Stephen Moret was appointed secretary of Louisiana Economic
Development by Gov. Bobby Jindal in January 2008. As the leader of
Gov. Jindal's economic development team, Moret is focused on
transforming LED into one of the top state economic development
agencies in the country.
Moret's vision is for LED to become a fast, creative and highly
responsive partner for corporate executives and site selection
consultants; a champion for small business and other existing
Louisiana employers; and the architect of Louisiana's economic
renaissance. Some of LED's top wins under Moret's leadership
include landing Louisiana's fifth Fortune 1000 headquarters,
attracting EA's first North American test center and recruiting the
first nuclear module manufacturing facility in the U.S., as well as
establishing LED's highly acclaimed new workforce development
initiative, Louisiana FastStart.
Experience
Prior to being appointed by Gov. Jindal, Moret served as
president and chief executive officer of the Baton Rouge Area
Chamber, or BRAC. Under Moret's leadership from 2004 to 2008, BRAC
grew into a national-caliber regional economic development
organization. Revenues tripled at BRAC during Moret's tenure,
following the launch of "The Campaign for a Greater Baton Rouge," a
five-year, $15 million economic development initiative for the
nine-parish Capital Region. Additionally, BRAC received dozens of
national awards from ACCRA/C2ER, Southern Economic Development
Council, American Chamber of Commerce Executives and other groups
for economic development planning, marketing, communications and
public policy research.
Moret's previous professional endeavors include working as a
management consultant with McKinsey & Company, a leading global
consultancy serving senior executives of Fortune 500 companies and
large public sector organizations. He also served as a project
supervisor with Trinity Consultants, where he advised large
industrial facilities in multiple states on environmental issues
related to major plant expansions.
Moret also served as an assistant to the LSU chancellor, an
independent consultant to Harvard University and a public policy
fellow with the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, or
PAR. His research at PAR on restructuring Louisiana's higher
education system earned the Most Distinguished Research Award from
the National Governmental Research Association.
Moret's work has been recognized by the Ford Foundation, which
selected him as one of 30 Regionalism and Sustainable Development
Fellows in the U.S. He recently was a contributing author to
"Retooling for Growth: Building a 21st Century Economy in America's
Older Industrial Areas," a book published by Brookings Institution
Press. In the book, economic development experts present new
frameworks, cutting-edge analysis and innovative policy solutions
through which the nation's government, business, civic and
community leaders can sculpt a sustainable and supportable economy
for older industrial areas.
Education
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University
M.B.A., Harvard Business School (Dean's Award recipient)
Graduate, Leadership Louisiana
