Former Crown CEO and chairman John Alexander has rejected assertions by the casino giant’s current chairman, Helen Coonan, that an “Old Crown” culture was to blame for extensive misconduct uncovered at the company, or that such a culture was active during his tenure in the top job.

Giving evidence to a West Australian royal commission on Thursday, Mr Alexander said the company had been in a process of “fairly significant metamorphosis” in terms of risk management and independence since Kerry Packer’s death in 2005, spearheaded by his son, James Packer.