Derrick O. Martin is a Competitor.

Whether on the gridiron as a football player or in the boardroom as an Engineer with General Motors, Derrick O. Martin has distinguished himself as a leader and winner.  Martin grew up in a family of 4 children and stood out as an athlete, lettering in 2 sports. His abilities earned him the opportunity to play college football at the University of Arkansas and a degree from Jackson State University. Following college he was able to pursue a career in the NFL and later work in corporate America.   The same characteristics that made Martin a success in sports also translated to success in business.  These traits include a willingness to fight hard to protect and support his teammates, an incessant tenacity, and an unparalleled work ethic. Martin became known as one with boundless creativity, unquestionable integrity, and a supporter of the underdog.

Prior to joining AEDF, Martin served as the Director of Business Retention & Expansion at the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA). During his leadership role in Arizona, Martin championed Business Development for over 300k businesses in the Maricopa County’s Workforce Development Division.  He was tasked with managing workforce and economic development issues such as creating pipelines of talent, positioning businesses for sustainability and developing specialized training programs.   Martin’s experience also includes working to recruit fortune 500 companies in the space of Renewable Energy, Aerospace & Defense, Manufacturing and Bioscience.

Martin holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communications from Jackson State University along with certificates in Project Management from George Washington University and Six Sigma Studies from Kettering University formerly General Motors Institute.

Derrick O. Martin is a New Orleanian.

Derrick and his family moved to New Orleans half a decade ago. Martin quickly learned that New Orleans was like no other place in the world and fell in love with the people, the culture, and the promise. Martin often mentions how New Orleans was not his birthplace, but that NOLA welcomed him and it is his home.  Originally, Martin was a senior team member at the New Orleans Business Alliance where he led the efforts to help local New Orleans businesses stay and grow here.  Through this work, he became more enamored with the city and was blown away by the opportunity to help local businesses succeed. He later left NOLABA to lead economic development efforts in Algiers as the Executive Director for the Algiers Economic Development Foundation (AEDF).  In this capacity, Martin has redirected AEDF’s focus towards developing strategies for Business Retention, Expansion and Corporate Attraction as well as becoming an integral part of the state’s economic development eco-system.   Since 2014, the Community of Algiers has seen more than 1 million square feet of new construction and renovation, 1,700 jobs with more than $185 million in capital investment.

Derrick Martin is a Principled Family Man