Las Vegas, NV (July 18, 2024) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest U.S. charity funder of childhood research grants, announces the appointment of John M. McManus, as its new Chair of the Board. McManus serves as Chief Legal & Administrative Officer and Secretary at MGM Resorts International [NYSE: MGM] based in Las Vegas, Nevada and has been a long-time supporter of St. Baldrick’s mission to Conquer Kids’ Cancers. He has personally raised more than $2.3 million for childhood cancer research.
At MGM Resorts, McManus leads the legal department and also heads a variety of other administrative and business units. He joined MGM in 2001 and has served in various leadership roles during his tenure. Before joining MGM Resorts, McManus served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for the Sahara Hotel & Casino and worked as an associate attorney with the Las Vegas law firm of Schreck, Jones, Bernhard, Woloson & Godfrey.
McManus has been a dedicated donor to the Foundation since 2015. He served as a team leader for MGM at St. Baldrick’s signature head-shaving events and has participated as a shavee ten times, recently earning the prestigious title of Knight Commander. Through his remarkable fundraising efforts, he has become the Foundation’s top all-time fundraising shavee.
“The research supported by The St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s fundraising efforts is essential as we continue the fight to find cures for childhood cancers and improve treatments for the children impacted by this terrible disease,” said John McManus the new Chair of the Board. “The fight against cancer is a collaboration not a competition and that is what I love about The St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Our approach to scientific review is designed to get funds to the most promising research projects and clinical trials to build upon the collective body of work in this area. We do not seek to get credit for outcomes or to fund any particular research hospital or lab, but rather just provide support to the overall effort. My goal as Chair is to assist the organization in providing as much funding as possible to worthy projects to advance the cause and conquer kid’s cancers.”
McManus steps into the role vacated by Frank Nutter, who served as Chair for two years. Nutter, is the recently retired President of Reinsurance Association of America. Nutter will remain a member of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation board and continue to support its mission to fund the most promising childhood cancer research grants.
The board also announced the retirement of Thomas Selquist, Managing Director and an Investment Specialist in the Financial Institutions Group at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Selquist and his family have been dedicated supporters of St. Baldrick’s for many years.
“The St. Baldrick’s Foundation has been fortunate in its mission-focused board of directors. Tom, Frank, and John all are thoughtful governors and hardworking fundraisers who never miss opportunities to serve the mission and enable more research to progress,” said Kathleen Ruddy, the Foundation’s CEO. “We are so grateful to Tom and Frank for their service and leadership and to John for being willing to take on the role of leader, not only of the board but of all the Foundation’s volunteers.” Ruddy continued.
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St. Baldrick’s Foundation Board of Directors
St. Baldrick’s Foundation’ Board of Directors include: Chair of the Board, John M. McManus, Chief Legal & Administrative Officer & Secretary of MGM Resorts International; Founder & Chairman Emeritus, John Bender, President & CEO of Allied World Reinsurance; Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, Director of Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship at University of Alabama at Birmingham; Ryan Brown, CAIA, CFP® of Goldman Sachs; Richard A. Bucher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vitaulic; Jill Cetina, Executive Professor of Finance, & Associate Director of the Commercial Banking Program, Mays Business School, Texas A & M University; Julia Glade Bender, MD, Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering; Tim Kenny, Executive Chairman of Aran Insurance Services Group; Franklin W. Nutter, Chairman Emeritus, Franklin W. Nutter, President of Reinsurance Association of America (RAA); Phil Ralston, President of American Nevada Company; Kathleen Ruddy, Chief Executive Officer of St. Baldrick’s Foundation; Shannon Rutledge, President & Chief Executive Officer at Farmer’s Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa; Jason T. Yustein, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine & Director, Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Every 2 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. In the U.S., 1 in 5 will not survive. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants, has awarded more than $352 million to researchers to Conquer Kids’ Cancer. When you give to St. Baldrick’s, you don’t just give to one hospital – you support every institution with the expertise to treat kids with cancer across the U.S. St. Baldrick’s ensures that children fighting cancer now — and those diagnosed in the future — will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment, by supporting every stage of research, from new ideas in the lab to the training of the next generation of researchers, to lifesaving clinical trials. St. Baldrick’s has played a role in virtually every advancement in the field over the past 25 years and remains essential in advancing progress and fostering innovation in childhood cancer research. Visit StBaldricks.org and help #ConquerKidsCancer.