Casino operator Golden Entertainment became the latest gaming company to add female representation to its board directors.
Las Vegas-based Golden, which operates 10 casinos, including the Strat in Las Vegas and three properties in Laughlin, Nevada, announced Thursday Ann Dozier was elected to the company’s seven-person board. Dozier is chief information officer for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits. She has prior experience in both technical and commercial roles with several companies, including Coca-Cola Enterprises.
Ann Dozier
“Ann has more than 30 years of experience as a senior technology executive in the food and beverage industry, which is a critical component of our business,” Golden CEO Blake Sartini said in a statement. In addition to its casino holdings, Golden operates 60 taverns in Nevada.
Golden shareholders also elected Anthony Marnell III to the company’s board. Marnell, who owns the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada, sold the Edgewater and the Colorado Belle in Laughlin in January.
“Both Anthony and Ann bring relevant industry experience and insights to our board,” Sartini said.
The gaming industry has been under pressure to increase the leadership roles of women, which intensified last year following the scrutiny on Wynn Resorts over the sexual harassment scandal involving chairman and CEO Steve Wynn.
A study produced in 2017 found that out of 21 casino and gaming companies headquartered in Las Vegas, none had a female CEO, chairwoman or president. At only three corporations did women hold one-third or more executive board seats.
Last year marked several changes in gaming industry board representation. Wynn Resorts added three women to its board in April 2018: former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, three-time CEO Betsy Atkins, and Kestrel Advisors CEO Winifred “Wendy” Webb. They joined existing board member Pat Mulroy, immediately making Wynn among the top 40 S&P 500 companies when measured by female board representation.
MGM Resorts International long had female board members. Four of the company’s 12 board seats are represented by women, including former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and long-time Nevada renewable energy consultant Rose McKinney-James.
Caesars Entertainment’s board has three of its 11 seats filled by woman, including two women executives who were appointed in 2018. A third, Courtney Mather, a portfolio manager of Icahn Capital, was appointed this year by corporate raider Carl Icahn, who controls 28.5 percent of the company, including three board seats.
In April, Affinity Gaming appointed longtime gaming industry financial executive Mary Elizabeth Higgins as CEO. She became just the third current female CEO of a casino operating company, joining Holly Gagnon of Seneca Gaming and Diana Bennett of Paragon Gaming.
However, Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Sharon Delaney McCloud – in a discussion last year at the Global Gaming Expo – said woman still have ground to make up nationally. Only 24 of Fortune 500 companies have a woman as CEO, and women hold only 21 percent of all board seats and 21 percent of all executive officer positions.
Earlier this week, gaming equipment provider Everi Holdings said it was named a Winning ‘W’ Company by 2020 Women on Boards for achieving at least 20 percent women on its board of directors before 2020. Eileen Raney – appointed in 2016 – and Maureen Mullarkey – appointed last year – hold two seats on the company’s seven-person board.
“We encourage more companies to embrace diversity and inclusion and continue to foster this culture not only at the board level, but at the company level as well,” Everi Chairman Miles Kilburn said in a statement.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
