Crown chair steps aside for former federal minister
In a major shake-up at Crown Resorts, former federal communications minister Helen Coonan will take over as chair while ex AFL supremo Andrew Demetriou will take on a role at Melbourne’s casino.
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Crown Resorts executive chair John Alexander has stepped aside, handing over the reins amid a sweeping shake-up in the upper echelons of the casino group.
Former federal communications minister Helen Coonan, who joined the Crown board more than eight years ago, has been named group chair while chief financial officer Ken Barton has been elevated to chief executive.
Among other changes, former AFL chief Andrew Demetriou will chair the board of Crown Melbourne, replacing Mr Alexander in that role.
Crown announced the overhaul late yesterday after the Australian Securities Exchange closed.
The changes come as an inquiry gets under way in Sydney, investigating whether a planned buyout of a majority stake in Crown by Melco Resorts — led by Macau gaming tycoon Lawrence Ho — raises probity issues.
In a statement, Ms Coonan said the Crown board had been “working for some time to consider and to implement a governance structure that is more in line with the traditional model with a non-executive chair … and a separate CEO”. Ms Coonan said she was “very honoured and privileged” to have been asked to chair the group.
“This new structure is in line with feedback we have received from a number of proxy advisers and shareholders, and better aligns with contemporary governance practices,” she said.
The changes mark the biggest shake-up for Crown since Mr Alexander took charge to stabilise the casino business in February 2017.
That followed the arrest of 18 employees in China late the previous year. Those arrests led to a major restructure of its operations and also sparked a downturn in its business focused on high-stakes gamblers.
Other leadership changes announced yesterday include the elevation of non-executive director John Horvath to the role of Crown deputy chair.
Non-executive directors, including Mr Demetriou, have been appointed chairs at the separate boards that oversee Crown’s operations in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
The group’s Sydney casino is under construction.
Jane Halton will chair Crown Sydney Gaming and John Poynton will chair Burswood Limited, which runs Crown Perth.
Mr Alexander will remain on the group board as an executive director “to assist with the transition of the chair and CEO roles”, the company said.
New South Wales’ Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority is investigating Melco’s links to Mr Ho’s father, Macau casino billionaire Stanley Ho, who has long faced allegations of links to organised crime.
Crown’s licence for its $2 billion Sydney casino, granted in 2014, forbids it from dealing with a list of companies and individuals associated with Stanley Ho.
Victorian gaming regulators and the Commonwealth Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission are also assessing if Crown has done enough due diligence to ensure its operations have not been abused by criminals.
THE AUSTRALIAN