TULSA, Okla. — A new leader is moving the Osage Casinos tribal businesses into the new year.
Kimberly Pearson, a member of the Osage Nation, was named Chief Executive Officer in December, replacing Byron Bighorse, who resigned.
With a clear vision for the future in mind, Pearson is the first woman to take charge of these all-important operations. During a tour of the Osage Casino in Tulsa, she shared her experience with 2 News saying she worked for the casino since 2008.
"I came to the casinos after I had worked with Bank of Oklahoma in their student loan department for the five years."
From the executive offices to the convention center, hotel and casino, it is clear Kimberly Pearson knows every inch of the property. When asked if she always had her eye on top management, she said she knew that was her goal even while studying business at Oklahoma State University
"Business was my forte," said Kimberly Pearson, Chief Executive Officer of the Osage Nation Casinos. "Getting things done. That world is where I always felt I excelled."
With seven properties to manage, 1,400 employees, current construction projects and making plans for future expansion in their ancestral homeland of Missouri, Pearson is proud to help support her tribe. As a member of the Revard family, one of the largest in the Osage Nation, her loyalty runs deep.
"Joseph Revard was a French trader, back in the 1800's, who was part of the Lewis and Clark expeditions that married into the Osage family," Pearson shared. "We have become one of the biggest families in the tribe and my family has always been involved. We have always been involved culturally with our dances. My father was an integral part of helping us write our new constitution and he sat on our first Congress. So, it was very inspiring to me to see the growth of a new nation in a sense that we took our old and created something new that all Osages can be a part of. And I just felt that it was my part to take up that role and do the best I could. Tribes are families and you've helped your family in the best way that you can."
As for being a woman in charge, she sees that as a clear benefit.
"I think as a woman in this industry or in any business, women are just doers," Pearson said. "We don't have the time to you know, mess around. So I think for me the challenge is is just getting in there and getting things done."
With current and future projects in the works, Pearson always keeps in mind how the casinos perform impacts her tribe.
"It supports education of our tribal members is supports health care, it supports our elders," Pearson said. "And it's just my vision that we continue to expand and do everything that is possible for our tribal members to create a better life for everybody."
She looks forward to people learning more about the Osage Nation when the movie "Killers of the Flower Moon" is released later this year.
"I think that many people don't know the tragic history of the Osages. So, that gives them an opportunity to really understand us in a different light and what the tribe has been through," Pearson stated. "It's also giving us a great opportunity to showcase who we are now as a people and showcase our homeland, the headquarters of our nation, our museums, and options to really see our culture."
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