UPDATE: Sept. 19, 2025: This story has been edited to more accurately reflect Steve Zanella’s job history.
MGM Resorts International is shaking up its executive leadership team.
The Las Vegas resort operator tapped company veteran Ayesha Molino as chief operating officer, a role that will be vacated at year-end by Corey Sanders, who announced his retirement earlier this month. Meanwhile, MGM has appointed Gary Fritz as chief commercial officer and president of MGM Digital, according to a Thursday announcement.
Molino will take over as MGM COO after serving as president and COO of the company’s Las Vegas properties Aria and Vdara. In that role, she led all property operations, marketing, social media, human resources, guest experience, sales, hotel, food and beverage and facilities duties for the resorts.
Molino is also MGM’s chief public affairs officer, handling government affairs, public relations and corporate communication for the company. She first joined MGM in January 2017 from the U.S. Senate, where she served as chief counsel to former Senator and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Currently a non-executive director of MGM China Holding Limited and on the board of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Molino will assume the COO role effective Jan. 1, 2026. MGM previously announced that Sanders would remain COO through Dec. 31, 2025, and an advisor to CEO Bill Hornbuckle through Dec. 31, 2026.
Molino’s ability to “unite teams, drive results, and navigate challenges makes her the perfect leader to succeed Corey as COO,” Hornbuckle said in a statement.
Also Thursday, MGM announced it appointed Fritz as chief commercial officer and president of MGM Digital, effective immediately. Fritz most recently served as president of MGM Resorts International Interactive.
Fritz was “instrumental” in establishing and advancing MGM’s digital strategy through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, Hornbuckle said, adding that Fritz takes on the new role as MGM looks to “accelerate our omni-channel strategy and unlock significant growth in digital and iGaming.”
The leadership shift brings together MGM’s Gaming, Marketing and Digital divisions under one leader, according to an internal memo dated Sept. 18 shared with Hotel Dive. Doug Seidenberg, chief gaming officer, and Joey Wattoo, chief marketing officer, and their teams will report to Fritz.
Meanwhile, Steve Zanella will pivot to a new role as president and CEO of MGM’s Japan operations, Hornbuckle detailed in the internal memo. Zanella will move to Japan next year to lead the team through the construction and opening of MGM’s resort on Yumeshima Island in Osaka Bay.
MGM’s Las Vegas organizational structure is also changing, according to the memo. After moving its human resources department under the purview of the COO last month, the company has named a new leadership structure for its Vegas properties.
MGM’s Mike Neubecker, who is president and COO of MGM Grand, Excalibur, New York-New-York and Signature, will add Mandalay Bay and Luxor to his portfolio. Sean Lanni, president and COO of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, also will expand his scope by adding Aria, Vdara and Park MGM. Neubecker and Lanni will both report to Molino.
The organizational changes come as MGM prepares for “our next phase of growth,” according to Hornbuckle, in the memo.
