Light & Wonder has announced that James Sottile, its Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, will retire effective 31 December.
The news was disclosed in a regulatory filing with the SEC after Sottile formally submitted his retirement notice on 16 June.
To ensure a smooth transition, the company has appointed Susan Dawson-currently Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel-as his successor. Dawson, who has been with Light & Wonder since 2012 and in her current role since 2018, will relocate from the UK to Las Vegas to take over as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary.
Sottile will continue working with the company through 2026 in a consulting capacity. He will receive a monthly consulting fee of $11,959, equating to 20% of his 2025 base salary, to help maintain continuity in legal and governance matters.
His retirement comes as Light & Wonder targets significant growth, including a goal of reaching $2 billion in consolidated adjusted EBITDA by 2028-a 42.9% increase from its 2025 target of $1.4 billion.
For fiscal year 2024, the company reported $3.19 billion in revenue, up from $2.9 billion in 2023, with net income more than doubling to $336 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $1.24 billion.
The leadership change follows Light & Wonder’s recent $1 billion acquisition of Grover Gaming, a move praised by Macquarie Securities analyst Chad Beynon, who noted it offers a valuable foothold in the U.S. charitable gaming sector-a market that generated $1.1 billion in revenue in 2024.
