Las Vegas Sands Honors International Women's Day
Las Vegas Sands remains committed to its 50,000 Team Members worldwide, from Las Vegas to Macao and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Singapore. The company provides Team Members with an outstanding work environment, strong benefits, a dedication to diversity, and extensive training and other opportunities to advance and thrive in the hospitality industry. The company, its subsidiaries and affiliates adhere to an equal employment opportunity policy for all current and future Team Members, without regard to a person’s race, color, religion, sex, handicap, veteran’s status or status within any other protected group.
In honor of International Women’s Day, Las Vegas Sands has chosen to highlight female Team Members in all of the regions in which we operate that have initiated change in their communities and the workplace. The company supports all its Team Members in their efforts to make their departments better and their efforts in volunteering in the community
Kirsten Dimond, Vice President & General Manager, Sands Expo & Convention Center
Kirsten Dimond has been with The Venetian and The Palazzo for over 15 years, serving as Vice President and General Manager of Sands Expo and Convention Center for the past three years. Once one of the only female executives in the company, Dimond has mentored other female leaders as well as taken Sands Expo in various directions, catering to client’s needs and taking a different approach to customer service in the conventions and meetings industry. Over the years, Dimond and her team have evolved the business into what it is today, a unique experience for each client, focusing on customer service and an inclusive planning experience. Creating the overall experience from design and creative planning has been the biggest difference since Sands Expo opened. Dimond and her team continue to ensure they are not just serving clients and guests, but engaging them and making sure to maximize their time and their experience.
Dana Beatty, Floral Department at The Venetian and The Palazzo
Dana Beatty is the executive director of the Floral Department at The Venetian and The Palazzo, overseeing the website, communication services, and the property’s floral design and concept. From floral landscaping to the annual Chinese New Year display at The Palazzo’s Atrium, Beatty and her team are the creative eyes behind them all. As a major supporter of Sands ECO360, the company’s global sustainability program, Beatty revamped and adopted new sustainable practices into her department. She led a visual display “Fall into Sands ECO360” that celebrated both autumn and the property’s sustainable efforts, repurposed the Chinese New Year vinyl wrap around The Campanile Tower into bags, and actively finds ways to reuse or repurpose materials to save and generate money for the company.
Sandra Wild, Executive Director of Hotel Operations at The Venetian and The Palazzo
Sandra Wild started her career in Germany, working for a small hotel with only 150 rooms. Soon after, she moved to London to work at the Heathrow Hilton as Front Office Manager and in 2000, was given the opportunity to join the iconic Drake Hotel in Chicago as Front of House Manager. Now with The Venetian and The Palazzo for almost 15 years, Wild has held various positions including being a part of the opening team at The Venetian Macao in 2007. Her focus was to assist Paiza Club with training and establishing policies and procedures, but also lent her expertise in Singapore regarding the globalization of the properties Property Management System. Currently, as Executive Director of Hotel Operations, where she leads over 1,500 Team Members, Wild has helped develop various recycling initiatives including recycling of all paper products, glass, wire hangers and bathroom amenities from the properties guest suites. The latest initiative is collecting all guest suite supplies which may not be acceptable for guest use such as trash cans, tissue holders, ice buckets, alarm clocks, wood hangers, and other items with scratches, marks or broken parts that can easily be donated to local non-profits in need.
Margaret Walker-Shaw, Executive Director of Internal Maintenance & Vendor Relations Housekeeping
When Clean the World showed Margaret Walker-Shaw a video of how people around the world don’t have proper hygiene, she realized she had to make changes in housekeeping operations to fulfill the need presented to her. She saw how hygiene kits were made and was 100% sold on the idea, quickly assessing the best way to collect the amenities from over 7,000 suites. The process was finalized where the housekeeper collects amenities from guest suites, takes them to a sorting area, where the amenities are then taken to the dock where Clean the World picks everything up once a week. Walker-Shaw also implemented an initiative where old linens from The Venetian and The Palazzo are turned into cleaning cloths. In 2008, $1M was spent renting and cleaning cloths used to clean at the properties. She reduced costs to just $300,000 and also implemented a system, with the help of Opportunity Village, where each rag has a specific color thread indicating what chemical to use with each rag.
Chandra Allison, Senior Vice President of Sales, The Venetian, The Palazzo and Sands Expo
A Team Member since 1998, Chandra Allison started as a Sales Assistant and worked her way up to her current role as Senior Vice President of Sales at The Venetian, The Palazzo and Sands Expo & Convention Center. She is responsible for leading the sales and marketing strategy of Meetings, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) and leisure transient segments for the properties, in addition to channel distribution. As a leader passionate about meetings, Allison has focused on education and industry advocacy, serving on various boards. She was part of the pre-opening teams for The Venetian on 1998 and The Palazzo in 2008. She has been instrumental in implementing wholesale contracts to improve profitability for the leisure segment, reorganized the sales structure to combine The Venetian and Sands Expo teams to create a seamless customer experience and developed a MICE rate growth strategy in 2012 that resulted in a 5-7% Average Daily Rate (ADR) growth per year. She also was responsible for the installation of the Zappos lounge, an innovative co-working lounge, elevating the group attendee experience and allowing for attendees to have a quiet space to work during conventions.
