Executive Team
Gerald Billes
AIA, NCARB, NOMA
As an owner and principal of architectural and planning firms since 1975, Mr. Billes has extensive educational training and experience in architecture, urban design, and master planning. He is a licensed architect in four states and has managed numerous architectural and planning projects for clients in the public and private sectors. His work has included architectural design, master planning, interior design, land use and zoning, project feasibility studies, and transportation planning.
Mr. Billes has served as an associate professor and adjunct professor at Tulane University‘s School of Architecture, and as an adjunct professor at Southern University’s School of Architecture. He has written articles and lectured to professional, academic and community organizations about the value of design and about specific aspects of the design profession.
Mr. Billes has overseen the development of major projects, including the Whole Foods Market, Phase II of the Aquarium of the Americas, New Orleans International Airport Concourse “C” Expansion, the French Market Revitalization Plan and the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. As one of three principals-in-charge of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Phase III Expansion,
Mr. Billes contributed to the management of the $205,000,000 project. Mr. Billes has directed scores of other projects including the Repairs and Renovations to the Louisiana Superdome, the City of Opelousas Comprehensive Land Use and Zoning Ordinance, the Lambert Advisory Neighborhoods Rebuilding Plan, the New Orleans African American Museum and Brad Pitt’s Make It Right project in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.
There are few architects or planners with the experience and expertise that Mr. Billes possesses. He knows the shortest path to the most effective results. A storm event presents a time-sensitive condition where those affected need quick action in order to resume their lives without a long interruption. Billes has worked with national FEMA representatives, city, state and national departments, political representatives of neighborhood subdivisions and with affected citizens. They all need the expertise of a knowledgeable consultant and they expect the best outcome. The following is a representation of the types and sizes of projects that Mr. Billes has completed over the past 10 years related to Storm Disaster Recovery.
Master of Architecture Advanced Studies, Urban Design and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, 1972
Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture Tulane University New Orleans, LA, 1970
Architect in Louisiana – No. 3600
Architect in Mississippi – No. 2034
Architect in Florida – No. AR0013121
Architect in Texas – No. 22451
NCARB Certificate – No. 34158
Planner-in-Charge, Louisiana
Interior Designer, Louisiana – No. 136
Commercial Contractor, Louisiana – No. 54463
American Institute of Architects Member, National, State, and New Orleans Chapter from 1985-present, New Orleans Chapter President, Secretary 1991, 1988 – 1989
National Organization of Minority Architects
Charter Member of LA Chapter since 1998
Vice-President 2002, President 2010
Dean’s Advisory Board Member
Tulane School of Architecture, 1999 – 2010
Adjunct Professor, 2006 – 2009 Southern University School of Architecture
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Board Member 2009-present
Board of Building Standards and Appeals for the City of New Orleans Board Member, 2007-2014
ACE Mentor Program Executive Board Member
Co-Chairman, Mayor’s Transition Team, Neighborhood Conservation Task Force, 2002
Park Timbers Homeowner’s Assn., President, 2003 – 2004
Algiers Point Neighborhood Association President, 1976
New Orleans Botanical Garden Foundation Board of Trustees, 2001-2004
Governor’s Commission on International Trade, Industry and Tourism Former Board Member
Arts Council of New Orleans
Former Board Member
Vieux Carre Commission
Architectural Review Committee,
1991-1994
Young Leadership Council
Role Model, 1991
Dryades Young Men’s Christian Association Role Model, 1994
Tulane University Alumni Assn. Former Board Member, 1996-1998
The Cheick Hamala Diabate Institute for the Performing Arts, Music School, Kita Mali, Africa
New Orleans African American Museum New Orleans, LA
Artspace NOLA Artist Housing New Orleans, LA
Repairs and Renovations to the Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Civil District Court Program New Orleans, LA
Opelousas Zoning and Land Use Ordinance Opelousas, LA
Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office New Orleans, LA
Audubon Louisiana Nature Center New Orleans , Louisiana
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Phases II and III New Orleans, LA
Design and construction of a $95,000,000 and a $185,000,000 expansion of a Convention Center
New Orleans International Airport, Concourse “C” Kenner, LA
Renovation & expansion of a concourse through four-phase, $24,000,000 construction process
Aquarium of the Americas, Phase II IMAX Theater Addition New Orleans, LA
Design and construction of a $21,000,000 addition, including a 350-seat IMAX Theater and rotating exhibition gallery
New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts New Orleans, LA
Renovation and expansion of 19th century warehouses into a $24,000,000 state-of-the-art high school for the arts
Filmore Parc Apartments, Phases 1 and 2 New Orleans, LA
Renovation to 164 unit two-story 1950’s 4-plex and 8-plex structures for a total of $2.8 million
Will Alexander Library Renovation and Expansion, Dillard University New Orleans, LA
Renovation and expansion of a library to create offices, stacks, study rooms and research facility
Harrah’s Shreveport Hotel and Low-Rise Expansion Shreveport, LA
Design and construction of a $147,000,000, 514-room hotel/ conference center and 440-car parking garage adjacent to an existing riverboat casino
House of Blues New Orleans, LA
Renovation of an historic warehouse into a $5,000,000 restaurant and music club
College of Business, Jackson State University Jackson, MS
Design of a new five-story structure to house the College of Business for $16,000,000 and the interiors (FF&E) for $1,800,000
Hilton Riverside Hotel and Towers New Orleans, LA
Reconstruction of an existing hotel when damaged by a ship that lost control along the Mississippi River, the construction cost of $5,000,000 included replacement of hotel rooms
Hilton Riverside Master Plan New Orleans, LA
Development of a Master Plan for an 800-room expansion of a 1,600 room, full-service hotel
Arabella Station Mixed Use Development New Orleans, LA
