Crown Resorts Executive Chairman John Alexander has stepped down from the role amid a major reshuffle of the company’s senior executive team.
With Crown currently at the center of a NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority inquiry into its suitability to hold a gaming license for its AU$2.2 billion Crown Sydney development, as well as the sale of a 19.99% stake in the company to Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Alexander announced on Friday that he would no longer lead the company.
Instead, former Liberal Party politician Helen Coonan has been appointed as Chair of Crown, with non-executive director, Professor John Horvath AO, named Deputy Chair.
Crown Chief Financial Officer Ken Barton will assume the role of CEO and Managing Director, and has been charged with finding a replacement CFO to fill his former position.
The company has also named individual chairs for each of its three properties in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. They include former AFL boss Andrew Demetriou as Chair of Crown Melbourne Limited, Jane Halton AO PSM as Chair of Crown Sydney Gaming Pty Ltd and John Poynton AO as Chair of Burswood Limited.
Alexander will retain a role on the board for the purpose of assisting Coonan and Barton transition into their new positions.
“The Crown board has 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, a position that I am very honored and privileged to have been asked to hold, and a separate CEO,” Coonan said.
“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.”
Crown Resorts has found itself embroiled in a series of controversies in recent years, most notably the arrest of 19 employees in 2016 for promoting gambling in mainland China. It was also the subject of a series of explosive media reports last year alleging links with Asian criminal syndicates – allegations that will form part of the ongoing public inquiry in NSW.
