Caesars exec Batjer leaving for California government post

LAS VEGAS -- A Caesars Entertainment Inc. executive is leaving the casino company to return to government work in California.

Marybel Batjer resigned last week as Caesars’ vice president of public policy and corporate social responsibility to become California’s Secretary of Government Operations.

Batjer, 58, was named to the position by Gov. Jerry Brown, who announced the appointment Tuesday in Sacramento.

If confirmed by the California State Senate, Batjer would oversee the agency responsible for administering state operations, such as procurement, information technology and human resources.

The appointment is part of an overhaul of California’s state government by the Brown administration, which cut the number of state agencies from 12 to 10 and eliminated or consolidates dozens of departments and entities.

Batjer has been with Caesars Entertainment since 2005. Prior to joining the casino operator, she worked in state and federal government in Nevada, California and Washington, D.C.

Brown becomes the fourth governor that Batjer, a Democrat, has served under.

She was cabinet secretary for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California from 2003 to 2005, chief of staff for Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn from 2000 to 2003 and undersecretary at the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency from 1997 to 1998 under Gov. Pete Wilson.