Insights From the C-Suite: Jennifer Weissman, SVP, CMO, PENN Entertainment

As part of a new, members-only series, Women Leading Travel & Hospitality is asking industry executives about their professional journeys, mentorship, how they stay up-to-date on the latest industry technology and trends, how they take care of themselves, and so much more. This week, insight comes from Jennifer Weissman, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at PENN Entertainment. We asked Jennifer a series of questions about her career journey, her leadership philosophy, empowering her teams, and more.

Women Leading Travel & Hospitality: What is your leadership philosophy and how do you embody it?
Jennifer Weissman: I encourage my team to be collaborative, curious, transparent and authentic. We set goals and expectations as a team, then each team member develops their set of initiatives to help the organization achieve those goals as well as the tracking to report on performance. 

WLT&H: How do you ensure your teams feel included, valued and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work?
JW: Each team member is provided clear goals and objectives, but it’s really up to them to develop the plans to achieve those goals. While we work on the plans together, each team member is accountable for delivering and executing the results in their area. I believe providing accountability and autonomy are effective ways in ensuring people bring their best ideas to the table. This allows each team member to tap into their own creative beliefs and values to solve problems, reduce customer friction, and delight our customers. By having a diverse team focused and empowered to help solve business problems, we’re continuously improving the customer and employee experience.

WLT&H: What innovative strategies or technologies do you see shaping the future of the industry?
JW: Just like our customers’ needs and expectations will evolve, so will the various technologies available to service them. With that said, I’m still of the belief that the companies that deliver the most compelling value propositions will win. To do this, we’ve deployed various real-time feedback capabilities to enable a two-way dialogue with our customers. The ability to gather and act on consumer feedback and sentiment on a real-time basis has proven invaluable.

WLT&H: How do you approach succession planning and developing future leaders within your organization?
JW: We discuss the talent and bench strength as a senior executive team within the organization on an annual basis. Those conversations then cascade into additional discussions among my direct team members. I believe it’s our job every day as leaders to develop a potential successor and ensure that person or persons is being provided the visibility within the organization and begins to take on greater responsibility as their tenure progresses. 

WLT&H: Can you share an omnichannel marketing campaign you spearheaded that you’re proud of?
JW: At PENN Entertainment our loyalty program, PENN Play, was originally created for a retail casino-centric environment. I’m very proud of the work my team did to evolve this loyalty program into a compelling and effective omnichannel loyalty program. Through this work, all of our PENN Play members are rewarded for their play behavior online, in our retail casinos, and throughout our various hospitality offerings. Every transaction within PENN is now rewarded with PENN Cash and tier points, increasing the loyalty our members have with the brand.