Gary W. Loveman
Chairman, CEO & President of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
A former associate professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business
Administration, Gary W. Loveman joined Harrah鈥檚, a Fortune 500 company, as chief operating
officer in 1998, drawing on his extensive background in retail marketing and service
management to develop and implement the gaming industry鈥檚 most successful loyalty
program, Total Rewards. Today, Total Rewards boasts more than 40 million customers
and is largely responsible for the company鈥檚 consistent same-store sales gains.
Since being named CEO in January 2003, Loveman has presided over a period of growth
and profitability that culminated in Harrah鈥檚 June 2005 acquisition of Caesars Entertainment,
Inc. at $9.4 billion, the largest single transaction in the industry鈥檚 history. In
December 2006, Harrah鈥檚 agreed to go private in a $29 billion transaction led by private
equity firms Texas Pacific Group and Apollo. Harrah鈥檚 performance has led to its inclusion
in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, a group of international companies noted for
creating long-term shareholder value, for six consecutive years. It also earned Loveman
the distinction of being recognized as the gaming and lodging industry鈥檚 best CEO
by Institutional Investor magazine for four consecutive years.
Loveman is the chairman of the American Gaming Association and an outside director
of Coach, Inc. He also sits on the board of trustees at Joslin Diabetes Center in
Boston and on the Trust Board at Children鈥檚 Hospital Boston. He holds a bachelor鈥檚
degree in economics from Wesleyan University and earned a doctorate in economics from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was an Alfred Sloan Doctoral Dissertation
Fellow.