Former Pennington head makes donation, Benson Capital official to speak

Benson Capital Partner director to speak to ACG Tuesday

Mike Katz, managing director of Benson Capital Partners, will be the guest speaker at the Association of Corporate Growth’s June luncheon.

The luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St., in New Orleans.

Admission is free for association members, $65 for nonmembers. To register, go to acg.org/louisiana.

LENTS acquired by national management group

Louisiana Ear, Nose, Throat and Sinus, a Baton Rouge-based practice, has been acquired by Elevate ENT Partners.

Elevate provides services to independent ENT and allergy practices such as financial management, revenue cycle management, contracting, marketing and human resources. The company has more than 70 centers.

Dr. Ryan T. Boone, founding physician at Louisiana Ear, Nose, Throat and Sinus, said in a statement that Elevate stood out as the idea partner to help the practice grow, while allowing the clinic to remain autonomous.

“This is the first of many anticipated ENT acquisitions in Louisiana, a new state for Elevate,” James Polfreman, CEO of Elevate, said in a statement.

Ex-Pennington head pledges $1M to research center

Dr. Claude Bouchard, the former executive director of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, and his wife, Monique Chagnon, have pledged $1 million to create a fund to support postdoctoral fellows in basic research.

The Claude Bouchard-Monique Chagnon Fund will also support fellowships in clinical and public health and population science.

Bouchard and Chagnon said they hope that their gift represents only the launch of the fund and others will contribute over time.

Bouchard served as executive director of Pennington from 1999 to 2010, after being on faculty at Laval University in Quebec, Canada for more than 30 years. Under his leadership, Pennington created a new Division of Education, to support the training of postdoctoral fellows and network with relevant units of the National Institutes of Health and the National Association of Postdoctoral Fellows.

Homewood Suites New Orleans completes renovation

Homewood Suites New Orleans has completed a multimillion-dollar, music-themed renovation of the 166-suite hotel on the corner of Baronne and Poydras streets.

The upgrades include new furnishings, wall and floor coverings in guest rooms and a new look for the two story lobby and front desk area. A regulation-sized shuffleboard has been added to the hotel.

“Our new décor reflects our home, New Orleans, and our desire to make guests feel at home when they are visiting. It is a comfortable, welcoming, and uniquely New Orleans take on our popular apartment-style accommodations,” Benjamin Roberts, general manager, said in a statement.