Bill Zito was named General Manager of the Florida Panthers on September 2, 2020.

On April 15, 2024, Zito received a multi-year contract extension and was promoted to President of Hockey Operations.

He is responsible for the club’s hockey operations, including all matters relating to player personnel, scouting and minor league operations.

Zito overhauled the Panthers roster in his first season at the helm, quickly transforming the Cats into one of the most dynamic and exciting teams in the National Hockey League. In 2020- 21, the Panthers set franchise records for points percentage (.705), goals per game (3.36) and shots on goal per game (34.9) en route to a second-place finish in the Central Division standings and a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In 2021-22, The Panthers stayed atop the NHL standings for much of the campaign to earn the club’s third division title and first Presidents’ Trophy. The Panthers once again set club marks in points percentage (.744), goals per game (4.11) and shots on goal per game (37.3), earning a franchise-best 58 wins and 122 points, which marked the fourth-most points by a team in League history. The 2021-22 Cats were the first team since 1995-96 to average over four goals per game, and their 337 goals were the most of any club over that span. The Panthers combined 95-32-11 regular season record tied for the best mark of any club over that span, as well. Between Zito’s first two seasons, the club boasted a league-leading 525 goals and paced all clubs with an average 3.80 goals per game and 36.3 shots on goal per game. Florida’s 0.7283 points percentage under Zito’s first two seasons at the helm is the highest points percentage through the first two seasons of any general manager in NHL history among those who started a season with a club in that position.

Improving every season under Zito’s leadership, the Panthers 2022-23 season was highlighted by the hiring of veteran Head Coach Paul Maurice, the blockbuster acquisition of Matthew Tkachuk, an Eastern Conference Championship and the franchise’s first-ever win in the Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers clawed their way into the 2023 playoffs as an eighth-seed, finishing the season with 43 fewer points than their Round 1 opponent—the League’s all-time winningest regular season Boston Bruins—and defeating them in seven games. The Panthers became the second-ever team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Presidents’ Trophy winner in any round, the eighth team to defeat the Presidents’ Trophy winner in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the third to do so via a Game 7 victory. After eliminating the Bruins, the Cats went on a rampage of eight wins in nine games, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games and sweeping the regular season’s second-best team, the Carolina Hurricanes, punching their ticket to the franchise's second Stanley Cup Final appearance.

Off the ice, Zito established a first-of-its kind Goaltending Excellence Department, focused on a comprehensive, integrated experience and program for all goalies in the Panthers system and headed by Hockey Hall of Famer and Special Advisor to the GM, Roberto Luongo.

Prior to joining the Panthers, Zito spent seven seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization (2013-14 to 2019-2020), serving as assistant general manager for six seasons before his promotion in 2019 to vice president of hockey operations, associate general manager and alternate governor. In 2015-16, Zito was named general manager for Columbus' American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters (then Lake Erie Monsters).

During Zito's first season with the Monsters, the club posted a franchise-record 97 points in the regular season and won its first-ever Calder Cup Championship. The Monsters produced a 15-2 record in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs, the best record for a team in four rounds in AHL history.

On the international stage, the Milwaukee, Wisc., native served as general manager for Team USA at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, capturing a bronze medal and posting a 6-2-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) record, tied for the best-ever by a U.S. team in tournament play. Zito also served as a member of the management team for the United States at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, winning a bronze medal.

Prior to his career as an NHL executive, Zito founded and built Acme World Sports in 1995, building it into a world-renowned talent agency for hockey players. He represented Vezina Trophy winners Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask, Vezina Trophy finalist Antii Niemi, Selke Trophy winner John Madden and All-Stars Kimmo Timonen and Brian Rafalski. Zito graduated from Yale University in 1987, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. While at Yale, he played three seasons for the Bulldogs Division I men’s ice hockey team. Following his graduation, Zito played one season of professional hockey in Europe before returning home to Wisconsin, where he attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1990-93. There he served as a graduate assistant and assistant coach for the Badgers hockey team as well as a radio color commentator until he graduated with his JD degree in 1993.

While attending high school in Milwaukee, Zito served as bat boy for the 1981 and 1982 Milwaukee Brewers under legendary general manager Harry Dalton, who encouraged Zito to one day pursue a career in management. In 1982, the Brewers owned the best record in Major League Baseball and won the American League pennant before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the 1982 World Series.

Zito and his wife, Julie, are the parents of twin daughters, Frankie and Gigi and son, Billy.