Ninth Annual Women's Leadership Conference Sees Record Attendance

More than one thousand women (and yes, a handful of enlightened men) gathered at MGM Grand Las Vegas for the 2015 Women’s Leadership Conference. The annual two-day event, features workshops, speeches, panel discussions and more.
Jul 17, 2015 6:55 PM ET

Ninth Annual Women's Leadership Conference sees record attendance

The annual Women's Leadership Conference organized by MGM Resorts Foundation featured a lively kick-off courtesy of New York-New York Entertainment Supervisor Stephanie Sanchez, who performed a few empowering numbers (what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!), while MGM Resorts International's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren set the stage with his opening remarks.

“Part of my job as CEO is to provide robust career opportunities. Today, women represent about 25 percent of our senior management team. When I started we had half that many and when I’m done it’s going to be twice that number,” he said to a round of applause. “My role as a Chairman is to make sure that we provide opportunities for the women who work at MGM Resorts. But equally importantly, I need to work on the men – my fellow male CEOs – to make sure they know that this isn’t just the right thing to do, it is in fact a business imperative. We have to change attitudes and behaviors.”

The conference is being hosted for the second-straight year by CNN anchor and correspondent Natalie Allen. Four breakout sessions over the two-day event carry titles like “Effective Personal Branding” and “Power Networking Tools for Professional Women.” Presenters include the head of a Washington, D.C.-based architectural firm, a Bakersfield, Calif., Police Captain, and a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, all of them women.

For more on the conference, please click here.