iGB Names Suzanne Trout and Zoe Ebling Among Most Influential Women 2026

Suzanne Trout, executive vice-president and chief marketing officer of Cordish Gaming Group, and Zoe Ebling, VP of Interactive at AGS, have been named among the winners of iGB's Most Influential Women 2026 list.

Trout described the recognition as "an honour" and a welcome moment of visibility.

"I love the gaming industry," she told iGB. "I've spent my whole life in it. Looking at the women who have been nominated in the past, I think it's really meaningful. And I feel very fortunate to be in this group of talented women."

Her career has spanned Las Vegas and Atlantic City destinations, small commercial and tribal casinos, and large publicly traded and private operators.

"It taught me to really be flexible and to really learn new things," she explained, adding that this breadth of experience informs her outlook on the future.

She is now focused on Cordish's expansion plans and the rapid development of marketing technologies, including AI, which she argues should "refine the customer experience" through personalised offers.

Trout was blunt in her assessment of diversity and inclusion progress across the gaming sector, responding "No. That's a hard no. Not at all" when asked if it has reached where it needs to be.

She acknowledged more women in management roles but emphasised a persistent lack of female representation in boardrooms and top leadership.

"It's still a fairly lonely place to be," she added, noting leadership composition looks much as it did three decades ago.

She argued a broader mix of leaders would bring diversity of thinking and accelerate product evolution.

"I think we'd be a better industry," she said. "We'd benefit from different points of view. Our evolution's been quite slow."

Trout said she joined Cordish in part because of the company's deliberate approach to diversity, which includes internal training, targeted recruitment, mentorship programmes and a dedicated DEI team.

Zoe Ebling, named a winner for 2026, greeted the accolade with a mix of gratitude and perspective.

"Honestly, it's my second award this year, and I feel a bit like Kendrick Lamar at the Grammys, taking home a lot of trophies and wondering where everyone else is," she told iGB. "There are so many talented women in this industry doing incredible work who never get named. Many of them are the reason I'm successful."

She pointed to her first regulated US launch in New Jersey, timed for Thanksgiving, as a defining, high-pressure team moment.

"What made it matter wasn't the date. It was that everyone involved believed the launch was worth the effort," Ebling recalled.

A recurring theme among this year's winners was the importance of moving beyond female representation and ensuring women have a meaningful voice in decision-making and leadership.

Trout's advice to women aiming for industry recognition was to focus on meaningful goals and helping others.

"The most precious gift I think we can give anybody is our time," she said.

She urged senior figures to provide honest feedback, mentor junior colleagues and share experience generously.

"Aim for sharing yourself and your experience with others in the industry," Trout said. "It's a great way to help lead people and buoy them up in their career."