Design and construction of a 66,000 sq. ft. mixed-use development in a circa 1890 streetcar barn along Magazine Street, an active retail corridor
Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation, Louisiana Landmarks Society, Artspace Bell School, 2018
Honor Award, AIA Louisiana, The Cheick Hamala Diabate Institute for the Performing Arts, 2018
Award of Merit, Unbuilt Architecture, AIA New Orleans, The Cheick Hamala Diabate Institute for the Performing Arts, 2018
Billes Architects named one of 50 Companies Louisiana Can’t Do Without 10/12 Corridor Magazine, Spring 2010
Whole Foods Market “Top Ten Buildings of the Past 10 Years” New Orleans Magazine, June 2007
Honor Award, National Organization of Minority Architects, 2002 Yosemite Drive Residence (to B/MA, G.W. Billes designer, G.W. Billes & Frances C. Billes residence) Algiers, LA
Honor Award, National Organization of Minority Architects, 2002 New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Honor Award, Louisiana Architects Association, 2001 New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Winner, Jurors’ Favorite, New Orleans Chapter, AIA, 1999 CANstruction Competition (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Honor Award, Historic District Landmarks Commission, 1997 Pioneer in Preservation (to Gerald W. Billes) New Orleans, LA
Honor Award, Louisiana Architects Association, 1995 Xavier University Library/Resource Center and Pharmacy Addition (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Honor Award, AIA Gulf States, 1994 Benjamin Franklin Senior High School (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Honor Award of Excellence, Louisiana Architects Association, 1993 New Orleans Museum of Art (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Design Diaspora: Black Architects and International Architecture, 1970-1990 An Exhibition of Built Projects at the Chicago Athenaeum (to B/MA) Chicago, IL
Honor Award of Excellence, Louisiana Architects Association, 1991 Aquarium of the Americas (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Honor Award of Design Excellence, Southern Accents, 1991 Woldenberg Riverfront Park (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Award of Merit, New Orleans Chapter, AIA, 1990 Renovation of 839 St. Charles Avenue (to B/MA, offices of B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Design Citation, Progressive Architecture Journal, 1989 New Orleans Convention Center Expansion (to B/MA) New Orleans, LA
Michael Samuel Todd
COO, CFO
Michael Samuel Todd, MBA, is results driven, highly motivated and an accomplished corporate finance professional, offering over thirty-five years of experience managing financial operations and multi-million dollars portfolios in the banking, higher education, and corporate sectors. He is a proven leader with a successful track record of managerial experience in operations acuity, financial analysis, fiscal and budgetary management, strategic planning and budgeting, construction management, risk management, cash and investment management, and information technology and telecommunications implementations. He has demonstrated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) expertise and outstanding triumphs in higher education and nonprofit organization compliances, General Acceptance Accounting Principle (GAAP) compliance and internal controls, while cultivating ethical integrity and diversity.
Todd was hired (December 2018) to serve as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the architect firm. Since Todd has taken these two leadership positions, he has been running a marathon to reorganize the company, Billes Architects and relaunching of Billes Products and Billes Architecture Residential Designs. With the re-imagining of the firm and couple with the challenges and opportunities of rebuilding the extending businesses, the new opportunity of being certified as a “qualified HUBZone small business concern (SBC) (February 2019) with the U.S. Small Business Administration under the HUBZone Program, this federal program will continue to keep Todd busy to insure the firm will be at the table to gain a greater opportunities in being awarded both businesses and federal governmental agencies contracts in the future.
Todd’s career began in the corporate sector of the oil and gas industry. He’s had career detours in higher education at two Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), with positions of Chief Financial Officer and Chief Facility Officer and in corporate banking with the positions of Commercial and Consumer Lender and Vice President of Institution Banking (Business Development).
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Todd is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the African Diaspora Consortium (ADC). The mission of the ‘’African Diaspora Consortium’’ is to impact the educational, economic, and artistic outcomes and opportunities of Black populations across the African Diaspora positively. We envision a world where students and individuals across cultures and borders have shared knowledge, experiences, and expectations for themselves and others.
Separately from his already demanding work schedule, Todd is a Senior Financial Analyst Consultant with a boutique pension and investment consulting practice with the practice focusing on financial advisors for municipalities, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations with the focus on providing financial management oversight, financial reporting, and preparing debt financing applications and presentations to lenders.
He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Dillard University. He is a graduate of Harvard University’s Institute for Educational Management (IEM) program for senior level academic officers. Also, he has leadership certifications from New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute and Bryan Bell Metropolitan Leadership Forum.
In the non-profit sector, Todd has been appointed to serve as a Board member in the Greater New Orleans’ area. He currently serves on the Boards of Central Business District (CBD) Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC), Daughters of Charity Services (Marillac Community Health Centers), Family Services of Greater New Orleans, Friends of City Park, Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, The Salvation Army New Orleans Command, United Way of Southeast Louisiana, and Uptown Jazz Orchestra. He previously served as a Board member of Miller-McCoy Academy Mathematics and Business for Charter School, Dryades YMCA School of Commerce, Louisiana Council for Economic Education, and Southern Association of Colleges and Universities – Small Colleges Advisory.