Bill Hammack
Partner
Link Restaurant Group

New Orleans native Bill Hammack has been involved for many years in various businesses, with both local and national scope. Professionally trained as journalist, after a short career working as a newspaper reporter and editor, he decided that his future was as an entrepreneur and subsequently started and built several successful ventures in printing, graphic arts, publishing, internet technology, hospitality, and construction.

He was the founder of the SunShine Pages, which was one of the country’s most successful independent telephone directory publishers; YPsolutions, an Internet software company providing services to Fortune 500 companies, and a late-stage investor in Turbo Trip, an online hotel reservation company that was acquired by Hotels.com.  For five years he owned NewOrleans.com, the url, which operated as an online travel agency.  NewOrleans.com was acquired by New Orleans & Co., the city’s convention and visitors’ bureau.

In 2004 he was presented a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the directory industry by the Association of Directory Publishers.

For 24 years Hammack has been a partner with celebrity chef Donald Link in the Link Restaurant Group. LRG owns and operates Herbsaint, Cochon, Peche, Gianna, Butcher, Calcasieu and La Boulangerie.  Additionally, he is a partner and investor in several other local businesses ranging from hospitality to construction.

Hammack was a Founding Member of the World War II Museum, has served on various nonprofit and community organization boards, including Clover and Educare.  He is also a founder and member of the board of the Link Stryjewski Foundation, created to address the persistent cycle of violence and poverty as well as the lack of quality education and job training opportunities available to young people in New Orleans. 

Hammack currently serves as the Treasurer of the New Orleans Business Council and is a member of the Infrastructure Advisory Board, which supervises Fair Share spending at the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board and is a trustee of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

His commitment to early childhood care and education has been recognized by several awards including: Force for Good Leadership Award by Louisiana Association of Non-Profits, Founders Award from the Louisiana Institute for Children and Families, Young Leadership Council Role Model, Child Welfare League of America “100 Champions for Children,” and Community Impact Funding Partner from United Way.