Winner: Jan Jones Blackhurst, Executive Vice President of Communications, Government Relations and Corporate Responsibility, Caesars Entertainment
Jan Jones Blackhurst is executive vice president of communications, government relations and corporate responsibility (environmental, social diversity and economic impact) at Caesars Entertainment Corporation. She oversees all worldwide government affairs, corporate communications, community relations and corporate social responsibility for the $9 billion company.
Prior to joining Caesars in 1999, Jones Blackhurst served two terms as Mayor of Las Vegas; she was the city’s first female chief executive and one of its most popular mayors. Her personal and professional life has been dedicated to advocating for equality and social justice for everyone.
Led by Jones Blackhurst, Caesars actively seeks diversity in its workforce as it enriches the culture and enables employees to be responsive to the needs of the diverse range of guests from all over the world.
Under her leadership, diversity will continue to be a priority throughout Caesars. Currently 57% of Caesars employees belong to minority groups and 36% of all managers are in minority groups; 50% of the workforce is women and 41% of managers are women; 36% of the workforce is over the age of 50 and 33% of managers are over 50.
Jones Blackhurst has been instrumental in deepening Caesars' ongoing commitment to the often forgotten elder population. Caesars Entertainment is one of the first organizations to make seniors a strategic priority and has donated more than $25 million to senior-related causes since 2002. One of the premier partnerships is with Meals on Wheels to actively fight against senior hunger. The Caesars Foundation has funded 56 new meal delivery vehicles in 18 states.