Rees and SENO honored as entrepreneurs of the year

Rick Rees and SENO (Social Entrepreneurs of New Orleans) were honored as entrepreneurs of the year at this year’s Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs Awards Gala. Rees was named the 2009 Tulane Most Distinguished Entrepreneur while SENO was named Tulane Social Entrepreneurs of the Year. The gala, which also honored the winners of this year’s Tulane Business Plan Competition, took place on April 17 at the Westin New Orleans at Canal Place.

Rees (A&S ’74, MBA ’75) is co-founder of LongueVue Capital, a private equity company that makes value-oriented investments in middle market companies. He is the former chief financial officer of Halter Marine Group, a $1 billion revenue company at the time of its merger with Friede Goldman Inc. Following the merger, he joined FGI as chief financial officer.

Rees previously served as president of Texas Drydock Inc., a rig repair and conversion business. He also served as principal of Maritime Capital Inc., a company formed in 1989 to purchase and service a portfolio of distressed marine loans.

SENO’s mission is to build a powerful community and ecosystem of support for social entrepreneurship so that social entrepreneurship can thrive and all citizens can act as agents of change. The principals of SENO include Andrea Chen, Morgan Williams, Kristen Hoplin, David Robinson-Morris, Christopher Brown, Jewel Constance, Tom Fischmann, Chris Boudy, Tung Ly, Eduardo Platon, Karen Leung, Elizabeth Shephard, Lavonzell Nicholson, Lauren Bartlett, Blake Haney and Laura White.

The Freeman School’s Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship presents the Tulane Most Distinguished Entrepreneur and Tulane Social Entrepreneur of the Year awards to recognize individuals and organizations that exemplify true entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropic generosity.