Technology plays an increasingly important role in all aspects of our lives today. The more entrenched it is in government systems, in our offices and in our home appliances the more vulnerable we are to cyber attacks. On this edition of Out to Lunch, Stephanie Riegel introduces two local experts on the subject of cyber…

There’s a lot of cool stuff going on in Baton Rouge. From the redevelopment of neighborhoods downtown and in Mid City to the young entrepreneurial culture that is fostering startup companies willing to take risk and take advantage of new technologies. Gerald Drefahl’s company, Kinesics, is a homegrown, biotech start up that licenses a software…

Though Baton Rouge, in many ways, is slow to change, in recent years there has been a gradual shift in the balance of power. New, young firms and new, young business leaders are taking over from the Baby Boomer generation that preceded them. One such leader is Julie Laperouse. Julie is Director of Training at…

Few industries in our economy today are changing as rapidly and dramatically as health care. In Baton Rouge we are far from immune to these national changes.  Teri Fontenot is President and CEO of Woman’s Hospital, the only independent, community-owned women’s and children’s hospital in the country and the largest birthing and neonatal intensive care…

Ted Kergan is the largest franchisee of Sonic drive in restaurants in the state of Louisiana. Ted owns 58 Sonic locations in the central and southern part of the state. That sounds like a lot but it’s just a fraction of the more than 150 Sonic restaurants Ted has developed during his nearly 40-year career….

Nationwide, there’s a lot of talk these days about two major subjects: Infrastructure and health care. Specifically, how to improve and rebuild roads, bridges and other vital connections that we all depend on, and how to pay for the level of increasingly complex care that our aging population requires. Stephanie’s guests on Out to Lunch…

We’re serious about our food in south Louisiana, and food-related businesses are as interesting and varied as are our own family recipes for gumbo or oyster dressing. As the food industry becomes more complex and sophisticated there are ever more opportunities for entrepreneurs to craft new business models and come up with new ways of…

Local retailers give a city a sense of place, setting it apart from the next big exit off the interstate. In Baton Rouge, we’re fortunate to have several much-loved local retailers who, in some cases, have spent generations serving Baton Rouge shoppers with quality products.   Manuel Martinez is a well known fixture in Baton…

Teaching skills and imparting knowledge are perhaps the greatest gifts and tools we can give to the young, and the young at heart, hungry to learn. Local Baton Rouge entrepreneurs are coming up with creative ways to turn the act of teaching and educating into small businesses with limitless potential. Jacques Hopkins was an electrical…

In recent months, female empowerment has become an important topic dominating the media, and the issues raised by the #metoo movement have forced this country to have important discussions about how women are treated in the workplace and beyond. Here in Baton Rouge we have some incredibly strong, powerful women who have their own stories…