FROM LEFT: The Light Group’s Union Restaurant and Bar; The Bank at Bellagio
Jodi Myers would be the first to admit that her meteoric rise was not the result of careful planning. Instead, her ascent through the ranks of one of the country’s leading hospitality management companies is perhaps a shining example of a Las Vegas gamble that paid off. A decade ago the Minnesota farm girl came to Vegas with a passion for people and a healthy dose of self confidence—in 2001 Myers went to pick up her first job application at The Light Group dressed casually and wearing a baseball cap, not knowing that she would be meeting her future employers, Light Group founder Andrew Sasson and CEO Andy Masi, right then and there. Sensing her eagerness and determination, Sasson says he hired Myers on the spot as a VIP cocktail waitress at the company’s first nightclub, Light.
“Ten years later, here I am sitting in The Light Group corporate offices amongst some of the country’s leading entrepreneurial minds, watching as she takes her place at the boardroom table,” Sasson says.
Strong and composed, Myers, 31, listens to input, say her colleagues. Her “just one of the guys” personality is an obvious advantage, but she’s undeniably one of the first women to pioneer this particular career path in Las Vegas. “Everyone was pretty skeptical,” Myers recalls of her early days with the company. “But I knew better than to disappoint [Sasson]. By the end of my first year I was booking the majority of the tables, running the podium and then became director of operations for the club.”
Myers was promoted to managing partner of The Light Group’s popular nightclub The Bank in 2007, and her prowess in that position led to her appointment as Light Group president in the spring of last year. “I work every angle,” she says. “I have a hunger to learn and a true understanding of what’s realistic. I can personally relate to everyone under my management.”
Intimidated by the male-dominated business of competitive nightlife? Hardly. “Ultimately, people care if you’re competent. Whatever opposition I faced in the beginning disappeared when people realized, quite quickly, that I knew what I was doing and that I was here to stay.”
As president, she jets all across the globe from one hospitality destination to the next, seeking inspiration and innovation for the company’s new properties. “It’s so important to have a sense of the global marketplace and to visit other venues and experience them from the consumer standpoint,” says Myers, whose travels have taken her from Ibiza to Dubai, Paris and London. “I’m constantly searching for new ways to enhance the experience of our guests.”
The Harmon Hotel, The Light Group’s boutique property set to open this fall at CityCenter in Las Vegas, is a perfect testing ground for Myers’ market research; she played a similar role in the opening of Union Restaurant and the high-energy Haze Nightclub, both located inside Aria Resort & Casino.
Still, even as she rises through the power ranks, Myers remains small-town at heart. “It’s important to maintain perspective,” she says with a laugh. “I just bought my parents a computer with an Internet connection for Christmas, so that should make it a little easier for us to stay in touch more.”
