Roger Ogden is a real estate developer, civic leader, and philanthropist. He has been a leader in the development and acquisition of more than $2 billion in commercial real estate including shopping centers, hotels and office properties and public pro bono projects. As co-founder of Stirling Properties, for 20 years he led the company as principal and CEO in the development and acquisition of a $200 million portfolio of shopping centers. In 1996, Roger developed the Omni Riverfront Hotel, pioneering development on Convention Center Boulevard. He then acquired and redeveloped the Shops at Canal Place, a five-star mall in downtown New Orleans featuring Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany, Brooks Brothers, Anthropologie, and others together with an attached parking garage. In 2003, Roger completed the Loews New Orleans Hotel on Poydras Street and the restoration of the adjacent Piazza d’Italia. This project involved the creative adaptive re-use of the former Lykes Steamship Office Building. Mr. Ogden is a principal of the partnership that acquired and redeveloped the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in the French Quarter following Hurricane Katrina.
Roger Ogden has been extraordinarily active in many civic endeavors, including past Chairman of the LSU Board of Supervisors, past Chairman of the Audubon Park Commission, and chairman of the boards of many other public and non-profit organizations. In connection with his civic work, he has donated his time and talents as the coordinating developer of the New Orleans Aquarium of the Americas and Woldenberg Park, restoration of the historic Louisiana Supreme Court building. He chaired the design and construction committee for the development of the new $60 million business school complex at LSU and currently serves on the board of the LSU Foundation and executive committee of the Flagship Coalition. He also donated $12 million to endow the LSU Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College (named after his father and son).
Mr. Ogden’s experience and passion for economic development dovetails with his service as the inaugural chairman of the SoLA Super Region Committee (a collaboration between GNO Inc. and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber). Most recently on the New Orleans Aviation Board, he has helped lead the development of a new $1 billion world-class terminal to be opened in the fall of 2019. Additionally, Roger is a member of the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region and is recognized as one of New Orleans leading entrepreneurs in “How They did It…Profiles of New Orleans Entrepreneurs” published in 2009. He is an emeritus member of the GNO Inc. Board of Directors and currently serves on the statewide Committee of 100.
Committed to the arts, Mr. Ogden donated over 1,000 pieces of art from his personal collection to found the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, which opened in August 2003. The project has led to a renaissance of this historically important area of the city and is nationally recognized as the largest and most comprehensive collection of Southern art. Mr. Ogden has served on the Board of Directors of the Louisiana State Museum, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Ballet, LSU Museum of Art, and New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA). He currently chairs the art committee of the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion Foundation and has served on the board of directors of the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.
Mr. Ogden has received numerous professional, business and civic awards which include United Way’s Tocqueville Award in 2019, Lifetime Achievement Award by Association for Corporate Growth in 2019, Times-Picayune Loving Cup, Louisiana Legend by Louisiana Public Broadcasting in 2015, New Orleanian of the Year by Gambit Magazine, Metropolitan Area Committee’s Special Achievement Award for Metro New Orleans, Mayor’s Arts Award – Arts Council of New Orleans, LSU Illustrious Alumnus in 2011, “Community Hero” Torchbearer in the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay, elected to LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, Humanitarian Award from National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Family Service of Greater New Orleans Ten Outstanding Persons Award, John G. Tower Award by Kappa Sigma Fraternity, LSU Business School Hall of Distinction, Anti-Defamation League’s A.I. Botnick Torch of Liberty Award for Humanitarian Service, Business Higher Education Council – First Citizen of the Learning Society Award, Committee on Urban Agenda Urban Hero Award by the National Urban League, named one of the 30 Driving Forces in New Orleans by City Business, New Orleans Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement, Greater New Orleans Philanthropist of the Year in 2009, and Urban League Empowerment Award.
Mr. Ogden is an honors graduate of Louisiana State University where he graduated second in the College of Business and served as Student Body President. He holds a Juris Doctorate Degree and is an Order of the Coif graduate of Tulane Law School where he was elected to The Law Review. He has been a resident of New Orleans for 48 years.