User:Djelky/sandbox/Michael Leonard Hecht

Michael Hecht is an economic developer based in New Orleans, who is currently President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. He is often described as one of the leaders of the post-Katrina revitalization of New Orleans, and one of the top economic developers in North America.

Michael Leonard Hecht
Michael Leonard Hecht (born 1970, New York, New York) is a nationally-recognized economic developer, business owner and civic leader. With family roots in Louisiana, Michael returned to New Orleans in 2006 to help lead the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Michael is now President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), the economic development organization for southeast Louisiana. Under Michael’s leadership, GNO, Inc. was named the #2 Economic Development Organization in America. Prior to returning to New Orleans, Michael worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, running the post-9/11 small business program for New York City.

Personal Life
Michael is married to Marlene Friis, a dual citizen Danish-American, who is a professor of English as a Second Language at Delgado Community College. They live in New Orleans, and have two school-age children.

Education
Michael went to public school in White Plains, New York, graduating from White Plains High School as 'salutatorian in 1988. He then went to Yale University, where he created a self-designed major in Race Relations, consisting of study in Sociology, Economics and African-American Studies. Michael graduated magna cum laude in 1992. Michael later attended Stanford Business School, where he received his MBA in 1998.

Early Career
After graduating Yale, Michael went to work for Marakon Associates, a financial and strategic management consultancy. At Marakon, Michael worked for Fortune 100 companies in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, including Coca-Cola, IBM and Kellogg.

Restaurant Development - San Francisco
While in business school, Michael and a partner started Variety Lights Development, a hospitality development and management company. Their first property was Foreign Cinema, which opened in August of 1999, and was named “Restaurant of the Year 2000," among many other accolades, in San Francisco.  Other properties included Bruno’s, a jazz supper club, and Laszlo, a lounge.

Mayor Bloomberg Administration – New York City
Following two years as the first Director of Business Development at the Food Bank for New York City, Michael joined the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to develop and manage the post 9/11 recovery program for small businesses. As an Assistant Commissioner at the NYC Department of Small Business Services, Michael opened Business Solution Centers around New York City, as well as developed NYC Business Express, an online portal for opening and running a business. Michael’s final project was setting up an emergency no-interest loan program for businesses impacted by the major Queens blackout of summer 2006.

Post-Katrina Recovery – Louisiana
In fall of 2006 Michael was named Director of Business Recovery for the State of Louisiana, within the Department of Louisiana Economic Development. Over the next two years, Michael developed and managed the $220M “Louisiana Business Recovery Grant and Loan” program, and the $9.5M “Technical Assistance to Small Firms” program, ultimately serving over 4,500 businesses in Louisiana, across 20 parishes (counties).

Post-Katrina Recovery – Greater New Orleans
In summer of 2008, Michael accepted the position of President & CEO with Greater New Orleans, Inc., joining as the youngest CEO in the 105+ year history of the organization. Michael is largely credited with leading the turn-around GNO, Inc., taking it from insolvency to being named a Top Economic Development Organization in the USA.

Achievements at GNO, Inc. include:
 * Helping to bring over 16,000 jobs and $14B in investment to Greater New Orleans since 2008
 * Bringing a number of world-class companies to the New Orleans region, including:
 * GE Digital
 * Smoothie King (retention)
 * Shandong Yuhuang
 * Notable policy wins, including:
 * Passing national flood insurance legislation (Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act)
 * Based on the GNO, authorized Digital Media Tax Credit, creating one of the fastest-growing "knowldege industry" sectors in America
 * Creating the Louisiana Board of International Commerce
 * Other major victories for the Greater New Orleans economy, including
 * Dramatically improving flight connectivity at Louis Armstrong International Airport, including the first international flights to Latin and South America (Copa) and Europe (Condor) in years
 * Leading the brand and marketing effort for the 10th Anniversary Commemoration of Hurricane Katrina, including the TEDxNewOrleans
 * Creating the RES/CON conference - the "Davos of Resiliency"

Notable recognition for GNO, Inc. includes:
 * GNO, Inc. was named a “Top Economic Development Agency in the USA” (one of 11 of 2,300+)
 * GNO, Inc. was selected as a Top 20 Economic Development Organization in America
 * GNO, Inc. was ranked as the #2 Economic Development Organization in the U.S.

Recognition
Michael has received broad recognition, including:
 * Norman C. Francis Leadership Institute Fellow - 2016/2017
 * Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame] – 2016
 * “One of the Top 50 Economic Developers in North America” 2014, 2015
 * Delegate to British American Project - 2012
 * “1 of 10 People Who Made a Difference” in the South
 * “1 of the 25 Most Powerful People” in the 10/12 Corridor