As Louisiana’s tech scene grows, the reverberation from various job and other professional developments — or power moves — grows, too.
Policy and economic development organization Leaders for a Better Louisiana announced its 2026 board chair and officers.
Elsewhere in the state’s innovation community, a Baton Rouge edtech company is expanding its headquarters to support its digital education platforms, and a climate restoration tech firm with a facility in Morgan City, Louisiana, names a new director.
Read on for more on these and other power moves.
Better LA builds out new leadership cohort, including info tech vet
Launched in 2025, the nonprofit Leaders for a Better Louisiana — created through the merging of the Council for A Better Louisiana and the Committee of 100 for Economic Development — gathers experts in business and state politics to find ways to drive economic growth in the state.
Spencer Martin, vice president of information systems at Alexandria-based RoyOMartin, was named treasurer among Better Louisiana’s 2026 officers announced earlier this year.
Scott Ballard, owner of Ballard Brands, LLC, a fast-casual and fine-dining hospitality company, will become the incoming chair.
Robert Schneckenburger, senior regional president at Hancock Whitney Bank, will take on the role of secretary. Phillip Rozeman, founding physician of Willis Knighton Cardiology, will chair the organization from 2026 to 2027.
Other Better Louisiana members include:
- Jon Atkinson, president and CEO of The Idea Village;
- James Craven, executive vice president and chief physician officer at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System;
- Jeffrey Goodman, CEO of the Committee of 100 Shreveport-Bossier;
- Gregory J. Hamer Sr., CEO of B&G Food Enterprises, LLC;
- Andy Kopplin, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation;
- Patrick Moore, managing partner of Moore Planning Group; and
- Jim Tucker, president and CEO of CommCare Management Corporation and former speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Studyville announces headquarters expansion
Studyville Enterprises, an edtech firm with services like private tutoring and ACT prep, is committing $1.26 million to expand its East Baton Rouge Parish headquarters.
The expansion will aid in the development of its digital education platforms, the company said in a press release. Those platforms “help schools track tutoring performance and strengthen literacy instruction for K-12 students.”
“Studyville’s journey from a single, in-person tutoring center to a growing education technology company reflects the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation driving our digital economy,” Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said in the release.
The company expects to create 32 direct jobs over five years, while LED estimates the project will support 13 additional indirect jobs, for a total of 45 potential new job opportunities.
“Studyville was born in Louisiana, and we’re committed to growing right here,” Studyville Enterprises founder and CEO Amanda Martin said.
IDScan.net joins industry security councils
ID verification and fraud prevention firm IDScan.net, headquartered in New Orleans, announced in May that it is joining three trade councils: the Southwest Transportation Security Council, Northeast Cargo Security Council and Midwest Cargo Security Council.
These moves will help with “combating identity fraud and enhancing security across the logistics and freight industries,” the company said in a press release.
“Joining these councils brings us closer to the front lines of cargo and logistics security,” CEO of IDScan.net Jimmy Roussel said in the release. “Identity fraud plays a major role in organized cargo theft, and our technology is built to help organizations verify identities quickly and accurately.”
Natrx names partnerships director
Natrx, a climate tech and coastal resilience company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, appointed Brandon Corsentino as director, strategic partnerships.
The company conducts Louisiana operations from a 5,000-square-foot Amelia/Morgan City-area facility. Corsentino was previously a sales director for driverless tech startup Beep, Inc., according to his LinkedIn.
Before joining Natrx in February, Corsentino was a director for the American Diabetes Association and in sales for the Reynolds and Reynolds Company.
“He’s spent his career building and managing the kind of partnerships that turn shared goals into real, scalable outcomes,” Natrx said in an Instagram post. “Brandon is a natural fit for where Natrx is headed.”
More power moves
- Republican state Sen. Mike Reese, who represents central and southwest Louisiana, was named president of McNeese State University.
- The St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce opened a new office in the Nunez Community College Student Testing and Career Counseling Center in Chalmette.
- A Caddo Parish judge upheld the approval of a permit for Amazon’s planned data center in west Shreveport.
- Stonepeak and Baton Rouge-based Bernhard Capital Partners announced an agreement to acquire Pineville-based Cleco Group LLC, subject to regulatory approvals.
- French industrial gas company Air Liquide is investing more than $350 million to expand industrial gas production and infrastructure in Louisiana.
