Gary Loveman Named Gaming & Lodging Industry's Top CEO

Gary Loveman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. was named "Best CEO" in the gaming and lodging industry by Institutional Investor magazine. Loveman has received the award every year since assuming the position of CEO in 2003.

CEOs in 62 industries were honored in this year's competition, including Frederick Smith, FedEx Corp.; Lee Raymond, ExxonMobil Corp.; Arthur Levinson, Genentech; Richard Parsons, Time Warner; Edward Zander, Motorola; Terry Semel, Yahoo!; Steven Ballmer, Microsoft Corp.; and John Chambers, Cisco Systems.

Selections were based on the votes of more than 1,700 analysts and portfolio managers at nearly 500 money management and brokerage firms. Respondents were asked to rank the top three CEOs in the sectors for which they had responsibility.

"Keys to winning investor support for top management are evidence of flexibility and a willingness to take calculated risks," the magazine wrote. "That ... contrasts with the not-so-distant past, when CEOs could win accolades for simply being capable caretakers."