Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority

Mitchell Grossinger Etess
Chief Executive Officer, Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA)

Born into a family of hoteliers, Mitchell Grossinger Etess brings literally a lifetime of experience in the hospitality industry to his role as Chief Executive Officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. Etess joined Mohegan Sun as a member of the casino’s pre-opening team in 1996 as Senior Vice President of Marketing. Shortly thereafter, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Marketing. In August 2004, he was elevated to President and Chief Executive Officer to oversee the overall management and operation of Mohegan Sun, the Northeast’s premier entertainment destination.

Two years later, Etess was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA), an instrumentality of the Mohegan Tribe who own and operate Mohegan Sun. For several years, Etess held dual roles as CEO for MTGA and President & CEO for Mohegan Sun until 2011, when he decided to focus efforts solely on corporate diversification as CEO for MTGA. In this position, Etess assumes responsibility of the overall management and operation of MTGA’s two main properties: Mohegan Sun in Connecticut and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Plains Township, Pennsylvania. Additionally, he evaluates short and long-term business planning and growth for Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and the Mohegan Tribe as well as business development efforts within the gaming and hospitality industries.

Etess also serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Sun, the WNBA’s professional women’s basketball franchise. He oversees team operations on behalf of the Mohegan Tribe, representing the ownership in all matters pertaining to the day-to-day functioning of the franchise on both the administrative and basketball sides of the organization.

Prior to his career at Mohegan Sun, Etess worked in several high-level marketing positions at Players Island Resort • Casino • Spa in Nevada and Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. Before that, Etess was a partner in the advertising and public relations firm of Gordon Etess Associates in Pinehurst, North Carolina after serving as General Manager at CCA/Holly Inn in Pinehurst. Additionally, Etess worked in virtually every capacity – and finally as General Manager – at his family’s Grossinger’s Hotel in Grossinger, New York. It was here that Etess, who was raised at the hotel, got his early training in the hospitality industry.

A graduate of New York City’s Columbia University, Etess resides in East Lyme, Connecticut with his wife Karen.

Jeffrey E. Hartmann
President & Chief Executive Officer Mohegan Sun

Jeffrey E. Hartmann came to Mohegan Sun in 1996 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Mohegan Sun and was responsible for the day-to-day accounting and financial reporting functions, including Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and bondholder and banking relations.

In 2004, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Mohegan Sun, and in 2006, he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA). In these roles, Hartmann oversaw MTGA’s corporate finance and strategic development, including Mohegan Sun’s Project Horizon expansion in Connecticut and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ Project Sunrise expansion in Pennsylvania.

In 2011, he was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of Mohegan Sun and ceded his responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer of MTGA.

Hartmann has nineteen years of experience in the casino and hotel industry. Prior to joining MTGA, Mr. Hartmann was employed at Foxwoods Resort Casino as Vice President of Finance of Foxwoods Management Company. A Certified Public Accountant, he also was employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, as an Audit Manager.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Mr. Hartmann resides in Connecticut with his wife and their four children.

Robert Soper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs

Since January 2005, Robert J. Soper (“Bobby”) has served as the President of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, a harness racetrack, casino and entertainment complex in Plains, PA. Prior to his current position, he served for four years as a Senior Vice President at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut where he managed various divisions within the company and participated in the opening of the $1 billion dollar expansion of Mohegan Sun. Soper also served as the Chief Legal Officer for the company. Prior to acting as Sr. Vice President of Administration, he also served as Senior Attorney for the Mohegan Tribe from 1997 to 2001.

Soper has been involved in the community both in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. He has served on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southeastern Connecticut, Board of Directors and Treasurer of United Way of Wyoming Valley, Board of Directors of the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trustees of Misericordia University, Board of Directors for WVIA Public Broadcasting, Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, Board of Directors of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Technology Institute, Board of Directors of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce and Board of Directors and Vice Chairman of Scranton Tomorrow.

Soper was born in Atlanta, Georgia and relocated to southeastern Connecticut with his wife, Jackie, in 1997, before moving to northeast Pennsylvania in 2005. He graduated magna cum laude with a BBA in Economics from the University of Georgia, and graduated with a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law with honors, also serving on the Editorial Board of the Georgia Law Review.

Mario Kontomerkos
Chief Financial Officer
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA)

Mario joined the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority in September of 2011. Previously, he was the Corporate Vice President of Finance of Penn National Gaming, Inc. from March 2010 to July 2011. Prior to that, Mario served as a senior investor at Magnetar Capital LLC, an investment management company, from July 2007 to May 2009, and was a research analyst for the gaming and lodging industries at J.P. Morgan Securities from May 2005 to May 2007 and at Lehman Brothers, Inc. from August 2001 to April 2005. Prior to that, Mario served as a senior consultant in the forensic accounting group at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. His experience also includes service as a consultant for TPG Capital LLC on the acquisition of Harrah’s Entertainment, the largest leveraged buyout in the history of the gaming industry. Mario holds a bachelor of science from Cornell University in New York.

Leo M. Chupaska
Vice President Investor Relations
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA)

Leo M. Chupaska was named Vice President of Investor Relations in September of 2011.

Prior to this position, Chupaska served as Chief Financial Officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority from August 2004 through September 2011 and was with the Tribe from September 1996 through August 2004, serving as the Tribe’s Chief Financial Officer.

Chupaska is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He also has master degrees in business administration and public administration from the University of New Haven. Chupaska is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Peter J. Roberti, CPA
Vice President of Corporate Finance
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA)

Peter J. Roberti has been with the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA) since September 2002. In his role as Vice President of Corporate Finance, he is responsible for the Treasury and Corporate Finance functions. In addition, he is responsible for all external reporting requirements to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies.

Prior to joining MTGA, Roberti served as Chief Financial Officer of Reed and Barton Corporation. A certified public accountant, he has been employed by Ernst & Young LLP, as a Senior Audit Manager.

Roberti is a graduate of Babson College with a bachelor of science degree in accounting.

Paul Brody
Vice President of Corporate Development
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA)

Paul Brody brings his eighteen (18) years of service to tribal governments in connection with all aspects of financing, constructing and opening gaming facilities to his position as Vice President of Corporate Development where he identifies and evaluates new tribal and commercial gaming opportunities for the Mohegan Tribe and MTGA. Concurrently, Brody and the Corporate Development staff are assisting the company’s project teams in Pennsylvania with Pocono Downs at Mohegan Sun and in Washington state with the Cowlitz Tribe.

Brody offers extensive interaction with Tribal Gaming Commissions, the NIGC, and state and local regulatory agencies. He has been an attorney at law for 37 years with practice emphasis in business transactions, land use regulation and contract negotiations. Earlier in his career, Brody was a commercial and mixed use real property developer.

Prior to his position with MTGA, Brody was President and Chief Operating Officer of Excelsior Gaming LLC where he lead a team effort to secure tribal gaming management contracts, resulting in two long-term engagements and several consulting contracts. He helped tribal governments secure both start-up and expansion financing for gaming operations and coordinated and supervised tribal, federal and state licensing for Excelsior, its key personnel, major investors and members of its board of directors.

Brody is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1974 and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics with honors in 1971. He holds Class III Gaming Licenses from the States of Washington and Connecticut and is a member of the Bar of the State of Connecticut, the United States District Court-Connecticut and the Connecticut Bar Association Indian Law Section.