Jim Murren has traded the desert for the high seas.
The former chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts International has been named CEO of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, which offers 7-to-10-night voyages in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Central America.
Murren, who retired from MGM Resorts in 2020, was named executive chairman of the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection in January and took over as CEO last week. He replaced company founder Douglas Prothero, who will continue to serve as a board member and strategic advisor to Murren.
“I am honored to take the role of CEO and look forward to collaborating with the talented team to continue to drive growth and innovation,” Murren said in a statement. “Thanks to Doug, we have a strong foundation to build upon, and we will continue to deliver a truly unique luxury cruise and super yachting experience, which will be unparalleled in the expanding luxury market,”
Murren led MGM’s casino expansion on the Strip and throughout the U.S. during his tenure as CEO, which began in 2008. He announced plans in February 2020 to retire from the company at the end of 2020 but stepped away a month later due to the pandemic. Murren headed the state’s COVID-19 Response, Relief and Recovery Task Force that secured personal protective equipment, medical supplies and testing kits for the state.
In 2021, Murren and two former Morgan Stanley executives created Acies Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) developed as a publicly traded shell vehicle to take another company public. It was used for the listing of Las Vegas-based social game developer PlayStudios. Murren is a member of the PlayStudios board.
