kathryn Manning

Manning has been actively involved in multiple merger and acquisition transactions, and when b1Bank went public, she was there at the Nasdaq, for the...

Justin Marocco

As a wave of sustainabe energy companies arrives in Louisiana, Marocco has been involved in  many of its inaugural carbon capture and sequestration projects....

Joe Martin

Martin launched Red Six Media right after graduating from the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication and celebrated 15 years in business this year....

Andrée Miller

Miller was named deputy chief of staff for Gov. Jeff Landry this year. Previously, she was part of the team responsible for successfully passing...

Matthew Mistretta

Mistretta opened a second Total Diamond Performance location in Baton Rouge this year featuring four fields, covered batting cages, and a 20,000-square-foot indoor facility....

Brett Murray

Murray has been a key leader in the growth of Loadstar since the company launched operations in early 2021. He is a SHRM certified...

Pheriche Perkins

While heading up the Pointe Coupée Early Childhood Coalition, Perkins has expanded  access to care in Pointe Coupée Parish. She also led the organization...

Clayton Samson

Samson has hired and trained IT and virtual design construction teams across multiple offices and states that continue to push the innovation that sets...

Michael Scarbrough

As owner of Green Heart Group, Scarbrough creates and promotes a healthy environment that contributes to better overall health within the community by providing...

Laura Siu Nguyen

Nguyen founded Night Market BTR in 2023 with a mission to empower and highlight Asian businesses in town, ensuring that every AAPI feels seen...

Melanie M. Talley

Talley was named director of EisnerAmper’s association management department in 2023. She obtained her certified association executive, or CAE, credential in 2017 and served...

Andrea Tepe

Tepe’s contributions to LSU athletics staffing led to LSU winning the 2021 NCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship. She planned the inaugural “Women...

William Thibaut

As a partner at Coleman Partners Architects since 2021, Thibaut recently led the company’s rebranding effort with a strategy of honoring the firm’s history...

Joshua Todd

The first in his family to graduate college, Todd is now the proud holder of four degrees—a bachelor’s in community health, a bachelor’s in...

Greg Upton

As the newly named executive director of the LSU Center for Energy Studies, Upton speaks frequently about energy issues of concern to Louisianans and...

Shaun Ward

Ward follows in the footsteps of his father, jazz violinist Michael Ward, in creating a distinct and unique sound on violin. He brings the...