Pierre Landaiche owns a red 1967 Mustang convertible, one of the most storied of U.S. cars. He enjoys duck hunting, fishing, cooking and breaking bread with his family. His favorite vacation spot is the beach, and he just finished reading The Splendid and the Vile, about Winston Churchill’s first year in office during World War II.
Landaiche runs a group at the University of Memphis called UMRF Ventures. He’s the CEO of the company that employs UofM students to provide managed services – or a specified set of IT services – to clients including FedEx, the City of Memphis, MLGW, Sedgwick and Raymond James.
For 22 years he managed the Renasant Convention Center – formerly the Memphis Cook Convention Center – and in 2018 led the startup of the Memphis Sports Hall of Fame before joining UMRF Ventures in 2020.
Landaiche was recently interviewed about UMRF Ventures by UofM President Dr. Bill Hardgrave for the video news magazine The President’s Perspective.
In the video Landaiche explains that UMRF Ventures is a unique for-profit company that is owned by a nonprofit that’s owned by the University of Memphis. The company employs UofM students to provide managed services in cybersecurity work, call center work and data analytics to organizations, private companies and government entities.
“This company was created in 2017 as a way to provide good-paying jobs and practical experience to our students,” he said. The company employs 170 students working under about a dozen contracts with eight companies, he said. “It looks great on the students’ resumes,” he said. “They’re getting real-world experience. They’re earning money that helps support them while they’re in school. Some of them even go on to be supervisors with work within the Ventures organization.”
Dr. Hardgrave explained the benefits of UMRF Ventures. “It’s a win for the students because we give them income to stay in school,” he said. “It’s a win for the university because they stay in school.” Landaiche explained the benefit to the business community. “It’s a win for the companies that we serve because we become a talent pipeline for the companies that work with us. FedEx has employed about 90 students from UMRF Ventures.”
Landaiche clearly takes pride in what his company does for students. “Today’s students have to successfully balance life with their school commitments,” he has said. “Many students take on significant debt to further their education and work multiple jobs while they go to school to meet their financial obligations. UMRF Ventures’ mission is to help our students succeed by providing good-paying, part-time jobs scheduled around their classroom commitments and conveniently located on campus. Our employees are all UofM students who are getting paid well to support themselves and getting valuable experience before they graduate.”
Landaiche is a native of Baton Rouge, La., as is his wife, Gay. They have a daughter, Caroline, who lives and works in her “beloved Memphis.”
Pierre Landaiche earned his B.A. in communications from Louisiana State University. After graduation, he worked at the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitor’s Bureau before moving to Jacksonville, Fla., to manage that city’s convention center. The family moved to Memphis in 1996 when Landaiche was hired as general manager of the Memphis Cook Convention Center.
In addition to his work serving the business community and UofM students, Pierre Landaiche has served on the boards of the Better Business Bureau, The Hospitality Hub, the Dorothy Day House and the Bridge Street Newspaper, among others. He is former president of the Rotary Club of Memphis and an active member of St. Peter Catholic Church downtown.
Landaiche is excited about the potential of Memphis. UMRF Ventures chooses to invest in the Chairman’s Circle because “the success and progress of our city has a direct effect on the university and our employees,” Landaiche said. “We invest in the Chairman’s Circle because of its proven track record of influencing positive change in Memphis.”
