Kyle Kirkland
Kyle Kirkland is the current president of the California Gaming Association, the 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association that represents California cardrooms. Mr. Kirkland is President and General Manager of Club One Casino, a 51-table cardroom in Fresno, and holds the same positions for the Deuce Lounge and Casino (Visalia) and Tres Lounge and Casino (Watsonville). He serves on the board of the California Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG), a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting problem gamblers and their families by promoting awareness, education, research, prevention and treatment for problem gambling.
Mr. Kirkland’s background includes work in the consulting, finance, music and gaming industries, and he has served on the boards of several public companies. From August 1993 to July 2011, Mr. Kirkland was Chairman of the Board and a controlling shareholder in Steinway Musical Instruments, the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the United States. Mr. Kirkland’s Steinway experience included product and brand management, acquisitions, corporate governance and internet strategies. In 1994, he co-founded Kirkland Messina, Inc., a boutique investment banking firm focused on leveraged buyouts and placed debt and equity securities for companies in industries including gaming, aircraft parts, apparel, recreation and finance. Earlier in his career, Mr. Kirkland worked for Drexel Burnham Lambert, an investment bank specializing in high yield securities and Bain & Company, an international management consulting firm.
Mr. Kirkland also serves on the Board of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo and oversees the Kirkland Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to animal rescue.
Mr. Kirkland received an A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1984 and a MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University in 1988.
