William Weidner has resigned as president, COO and board member of Las Vegas Sands Corp. after 13 years with the company. Weidner is on record expressing his differences with Las Vegas Sands Corp.’s billionaire founder and CEO Sheldon Adelson. Last November Weidner memorably referred to the conflict with Adelson as, “You can think of it as a junkyard dogfight.”
Michael Leven, who has been on the Las Vegas Sands Corp.board since 2004, will replace Weidner and assume the title of president and chief operating officer. Leven is a veteran hospitality executive with 48 years of experience. He was formerly president and CEO of US Franchise Systems, Inc., the company he founded in 1995, which developed and franchised the Microtel Inns & Suites and Hawthorn Suites hotel brands. He was previously the president and COO of Holiday Inn Worldwide, president of Days Inn of America, and president of Americana Hotels. He has also served on the board of directors of Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Hersha Hospitality Trust.
Las Vegas Sands recently suspended construction on projects in Macau, China, Las Vegas and Pennsylvania in an effort to conserve cash so it could complete a casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and one of two planned Singapore resorts.