Ayman Taha recently joined MGM Resorts International as vice president of enterprise technology solutions and innovation, heading solutions development, information management and enterprise architecture.
Taha comes to MGM Resorts with more than 23 years of experience in information technology. He spent the last 17 years serving in various leadership roles with Avnet, Inc.—one of the world’s largest distributors of electronic components and embedded solutions—and worked most recently as the company’s vice president and head of global digital transformation, innovation and solutions delivery. He successfully led the delivery of multiple award-winning solutions. Among the awards he brought to Taha are the Innovation Award in IT Transformation in 2012 from SoftwareAG, and the CIO100 award for leading the delivery of an in-memory enterprise booking and pricing engine in 2015.
In his current role at MGMRI, Taha is responsible for driving technology product strategy and innovation by defining and executing the technology vision for the company, leading the enterprise architecture organization in setting technology standards; solutions delivery and lifecycle management of home grown technologies; and enabling MGMRI become a data driven organization through collaboration with the enterprise analytics organization.
Taha brings a wealth of information technology knowledge in solutions architecture, integration, enterprise data management, solutions delivery and IT operations across diverse areas of technology.
Taha attended ASU in Arizona for an MS degree in computer science and AAST in Alexandria, Egypt for a BE degree in electronics and communication.
Kevin Sweet serves as vice president of slot operations and marketing at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, where he oversees the corporate slot strategy, including the casino layout, purchasing of machines, the rewards program and all slot marketing events, for the 3,027-room resort located at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. Sweet has played an integral part in the new strategic direction of the 100,000-square-foot casino as well as the redesign of its Identity Membership & Rewards program.
From a young age, Sweet always knew he wanted to work in the gaming industry. His passion for the field paired with his slot operations knowledge and experience has allowed him to elevate the casino’s current offerings for players while providing an unparalleled gaming experience for every guest. In just a few months, Sweet reinvented the resort’s Identity Membership & Rewards program to ensure that it gives gamers significantly more for their play than any other property on the Las Vegas Strip. Additionally, Sweet has increased the number of favorable games on the casino floor that allow for higher bets from players.
Prior to joining The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Sweet was the vice president of corporate slot performance at Seminole Tribe of Florida. In this role, he was responsible for the corporate slot strategy for seven casinos with more than 12,500 slot machines and a combined yearly net slot win of over $1.6 billion. Through his leadership, Sweet helped the casino save nearly $3 million in lease fees each month by spearheading a strategy of purchasing slot machines rather than leasing gaming products.
Additionally, Sweet was the executive director of global slot operations for Las Vegas Sands, where he oversaw a $40 million slot budget for a number of the company’s jurisdictions including Macau, China and Singapore. He has also served as director of slot operations at Aria Resort & Casino where he oversaw the management for all corporate progressives, capital budgeting, property allocations and participation contract negotiations. Sweet also worked as a slot operations manager at Bellagio Resort & Casino and Treasure Island Hotel & Casino.
Sweet graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in business administration.
Steve Sirianni is vice president of slot operations and marketing at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Sirianni has a long and successful career in the casino industry, having served as vice president of slot operations and marketing at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino, as well as director of slot operations at Bellagio. He was director of database marketing and a slot marketing manager at ARIA Resort & Casino. Before that he served as slot operations assistant manager for MGM Resorts International.
Sirianni is a graduate of University of Nevada Las Vegas Lee Business School.
Angela Segovia is Director, Product Marketing at Everi Payments, responsible for the development and execution of overall positioning, messaging and integrated marketing for all cash access, compliance and intelligence products. Before moving into her current role, Angela was integral to leading the execution of Everi’s interactive payments efforts in the iLottery space as well as various special projects.
Prior to joining Everi, Angela held a variety of senior positions in the education, telecom and technology industries. She earned a Master of Library Science degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master of Arts in Educational Counseling degree from the University at Phoenix.
Currently, as vice president of strategic initiatives at Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., Elena Shampaner oversees the company’s growth initiatives within non-gaming areas (F&B, retail). She works cross-functionally throughout the company to analyze the marketplace and shape the company’s strategies to capture profitable non-gaming revenue growth. Prior to joining Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., Shampaner held various business development roles at Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International. Holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Science in Hospitality Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Omer Sattar is co-founder and executive vice president of strategic initiatives at Sightline Payments LLC and served as its executive vice president. Sattar has over eight years operations experience in the gaming payment industry. Sattar, for the past two years served as the president of UB Ventures a service provider to the prepaid card industry. Prior to this role he was a senior vice-president of operations for Global Cash Access Inc. (GCA). In this role he had P&L responsibility for over $500 million in revenue. Sattar was an integral part of the team that successfully launched GCA’s products and services in Macau, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and South Africa. Prior to joining GCA, Mr. Sattar served as a vice president of product development and sourcing at Phoenician Imports, Inc. In this capacity Sattar has extensive experience living and working in mainland China. Sattar started his career in debt capital markets and healthcare corporate and investment banking with Wachovia Securities.
Anna Romanova is senior vice president of Europe/Middle East marketing at Aria Las Vegas. She is the recognized casino expert on player development in those regions. After studying at the University of Foreign Languages in Moscow, Romanova worked for London Clubs in the U.K. She later moved to Las Vegas and worked in a series of casinos including the Sheraton Desert Inn, Mirage, Bellagio and Caesars Palace. She has also studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Lee Richardson graduated with an MBA from the University of Strathclyde and is a fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Richardson held senior marketing and commercial roles with the Hertz Corporation in both the UK and Europe, while over the past 15 years has had CEO/COO positions with Tote Direct, Coral-Eurobet plc, Chartwell Games International, Boylesports and ONEworks. During this time, he has managed trading rooms in the UK, Gibraltar and Ireland, and led the team that developed the Tote Scoop6, the first new TV horseracing bet in 25 years.
Currently, Richardson is the founder and CEO of Gaming Economics, an international e-gaming consultancy and advisory business. He is also a business mentor with Bright Ideas Trust, an award-winning UK charity that provides start-up finance and business advice for young entrepreneurs.
Tim Richards is Chief Product Strategy Officer at Everi Holdings Inc. His long career in the gaming industry includes General Manager at Gaming Systems International, VP of Marketing at Progressive Gaming International Corp., Director of Table Games for International Game Technology (IGT) and VP of Product Management for Interblock-USA.
In 2011, Richards joined Global Cash Access and served as SVP of Product Development and later GM/SVP Interactive Solutions.
Richards joined Everi Holdings in 2015 as SVP Payments Innovation and became Chief Product Strategy Officer two years later. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Hotel/Motel Administration/Management.
Melissa Price leads a centralized team at Caesars Entertainment that drives product strategy (table games, slots, systems), new innovation and experiential offerings across 40 domestic casinos. Recent work driving centralized strategies earned her the Excellence in Leadership Award, which is the highest honor Caesars employees can receive and the winners are personally selected by Caesars CEO.
Price is a seasoned executive in the gaming industry with broad experience as both a supplier and operator. She has been active as a board member with the Gaming Standard Association (GSA) and participated on the G2E Advisory Board. She is the recipient of the 2011 Great Women in Gaming, Proven Leader Award. She is a regular speaker at industry events and recently added inventor to her list of accomplishments.
Her career has been focused on operational leadership including the following experiences:
• Management of annual budgets up to $200 million
• Broad leadership scope of 100+ direct/indirect/stakeholders
• General Manager of a custom manufacturing facility
• Thirteen restaurants openings
• Entrepreneur, opening and operating two retail business
• Real estate management
