By MCCNO Communications Department
The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) announced that Convention Center President Michael J. Sawaya was included in Biz New Orleans’ New Orleans 500 publication which profiles business leaders who are driving the greater New Orleans economy and shaping the region’s future.
Sawaya came to New Orleans in 2018 from San Antonio, TX. Since his arrival, he has been a shepherd of 
the New Orleans events industry, embarking on an ambitious $557-million five-year capital improvement plan – the largest in the NOENMCC’s 37-year history. He has also been the guiding force in getting the organization and the facility back to business following Hurricane Ida and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Michael J. Sawaya is a leader’s leader with 43 years of experience in the hospitality industry,” says Jerry Reyes, President of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority and Area Managing Director for Highgate Hotels. “The good work he does at the Convention Center ripples through the economy. From spearheading the transformation of part of the facility into a temporary field hospital early in the pandemic to working with the National Guard and the Louisiana Department of Health to house troops and patients after Hurricane Ida — Michael is an inspiring leader who continues to demonstrate his steadfast commitment to our organization and to the people of our region. We are thrilled that Biz New Orleans has recognized him in its New Orleans 500 publication.”
This year, under Sawaya’s leadership, the NOENMCC was selected as one of the city’s “Best Places to Work” by New Orleans CityBusiness and received a “New Orleans Top Workplaces” Award from The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. The NOENMCC was also named as a National Top Workplace for 2021, the only convention center in America to hold that title.
