Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. announced the election of Charles Atwood to the company’s board of directors, effective March 12.
Atwood is currently the lead trustee of the board of trustees for Equity Residential, a real estate investment trust listed on the New York Stock Exchange and member of the S&P 500. He is also a member of the board of directors of Gala Coral Group, a private U.K.-based gaming company, and ALST Casino Holdings, LLC, a private Las Vegas-based gaming and hospitality company.
“Mr. Atwood is an accomplished gaming industry executive, advisor and director,” company representatives said in a press release.
Prior to his current board appointments, Atwood was a longtime executive of the former Harrah’s Entertainment (now Caesars). He joined Harrah’s in 1979 and held numerous finance and development positions, including chief financial officer from 2001 to 2006. He joined Harrah’s board of directors in July 2005, and became its vice chairman in 2006, retiring in 2008.
“Following our board’s approval in the fall of 2014 to pursue a plan to separate the company’s operating assets and its real estate assets into two publicly traded companies, we began a search process to identify a candidate for the board who can augment its existing REIT experience,” said Pinnacle Board Chairman James L. Martineau.
“We believe we have found the ideal candidate in Chuck, who combines over a decade of real estate experience on the board of trustees of Equity Residential, over 30 years of operating experience in the gaming industry as an executive and board member at Harrah’s, and deep business acumen and financial knowledge. We believe Chuck’s ability to draw on these areas of expertise will benefit the shareholders of Pinnacle Entertainment.”
At the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the company’s stockholders will be asked to vote on the election of Atwood to the board, in addition to other board members Stephen Comer, Bruce A. Leslie, James L. Martineau, Desirée Rogers, Anthony M. Sanfilippo and Jaynie Miller Studenmund.
