Thursday, March 31

ACE Louisiana Speakers

SafeSource Direct

Robbie Wicks
Chief Operating Officer
SafeSource Direct
rwicks@safesourcedirect.com

Robbie Wicks is a top-performing and performance driven professional offering over 20 years of progressive leadership experience in operations, project management, financial analysis, supply chain management and logistics. Robbie has an impressive record of helping multiple startup companies expand and thrive within ultra-competitive markets. He is a recognized hands-on manager with an unwavering commitment to customer service and operational excellence.

The SafeSource offer will provide visiting members with an opportunity to link with this company or refer other industries to SafeSource Direct for their industry specific PPE needs.

The speaker will ask visiting participants to consider utilizing SafeSource Direct for their PPE needs or refer other industries to SafeSource Direct for their industry specific PPE needs.

ACE Louisiana Speakers

Tabasco Factory

Geoffrey T. Stewart, Ph.D.
Moody Company/BORSF Endowed Chair in Regional Business Development & Director of the Louisiana Entrepreneurship & Economic Development Center (LEED
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Geoffrey.Stewart@louisiana.edu

Dr. Geoffrey Stewart is The Moody Company/BORSF Endowed Chair in Regional Business Development in the Moody College of Business at the University of Louisiana. His research interests include public-private partnerships, customer value determination, business relationship development, and the role of
marketing in economic development. Most recently, he is leading a comprehensive study of the Louisiana seafood supply chain. This study received over $1 million of support through USDA and the LA Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board. Dr. Stewart is the founder and Director of the Economic Development Administration University Center at UL; the Louisiana Entrepreneurship & Economic Development Center (LEED). The LEED Center introduced a series of Accelerate Programs for entrepreneurs on the northside of Lafayette and in rural parts of Acadiana. Over 120 entrepreneurs have come through these
programs in the last 12 months. Dr. Stewart is also a co-founder of the National Incident Management Systems and Technology Institute (NIMSAT). Through his teaching, he has leveraged over 60 student, service learning projects to assist companies, non-profits and agencies in Louisiana.

The LA Seafood Supply Chain research team can offer participants: • Insight into the capacity of seafood processors and ports in Louisiana • Research and technical assistance to help drive entrepreneurship and innovation within their seafood and/or agriculture industries. • Opportunities surrounding the export of Louisiana product to foreign markets.

The LA Seafood Supply Chain research team is seeking opportunities to: • Provide entrepreneurship and innovation training to fishermen and processors outside of the U.S. • Identify market opportunities for seafood, processing by products (for example air bladders, etc), fishing and processing technologies, etc. • Identify manufacturing and processing capacities that may align with the needs of the Louisiana seafood industry.

Mike Tarantino
President & CEO
Iberia Industrial Development Foundation
mtarantino@iberiabiz.org

A graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, former Marine and corporate banker, Mike serves as President and CEO of the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation (IDF) the primary facilitator of economic and industrial development activities for Iberia Parish and marketing activities for the Port of Iberia and the Acadiana Regional Airport, he is also Executive Director of the Iberia Development Foundation a 501c(3) organization that promotes community development activities for Iberia Parish. During his tenure with IDF, Mike represents Iberia Parish and the Acadiana Region on many Boards and
Commissions like One Acadiana, the Acadiana Economic Development Council; where he has served as Secretary, Vice Chairman and Chairman as well as Chairman of the Marketing Committee; as Acadiana’s representative with the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LaBEOC) connecting economic development and business to disaster coordination and recovery; the Industrial Board of Iberia Parish; as Co-Chairman of the New Iberia steering committee for LED’s Development Ready Communities program among many others, he currently serves as Past Chairman of the the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association (LIDEA) and as Acadiana’s representative on the Louisiana Board of International Commerce. Mike is an active member of the Southern Economic Development Council and the International Economic Development Council. He is also an associate member of the Ports Association of Louisiana, a graduate of Leadership Louisiana and a past recipient of the 20 under 40 award.

Mike serves as a parish (county) level point of contact for any attendees looking to partner on economic development initiatives in the Acadiana Region.

Mike welcomes the business development and partnership opportunities that the delegation can bring to the Acadiana Region.

Thomas Hymel
Seafood Industry Development Specialist; Louisiana Fisheries Forward Program Director; Louisiana Direct Seafood Program Director; LSU AgCenter/LA Sea Grant Seafood Processing Demo Lab Director
LSU Ag Center - Iberia Research Station
Thymel@agcenter.lsu.edu

Thomas Hymel has worked in an extension and outreach role with LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program for the past 36 years. He and his team work in all aspects of Louisiana seafood harvest, processing and distribution issues. His current focus areas include: Louisiana Fisheries Forward (LFF), Program Director: Manage formal statewide professionalization outreach educational program for the Louisiana Commercial Seafood Industry. Our program developed in partnership with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Efforts include workshops; dock days, educational
materials (website, fact sheets, edu videos, fisheries summit) for fishers, processors docks and distributors across the coast of Louisiana. Goal is to enhance the state seafood industry. www.lafisheriesforward.org Louisiana Direct Seafood, Program Director: Created and manage a coast wide direct seafood marketing program. Our web based platform allows commercial fishers to connect directly with consumers and develop commerce. We also focus on development of value-added packages seafood packaged products with smaller seafood “micro-processor” businesses. Efforts include brand development,
packaging, technical and marketing assistance. www.louisianadirectseafood.com

The LA Seafood Supply Chain research team can offer participants: • Insight into the capacity of seafood processors and ports in Louisiana • Research and technical assistance to help drive entrepreneurship and innovation within their seafood and/or agriculture industries. • Opportunities surrounding the export of Louisiana product to foreign markets.

The LA Seafood Supply Chain research team can offer participants: • Insight into the capacity of seafood processors and ports in Louisiana • Research and technical assistance to help drive entrepreneurship and innovation within their seafood and/or agriculture industries. • Opportunities surrounding the export of
Louisiana product to foreign markets.

ACE Louisiana Speakers

Metal Shark

Christopher Allard
Chief Executive Officer
Metal Shark Boats
callard@metalsharkboats.com

Chris Allard serves as CEO of Metal Shark Boats. As part of the company’s founding team, in a sixteen- year span he has taken Metal Shark from startup to over $120 million in annual revenue today. Throughout that timeframe he has been responsible for all aspects of the company’s business growth, from operations to engineering and business development. Metal Shark was originally founded in 2004 as the government-focused aluminum boat division of American Marine Holdings (AMH), parent company of fiberglass recreational powerboat brands Donzi Marine and Pro-Line boats. While Metal Shark was
under AMH ownership, Chris was part of the team responsible for the design and capture of the company’s first significant government award, the 100-  boatUSCoastGuardTrailerableAidstoNavigationProgram(TANB). Shortlyafterlandingthiscontract,
Chris led the effort to acquire Metal Shark from AMH. In 2005 Chris and business partner Jimmy Gravois acquired the fledgling Metal Shark and over the next 15 years organically built it into a leading designer and builder of small, technically complicated military and government craft.

Given Metal Shark’s outreach and collaboration with the United States government, many visiting participants may not be aware of the funding services available for their various defense needs.

Metal Shark hopes to forge new partnership whereby visiting participants can access Metal Shark’s technology and product portfolio while participants can advance their understanding of the various United States Government’s capital outlay programs.