Bill Hornbuckle, MGM Resorts International’s chief marketing officer, is moving to a new office after the casino company announced that he would take in the new role of president and chief marketing officer of MGM Resorts. Hornbuckle will be reporting to CEO Jim Murren, who himself recently received a four-year extension from the company, and will carry a host of new responsibilities within the company, including gaming development.
“Bill Hornbuckle is widely regarded as one of the most strategic and effective leaders in the hospitality and entertainment industry,” MGM CEO Murren said in a statement.
“Since assuming the newly-created role of CMO for the company in 2010, he has been focused on growing the company’s relationships with our customers and guests. He has achieved this with significant success, for example, in the creation and growth of our M life customer loyalty program.”
Before joining MGM Resorts, Hornbuckle previously served as the president and COO of Mandalay Bay, a position he first held back in April 2005. Before that, he was also the president and COO of both the MGM Mirage – Europe (from July 2001 to April 2005) and the MGM Grand (from October 1998 to July 2001).
In addition to Hornbuckle, MGM Resort’s management re-structuring also saw the expansion of duties for Corey Sanders, MGM Resorts’ Chief Operating Officer, as well as Bobby Baldwin, president and CEO of CityCenter, and Dan D’Arrigo, Chief Financial Officer.
Sanders, in particular, will now be responsible for overseeing the company’s entire operating functions, including numerous arms of MGM Resorts – retail, corporate advertising, and sales – that were previously not under his control. Meanwhile, Baldwin will be replacing Bill McBeath as president of CityCenter and will be tasked a day-to-day leadership for the Aria hotel-casino, the Vdara and Mandarin hotels, as well as CityCenter residential operations, and the Crystals luxury shopping center.
The dramatic shift in managerial duties within MGM Resorts International, highlighted by Bill Hornbuckle’s promotion, is looking a lot like a company trying to infuse new life and ideas to their management as it prepares to move into new ventures with its recently-acquired online poker licence in Nevada, not to mention the continuous growth of its Macau-based MGM China unit.
