Kelsey Short

                                             Executive Director, Business Expansionand Retention

 

In his current role with Louisiana Economic Development, Short is responsible for leading the Business Expansion and Retention Group, a team of project managers that focus on business development support for existing Louisiana businesses. Major areas of responsibility include outreach to decision-makers at existing Louisiana companies, business development and project management, case management support to companies on issues impacting Louisiana businesses, incentive contract management and reporting, oversight of outreach efforts to Louisiana businesses during disasters with activation of the Business Emergency Outreach Center, data collection and development of reports on business climate. He has managed new capital investment projects exceeding $27.5 billion and facilitated the creation and retention of over 17,000 jobs.

 

Kelsey came to state government with 22 years of experience in the agribusiness industry. His early years were with Land ‘O Lakes and the Pillsbury Company, primarily involved with food ingredient marketing and merchandising. Most recently he served 14 years with Omega Protein (formerly Zapata Corporation), the leading U.S. manufacturer of marine-based proteins, edible oils and organic fertilizers. As Executive Vice President his responsibilities included marketing, sales, manufacturing, logistics/transportation, quality control and product development. Short traveled extensively in Mainland China in the 1990s while developing a protein manufacturing plant in Guangdong Province. In 1997, Short led a three-man management team raising $145 million dollars in an initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Mr. Short obtained a B.S. and M.S in Economics from the University of Missouri.
He is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.
Kelsey is also a graduate of the Venture Capital Institute at Emory University.

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In his spare time, he is an avid live music fan and serves a judge at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee.

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