Glenn Christenson ’71 took Station Casinos from a full house to a royal flush in just 17 years. Now the newly retired executive vice president and CFO shares his secrets to success and shows his hand in the game of life.

One conver sat ion with Glenn Christenson immediately reveals much about the man who always adheres to a five-year plan. Within minutes, the drive behind his eyes becomes clear, his tough-but-fair attitude comes through, compassion exudes, and his competitive edge shines forth. Soon thereafter, quick reads of character may suddenly find themselves wanting to grab on to his coattails for they know that an amazing ride is about to begin.

It’s a ride Christenson understands well in his highly successful, 30-year business career, and one he recently inspired students with as Wittenberg’s Center for Applied Management’s 2008 Executive-in-Residence.

“I’m a very goal-oriented person,” he says. “I always wanted a five-year plan, and I would always ask myself what I needed to do to get there.”

That self-discipline and refusal to get caught in an apathy trap quickly placed him on the fast track in public accounting with the firm now known as Deloitte & Touche following his graduation from Wittenberg and completion of his M.B.A. from The Ohio State University. For 17 years, Christenson moved up the corporate ladder with Deloitte & Touche, eventually spending his last seven years as partner in charge of audit services for the Nevada practice and national audit partner for the firm’s hospitality industry practice.

By 1989, a new venture with the family-owned Station Casinos presented itself through his connections with the hospitality industry.

“I was attracted to the vision and business model the family had to grow,” Christenson says.

The fact that it would allow him, his wife Anne and his family to live in a place that intrigued him also appealed to him.

“Vegas is a wonderful city with worldclass doctors, medical research institutes
and universities,” Christenson says. “I fell in love with it.”

Once on board with Station Casinos as its executive vice president and chief
financial officer, Christenson took the family business from $25 million in profits to $600 million in 17 years, making the company one of the most successful in the gaming industry and landing it on Forbes’ annual list of the top 100 best companies to work for nationally.

“I spent a lot of time on personnel issues in my career because human resources are the most important at any company,” he explains. “I always looked out for the folks who worked for me.”

From childcare facilities to a mobile dentist van, Station Casinos provides top-notch benefits for its now more than 4,000 employees, all of whom consider themselves part of the team. From 2001- 2006, the company’s stock was the 25th best performing in the entire market, and Institutional Investor Magazine twice named Christenson the top CFO in the gaming and lodging industry in 2006 and 2007.

“You need to be a choir boy to work in the gaming industry,” Christenson explains, noting the adherence to strict gaming rules and ethical principles. “Our culture at Station is a family one."

By 2007, with the family business firmly on course and ready to move from a public company to a private one, Christenson decided that it was time for him to try a new challenge.

“I know how to be a CFO and a partner in a Big 8 accounting firm,” he says. “My greatest rewards, however, have been my phenomenal family and friends.”

Christenson is also committed to giving back. Active in his community, including serving as chair of the State of Nevada Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling and on the executive advisory board of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas College of Business, Christenson serves on Sierra Pacific’s resource board and also heads his own company, Velstand Investments LLC, which he says he is enjoying at the moment.

“This time, I plan to give myself a year to develop my five-year plan,” he says as that competitive glint in his eye returns. “I want to do things I find interesting.”

by Karen Saatkamp Gerboth ’93
portrait by Robert Gantt