Christopher Reade

In 1989 Mr. Reade started his first company at age 18 doing Desktop Published version of the Open House Documents that realtors gave out to prospective buyers.  In 1991 he started his second business, doing historical renovations in and around New Brunswick New Jersey.  Having graduated college in 1993 and after working for KPMG and the mortgage banking firm Arbor Commercial Mortgage, in 1996 he founded his third company doing outsourced email and never looked back.

In 2000 he moved his growing company to New Orleans, attracted by the legendary culture and the arbitrage opportunities that cost of living differentials created between the East and West coast IT-centric cities and the Greater New Orleans area.  In 2003 he renamed his company Carrollton Technology Partners and took on three partners.  

In 2013, the company, now called Carrollton Group, split up into sister-companies.  Mr. Reade runs the Enterprise Services division of Carrollton Group as Carrollton Enterprise Services and renamed the software development division LookFar, which has now split off into LookFar Ventures and LookFar Labs, which LookFar’s management team purchased from Mr. Reade in October of 2018. Mr. Reade retains LookFar Ventures and its associated business.

LookFar focuses on Idea Acceleration which is a process that helps young companies that have a technology component to their business to focus and grow.   LookFar founded the first Ada Lovelace Woman of the Year in Tech award in 2015 which recognizes the woman who has made the greatest contribution to Technology in the GNO area. The company achieved Inc. 5000 status in 2015 and was named City Businesses’ Best Place to Work many years in a row.

Carrollton focuses on large engagements, including significant work on disaster recovery projects such as the Road Home, the Deepwater Horizon Economic Claims Center as well as the 2020 US Census as well as work in large healthcare operations, fintech and pharmaceutical companies.  

His investment arm, LookFar Ventures, has made numerous direct investments in startups as well as gained equity in many others through the work of the company with early-stage companies.  He has contributed to the judging of many start-up and business plan competitions including Start-up weekend and Tulane’s Business Model competition.

Mr. Reade is a past president of Entrepreneur’s Organization of Louisiana, a member of the state’s Innovation Council, a past president of the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans, an executive board member of the Business Council and Greater New Orleans Inc. and a board member of the Willow School.

Some past involvements in civic life include six years as a board member of SciHigh (and formerly Sci Academy), being a founding board member of CourtWatch NOLA, a board member of the NPR affiliate WWNO and was the co-Chair of the Arts Council’s Luna Fete light and technology festival for four years.  He is a 2005 graduate of CBNO/Mac. In 2007 he was awarded the Liberty Bell award by the Bar Association for his work in Criminal Justice and was YLC’s Leadership Mentor of the Year in 2003.  He was part of the inaugural Biz New Orleans 500 in 2021 and each subsequent year and on the Silicon Bayou 100 list eight times. In 2023 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneurs Organization, Louisiana Chapter.