James Murren
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{short description|American businessman (born 1961)}}
{{Infobox person
|name=James Murren
|image=
|alt=
|caption=James Murren (2014)
|birth_name=James Joseph Murren
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1961|10|5}}
|birth_place=Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
|alma_mater=Trinity College (B.A.)
|occupation=Businessman
|party=
|spouse=Heather Hay (1990–2021)
|children=2
|website=
}}
James Joseph Murren (born October 5, 1961) is an American businessman. He was the chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International. He is a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.{{cite web|title=National Infrastructure Advisory Council Members|author=|url=https://www.dhs.gov/niac-members|format=|publisher=Homeland Security|date=|accessdate=September 1, 2017}}
On March 22, 2020, Murren was appointed by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak to lead a task force to coordinate private-sector support for the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news|title=Jim Murren to lead state's COVID-19 Response, Relief & Recovery Task Force|work=Las Vegas Sun|first=John|last=Sadler|date=March 22, 2020|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/mar/22/jim-murren-to-lead-states-covid-19-response-relief/|accessdate=March 22, 2020}}
Early career
Murren attended Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he played football and baseball and was a member of the National Honor Society. Murren received his undergraduate degree at Trinity College in Connecticut,{{Cite web|last=Ramirez|first=Anthony|date=September 28, 2010|title=Education on the mind of MGM Resorts chief Jim Murren - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/28/tuesday-conversation-education-mind-local-executiv/|access-date=June 16, 2020|website=lasvegassun.com|language=en}} where he studied art history and urban studies and attended Cesare Barbieri Center in Rome, Italy. He joined the Wall Street firm of Cyrus J. Lawrence as a securities analyst and earned the Chartered Financial Analyst certification in 1991. He was elected a member of the firm's Board of Directors, becoming the youngest member ever of the company's board. During his career on Wall Street he brought about a pivotal recapitalization of MGM Grand, Inc. in 1996 and served as a Managing Director and the Director of U.S. equity research for Deutsche Bank.
At MGM
In 1998, he moved to the corporate sector, joining MGM as CFO and member of its board of directors. In 1999, he became president and was promoted to chief operating officer in 2007; he became chairman and CEO in December 2008, his 10th year at the company. Under his tenure, the company embarked upon an extremely successful decade of growth. Murren was the architect of $15 billion of acquisitions including Primadonna Resort & Casino in 1998, Mirage Resorts in 2000 and Mandalay Resort Group in 2005—acquisitions that helped transform MGM into the world's largest gaming company. He was repeatedly honored as the gaming and lodging industry's top CFO by Institutional Investor magazine.[Institutional Investor, February 12, 2004, and March 8, 2007
]
In 2008–09, Murren led an extensive reorganization of the company, resulting in over $500 million of annual savings; this, together with a $3.8 billion financing effort, kept the company from failure during the early days of the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009.[http://topics.wsj.com/person/M/james-murren/1166 James Murren - News, Articles, Biography, Photos][https://web.archive.org/web/20100209125844/http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/officerProfile?symbol=MGM&officerId=53240 People: MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL (MGM)][https://web.archive.org/web/20081002070415/http://people.forbes.com/profile/james-j-murren/25828 James J. Murren profile - Forbes]
During Murren's tenure, MGM joined with Dubai World in the development of the Las Vegas Strip's CityCenter. When CityCenter opened in December 2009, it represented the largest single private development and the largest green project ever undertaken in the nation's history[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091210006073/en/Perini-Building-Company-Delivers-CityCenter-Largest-Private Business Wire][http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/mgm/39529/ PR Newswire] and America's number one generator of new jobs during the Great Recession.[http://www.lvrj.com/news/job-seekers-grateful-citycenter-now-hiring-60194247.html Las Vegas Review Journal] Senator Harry Reid said, "The Las Vegas community may never be able to express its appreciation adequately for all that Jim has done, but his hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. ... He is a leader of his generation in job creation, green investment and philanthropy."[http://www.cbnonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=16&Itemid=28 Council for a Better Nevada] Somer Hollingsworth, President and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority, called CityCenter "the most exciting and impactful project to open for the foreseeable future."[http://www.cbnonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=16&Itemid=28 Council for a Better Nevada] Under Murren's leadership, MGM broke ground on May 1, 2014, on another major project in Las Vegas: a privately financed, state-of-the-art, 20,000-seat Las Vegas Arena that was developed with sports and entertainment company AEG.Snell, Alan [http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/shovels-ground-confetti-air-mgmaeg-arena-construction-begins "Shovels in the ground, confetti in the air as MGM/AEG arena construction begins"], The Las Vegas Review-Journal
Murren is chair of the American Gaming Association Board of Directors, the national trade association for the commercial gaming industry, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Brookings Institution. In 2013, he was named executive chairman of the board of directors of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association, a professional society for corporate responsibility practitioners. He was named by President Obama to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
He was recognized as Executive of the Year by Casino Journal in 2013.{{cite journal|last=Anderer|first=Charles|title=Roaring BACK|journal=Casino Journal|date=December 10, 2012|url=http://www.casinojournal.com/articles/87620-roaring-back?v=preview|accessdate=January 23, 2014}}
During 2011, according to Forbes, Murren's total remuneration from MGM was $9.9 million, including $2 million in salary.{{cite web|title=James Murren|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/james-murren/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010182000/http://www.forbes.com/profile/james-murren/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 10, 2012|work=Forbes|accessdate=January 23, 2014}}
