Damon Burns is a New Orleans native with over 19 years of executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and banking experience spanning the areas of municipal finance, climate finance, community development, and financial technology. Since 2016 he has serves as Chief Executive Officer of Finance New Orleans, a quasi-governmental green financial institution founded by the City of New Orleans in 1978 to invest in affordable housing and infrastructure projects that improve the quality of life in New Orleans.
Finance New Orleans encountered significant financial and operating challenges after Hurricane Katrina and the Great Recession that precipitated a 90% decline in its $400 million asset base almost overnight. For several years the reduction in balance sheet capacity limited the organization’s ability to create community impact in New Orleans. Since 2016, Burns has led a plan to reestablish FNO as a key stimulator of economic growth in New Orleans. The COVID pandemic of 2020 placed additional stress on the organization as recovery efforts were already underway. Despite these obstacles, FNO’s new vision includes the implementation of a green finance business model focused on providing homeowners, businesses and institutions with financial products that increase neighborhood stability, climate resilience, and economic opportunity.
His role also requires local and national leadership as an entirely new ecosystem of community stakeholders is required to help New Orleans reach its full potential. In addition to nurturing the local community, he spends considerable time building relationships with Capitol Hill, Wall Street, and the Climate Tech industry. The goal of FNO’s new vision is to facilitate $1 billion of community investment in New Orleans over the next 10 years. FNO began launching sustainability focused programs in 2020 and has since supported over $100 million in sustainable construction projects with a $500 million pipeline of housing and infrastructure projects awaiting execution. The expected results of FNO’s investment include a sustainable housing stock, green job creation, green technology deployment, clean energy production, clean transportation, and investment into BIPOC owned companies.In 2012, he founded Munivestor, a financial technology company targeting the municipal finance industry with investment from Liberty Bank (largest black owned US bank) and the New Orleans Startup Fund (NOSF). Munivestor’s first iteration included a customer base of municipalities, commercial banks and asset managers. The company is being relaunched as a muni bond auction marketplace that enables cities to raise capital directly from investors. Other startup experience includes a Board seat with the New Orleans Startup Fund and Co-founder of inNOLAvation, an organization created to help BIPOC entrepreneurs access capital for high-growth business opportunities. The organization’s work in New Orleans led to the creation of PowerMoves NOLA by NOSF, which built a national network of BIPOC entrepreneurs pursuing scalable business opportunities.
Burns also spent time as a public finance investment banker with Raymond James where he led over $1 billion in municipal bond transactions for issuers such as Finance New Orleans, City of New Orleans, Regional Transportation Authority, and Orleans Parish School Board. Raymond James named him the 2012 Banker of the Year for his performance. Before entering public finance in 2007, he was a Credit Analyst with Comerica Bank in Houston, Texas, and a Program Manager for Louisiana Economic Development’s $75 million Hurricane Katrina Small Business Recovery Fund.
Burns started his education at Georgia Perimeter Community College before earning a Marketing degree from Texas Southern University, and a Finance MBA from the University of New Orleans. Professional development training includes a Professional Certificate in Urban Redevelopment from the University of Pennsylvania and the Fulcrum Fellowship through the Center for Community Investment. He has served as a Board Member to various organizations including National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies, St. Augustine High School, New Orleans Downtown Development District, Hancock Whitney Bank Community Advisory Board, Benjamin Mays Charter School, and more.
