Casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. named its first female director to the company’s board, appointing former Estée Lauder executive Denise Clark to the now 11-person panel.
The move – which is subject to regulatory approval – comes at a time when the presence of women – or lack thereof – in the C-suites and board rooms of gaming companies has been heavily scrutinized.
Clark’s experience transcends more than two decades of experience in complex organizations, including the U.S. Navy and several multinational companies from a variety of industries.
“Denise is a well-respected and experienced corporate leader with a proven track record of success throughout her career across a variety of areas, including technology and global operations, which are important to Caesars as we move forward,” Caesars Chairman Jim Hunt said in a statement. “She is a natural problem solver and will be a welcome addition to the Caesars boardroom.”
Clark also serves on the board of United Natural Foods. She recently retired from Estée Lauder after serving as chief information officer of the $12 billion skincare company from 2012 to 2017. During her tenure, Clark oversaw information technology and helped build the company’s connection between digital, online and in-store sales.
In addition to Estée Lauder, Clark held similar positions with Hasbro, Mattel, Apple Computer and she served 13 years in the U.S. Navy.
“I’m pleased to be joining the Caesars board as the company enters into its next phase of growth and development,” Clark said.
The move comes a week after the Global Gaming Expo, where discussions took place on how to engage more women into leadership positions within the industry. 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.
Caesars’ contemporaries in the gaming industry all have female board members. MGM Resorts International has four women on its 12-person board – including former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and long-time Las Vegas-area renewal energy advocate Rose McKinney-James.
Las Vegas Sands’ 11-person board has one female.
Meanwhile, the board of Wynn Resorts changed in make-up dramatically following the departure of Steve Wynn, who stepped down as chairman and CEO in February following multiple sexual harassment allegations.
Wynn Resorts added three women to its board in April: former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, three-time CEO Betsy Atkins, and Kestrel Advisors CEO Winifred “Wendy” Webb. They joined board member Pat Mulroy, immediately making Wynn among the top 40 S&P 500 companies when measured by female board representation.
In a keynote talk at G2E on behalf of the Global Gaming Women organization,
Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Sharon Delaney McCloud, who now runs a 35-person video production and marketing firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina, said 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.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
