Eric George is an American medical doctor, best known as a hand surgeon. He is the founder and CEO of ERG Enterprises, Omega Hospital and The Hand Center of Louisiana in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He is also a venture capitalist, real estate investor, and author. He has been accused of sexual harassment, but has never been convicted.

Medical career

Eric George grew up in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, and graduated from

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

with a double major in chemistry and political science. After being accepted to both medical school and law school, George decided to become a medical doctor and was trained in orthopedic hand surgery. George is a graduate of Marshall University's School of Medicine in 1989, completed a General Trauma Surgery Residency at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and a Fellowship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Grand Rapids Area Medical Education Center in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. Subsequently, he completed an Orthopedic Hand and Upper Extremity Reconstructive Fellowship at the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He is board-certified and holds a certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand. George is currently a Professor of Hand Surgery at the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Health Sciences Center and

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in New Orleans. George has published articles in academic journals including ''

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery ''Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal and the official publication of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. It covers all aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery Reconstructive surgery is surgery ...

'' and '' The American Surgeon''. George founded the Hand Center of Louisiana, a surgical practice based in

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...

. In 2003, George co-founded Omega Hospital, a specialty surgical hospital, and became its CEO. Omega became the first physician-owned hospital in the greater New Orleans area. The luxury hospital focused on improving the patient experience by offering rooms with mini-bars, microwaves, and additional beds for family members to stay overnight. Today, George continues to serve as CEO of the Hand Center of Louisiana, where he works with the Saints and regularly treats

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

athletes, including

Jimmy Graham Jimmy Graham (born November 24, 1986) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played only one year of college football at Miami Hurricanes football, University of Miami after playing four years of college basketball, basketball ...

and

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward and center positions. Davis is an eight-time NB ...

, high-profile celebrities, and professionals in the oil and gas industry, as well as other businesses. George also maintains his role as CEO at Omega Hospital, where he actively practices full-time. Since 2007, George has appeared in the annual list of Best Doctors®, a national peer-nominated survey of the best physicians across 450 specialties and subspecialties. In 2017, George became the first surgeon in the US to fit a functional 3D-printed prosthetic onto a patient.

Business activities

George's career as an entrepreneur and investor began in 2006, when he founded and became the CEO of ERG Enterprises, a venture investment firm based in New Orleans. In its early years, ERG made investments in healthcare facilities. That changed in 2009, when it partnered with The Berger Company to purchase the

Windsor Court Hotel The Windsor Court Hotel is a luxury hotel in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building rises 253 feet (77 m). It contains 23 floors, and was completed in 1984. In 2011, Travel + Leisure magazine ranked the Windsor Court ...

in New Orleans. While the hotel was owned by London-based Orient Express Hotels at the time, the transaction would return the luxury hotel to local ownership. In 2011 George attempted to purchase the

Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre Le Petit Théâtre Du Vieux Carré is a small professional theatre in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Le Petit was founded in 1916, when a group of amateur theatre-lovers began putting on plays in the drawing room of one of the mem ...

when the theatre fell into financial disorder, however his bid wasn't successful. Under George's direction, ERG Enterprises bought the famed Orpheum Theater in 2013, which suffered significant damage from Hurricane Katrina, shut down, and fell into a state of disrepair. George and fellow investors began plans to restore and enhance the original theater. The upgrade, which took over a year, included an expanded marble lobby, enlarged seating, additional bathrooms, multiple bars, and an auditorium floor that used hydraulics to accommodate the different surface requirements of concerts and events. The grand reopening of the theater occurred August 2015, just in time to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In 2020, the theater underwent a second major renovation under George's ownership. The basement of the theater was converted into an underground speakeasy called the Double Dealer, which opened January 24, 2020. In February 2021, the Orpheum celebrated its centennial anniversary. During the same month, it was chosen as the first of six

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

sites by the

World Food Program USA The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен� ...

and Street Art for Mankind to feature a mural raising awareness about global hunger. George's ERG Enterprises also invested in an $18 million renovation project of the Pythian building in New Orleans. In 2015, George and ERG Enterprises acquired the Pythian with Dr. William Bradshaw of Green Coast Enterprises and Crescent City Community Land Trust. They reopened the property in 2017 as an apartment building offering workforce-rate housing, a 20,000 square-foot food hall, office space, and healthcare facilities. Today, ERG Enterprises owns

Pontchartrain Hotel The Pontchartrain Hotel is a historic hotel on St. Charles Avenue in Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. History Albert Aschaffenburg Sr., a prominent New Orleans capitalist and real estate developer, planned to build the Pontchartr ...

Royal Orleans Hotel __NOTOC__ The Omni Royal Orleans is a 345-room hotel on the corner of St. Louis and Royal Streets near Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was constructed in 1960 as the Royal Orleans, on the site of the old St. L ...

