Regional Director, Business Development - Acadiana

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Reports To: SVP, Communications, Broadcast, and Government Relations

Direct Reports: None

FLSA Status: Full-time salaried exempt

Application Deadline: Rolling application

Work Location: In territory [Lafayette/Acadiana]

Position Summary

As businesses grow, new projects take shape, and professionals put down roots across Louisiana, opportunities emerge to connect them with Gayle Benson’s business portfolio. The Regional Director, Business Development turns those connections into meaningful business opportunities for the Gayle Benson Team of Businesses: New Orleans Saints, New Orleans Pelicans, Laketown Squadron, Benson Capital, Corporate Realty, other affiliated businesses and real estate holdings. Based within the Acadiana region, this senior individual contributor brings established relationships, local credibility, and the curiosity to recognize where a organization’s needs or ambitions align with the portfolio’s capabilities. The Director builds trust with regional decision-makers, stays close to market activity, and develops qualified opportunities from initial conversation through introduction and ongoing follow-through. Success means translating regional knowledge and relationships into measurable results, working alongside business-line specialists who lead technical evaluation, due diligence, pricing, negotiations, and final decisions.

Business-Line Scope

• Saints, Pelicans, Squadron: Develop opportunities for premium tickets, suites, corporate sponsorships, and hospitality by understanding how prospects want to entertain clients, engage employees, build brand visibility, or enjoy the teams personally. Cultivate relationships with business owners, executives, project leaders, contractors, and suppliers whose interests align with the teams’ offerings.
• Benson Capital: Build connections with founders, owners, and management teams to identify prospective investments and strategic relationships aligned with Benson Capital’s investment criteria. Introduce qualified opportunities for evaluation and uncover potential customers, commercial partnerships, and real estate development opportunities for existing portfolio companies.
• Corporate Realty: Engage property owners, developers, and companies whose expansion, relocation, or operating needs may create opportunities for brokerage, leasing, or property management services. Identify potential acquisitions, development projects, and other real estate opportunities for review by Corporate Realty and the appropriate affiliated ownership entities.
• Strategic Growth Initiatives: Support evaluation of potential expansion opportunities for Benson-affiliated businesses as market conditions evolve. Identify emerging sectors, geographic markets, and strategic acquisitions that align with the portfolio's long-term growth objectives. Build relationships with owners, operators, and advisers who may facilitate future investments or affiliate development.

What You Will Be Doing:

For the entirety of the business portfolio, you will be responsible for building a trusted regional presence, and turning market insight into qualified opportunities:

• Develop and sustain relationships with business owners, executives, economic development organizations, chambers, lenders, utilities, civic leaders, professional advisers, and industry leaders. Become a credible, accessible connection to the portfolio within the assigned region.
• Stay ahead of regional activity. Track business expansions, relocations, major projects, and contractor activity to understand what is happening, who is involved, and when opportunities may emerge. Identify both local decision-makers and corporate contacts outside the region who influence purchasing and investment decisions.
• Initiate conversations, understand prospect needs, and assess strategic fit, decision-making authority, commercial potential, and timing. Develop each opportunity with enough context and a clear next step for the appropriate business team to act.
• Recognize when a relationship may create opportunities for more than one affiliated business and coordinate relevant introductions. Keep recommendations grounded in the prospect’s needs, with each business relationship able to stand on its own.
• Make introductions that move business forward: bring prospects and internal specialists together for substantive discussions, sharing relevant background, relationship context, and desired outcomes. Coordinate with existing account owners to maintain continuity and avoid duplicate outreach.
• Remain an active regional relationship resource as opportunities progress. Maintain communication, help resolve coordination challenges, and keep next steps moving while business-line specialists lead evaluation and execution.
• Partner with executive leadership and business-line leaders to identify target relationships, market opportunities, and coordinated priorities that guide regional business development efforts.
• Keep accurate records of contacts, qualified opportunities, internal ownership, next steps, and outcomes. Report on pipeline progress, emerging market developments, and measurable results attributable to the Director’s efforts.
• Protect confidential information, disclose potential conflicts, and respect each business’s approval authority. Undertake activities requiring professional licensing, registration, or other authorization only with the necessary credentials and organizational approval.
• Other duties as assigned.

Success in this role means building relationships that lead to qualified opportunities and measurable business results. Performance will reflect:

• Qualified opportunities accepted by the appropriate business teams for further evaluation or pursuit.
• Substantive meetings with decision-makers that establish a clear need and actionable next steps.
• Progress toward completed business, including attributable revenue and other approved economic results.
• Consistent, thoughtful relationship management and coordination with internal teams.

Objectives will align with each business line’s priorities and transaction timelines, with emphasis on the quality, progression, and impact of opportunities rather than activity volume alone.

What You Will Bring:

• An established network in the Acadiana region, with the trust and connections to engage business owners, executives, and other senior decision-makers.
• 10+ years of  experience in economic development, executive-level business development, commercial banking, commercial real estate, professional services, or a comparable relationship-driven field, with a track record of turning relationships into measurable business or economic development outcomes.
• Strong financial literacy and the ability to understand a prospect’s needs, assess commercial potential, and recognize opportunities across industries and business lines.
• The ability to listen thoughtfully, ask insightful questions, and bring the right people together for productive conversations that move opportunities forward.
• A proactive, independent approach to developing opportunities, managing competing priorities, and staying engaged from the first conversation through meaningful progress and results.
• The ability to work effectively with executives and business-line specialists, respect existing relationships and decision-making authority, and coordinate efforts across a diverse portfolio.
• The judgment to handle sensitive information, navigate potential conflicts, and represent the portfolio with professionalism.
• A willingness to learn the priorities and offerings of each business. Prior professional sports experience and technical expertise in every business line are not required.

What We Offer:

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance options
• 401K with employer contributions
• Paid parental leave
• PTO and paid holidays

Applications must be submitted online. Please do not mail or email resumes to the Saints. All qualified candidates will be contacted by phone and/or by email. Please do not contact the Saints Human Resources or Hiring Manager to check the status of your application. When applying, please be sure your updated contact information is provided.

The New Orleans Saints are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for candidates and employees regardless of their membership in any protected classifications. The Saints will not discriminate in violation of the law on the basis of race, color, age, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status, and pregnancy), religion, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, familial status, status as a victim of domestic violence, and/or any other legally protected class under applicable federal, state, or local laws. This anti-discrimination policy applies with respect to all employment decisions, including but not limited to hiring, promotion, discipline, and discharge. The Saints are committed to equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in compliance with the Americans Disabilities Act and state law.  If you feel you need an accommodation for a disability, please inform us.  Requests for accommodation will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.  If you request an accommodation, it is essential that you participate fully in the interactive process.