West has been president and CEO of the electric and gas utility company Entergy New Orleans Inc. since 2007, after serving in a variety of senior management positions with the firm for the previous eight years. A graduate of Notre Dame, where he was a member of the 1988 national championship football team, he earned law and master’s degrees from Tulane University. He practiced law in two New Orleans firms from 1993 to 1999. A past president of the Notre Dame Alumni Association – and a member of the board during his term (1995 to 1997) – he is chairman of the Louisiana State University System Board of Supervisors.