Crown Resorts chairman Helen Coonan is cleaning out the company's board and has already tapped some directors to exit in a bid to bring more independence to the embattled casino giant's governance structure.

Asked at the NSW inquiry into Crown whether she agreed with majority shareholder James Packer's testimony that the board should be more independent of his holding company, Consolidated Press Holdings, Ms Coonan said that was "a fair reflection of the way which we need to go forward".