Punam Mathur
Nevada Community Advocate and Entrepreneur
Punam Mathur operates her own business as a speaker, trainer and writer while serving as executive director of the Elaine P. Wynn and Family Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to advancing fundamental change in the areas of equity, civil rights and conservation.
She previously served as VP/People Resources and as VP/Employee and Community Engagement for NV Energy. Before that, she spent 13 years in the gaming industry, most recently serving as an officer and Senior VP/Corporate Diversity and Community Affairs for MGM MIRAGE. During her tenure, the company received numerous awards in her areas of responsibility, including being ranked among the “Top 50 Companies for Diversity,” one of the “Top Corporations in the U.S." for multicultural businesses, and as one of the “Most Admired Companies in America.” Prior to joining the gaming industry, she held management positions with the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, the last of which was Senior VP/Government Affairs.
Despite her high-profile career, Mathur is most known for her many years of community involvement. She was the founding board chair for Three Square, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating hunger in southern Nevada. She also served on the Board of the United Way of Southern Nevada for more than two decades. She has a long history of involvement with the Clark County School District, having served on a lengthy list of taskforces and committees over the years. She is also active in a number of organizations to improve the effectiveness of the foster care system. Mathur was appointed by several Nevada governors to join statewide committees and taskforces dealing with issues as diverse as tourism, education, and welfare reform.
In a newspaper article about her career, Mathur said she hopes, above anything else, that her example will inspire other women to step up. “We’ve been doing it on every front and in heels, and that’s been true for a long time,” she said. “All I can own is I get up every morning and strive to be a little bit better today than I was yesterday.”