New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center President Michael J. Sawaya Named to the Biz New Orleans 'New Orleans 500'

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New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center President Michael J. Sawaya Named to the Biz New Orleans 'New Orleans 500'

11/10/2022
NEW ORLEANS – Convention Center President, Michael J. Sawaya, has been named to the 2023 “New Orleans 500” list by Biz New Orleans magazine. “The New Orleans 500” is annual publication celebrating the most powerful business leaders in the Greater New Orleans area and surrounding parishes who are driving the greater New Orleans economy today and making decisions that will shape the region’s future.

Michael J. Sawaya

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. The results of these efforts are LEED Gold certification, making the NOENMCC the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana, the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 for Operations and Maintenance, and the first convention center in the world to be awarded initial certification under LEED v4.1 O+M.

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 its launch 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 as one of the ‘New Orleans 500’ is quite an honor,” said Convention Center President, Michael J. Sawaya. “My role and responsibility as an effective leader of one of New Orleans’s crown jewels is not one that I take lightly. Our commitments to sustainability, to our internal and external customers, and to the fine people of New Orleans stems from a desire to do the most good we possibly can. As we move forward into the future, we are immensely excited to show everyone the benefits of our $557 million Capital Improvement Plan which will further cement our role as a leading-edge organization that builds facilities to positively impact the economy of the city and state.”

About the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans is Built to Host! With 1.1 million square feet of prime exhibit space, in an entirely contiguous hall, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) provides the largest single exhibit space in the country and is the sixth largest convention center in the nation. NOENMCC features an award-winning staff and first class amenities in the city that’s Built to Host. A leading contributor to the city’s robust tourism economy, the Convention Center’s event activity has produced $90.1 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening, including $5.7 billion in new tax revenue for state and local governments. www.mccno.com

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