More than 120 architects and designers gathered in New Orleans to discuss the home-design industry and identify ways to improve business practices.

NEW ORLEANS - More than 120 architects and designers gathered in New Orleans to discuss the home-design industry and identify ways to improve business practices.

Founded in 2005 by Keith Granet, president of Granet and Associates, and Peter Sallick and Ken Touborg, managing partners of Design Investors, the Design Leadership Summit is the lone event dedicated to inspiring an accomplished design community, giving attendees a private and unguarded forum to establish dialogue within the industry and improve business acumen.

“The Design Leadership Summit allows industry leaders an opportunity to learn from their peers,” said Peter Sallick, co-founder and co-host of the Design Leadership Summit. “The forum promotes an open dialogue where new relationships are made and where ideas can flow freely.”

This year, navigating a challenging economy was a resonating theme; the majority of participants seemed optimistic about the future, having been involved in recent and promising new business dialogue.

Keynote speaker Diane von Furstenberg addresses the attendees with a reassuring message of the importance of design. Additional speakers included: Stephen M.R. Covey (The Speed of trust), Michael Bruno (The Next Wave of the Web), Paul Goldberg (Architect Design and New Orleans), Kermit Baker (Design Business and the Economy) and Steve Mouzon (Lessons from New Orleans), among other speakers.

The by-invitation-only event hosted a who’s who in the design world, including Marc Appleton, Timothy Corrigan, Barry Dixon, Arthur Dunnam, Thom Felicia, Steve Giannetti, Thad Hayes, Kathryn Ireland, Amy Lau, Suzanne Lovell, Janet Simon, Windsor Smith, Madeline Stuart, Rose Tarlow, Calvin Tsao, Basil Walter, and Paul Vincent Wiseman, among others.