Click here to register for the event

Taylor Porter is a presenting sponsor for the Third Annual South Louisiana Construction Economic Forum, "Presenting: The Future of Construction in Louisiana," to be held Thursday, Nov. 2, at L’Auberge Baton Rouge, as the Construction Financial Management Association and the Pelican Chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors, will address where the industry is heading, along with obstacles that stand in the way. Guest speakers will include: James Benham, JB Knowledge; Dr. Anirban Basu, Sage Policy Group; and Don Pierson, Louisiana Economic Development. Attendees will receive up to 3 CPE credits.

Along with Taylor Porter, Hannis T. Bourgeois, LLP, and Regions Bank are also presenting sponsors of the event.

Taylor Porter’s construction lawyers routinely represent and advise local, state and national construction industry leaders, including owners, general contractors, subcontractors, homebuilders, architects, engineers, material and equipment suppliers, and manufacturers.
Click here to read more about Taylor Porter's construction practice. 

​About the speakers:

James Benham is the Chief Executive Officer of JBKnowledge, Inc. James has led JBKnowledge to become a premier provider of technology solutions for the construction and insurance industries, with clients across North America, the Caribbean and the Middle East. JBKnowledge is the also the maker of the SmartBid, SmartCompliance and SmartInsight cloud and mobile solutions. As a rapidly growing business year after year, JBKnowledge is a seven-time recipient of the Aggie 100 award, six-time Newman 10 recipient, and was recently named to the LSU One Hundred for the second time. The company, and James, are headquartered in Bryan/College Station, TX with offices in North America and South America.With extensive experience in the design, development and use of technology to improve efficiency, James is a sought-after speaker across the United States, Canada and abroad on business information technology, data security and innovative technology solutions. James’ dynamic speaking style allows him to share his vast technical knowledge in a down-to-earth, engaging manner.

Dr. Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with offices in Pennsylvania and Indonesia.  The firm provides strategic analytical services to energy suppliers, law firms, medical systems, government agencies, and real estate developers among others. In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed him Chair of the Maryland Economic Development Commission.  He also serves as chairman of the Baltimore County Economic Advisory Committee.  He is also the Chief Economist to Associated Builders and Contractors and Chief Economic Advisor to the Construction Financial Management Association.  He serves similar functions for Visit Baltimore, the Maryland Association of Realtors, and Marcum, LLC. He currently lectures at Johns Hopkins University in Global Strategy.  He has also taught international economics, urban economics, micro- and macroeconomics at Hopkins. 

Don Pierson was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards to serve as Secretary for Louisiana Economic Development (LED). Pierson served as Assistant Secretary and Senior Director of Business Development for LED since January 2005. With executive-level leadership, his duties include the implementation of domestic and international economic development programs and job retention and creation efforts for the State of Louisiana. He is Governor John Bel Edwards’ primary representative to governmental officials, local communities, and site selector consultants on all economic issues. Pierson has over 27 years of economic development experience, and is a certified economic development professional. Before coming to LED, Pierson served for 17 years in the Shreveport/Bossier community as Executive Director of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation. In 2000, Governor Mike Foster appointed Pierson to the Louisiana Economic Development Council. A year later, Governor Foster again appointed him, this time to the Department of Economic Development Reorganization Task Force.