Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan quits Caesars board

Sandra Douglass Morgan, the newly appointed Las Vegas Raiders president, recently declared her intention to leave the board of directors of Caesars Entertainment. The decision is reportedly related to her new affiliation with the National Football League (NFL). The information was revealed during a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Monday, indicating that she gave notice of her departure from the Caesars Entertainment board on Friday.
 
Before the July announcement of her appointment, Morgan was the chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She was made an independent board director in November 2021. According to the SEC filing, her decision was not due to “any disagreement with (Caesars Entertainment) on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies, or practices”.
 
Morgan’s appointment with the Raiders was announced on July 7, and she officially became the first black woman to secure the position of an NFL organization’s president. Before her role on the Caesar board, Morgan held several positions in the gaming sector, one of which was in southern Nevada as the Director of External Affairs for AT&T Services Inc. 
 
While talking about the appointment, the owner of the Raiders, Mark Davis, said, “I am thrilled that Sandra has agreed to join the Raiders family. Her experience, integrity, and passion for this community will be invaluable to our organization.

“From the moment I met Sandra, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. We are extremely lucky to have her at the helm.”
 
Morgan also had some words about her historic hiring by the NFL team.

“I definitely never want to be the last. And I want to get to a point where there is no more firsts. We have so much more to do, and I’m excited to be at the helm of that growth and look forward to ushering in the new chapter for the Raiders,” she said.

READ: Caesars planning upgrades at Las Vegas, Washington DC venues
 
When the former Caesars board director announced the new role with the Raiders, it did not seem as though she would vacate her seat on the board. The organization’s executive chairman, Gary Carano, gave an impressive review of Morgan and the impact she would have as the team’s president. 
 
Although it was not made known the core reason behind Morgan’s departure from the board, her decision could be linked to how demanding her new job is. The former board member is reportedly the third appointee in a year. Besides the towering demands on her as an NFL team’s president, the Raiders are currently experiencing high front-office staff turnover and possible financial issues. During her press conference debut with the group, she mentioned the challenges she would face head-on in her new office but did not go into detail. 
 
Morgan is also part of the Allegiant Travel board; however, it is not certain if she will also resign from her position in that company. Allegiant is an airline that holds the naming rights to the stadium where the Raiders have home matches. 
 

Caesars board left with diversity dilemma

Caesars Entertainment currently holds the reins of 10 resorts in Las Vegas, some of which include the Flamingo, Caesar’s Palace, and Paris Las Vegas. The organization’s website recognized Morgan’s move to resign from the board, and due to her departure, the board was left with nine members. Caesar did not announce that a 10th member would join in the near future.
 
Among the nine people on the board, two are women – Bonnie Biumi and Jan Jones Blackhurst. Morgan’s departure also left the group with no minorities within their numbers. Rectifying that could become a priority, as institutional investors nowadays search for the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles in companies.

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