Under Murren, MGM purchased the San Antonio Stars of the WNBA in 2017 and relocated them to Las Vegas as the Las Vegas Aces.{{Cite web|title=San Antonio Stars moving to Las Vegas, bought by MGM Resorts|url=https://www.foxsports.com/stories/wnba/san-antonio-stars-moving-to-las-vegas-bought-by-mgm-resorts|access-date=October 2, 2021|website=FOX Sports|language=en-US}}
On February 12, 2020, MGM Resorts International announced Murren resigned as Chairman and CEO.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/12/mgm-resorts-ceo-jim-murren-is-stepping-down-shares-jump.html|title=MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren is stepping down, shares jump|last=Thomas|first=Lauren|date=February 12, 2020|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=February 12, 2020}}
Other interests
Over the years, he has been a pioneer in the area of corporate diversity.{{cite news|last=Austin|first=Grace|title=Diversity Training Evolved: MGM Resorts International Presents Inspiring Our World|url=http://www.diversityjournal.com/10450-diversity-training-evolved-mgm-resorts-international-presents-inspiring-our-world/|accessdate=January 24, 2014|newspaper=Diversity Journal|date=April 16, 2013}} Among the company's management ranks, more than 38 percent are minorities and nearly 43 percent are women.{{cite web|title=MGM Resorts Annual Corporate Responsibility Report|url=http://www.mgmresorts.com/csr/|publisher=MGM Resorts}} During Murren's tenure as chairman & CEO, the company has continued to garner wide recognition for its leading diversity and inclusion initiatives, such as: 40 Best Companies for Diversity (Black Enterprise Magazine),{{cite web|title=Black Enterprise Magazine Best Companies for Diversity|url=http://cdn.blackenterprise.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/07/2012-Best-Companies-For-Diversity.pdf|publisher=Black Enterprise Magazine|access-date=January 23, 2014|archive-date=March 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317215505/http://cdn.blackenterprise.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/07/2012-Best-Companies-For-Diversity.pdf|url-status=dead}} Top 10 Companies for Latinos (DiversityInc Magazine),{{cite web|title=The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Latinos|url=http://www.diversityinc.com/top10companieslatinos/|publisher=DiversityInc|access-date=January 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201150525/http://www.diversityinc.com/top10companieslatinos/|archive-date=February 1, 2014|url-status=dead}} Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality (Human Rights Campaign Foundation),{{cite web|title=Best Places to Work 2013|url=http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/best-places-to-work-2013|publisher=Human Rights Campaign|accessdate=January 23, 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106013115/http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/best-places-to-work-2013|archivedate=January 6, 2014}} Top 10 Regional Companies (DiversityInc),{{Cite web |url=http://www.diversityinc.com/top-10-regional-companies/ |title=The DiversityInc Top 10 Regional Companies |access-date=May 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161029083839/http://www.diversityinc.com/top-10-regional-companies/ |archive-date=October 29, 2016 |url-status=dead }} Top 100 Companies for MBA Students (Universum Global),[https://money.cnn.com/news/economy/mba100/2013/full_list/ “100 Top MBA Employers"], "CNN Money", Retrieved May 30, 2014. and Top Corporation for Women's Business Enterprises (Women's Business Enterprise National Council).{{cite web|url=http://www.wbenc.org/americas-top-corporations-for-wbes-current-recipients/|title=WBENC America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises|publisher=WBENC}} FORTUNE Magazine has named MGM Resorts one of the World's Most Admired Companies.[http://fortune.com/worlds-most-admired-companies/mgm-resorts-international-100000/ "World's Most Admired Companies"], "FORTUNE".
Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine, a publication which recognizes America's most socially responsible chief executives, named Murren a 2013 Responsible CEO of the Year Award winner. The annual awards are presented to CEOs across industries that clearly exceed standards in the areas of employee relations, environmental impact, human rights, philanthropy, and corporate responsibility practices.{{cite web|title=CR Magazine Announces Responsible CEO of Year Award and Lifetime Achievement Award Finalists|url=http://www.commitforum.com/index.php/press-release-cr-magazine-announces-responsible-ceo-year-award-lifetime-achievement-award-finalists/|publisher=Corporate Responsibility Magazine|accessdate=January 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203124630/http://www.commitforum.com/index.php/press-release-cr-magazine-announces-responsible-ceo-year-award-lifetime-achievement-award-finalists/|archive-date=February 3, 2014|url-status=dead}} In 2015, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Leader Award by the University of Massachusetts' Isenberg School of Management.https://www.umass.edu/events/hospitality-tourism-management-annual-awards{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
He and his wife co-founded the Nevada Cancer Institute and actively support Trinity College, Johns Hopkins University, the Fisher House Foundation for veterans and military families, and other non-profit organizations. He is a member of the national Business Roundtable{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/business-leaders-endorse-hillary-clinton-224706 |title=Hillary Clinton racks up business endorsementsg|author=Nelson, Louis|date=2024-06-23|website=www.politico.com|accessdate=2024-09-09}}{{cite web|url=https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAssembly%2FMeeting+Attachments%2F108%2FI15888%2FBusiness+Roundtable+Ad.pdf |title=Skills for a Strong Economy|publisher=Business Roundtable|date=2019-06-15|website=www.arkleg.state.ar|accessdate=2024-09-09}} and serves as an executive in residence at Johns Hopkins University's Carey Business School. He and his wife Heather Murren founded the Murren Family Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to veterans and education.
References
{{Reflist|35em}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- [http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/sep/28/tuesday-conversation-education-mind-local-executiv/ Education on the mind of MGM Resorts chief Jim Murren - Las Vegas Sun, January 18, 2011]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090213151330/http://inbusinesslasvegas.com/2007/10/05/quanda.html Interview with Jim Murren, President and COO of MGM Mirage - LV Business Press, October 5, 2007]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murren, James}}
Category:American casino industry businesspeople
Category:American chairpersons of corporations
Category:American chief executives of travel and tourism industry companies
Category:Businesspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut
Category:MGM Resorts International