LSU Eunice Welcomes Alum, Cleco’s Bill Fontenot For Commencement Address

EUNICE, La. – LSU Eunice is proud to welcome back alum and Cleco President and CEO Bill Fontenot to serve as keynote speaker at the Spring 2025 Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 16.  His address will be part of the 2:00PM graduation in the HPRE Center on the LSUE campus.

Fontenot, a Ville Platte native, has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cleco Corporate Holdings LCC, a regional energy company that conducts its business operations through Cleco Power LLC, a regulated electric utility company, since 2017.

In addition to his President and CEO duties, Fontenot is a member of Cleco’s Board of Managers – a role he has served in since 2018.  In his board role, he currently serves as a member of the Asset Management Committee, Business Planning & Budget Review Committee, and Governance & Public Affairs Committee.

He began his career with Cleco in 1986, having served in roles of increasing responsibility including Chief Executive Officer of Cleco Power, Chief Operation Officer of Cleco Power, and Senior Vice President of Cleco Power.

Fontenot has been an active contributor to the LSUE community.  In collaboration with his family, the Fontenot’s established the Leonard G. Fontenot Family Scholarship, awarded to a full-time LSUE student enrolled in the Associate of Science, Louisiana Transfer in pre-Engineering with intention to transfer to the Baton Rouge campus and complete at least a B.S. degree in engineering.  His company CLECO was also one of the first public investors in the STEAM Innovation Center.

In addition to his time at LSU Eunice, Fontenot holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from LSU.