Winner: Jan Jones Blackhurst — Caesars Entertainment
Former Las Vegas Mayor, Jan Jones Blackhurst oversees all worldwide government affairs, corporate communications, community relations and corporate social responsibility programs for Caesars Entertainment. With her strategic leadership on diversity, Jones Blackhurst champions inclusion in Caesars working culture to reflect the diversity of the company’s tens-of-millions of guests. Her guidance has been instrumental in maintaining Caesars’ strong record in gender balance: 50 percent of the overall Caesars workforce and 41 percent of managers are women.
Jones Blackhurst’s team launched a corporate-wide hiring initiative called Enlisting Heroes, aimed at providing job opportunities for U.S. Military veterans. Since the program launch, Caesars has hired more than 60 veterans in the U.S. She also leads employee engagement programs, which are the core of the company’s sustainability efforts. Within Caesars company-wide, long-term environmental strategy, she oversees the operation of CodeGreen Teams at all Caesars properties, which implement the company’s sustainability plan. Under her tenure, the company’s carbon footprint has been reduced by 12.6 percent since 2007.
Honorable Mentions
- Christopher Ian Bennett - Guitar Center
- Adam Harrell - Nebo Agency
- Bob Langert - McDonald's Corporation
- Ryan McCarty - TCC
- Angela Peluso - Verizon Foundation
- Ylann Schemm - Elsevier
- Tessie Topol - Time Warner Cable