Four tribal enterprises and casinos have announced new executive hires this year: Wewinabi, Inc., Sitnasuak Native Corporation, Seneca Gaming Corporation & Pechanga Resort & Casino. All are business and gaming veterans and all are women.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV) hired Michele Palomaki, a Mille Lacs Band member, chief executive officer of Wewinabi, Inc., the development and business arm of the tribe, which also runs its non-gaming enterprises on the three districts of the Mille Lacs Band Reservation.
She will oversee the tribe’s Grand Market, a cinema, a Subway and Taco John’s franchise, Eddy’s Resort, Big Sandy Lodge, a Laundry, medical office building and four convenience stores.
Before being named CEO, she was assistant commission of administration for the tribe. She earned a BA in Business Management from the College of St. Scholastica.
CEO of Mille Lac Corporate Ventures Joe Nayquonabe commented, “We recognize that her experience and education is an ideal fit to lead our non-gaming businesses well into the future, but what interested us more was her examples of empowerment, passion and perseverance, all of which are cornerstones of the culture at Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures.”
Roberta “Bobbi” Quintavell has been named president and CEO of Sitnasuak Native Corporation. The Utqiagvik native replaces retired CEO Richard Strutz.
In a statement she said, “It is a distinct privilege to have been selected by the Sitnasuak board of directors. I am looking forward to working with the Board, to advance the businesses of the Sitnasuak family of companies, while remaining grounded in our values and upholding our cultural sustainability.”
Quintavell has had a 20-year career in Alaska Native Corporations, establishing financial controls, formalizing business processes and “aggressively pursuing acquisitions. She served as executive director of Arctic Slope Native Association; president and CEO of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) and chief operating officer of Doyon Limited. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Alaska in Anchorage and an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.
Board Chairman Bobby Evans praised the new CEO: “Ms. Quintavell brings great talents and backgrounds in Alaska Business and Alaska Native Corporations.”
Holly Gagnon has been named president and CEO of Seneca Gaming Corporation after a national search. Gagnon comes to the job from serving as CEO of Chumash Enterprises for the San Ynez Band of Chumash Indians in Southern California, where she directed operations of the Chumash Casino Resort. Before that she was president and CEO at Pearl River Resort in Mississippi.
Barry E. Snyder, Sr., chairman of the Seneca Gaming Corporation board of directors, commented: “Having a visionary leader like Holly will help our three world class casino properties continue to expand our brand and stand out in an increasingly competitive gaming landscape.”
Gagnon’s 20-year career spanned the opening of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, executive positions with Caesars Entertainment. In 2016 Native American Finance Officers Association named her Executive of the Year.
Gagnon graduated from Bentley University in Massachusetts, and earned an MBA from Chaminade University, Honolulu. She is a founding board member of Global Gaming Women.
Shannon Weidauer has been named vice president of human resources and talent management at Pechanga Resort Casino in Southern California. She has been with Pechanga for more than four years, starting as director of human resources operations.
In her new job, she will oversee human resources and talent management, with a staff of 30. Before joining Pechanga, she spent two decades in the human resources industry.
She earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration/Management.
