Nola Reporter

New  Orleans CityBusiness, a weekly business newspaper, has named Convention  Center President, Michael J. Sawaya, to their special “Power 50” list  of the most influential people in the Greater New Orleans area. This  honor is awarded to professionals who have made overall impacts on the  area’s economic development and have moved the community forward with  their energy and innovative ideas.

Sawaya joined the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in  early 2018 and has stewarded multiple transformative projects that have  reshaped the facility, positioning it to enhance its competitiveness in  the national event industry and its place in the New Orleans community.

Sawaya is at the helm of a $557 million Capital Improvement Plan that  will transform the facility to exceed the expectations of current and  future users and support the destination in being more competitive  nationally. The massive, transformative project also includes a  mixed-use entertainment district adjacent to the Convention Center that  creates an exciting new residential neighborhood  and enhances New  Orleans’s destination appeal.

Among the largest projects of the Capital Improvement Plan that Sawaya  has seen to completion was the construction of a 7.5-acre Pedestrian  Park that runs the entire length of the Convention Center, transforming  the way New Orleanians interact with the facility, improving the safety  of Convention Center Boulevard, and providing attendees with brand-new  ways to enjoy their stay at the facility.

Sawaya also implemented one of the largest environmental improvement  projects to ever be completed in the gulf coast area, which saw the New  Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center transition to  energy-efficient LED lighting, improvements to the facility’s water  usage, as well as upgrades to its heating and cooling systems,  significantly reducing the Convention Center’s carbon footprint by  lowering the amount of water and electricity needed to run the three  million square foot facility.

Additionally, Sawaya implemented policies that have positioned the  Convention Center as a national leader in providing real opportunities  to Small and Emerging Businesses (SEB) and Disadvantaged Business  Enterprises (DBE). Through its policies during his tenure, the  Convention Center

aggressively promotes the hiring of local vendors for the purchase of  goods and services and has created easy access to new business  opportunities.

Since the program launched in 2019, the Convention Center’s program has  increased SEB/DBE contracts by 36%, increased payments from 2% to 20%,  registered 1187 new businesses, grown the database to 1250 vendors  strong, and created the SEBconnect app.

Under his leadership, Sawaya put policies in place that helped the  Convention Center thrive throughout the uncertain times of the COVID-19  Pandemic, investing in the facility’s staff who continued to make  improvements and upgrades to the Convention Center.

“Being named to the ‘Power 50’ is a distinctive honor that underscores  the tremendous progress we have made as a facility that affects the  overall economy in New Orleans and Louisiana,” said Michael J. Sawaya.  “In a short amount of time, we have completed multiple transformative  projects that have already shown significant value to New Orleans  citizens as well as the clients we serve. Despite all of our recent  successes, we intend to surge  forward on a path of innovation and  progress, and will continue our role as a leading-edge organization that  builds facilities to positively impact the economy of the city and  state.”

Mr. Sawaya was honored as a CityBusiness Power 25 top influencer in New  Orleans Hospitality 2021 and a CityBusiness Tourism Newsmaker in 2022.

You can read more about the Power 50 list in the October 21st edition of New Orleans CityBusiness, and on their website at www.NewOrleansCityBusiness.com.   

Original source can be found here.