Former MGM Resorts CEO to Lead Coronavirus Task Force in Nevada

Last Sunday, Steve Sisolak announced the formation of a statewide task force that will be responsible for the state’s efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Referred to as the COVID-19 Response, Relief, and Recovery Task Force, the team will not only help in the efforts to fight the virus but it will also be working towards marshaling the private sector to support struggling citizens of the state.

Needless to say, such a task force would require strong leadership considering how challenging such efforts can be. Well, fortunately, the state’s governor was lucky enough to get just the right man for the job. Heading the task force will be former MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren. In fact, as it turns out, Murren who just recently stepped down from his role as the CEO of MGM was the one who reached out to Governor Sisolak about the formation of a task force.

Naturally, the governor was quite elated about the idea and how it would help in developing a structure to get the state back to its feet. The task force will be chaired by Murren who has agreed to take up the role in a voluntary and unpaid capacity.

As mentioned earlier, one of his key considerations as the head of the task force will be the assessment of both the private sector’s physical and human assets in order to come up with a way of deploying them to help the state and the Nevada Response Center.

“This effort will help expand the capacity of Nevada’s health care system, enhance and provide additional access to resources, support our hard-working medical professionals and first responders, and give Nevada the additional help it needs to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve.”

Governor Steve Sisolak.

This is definitely the right move for the state as the whole country struggles to manage the spread of the coronavirus.

MGM’s Gets New Acting CEO

Jim Murren announced that he would be stepping down from the role of CEO back in February as soon as a replacement was available. He, however, had to go through with that plan promptly in order to eliminate any concerns that the MGM team might have with regard to leadership changes. Such kinds of worries would definitely impact their ability to deal with the coronavirus crisis that has hit both the business and its employees very hard.

Taking over in Murren’s place as the new acting CEO is Bill Hornbuckle, a gaming industry veteran who has previously served as MGM Resorts International’s CEO. Mr. Hornbuckle is now set to lead the company through this difficult time and one of his first tasks will be overseeing the issuance of financial aid to the company’s employees.