Candidates vie for TEDA’s CEO job

The top five semi-finalists in a CEO search by the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority are undergoing video interviews this week, from which the top three contenders will be invited to visit the parish for personal interviews in mid-May.

According to members of the search committee, a nationwide search that started at the beginning of the year yielded 26 candidates. That pool was narrowed to nine and last week trimmed to five.

TEDA Board of Commissioners Chairman Don Hingle said a special reception will be held for TEDA shareholders to meet and talk with the three top candidates. Hingle said he hopes to have a CEO hired and in place by the end of June.

The five semi-finalists include Floyd Batiste of Port Arthur, Texas; Fred Duplantis of Baton Rouge; Nicholas Johnson of Taylor, Texas; Drew Page of Bogart, Ga.; and Sean Stockard of Vernon, Texas. The candidates offer resumes that demonstrate experience in economic development and public service.

FLOYD BATISTE

Floyd Batiste has been CEO for the City of Port Arthur, Texas Economic Development Corp. since October 2005. He possesses more than 20 years experience in workforce development and building system processes.

He attended Southern University in Baton Rouge and American University in Washington, D.C., with a major in business administration.

Prior to taking on his current position, Batiste worked as a site manager for the Texas Workforce Center in Port Arthur, Texas, from September 2003 to October 2005. He was a project manager and later a site manager with the Southeast Texas Workforce Center in Beaumont, Texas, from September 1998 until September 2003.

FRED DUPLANTIS

A native of Chauvin, Fred Duplantis graduated from Nicholls State University in 1977 with a degree in business administration. He also graduated from the U.S. Army School of Accounting and Financial Procedures and is a Vietnam veteran.

Duplantis is currently chairman of the board and president of Milka Pellegrin of Chauvin, and is a consultant to the Southern Shrimp Alliance out of Tarpon Springs, Fla. From July 2006 until May 2009, he worked as a technical advisor for ICF Emergency Management Services in Baton Rouge. His work in economic development includes a five-year stint as CEO for the Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development in Camden, Ark., between December 2001 and February 2006.

NICHOLAS JOHNSON

With 14 years of public service in the state of Texas and eight years involvement in economic business development, Nicholas Johnson is currently economic development coordinator for the Texas Association of Regional Councils in Austin, Texas, where he has worked since October 2008.

From May 2005 until October 2008, Johnson worked as a business development specialist for the city of Austin, Texas. His career also included work in public affairs, marketing and education.

Johnson is a 2003 graduate of Texas State University where he earned a master’s degree in public administration.

DREW PAGE

Drew Page was CEO of the East St. Mary Parish Chamber of Commerce from 1983 until 1985. Since his time in the Tri-parish region, he worked as CEO of the Duncan Area Economic Development Corp. in Duncan, Okla., from 1985 to 1994. Page then moved on to become president and CEO of Enterprise Volusia Inc., from 1994 until 2001. He also worked as president and CEO of the Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Corp. in Athens, Ga., from 2002 until 2010.

Page earned a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern College and was a Vietnam era U.S. Marine.

SEAN STOCKARD

As president and CEO of the Business Development Corp., of Vernon, Texas, since August 2005, Sean Stockard has been in charge of creating and retaining family-wage jobs through business startups, retention, expansion and recruitment.

From 1996 until mid-2005, Stockard worked as director of economic transition for the Tri-City Industrial Development Council in Kennewick, Wash. He is also experienced in public relations and communications.

Stockard earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities at Washington State University in 1995 and, in 2006, secured a certificate of economic development at the International Economic Development Council in Washington, D.C.

The TEDA search is being conducted by Johnson & Associates of Austin, Texas.