Photo © Angelina Galindo

Who is Richard

CEO, Chairman of the Board, President and COO, Director, Partner, Managing Member, Entrepreneur, Teacher and Volunteer are just some of the titles held by Richard Goeglein since graduating from Stanford University with his MBA. Goeglein is a seasoned business executive having led high-growth, billion dollar companies through mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.  He has successfully spearheaded, managed or owned start-ups, emerging growth and turnaround enterprises, boutique hotels and led significant fund raisings and public stock offerings.  Along with his extensive experience in the U.S. casino, hospitality and consumer products and services industries, Richard has a reputation for his accomplished career being known internationally in these sectors, as well.

Richard Goeglein is a Fellow and faculty member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and, as such, is regularly engaged as a speaker, panelist and webcast moderator for the Association. He is Chairman of the Executive Committee, member of Finance Committee and Trustee on the Board of Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, a 503(c) non-profit; previously served on the board of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc (NASDAQ) from 2003 through May 2015 and was Non-Executive Chairman of the Board from 2009 through May 2014.

Richard honed his expertise in the casino and hospitality industries while serving as EVP, Director and a member of the Office of the President at Holiday Inns, Inc. where he oversaw many high-value acquisitions, mergers and divestitures.  He led the team charged with the acquisition of Harrah’s.  He was then named CEO of Harrah’s while simultaneously retaining his position with Holiday Inns.  During his tenure as CEO, Richard was responsible for Harrah’s rapid expansion, as well as creating the world’s largest gaming company— ultimately providing more than 50% of Holiday Corporation’s worldwide net income as well as pharmaceutical business.  His success in driving Harrah’s profitability led to his being named President, COO and a Director of Holiday Corporation which was, at this time, the parent company of Harrah’s Hotels and Casinos, Holiday Inns, Embassy Suites, Residence Inns, Hampton Inns, Crown Plaza and Homewood Suites.

Richard’s achievements at Holiday Inn, paved the way to his becoming a partner in Harland and Dalton, LLC, and MVP, LLC, founding Gaming Associates, and Evening Star Hospitality -- all with a strategic focus on restructuring, developing and managing a variety of significant projects/companies within consumer products, casino and hospitality sectors; specifically: 

• Restructuring and selling Epro, a manufacturer of diagnostic tools used in computer chip quality assessment;
• Implementation of a  Chapter 11 reorganization and the sale of Absorbent, a developer and patent holder of a water-absorbing and demand release product used in agricultural applications;
• The restructuring and repositioning of Dakin, a global plush toy design, manufacture and distribution company;
• Management and closure of The Dunes in Las Vegas and its subsequent acquisition by Mirage;
• The creation and operation of Sky Ute Lodge and Casino for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Southwest Colorado;
• President and CEO of Aladdin Gaming Holdings and Aladdin Gaming, LLC, where he was instrumental in securing $600 million in financing, creating and staffing the operating organization, in conjunction with building and managing this 2,700-guestroom resort;
• Owner and Managing Member of Evening Star Hospitality which acquired, owned and operated two hotels in Northern Arizona.

Early in his career, Richard worked within the restaurant, consumer services and products sectors in the following senior executive capacities:

• President and CEO of Hungry Tiger Restaurants where he doubled the size of the firm and executed its successful IPO. 
• President and CEO of Uniworld Foods, Inc., a key subsidiary of International Industries, Inc., where he led the merger of Orange Julius, Love’s Family Restaurants, Original House of Pies and Will Wright’s Ice Cream chains.
• Served as VP and COO of the Consumer Services and Products Group at W.R Grace and Co., operating 57 businesses in the U.S., Republic of Ireland, Europe and the Far East generating $1.6 billion in revenue.

The following organizations have honored Richard Goeglein by having him serve as Director and/or Trustee during his career:  AST Research;  Platinum Software;  Hornblower Dining Yachts;  Trader Vic’s Restaurants;  Boomtown, Inc.;  Holiday Inns, Inc.;  Residence Inns, Inc.;  Harrah’s Hotels and Casinos;  Holiday Corporation;  Hollywood Park, Inc.;  Gaming Oversight Committee for Marriott Lodging International;  Smart Systems, Inc.;  Choice Hotels Franchise Owners, Assoc.;  and Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, Inc.

Additionally, Richard has served on a number of educational and philanthropic organization boards: The Culinary Institute (currently a Fellow); Harrah’s College of Hotel Administration at University of Nevada, Las Vegas; The Sammy Davis, Jr. National Liver Institute; and Sonoma Country Day School.

Richard Goeglein holds his MBA from Stanford University and his BS from the University of Wyoming.  He completed, qualified and earned the Director Education and Certification Program at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management.

Sample of Various Speaking, Panel and Moderator Engagements

*This list is published retrospectively.

All presentations are member-only or client sponsored events and not open to the general public. If you would like more information about having Richard Goeglein speak to your organization, please contact him at .