, Westin Canal Place, The Frenchmen Hotel, and Thompson Nashville. In 2019, ERG co-developed a property on 300 Rampart Street in New Orleans with plans of opening it as a boutique hotel. Upon completion of the project, George commissioned the painting of a mural on its exterior by street artist

Eduardo Kobra Carlos Eduardo Fernandes Léo (born January 1, 1976 in São Paulo, Brazil), known as Eduardo Kobra, nicknamed Kobra, is a street artist who officially began his career in 1987 at 11 years old, in his hometown of São Paulo. Since then he has pai ...

. The mural depicts the musician

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

and was unveiled on the 118th anniversary of Armstrong’s birth. During the same year, ERG joined

Gayle Benson Gayle Marie LaJaunie Bird Benson (born January 26, 1947) is an American billionaire, businesswoman and sports franchise owner. Following the death of her husband, Tom Benson, she became principal owner of the New Orleans Saints of the Nation ...

and her investment company GMB Properties, The Berger Company, and Fulcrum Hospitality in acquiring the

Hyatt Regency New Orleans The Hyatt Regency New Orleans is a 32-story, 361-foot (110 m) hotel located at 601 Loyola Ave in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has 1,193 guest rooms, including 95 suites. It is part of a complex of connected buildings ...

, which is largest hotel acquisition in the history of Louisiana. In 2020, the company also purchased the old

United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

building on

Saint Charles Avenue St. Charles Avenue (french: avenue Saint-Charles) is a thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. and the route of the St. Charles Streetcar Line. It is also famous for the dozens of mansions that adorn the tree-lined boulevard for much of th ...

. George is additionally the owner of a pineapple farm in Panama and several assisted-living facilities in the state of Louisiana. He has additionally founded and supplied a grade school in the city of

Mombassa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. As of 2020, his net worth is estimated to be $500 million. In 2021, ERG Enterprises announced its partnership with LifeCare Properties to open a series of resort-style senior-living facilities in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Writing

In 2019, George published his first book, ''We: Ditch the Me Mindset and Change the World.'' The book focuses on his life experiences as a doctor and entrepreneur, and emphasizes the importance of orienting one's life around other people and making them the primary focus. Since 2020, George has written several articles in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' and ''

Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

'', covering topics related to leadership, entrepreneurship, or business.

Philanthropy

George is an active philanthropist. In 2004, he became the benefactor and namesake of George Cottage at St. Martin's Episcopal School in New Orleans. George and his family also funded and participated in the construction of a new nursery school for an orphanage in Mombasa, Kenya. George has also established the Colonel Aaron C-Dot George Scholarship at Marshall University, as well as the George Family Scholarship Fund at New York University Law School.

Bibliography

Selected articles

*
Why Rapid Growth Kills Businesses
" ''Forbes''. April 2020. * �
Storytelling: Why a Great Narrative Can Grow Your Business
” ''Forbes.'' June 2020. *
The Studious Leader: How Learning Drives Business Innovation
” ''Forbes.'' July 2020. * �
Three Attributes to Make Your Team a Competitive Advantage
” ''Forbes''. August 2020. * �
Real Risk vs. Perceived Risk: 2 Factors to Grow Your Business in 2020
” ''

''. November 2020. * �
How B2B Companies Thrive During a Recession
” ''Forbes.'' December 2020. * �
The Housing Crisis that Will Hit Home
” ''Forbes''. May 2021. *
Solving the Dignity Crisis for Older Americans
" ''

.'' June 2021. *
How Senior Living Providers Can Become Health Advocates
” ''Forbes''. June 2021.
How Smart Technology Could Revolutionize the Senior Living Industry
" ''Forbes''. August 2021.
How Tech-Savvy Seniors Are Shaking Up Senior Living
" ''Forbes''. September 2021.

Multimedia

* with Sangeeta Badal,

Maria Contreras-Sweet Maria Contreras-Sweet (born 1955) is an American businesswoman and former government official who served as the 24th Administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2014 to 2017. She was the executive chairwoman and founder of ProAmérica ...

, Charles Fred, and Jennifer Maher. �
The Science of Business Building
” ''

Gallup Gallup may refer to: *Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll *Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States **Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New Me ...

''. February 20, 2020. * with David Meltzer. �
How This Doctor Expanded His Career Beyond Medicine into Entrepreneurship
”
The Playbook
'. June 4, 2020.

Selected podcast appearances

* with Jeff Brown. �
Ditch the Me Mindset and Change the World
” ''Read to Lead''. February 11, 2020. * with Nick Bradley. �
Improving the Relationship Between Investors and Entrepreneurs
” ''Scale Up Your Business.'' April 30, 2020. * with Dan Cockerell. �
The Importance of Healthy Relationships, Empowerment, and Delegation
” ''Come Rain or Shine''. July 22, 2020. * with Eddie Turner. �
The We of Leadership
” ''Keep Leading''. September 24, 2020. * with Rock Thomas. �
From a Surgeon to an Entrepreneur Worth $500 Million with Dr. Eric George
” ''Rock Your Money, Rock Your Life''. December 2, 2020.

References

External links

Eric George
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

Eric George
on

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Eric Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American orthopedic surgeons American investors Marshall University alumni Michigan State University alumni