Turmoil continued at Wynn Resorts last week as a new president was announced for the company’s two Las Vegas properties, Wynn and Encore.
CEO Matt Maddox announced that longtime Wynn Resorts executive Maurice Wooden is stepping down at the end of the year. Wooden has worked in many different roles for Mirage and then Wynn Resorts, and for the last five years was president of the Las Vegas properties.
Maddox wished Wooden well in announcing his successor.
“Replacing a leader who has dedicated so many years to one organization is never easy, and I believe it must be someone who understands our brand and shares our values,” he wrote in a note to Wynn employees. “I am pleased that Marilyn Spiegel will return to lead the team at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore. Our focus on guest experiences calls for someone who truly appreciates what Wynn means to our guests and employees. Marilyn not only shares that understanding, she helped to create it, having led Wynn Las Vegas from 2010 until 2013. Her deep experience in human resources and knowledge of what it takes to deliver the Wynn promise, make her the ideal person to lead Wynn Las Vegas into the future.”
Spiegel, formerly Marilyn Winn, had a long career at Harrah’s/Caesars Entertainment, directing its human resource department for many years, before taking over as a regional president overseeing several Las Vegas properties including Paris and Bally’s. She is married to banker and investor Tom Spiegel.
Sources tell GGB News that the board had first considered appointing former Mirage and MGM executive BobbyBaldwin before settling on Spiegel.
Also last week, Maddox announced that Wynn marketing head, Michael Weaver, would be named to a new position in the company, chief communications officer. Weaver will focus on the opening of Encore BostonHarbor as the company strives to get through an investigation of the misdeeds of former Chairman Steve Wynn and any involvement of the current company executives.
“Michel’s deep understanding of our brand and how we communicate it globally, his experience in media relations, and his work on the team that won the license for us in Massachusetts, make him the ideal person for this role,” said Maddox.
Replacing Weaver will be Scott Moore, who has marketing experience with brands such as Time Magazine, PBS and the Coca Cola Company and was most recently the chief operating officer at Augeo.
Both Moore and Spiegel will start on January 2.
