Tulane honors Comer and Rosenthal as 2018 Entrepreneurs of the Year

The A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University honored business executive Patrick Comer as Tulane Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year and civic activist Sandy Rosenthal (MBA ’81) as Tulane Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2018 Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards Gala. The ceremony took place on April 19 at the Audubon Tea Room in New Orleans.

The Freeman School’s Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation presents the awards each year to highlight outstanding entrepreneurs in the community. The Tulane Distinguished Entrepreneur of Year Award honors individuals who combine a history of entrepreneurial success with philanthropic generosity and service to the community. The Tulane Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes individuals who are solving social problems and meeting community needs through the use of entrepreneurial principles.

Comer is the founder and CEO of Lucid, a platform that connects buyers, sellers and users of survey sample data. The company is headquartered in New Orleans with offices in London, New York and New Delhi, India. Comer has worked in startups since 1998 and in market research since 2003. He began his career as chief of staff at govWorks, the Silicon Alley venture featured in the 2001 documentary Start-up.com. In 2005, he joined OTX Research, where he worked to improve the company’s sample acquisition and matching technology. Comer also worked at IFILM and founded and served as vice president of operations at Sample Czar. In 2010, he founded Lucid to bring a programmatic approach to sampling. Comer also launched Federated Sample and Fulcrum, the industry’s largest demand-side platform and exchange. He currently serves as chairman of the Idea Village and vice chair of St. Martin’s Episcopal School. Comer holds a bachelor’s degree from Sewanee and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Rosenthal is executive director of Levees.org, the nonprofit she founded in 2005 to educate the public to the facts regarding the catastrophic flooding of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Through public service announcements, media outreach, and state and federal government lobbying, the organization has worked to show that the flood was not an act of God but a man-made civil engineering disaster while pushing for legislation to help prevent future disasters. For her work, Rosenthal has been honored by New Orleans CityBusiness, the Louisiana Center for Women in Government & Business, the Rotary Club of New Orleans, the Young Leadership Council, New Orleans Magazine, Committee for a Better New Orleans and Dillard University. Prior to founding Levees.org, Rosenthal worked as a marketing executive with various companies and as a part-time fitness instructor. Rosenthal holds a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA from Tulane University.

“With the remarkable success of Lucid, Patrick transformed the sampling industry and helped establish New Orleans as a center of entrepreneurial innovation, while Sandy, through Levees.org, changed the narrative regarding the flooding of New Orleans while championing legislation to protect future generations,” said Freeman School Dean Ira Solomon. “While their achievements differ, Patrick and Sandy both embody the true spirit of entrepreneurship, and I couldn’t be more pleased to honor them as our 2018 Entrepreneurs of the Year.”