Business & Finance

Caesars Entertainment's Gary Loveman to Open HITEC 2012

AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA - February 17, 2012 - Chairman, CEO and President of Caesars Entertainment, Inc., Gary Loveman is slated to discuss the importance of customer service and customer loyalty in the hospitality industry at the opening session of the 2012 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®). Loveman will speak to HITEC 2012 attendees on Monday, June 25 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md.

Loveman will discuss his popular customer service philosophy that focuses on matching customers with distinct value propositions. His extensive background in retail marketing and service-management was helpful in developing and implementing the successful loyalty program, Total Rewards. Today, Caesars Total Rewards boasts more than 40 million customers and is largely responsible for the company's consistent same-store sales gains.

"Loveman's background in retail marketing gives him a unique perspective for developing a profitable customer service program," said HITEC Vice Chair Ken Barnes, vice president of Information Technology with White Lodging Services. "His insight into Caesars Entertainment's loyalty program will give HITEC attendees a new way of building a long-term relationship with their guests, a goal many of us strive for."

Loveman was a former associate professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration before he joined Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. as Chief Operating Officer in 1998 and was named CEO in January 2003. Since then, he has presided over a period of growth and profitability that culminated in Harrah's June 2005 acquisition of Caesars Entertainment, Inc. — at $9.4 billion, the largest single transaction in the industry's history. The Fortune 500 company's 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's 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's Hospital Boston. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T., where he was an Alfred Sloan Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, and a B.A. in economics from Wesleyan University.

HITEC 2012, a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), is the world's largest hospitality technology exposition and conference. The conference is June 25–28. HITEC offers attendees essential education, access to experts and hospitality technology vendors, the opportunity to network with top leaders in the industry and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines.

Attendee registration and the Housing Bureau are now available on the web site. Visit HITEC.org for complete information about all conference and exhibition events, including the conference schedule, a list of exhibitors, a map of the exhibit hall and the most current HITEC news.

For more information about HITEC, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at attendee@hftp.org, (800) 646-4387 or +1 (512) 249-5333.

About HFTP
HFTP, Austin, Texas, USA and Maastricht, The Netherlands, founded in 1952, is the global professional association for financial and technology personnel working in hotels, clubs and other hospitality-related businesses. HFTP provides first class educational opportunities, research, and publications to more than 4,800 members globally including, the premiere hospitality technology conference HITEC--founded in 1972. HFTP also awards the only hospitality specific certifications for accounting and technology ---the Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE) and the Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) designations. HFTP was founded in the USA as the National Association of Hotel Accountants. For more information, visit www.hftp.org

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