Star Entertainment’s new chair Anne Ward ‘calls it as she sees it’

With a background in commercial law and plenty of experience at board level, Star Entertainment’s new chair Anne Ward doesn’t mince words.

New Star Entertainment chair Anne Ward told the Bell inquiry she blamed the company’s woes on a lack of ­leadership. Picture: Bloomberg

With a background in commercial law and plenty of experience at board level, Star Entertainment’s new chair Anne Ward doesn’t mince words.

Appointed director of the beleaguered group in November 2022, she became non-executive chairman this week, having told the Bell inquiry she blamed the company’s woes on a lack of ­leadership.

Last week she said she had decided that it was better “sooner than later” that ex-Star CEO Robbie Cooke got his marching ­orders.

On Monday she said former Star executive chair David Foster needed to go.

They join a raft of senior resignations at The Star over the past six months, including former CFO Christina Katsibouba, chief customer and product officer George Hughes and chief legal officer Betty Ivanoff.

Veteran stockbroker Charlie Green said Ms Ward “calls as she sees it”.

“Kudos to her. Ripping the bandaid off is usually the best method,” he said.

“There’s an expression in broking – first loss is best loss. If you know you made a mistake, fix it fast.”

Star Entertainment chair Anne Ward.

Ms Ward’s total remuneration as a non-executive director in 2023 was $140,015, putting her in line for a substantial pay rise.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Melbourne and spent almost 30 years in commercial law, working for Herbert Geer & Rundle for 16 years before joining Minter Ellison and then becoming general counsel for Australia and Asia at National Australia Bank until 2011.

A serial director, Ms Ward has held chair roles at Colonial First State Investments, Qantas Superannuation and Zoos Victoria, and has been a director of MYOB Group, FlexiGroup, the Victorian Government’s Transport Accident Commission, Epworth Hospital and the Brain Research Institute.

She also had a 10-month stint as part-time director at Crown Resorts.

Her appointment at the then James Packer-backed casino group prompted the National Tertiary Education Union to call for her resignation from RMIT University, where she served as a council member.

She vowed to stay on the university’s council, where she has been a member since 2015, until her term concluded in 2022.

An advocate of more women on company boards, she has said it is important for organisations to have management and governance reflecting the membership or customer base.

Ms Ward reportedly credits a number of mentors for her success, including Neil Forsyth QC, former Qantas chairman Margaret Jackson and former NAB chairman Graham Kraehe.

In various LinkedIn posts Ms Ward has often commented on leadership, at times taking aim at the Andrews Labor government in Victoria. Three years ago she said: “Much has been said and written about the expectation that leaders will be accountable for failings within their organisation. Chairmen and CEOs have resigned when their companies actions have not met community expectations. I wonder why those same expectations don’t seem to apply to politicians?”

This week the Star probe will focus on the board’s oversight of key executives.

Originally published as Star Entertainment’s new chair Anne Ward ‘calls it as she sees it’