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 Marian Ilitch

Marian IlitchMarian Ilitch is one of the leading entrepreneurs in the food and entertainment industry. As a first-generation American, the daughter of Macedonian immigrants raised on grit and hard work, Marian has been recognized as one of the most successful businesswomen in the country.

Early Start in Business

Marian started out in the food business early by helping out in her father’s restaurant as a young girl. Her first business skills were filling napkin containers, putting salt and pepper shakers out, and other side work. Marian graduated from Fordson High School in Dearborn and attended Dearborn Community College where she studied liberal arts and had one accounting class.

Marian’s first paying job was at SS Kresge on Michigan Avenue in Dearborn. Later she worked as a reservation clerk for Delta Airlines (on Washington Blvd. in Detroit) before marrying Mike Ilitch. Marian was captured by the hustle and bustle of working in downtown Detroit and that excitement drove her desire for eventually doing business back in the city.  Marian was a stay-at-home mom until after her third child.  It’s at this point that Marian and her husband Mike opened the first Little Caesars; she was dedicated to helping her husband launch the business.

Mom-and-Pop Business to Ilitch Holdings

Marian and her husband Mike grew a mom-and-pop pizza business in a suburb of Detroit into a $2 billion international company, Little Caesars. The rapid expansion of the Little Caesars chain in the 1970s, and the resulting increase in profits, allowed Marian Ilitch to branch out into other areas such as sports, casino gaming, real estate development, arena and entertainment management and food distribution.

Marian and Mike Ilitch formed Ilitch Holdings, Inc. to provide professional and technical services to their primary business interests in the food, sports and entertainment industries. Marian serves as Vice Chairwoman of Ilitch Holdings. These ventures include Little Caesar Enterprises, the Detroit Red Wings NHL hockey team, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Little Caesars Pizza Kits, Champion Foods, Uptown Entertainment and Olympia Entertainment and Olympia Development. Under Olympia Entertainment and Olympia Development is the historic Fox Theatre. The holding company’s total combined revenue in 2006 exceeded $1.6 billion.

Marian and her husband Mike became pioneers in the redevelopment of downtown Detroit when they purchased the Fox theatre building, renovated the theatre and adjacent office building and brought their Little Caesars world headquarters downtown.
 

MotorCity Casino

Marian purchased the MotorCity Casino in Detroit in April 2005.  MotorCity Casino opened in December 1999 and the purchase by Marian keeps the casino ownership within the Detroit Community and makes Motor City Casino the largest and most successful casino in the country that is owned by a woman.


Investing in the Community

Giving back to the community is Marian’s trademark. Like most projects developed and owned by Marian, the MotorCity is actively involved in the community by contributing about $1 million to local charity groups in Detroit.

In 1985, Marian and her husband established the Little Caesars Love Kitchen Foundation, which consists of a mobile pizza restaurant. The Love Kitchen has fed more than 1.5 million people, aiding the hungry and disaster victims across the U.S. and Canada. Three presidents, President Ronald Reagan, President George Bush Sr, and President Bill Clinton have recognized the Love Kitchen.

Besides donating millions of dollars to charitable organizations, Marian and her husband have established Ilitch Charities for Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in the areas of health, education and recreation. The Charity has sponsored numerous programs in the Detroit area including amateur sports sponsorships for hundreds of thousands of children.

Nation’s Top Businesswoman

Marian has earned a reputation as a dynamic force in the restaurant and entertainment industry. She continues to blaze new trails and respond to the changing needs of the marketplace.  Marian Ilitch has received many awards including:

  • Named one of Detroit’s Enterprising Women by the Detroit Historical Society in partnership with the Women’s Economic Club, National Association of Women Business Owners, Greater Detroit Chapter and Crain’s Detroit Business. (2004)
  • Inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame (2001)
  • Named Michigan Executive of the Year by the Wayne State School of Business Administration (1999)
  • Hospice of Southeastern Michigan Council Crystal Rose Award for leadership, compassion and dedication to the community (1997)
  • American Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan for aiding emergency services and the work of the Red Cross friends (1996)
  • Working Women Magazine - recognized as the number one women business owner in the nation (1994).
  • Greater Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners - recognized as one of Michigan’s Top 25 women business owners (1994)
  • Roundtable for Women in Foodservice Pacesetter Award in recognition of lasting and outstanding contributions made by women in foodservice (1988)
  • Crain’s Detroit Business Top Women in Business Honoree (2005)
  

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