Matt Wolfe

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) selected Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) as the Economic Development Organization of the Year, with a “Gold” designation for communities over 500,000 residents. This global award was distributed during the organization’s 2022 Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, and is the highest organizational honor given during IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards.


IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the… Show more

The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) selected Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) as the Economic Development Organization of the Year, with a “Gold” designation for communities over 500,000 residents. This global award was distributed during the organization’s 2022 Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, and is the highest organizational honor given during IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards.


IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. The ‘Gold Rank’ for 2022 EDO of the Year is given to the leading economic development organization demonstrating goals and objectives, program innovation and continuity, leadership quality and consistency, performance benchmarks and measured metrics, and community interaction and impact.


In selecting GNO, Inc. for this honor, the IEDC judges were given the opportunity to learn more about numerous accomplishments that the organization has achieved over the past year. Show less

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded a $50 million federal grant to H2theFuture, a 25-organization partnership with representation from across South Louisiana. H2theFuture will develop a new energy cluster in South Louisiana, spanning the clean hydrogen life cycle, from R&D at Louisiana universities, to an end-use project at the Port of South Louisiana.

This award is one of 21 projects from around the country chosen from 529 applicants that were funded by a $1… Show more

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded a $50 million federal grant to H2theFuture, a 25-organization partnership with representation from across South Louisiana. H2theFuture will develop a new energy cluster in South Louisiana, spanning the clean hydrogen life cycle, from R&D at Louisiana universities, to an end-use project at the Port of South Louisiana.

This award is one of 21 projects from around the country chosen from 529 applicants that were funded by a $1 billion appropriation from the American Rescue Plan Act, which aims to boost economic recovery from the pandemic and rebuild American communities, including those managing decades of disinvestment. The grant will be supplemented by $24.5 million in matching funds provided by the State of Louisiana, bringing the total project size to $74.5 million.

H2theFuture, led by Greater New Orleans, Inc. and its affiliate Greater New Orleans Development Foundation, will develop and implement a clean hydrogen cluster strategy that will retain and create Louisiana jobs, while substantially lowering carbon emissions in the South Louisiana industrial corridor. The H2theFuture Coalition will execute projects across five interrelated workstreams, which are each individually funded by this grant. Show less

A Bronze Rank for for Special Purpose Website – DestinationGNO is a website that showcases the myriad lifestyle options one can choose from when living in Greater New Orleans – and which serves as a talent attraction and marketing tool for Southeast Louisiana. Heavy on visuals and short copy, DestinationGNO lets the pictures and videos do the talking to highlight a region that is diverse and welcoming, culturally rich, family-friendly, and inextricably intertwined with the great… Show more

A Bronze Rank for for Special Purpose Website – DestinationGNO is a website that showcases the myriad lifestyle options one can choose from when living in Greater New Orleans – and which serves as a talent attraction and marketing tool for Southeast Louisiana. Heavy on visuals and short copy, DestinationGNO lets the pictures and videos do the talking to highlight a region that is diverse and welcoming, culturally rich, family-friendly, and inextricably intertwined with the great outdoors.

A Silver Rank for Magazine and Newsletter – Region magazine is a quarterly custom publication produced by GNO, Inc. by Renaissance Publishing. Each issue contains a deep dive on key issues which impact the local economy, recaps recent accomplishments from around the market, and showcases business leaders. The magazine serves a dual purpose of helping prospects outside of the region understand what’s happening in Greater New Orleans, while also bringing exposure to local stakeholders who are driving local economic growth.

A Gold Rank for Print Brochure – In an effort to elevate business attraction, GNO, Inc. developed a marketing campaign to “spin” our story. We identified 50 of the top site selectors who are actively working on projects and kicked off the campaign by sending them a customized turntable, and through a partnership with local music venue Tipitina’s to curate an original New Orleans album, have begun to send a record to each site selector on a quarterly basis. Customization of the turntable included a GNO, Inc. logo on the exterior, a custom slipmat, quote from Bob Dylan mounted on the inside (“There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better.”), and an informational wrap around the box with market data. They have also created a newsletter wrap around the album that provides key information about the region, ranging from new certified sites, recent ED wins, new rankings, workforce programs, and quality of life highlights. Show less

Received national recognition for production of the opening video for RES/CON, a resilience conference in New Orleans

In developing these rankings, Site Selection weighed jobs, capital investment, jobs per capita and investment per capita. Over the past year, $3.4 billion in capital investment has been made and 1,988 new direct jobs have been created in the Greater New Orleans region.

Additional criteria include the creativity of economic development strategy; scope of project activity; and the ability to accurately document the link between the EDO and real results.

In developing these rankings, Site Selection weighed 2013 numbers in jobs, capital investment, jobs per capita, and investment per capita. Notably, GNO, Inc. was joined by fellow Louisiana groups Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) and Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (SWLA) – meaning that three Louisiana groups were ranked in the Top 10, out of over 13,000 in the USA.

Awards issued for Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan App and DestinationGNO.com

Award issued for DestinationGNO.com

Award issued for GNOi+ (iPad app for Greater New Orleans, Inc.)

Award was issued for WorkNOLA.com