Acadiana Business

Top 50 table reservation deadline Aug. 24

by Leslie Turk

Reserved tables of eight are $450, and the deadline to reserve one is next Wednesday, Aug. 2.

ABiz's annual Top 50 luncheon, sponsored by Whitney Bank and Allen & Gooch law firm, will be held Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Cajundome Convention Center. The luncheon honors Acadiana's Top 50 Privately Held Companies and locally based publicly traded companies. See both lists here.

This year's keynote speaker is Peter Ricchiuti, assistant dean of the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. A former investment banker in the Boston office of Kidder Peabody & Co., Ricchiuti served for five years as the assistant state treasurer and chief investment officer for the state of Louisiana before joining the university faculty. His highly acclaimed Burkenroad Reports follows undervalued and overlooked stocks in six Southern states. He and his program have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BARRON's, CNBC, CNN, NPR and others. A popular speaker, Ricchiuti was also selected by the NFL to coach members of the New Orleans Saints on managing their investments.

The Schumacher Group, ranked No. 2 on the list, will receive The Dealmaker of the Year Award, and Louisiana Rice Mill, which debuted at No. 11, will be honored as Newcomer of the Year. The Acadiana Economic Development Council will announce the winner of The Acadiana Honors Award at the luncheon as well.

Tickets are $50 per person or $450 for a reserved table for eight. For more information or to download a ticket order form online, go to www.theind.com/indevents or contact Robin Hebert at (337) 769-8603 by phone or by email at [email protected].

Rob Eddy and The Pinnacle Group serve as the VIP parking sponsor for the luncheon. Vidox Productions and The AEDC are supporting sponsors and Fire & Safety Specialists, Inc. is a contributing sponsor. Read here for more details on the luncheon and its sponsors.